Edit: So, uh... I already posted this, but I realized that I skipped a chapter awhile back. Chapter 15 changed. Sorry about that. This should make more sense now.

Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.

Ai's POV

You're going to think terribly of me after I tell you this, but you probably already hate me to begin with, so what harm could this do? Bear in mind, however, that I've changed since this all went down, so try not to judge me too harshly.

I knew where Judai was now, and, in my obsessive desire to make him mine, I decided to act upon my desires again. When I was done on the beach with Asuka, I returned to my room and waited, watching, for those two that were with Judai to leave. The waitress left for a bit, returning shortly with a bowl of steaming food and a plastic bag that I could only guess contained cold medicine. Minutes after she returned, she came back out with Natsuko, and my chance appeared. The two of them headed off, double checking to make sure the door was locked before they did.

Once the coast was clear, I slipped down the hallway to her room. I tried the door, finding exactly what I had expected: it was locked. No problem. This villa only had electronic locks on the doors of certain rooms, and the room occupied by a waitress certainly didn't make the cut. Odd as it was, I had skills at picking locks, and I put these to use here to get that door open.

Inside, Judai was lying in bed, sleeping. His jacket was hanging off the back of a chair. Here's the part you're not going to like. I slipped out of my swimsuit—I'd been so busy watching the hallway, I hadn't even changed. Besides, when trying to win a man's heart, a very revealing string bikini could be more useful than the most extravagant attire. Once I was stripped down to nothing more than my birthday suit, I slid into the bed beside Judai, who stirred almost instantly. Good, it was much easier to seduce a man who was awake.

"Mm." He opened his eyes, still half asleep as he turned to me. "Ai…?" His eyes widened suddenly, and he shot straight up. "Ai! What the heck!?"

"You know you wanna, Judai," I said, my voice low, trying to awaken the dormant male inside of him. "Come on."

Any other man would have been so aroused by the way I'd positioned myself—I mean, I've got the body every woman wishes she could have, with a tiny waist and huge breasts, so what's not to love—but Judai's face reddened as he cried, "P-put some clothes on!"

"Aw, come on, Judai!" I said, sitting up and wrapping my arms around his neck. "Don't be so stubborn."

He pushed me away again, saying, "I just remembered that I forgot that I had to…remember something, and I should go do that now." He got up, clearly planning on leaving.

I didn't plan on letting him go that easily. I could hardly believe that he wasn't at all aroused. I mean, I was lying naked in his bed, and I was way more attractive than that stupid blond he was brooding over! I grabbed his arm and said, "Come on! Aren't you a man!? Do something! You know Asuka doesn't care about you, right!?"

"That's low, Ai!" He pulled away, saying, "Just leave me alone! Geez! This isn't even my bed!" Then, without shoes or socks on, he ran from the room.

"Judai! Wait!"

Obviously he didn't. I'd messed up again. I really did have a knack for that back then.

Judai's POV

Can you say totally crazy woman? Because I sure as hell could! In my drive to get out of there, I forgot about half my clothes—my shoes, socks, jacket…all left in Lisa's room. Oh, well. Somebody could get those back to me easily enough.

I ran as far away from there as possible, going faster than any regular human could, and I didn't stop until I was near the rocky cliffs on the other side of the beach.

As I caught my breath, Yubel appeared beside me, saying, "Well, that was as fun as always. Why don't we try teaching her a lesson already?"

Ah, yes, the Judai's-such-an-idiot-why-do-I-put-up-with-him annoyance was in her tone there. But wasn't the first rule of self-defense that you should try to get away from what was threatening you, not attack it?

"Because…that won't…make me any better… than her…" I breathed.

"It's called self-defense, stupid. She's right. You are too stubborn."

See, I knew she'd bring up self-defense. That's why I used that little example up there.

"I can get away from her without doing that. Why waste energy?" was the argument I gave Yubel. After all, anything else would probably not work on her, either. She'd have attacked Ai herself a long time ago—if I hadn't always held her back.

Before Yubel could retort, I heard Asuka giggling nearby. "I know," she said to someone. "And you weren't too bad yourself, either. Sorry I was so rough with you, but you know Ai."

"Huh?"

Yeah, I was curious. I mean, can you blame me? Who was she talking to, and why was Ai part of the conversation? So I headed for the rock formations nearby, behind which her voice had come from.

Seriously, that had to be one of the biggest mistakes I'd ever made in my entire life, and that was saying something.

One peek around those rocks showed me who she was talking to. It was that punk Kyle. Don't ask me why I hated him so much—I just did. And the more I heard about him, the more I hated him. It wasn't a normal thing for me, but that's how it was. Right then, I wanted to use my powers on him: he and Asuka were standing there, holding each other's arms.

"I know, my love," he said, making me hate him even more. "She's crazy. Do you know what she said to me right after you left? She told me a bunch of things about Judai she shouldn't have even known. Can you believe that?"

Oh, great! So Ai was sharing secrets with that stupid Kyle now!? It wasn't any of his business!

"Well, don't worry," Asuka said. "Soon we'll find him a girlfriend, and this whole thing will be over."

Yeah, a girlfriend.

"Too true. But I couldn't help but notice that your acting back there seemed far more passionate than it should have been. Is there something you're not telling me?"

What? What acting? Was it about me again? I wasn't the only one who thought her acting seemed all too real when it came to me, then?

My answer came all too soon as Asuka pulled away from Kyle, turning and rubbing an arm. She looked…upset, even hurt. Oh, no, please, don't tell me…

Kyle moved closer to her, tipping her chin back over her shoulder slightly so that he could look her in the eye. He was just so damned concerned about her. "Come on, love. Tell the truth. What do you really think of Judai? You claim to be friends, but what I saw with Ai clearly says differently, now, doesn't it?"

Shit. No, Asuka, don't answer that. I already suspected it—I didn't need you confirming it.

She started, her eyes full of uncertainty and hurt. "I…I-I…" She sighed, looking down, then said, "Yeah. I guess you're right."

No, shit, no!

She looked back up at him, the hurt and uncertainty still there. "I-I mean, he did leave without saying goodbye." Turning away, her expression lost the uncertainty and picked up a look of betrayal. "Leaving me wondering…" She turned back to Kyle, the betrayal gone as quickly as it had appeared. "A-and he never really knew how I felt about him, from what I could tell. So I guess you're right. Deep down, I—"

Don't finish that, Asuka! I was screaming in my head, knowing that I didn't want to hear this, that I should just run before she finished that thought. She turned away from Kyle once again, her arms crossed and her eyes closed. But the pain was still showing—you couldn't hide that from a guy who'd spent half of his last year in school thinking his friends hated him. It looked like she didn't want to face it.

Just like I didn't want to face the possibility, the one that was threatening to become fact right in front of me. Why the hell was I eavesdropping, anyway!?

Kyle moved closer, reaching out for her again. His tone and expression were gentle but serious as he said, "Come on, Asuka. Let it go. You won't feel any better until you do." He took hold of her, turning her back toward him.

No, damn it! Don't encourage her! I didn't want to hear it! Why the fuck was I still standing here!?

She looked at him uncertainly, the hurt and betrayal clear in her eyes, which were filling with tears she tried to fight. "I guess I…" She sighed. Then, looking at him with a betrayed glare on her face, she said the words I wish I'd never heard: "I hate him. I hate him, okay? I mean, he led me on like that. Made me think he was something special, then turned out to be a complete jerk. I mean, who else would leave their friends without saying goodbye?"

My blood ran cold. There it was. The truth. The woman I loved hated me, just as I'd feared. But…her reason…was because I left without saying goodbye? But she'd accused me of betraying her long before that, and she never bothered taking it back! She truly believed what she had said that day, so why was I suddenly a bad guy for not saying goodbye to a girl I had "betrayed?" Why was that what she hated me for!?

Yubel turned a concerned look on me, obviously. I mean, those words basically confirmed what I'd thought for so long. "Judai?"

Kyle pulled Asuka into his arms as she started to cry. "It's okay. It's okay," he soothed, stroking her hair.

Hate… I should have felt that for Kyle, especially there. But the only one I hated right then was myself. I'd messed up, and I'd lost my only chance because of it. If I'd been "leading her on," then she must have liked me at one point. But, now…

"Judai?" Yubel slowly reached for my shoulder.

No more. I couldn't stand there anymore and watch this. I did what I should have done in the first place: I turned and ran away from there as fast as I could.

Even though running away was what had caused her to feel that way about me in the first place.

Kyle's POV

The girl had finally done it. She had finally let her true feelings out, finally admitted them to herself. Well, that had only taken a year, assuming those feelings hadn't been festering ever since the day Judai had left. Poor girl. But, at long last, she could begin the long and difficult road to healing.

Starting with what I was going to tell her as soon as she calmed down.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Asuka to calm herself. She wasn't one to show any sort of weakness for long, if at all. The moment she began to regain control of herself, I pushed her back and looked at her. I wanted to make sure she was in a reasonable mood for what I was going to say.

"Feeling better now?" I asked.

"Y-yeah. I think so," she said. She sniffled a bit, rubbing her eyes.

Yes, she had indeed calmed down. It would be fine to tell her what Princess Ai had said about Judai. After all, while I couldn't speak for Judai, this entire situation could very well have more to it if even a word of what she had spoken were true. For all I knew, Judai harbored a secret hatred for Asuka as well.

I looked at her seriously, trying very hard to convey the message that I was not joking around at all, and decided to address the matter calmly and carefully. "Good. Because I wanted to tell you, there seems to be more to his story than you would believe."

Not an exaggeration at all. I'd been told that she could be quite unreasonable when someone tried to discuss how Judai felt about anything that had happened in their final year of schooling.

Asuka looked up at me with an expression of surprise and uncertain confusion. "W-what?"

She appeared curious, so I chose to press on. I began telling her all that Princess Ai and I had discussed, hoping that she would believe me. I had never lied to her before, after all; but, when it came to Judai Yuki, everyone was a liar in her eyes.

I just had to hope and pray that wouldn't be the case this time.

Judai's POV

I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going as I ran from that scene. I was just trying to get as far away as I could, trying to outrun the memory, even though I knew it was impossible. You can't run away from your thoughts, no matter how badly you want to.

In the end, I wound up crashing into the stupid barrier Ai had put up, knocking me to the ground. The crash also knocked something else out of me, and I didn't even bother getting up as the tears that had been threatening since I'd left that dumb place started to fall. I kept my head lowered to hide them—I hated crying in front of anyone since I'd fused with Yubel. It seemed like an unnecessary display of weakness these days, especially because of something like that.

Yubel knelt down beside me, putting a hand on my back as she tried to comfort me. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault, isn't it?"

For the first time ever, she was willing to accept some blame for something that had happened to me. But it wasn't entirely her fault. I mean, sure, I'd thought Asuka hated me already because of something that Yubel had caused, which had made me do something stupid that did make her hate me, but it was my decision to leave without saying anything, and it could all be traced back to that day I sent Yubel into space.

So Asuka hating me…was all my fault.

I didn't say a word. Why try talking through stupid tears?

Yubel's POV

Okay, this was worrisome. That stupid girl had really done it this time! First she didn't do what was expected of her that damn night of the Pair Duel Tournament (even if I didn't approve), then she had the nerve to shove her overly perfect boyfriend in Judai's face, then she acted like she was on Ai's side to his face, and now she was claiming it was all his fault that she hadn't said a word or even hinted that she wanted him to stay and was blaming him for leaving her behind! The little bitch! Granted, he should have at least said goodbye to those friends of his, but still, that thing was taking it way too far.

Judai needed a friend, any friend, that could show him it was just the bitch who hated him. And he needed one now. He'd suspected they all did—or, at least, most of them—for too long.

I needed to stay and look after Judai, so I decided to send someone else to look for one of the "vacationing" fools this side of the barrier. Hopefully there was someone!

"Kuriboh!" I called.

Winged Kuriboh appeared with a kuri. I pointed at the beach urgently. Really, the only way this could be worse would be if Ai came over and took advantage of the situation!

"Comb the beach for any one of his friends! See if you can't get one to come here! Hurry!"

Since there wasn't anyone around at the time, I decided that it would be fine to take on a more solid form, which was only possible due to mine and Judai's powers. I scooped Judai up in my arms and held him close, trying to soothe. To any who couldn't see spirits, I'd still be invisible, but Judai could feel my touch, at least.

Winged Kuriboh nodded and flew off in search of help.

I kept trying to soothe Judai, holding him close and rubbing his back gently. Don't give me that! I could be gentle when I wanted to!

"It's okay," I said. "It's okay… I know. It hurts, don't it? I've been there before, believe me. But it'll get better in time. Trust me."

He just kept crying. Clearly my words weren't going to get through to him. Honestly, that man could be worse than Sho sometimes.

"Would it help if I said that you'll always have me, no matter what happens? And not just because we're fused together?"

No answer. Was he just so out of it that he'd gone into his own little world? That woman was getting a serious dose of Nightmare Pain for this, trust me.

Winged Kuriboh returned then, sweating. There was a lame look on the hairball's face. Well, that was reassuring, wasn't it? There wasn't anyone on the beach right now, was there? I figured I might as well ask, just in case. After all, that look could mean that Manjoume was the only one around. He'd been acting like a total dweeb ever since he got here, after all. I mean, come on, trying to pass his stalker on to another man? What kind of a loser does the sorts of things he'd been doing just to be stalker-free? Where was his pride? Or, for that matter, his dignity. As far as I was concerned, he wasn't a man; he was a mouse.

"Well?" I asked. "You find anyone?"

"Yeah, Natsuko," the Kuriboh answered. "Getting married to a near stranger…"

…What the fuck? That man was almost more annoying than Manjoume had been lately! I mean, come on! Flirting with every girl in sight? Harassing a waitress into getting down and dirty with him? And, now, he was getting married! What the hell was that clown's deal? Worse than that, the idiot couldn't see duel spirits, so he wouldn't be any help to us.

I looked at the Kuriboh lamely, putting Judai down. I was hoping that the answer to my next question would be a no. However, knowing this circus brigade Judai called his friends, it probably was. "He the only one?"

Winged Kuriboh nodded lamely.

Well, chalk another one up for this band of rejects! They were never around when you needed them! Now I'd have to try something that Judai never let me do. This was never going to work.

Annoyed now, I stood up, eying my partner. "…Great."

I started pushing into Judai, trying to take over his body so I could call someone. Taking him over was an impossibility, even if we did share the same body! Every time I tried this, he fought me tooth and nail, regardless of the reason, and he always won in the end. He had even started tossing my cards from his deck to his graveyard in recent years to get me to stop. That might not sound like much, but it was a massive weakness for duel spirits, especially if they happened to belong to a man who could bring Duel Monsters cards to life. Either way, needless to say, I'd quit trying. But this time was urgent. Like it or not, Judai, I was coming through!

…He didn't even put up a fight. As soon as I set about taking control, I'd done it. This was worse than I'd thought. Had he even noticed I was taking control? Did he know now? Would he ever? Yeah, he needed a solid, human friend to snap him out of this immediately.

I knew full well who the best person was to call, so I pulled Judai's phone out and dialed his number. Nobody besides that guy could get through to Judai when he was like this. Nobody.

Johan's POV

I was on my way through town when my phone went off. Great. There was only one person that could be right now, and a call from him was urgent. What had Ai done now?

I stopped and checked. Sure enough, Judai was the one calling. Somebody had to do something about Ai already. She was way too persistent.

I answered the phone, saying, "Hello? What's up, pal?"

"Andersen," came a distorted version of Judai's voice from the other end of the line. "It's Yubel. Get over here ASAP. Judai needs you now."

My eyes widened. How on Earth was Yubel doing that!? Why was she doing that!? What the hell had that Ai done!?

"What!?" I cried. I couldn't think of anything else to say right then.

Yubel didn't answer—she just hung up the phone, leaving everything up to my imagination.

I stared at my phone for a second, not liking the sound of that at all. Now I really needed to find Judai! If Yubel was making the call and Judai was that bad off, Ai must have really screwed up this time! I had to hurry and find him fast!

"…Great." I ran off for the beach, using Ruby as a Judai detector.

Yubel's POV

Once the call was made, I put the phone away and returned control to Judai. He collapsed again, and I picked him back up, going back to soothing him as I held him close and rubbed his back. That poor man wasn't noticing anything around him. That bitch was so dead.

Judai's POV

Yubel had taken over my body. Of that, I was aware. I didn't care, though—I didn't feel like fighting her over it right then. I didn't feel like doing much of anything. I mean, I'd just found out that my first love hated me! One of my closest friends, holding a secret hatred for me for the last six years! Why the hell would I want to do anything!?

"It's okay, Judai," Yubel said. "She's clearly a worthless friend, anyway. You don't need friends like her. You're better than she is."

"Sh-she wasn't u-until y-y-you messed things up!" I said through tears that I was trying in vain to stop. Seriously, I felt like a total wimp.

Yubel pulled back, looking a bit guilty. "…I know. And I'm sorry, okay?" she said gently, apologetically.

I didn't answer her. I just kept crying, cursing my stupid emotions. I wasn't this emotional since I'd fused with Yubel, so why the hell did that have to change now!?

"Judai…"

She sounded hurt, but it was true. She had caused the events that led me to think they hated me, so it was because of her that I'd left without a word. Why say goodbye to people who don't even like you?

"S-sorry doesn't fix things…"

She just looked at me sadly. "Maybe so, but was it all me? I mean, you heard her. You made some pretty bad mistakes back there, too, you know."

There was a loud thud as Winged Kuriboh fell from the sky, X's in his eyes and his tongue sticking out of his mouth. But that was the least of my concerns right then.

"I-I know!" I cried, feeling even worse. After all, it was partly my fault. Maybe entirely my fault, if you considered the fact that I'd been the reason Yubel had done those things in the first place.

Yubel put me down in a sitting position, looking at me with an expression mixed with hurt and guilt. "Judai."

I didn't answer. I didn't feel like talking right then. I just wanted to be left alone.

Asuka's POV

I gasped, my hands flying to my face in horror as Kyle finished his story. Ai somehow knew everything that had gone down in Dark World, even Judai's side of it!? How the hell could she know that!? She wasn't there at all!

"So that's what Ai's gathered by snooping around too much!?"

While I was standing there in shock, Kyle crossed his arms, ever the calm one. But, really, Ai couldn't know that! It was impossible!

"Pretty much," Kyle said. "Not sure if that's what was really going through the boy's head back then, but it's worth asking about, all things considered."

I turned away. It…made sense. Ai's crazy story made perfect sense. None of us could remember exactly what had gone down in that dimension. The only thing we could all agree on was that we had been sacrificed because of Judai's carelessness. We'd made it clear that we blamed him for the sacrifices, too. Thinking back, he had only started avoiding us after all of that had happened! Was it possible that there was a connection? Maybe…because he thought…

"So it's my fault, then," I said. Then I growled. "Damn! Why didn't I think of that sooner? I'm such a—"

I was on the verge of tears for the second time in one day, but this time guilt was the cause. What kind of a friend was I!? I had known something was wrong, but I never once suspected that, even though it was the obvious cause! All of us had come out of that event with scars, so why not Judai, too!? What, did I think he was invulnerable to such things? He's human, just like the rest of us, and just as prone to breaking down as anyone! Why would I have ever thought that saying such things wouldn't cause him pain!? The way he had acted afterwards had hurt me, hadn't it!?

Kyle put his hands firmly on my shoulders, using a gentle tone when he said, "It's not your fault. You didn't know. From what you could gather, things like that always rolled right off his back in those days. And, since he wouldn't tell you, you had no possible way of knowing that it didn't. So it's as much his fault as it is yours, right?"

"R-right…"

Right…and wrong. I couldn't remember exactly what we had said, but I knew we'd made it clear that we felt betrayed. No one would be okay after hearing the words we said, not even a carefree guy like Judai, and we were idiots for thinking he would be fine! So it was more our faults than his. After all, who wants to talk to people they think hate them? That's just not natural, and even Judai didn't violate that law of human nature!

Ever the calm and reasonable one, Kyle kept being gentle, showing me just how much he cared for my well-being and the well-being of my friends. Why, he didn't even know Judai, yet he was trusting him!

"Perhaps it's time you talked to him about it," Kyle said. "There seems to be a major misunderstanding here, and, if not dealt with in a mature and proper manner quickly, it could result in the termination of your friendship. Now, if you don't want that to occur, I'd suggest going and finding him, stat."

"You're right. Thanks, Kyle. I'll do that," I said. Then I kissed him on the lips quickly before pulling away and heading off.

That man was truly amazing. He'd listened to my side of the story, forced me to admit the truth to myself (even if the "truth" was that I hated Judai for unfair reasons based on stupid stuff I wanted to forget about for good after this), and then gave me a reason why my judgment was unfair. While creepy, given who knew it, it could very well be true. I still couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner! To top it all off, Kyle had then given me a suggestion about what to do to fix it. Now, if Judai would just open up to me the same way I'd opened up to Kyle, we could end this misunderstanding once and for all.

"Good luck, my love!" Kyle called after me. "I know you can do it!"

Feeling much better (albeit stupider), I headed back toward the resort to talk to Judai. Hopefully he was still there, resting.