Shadgirl2: So...Johan's plan's about to be revealed.
Midna: Reader discretion is advised. This story's rated M for a reason!
Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.
Judai's POV
You know, there's nothing like watching one of your friends nearly kill somebody to get your mind off your problems. Watching Fubuki try to build a house was like watching somebody fall down the stairs over and over—you want to get involved and help, but there really isn't anything you can do because of how unpredictable it is. His most recent problem involved whacking a guy in the side of the head with a big old hunk of wood, and all his mistakes were slowing things down considerably. I mean, that kind of happens when people have to stop working all the time to either get medical treatment or give medical treatment. Where's a doctor when you need one?
Everybody was avoiding Fubuki if they could help it, especially Kenzan. I figured the reason was he didn't really want anymore broken bones, seeing as he'd already replaced one of his bones with a dinosaur bone before we even met.
Kyle the perfect was there, too, wearing protective gear and offering it to everybody else. I mean, more than just a hard hat, although that was definitely one thing he was handing out like candy. He also had shoulder pads, body armor, elbow and knee pads, and steel-toed boots. Needless to say, most of the gang had gladly taken all of this stuff, but it just didn't seem to be enough to deal with Fubuki.
So, yeah, you can see why watching him would get a guy's mind off his own problems. I think Ai could have been right there sitting in my lap, and I'd still have been more worried about the others. Also, I've got no comment on Asuka's stupid boyfriend bringing freaking armor for everybody! Guy couldn't possibly be human!
While I was busy watching the violent show, somebody came walking up to me and said, "Hey! What's up?"
I turned and saw Rei standing there, smiling warmly at me. The way she was acting, it was like nothing had happened earlier that morning.
"Oh," I said, none too enthusiastic after the morning's events. "Hey, Rei."
I hoped she'd decided to pretend nothing had happened because I wasn't really in the mood for another interrogation. Seriously, Asuka was with the armor-distributing, suit-wearing, house-building, miracle-working Kyle, so I didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.
Rei came over and sat down beside me. "Hey. Listen," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry about earlier. It's not your fault you got led on like that. But don't worry. I talked to Asuka about it, and she's promising not to try that again, okay?"
...Wow. Was one of my friends actually apologizing to me? That hadn't happened since I'd escaped from that crazy Anacis during first year. At least, not without somebody talking to the friend in question first and helping them see what was bothering me. Now to dwell on the sad fact that a girl I hardly really knew was the one doing it. Well, I mean, it would have been that time if I wasn't more concerned about the fact that she'd, apparently, told off Asuka.
But this wasn't the time to be bothered by that. After all, Rei was making more of an effort than some people would, especially after what she thought was going on.
"Yeah, okay," I answered her.
She looked at me and, sounding a bit concerned, asked, "So you still interested in hanging out? 'Cause, to answer your question, yes. I'm single. And would love to take you up on that offer, if you are."
Okay, Rei was definitely acting weird. So calm, so...mature. It was hard to believe that this was the same girl who slipped into the Kaiser's room and hugged his deck.
I shrugged, figuring maybe she'd grown up, and said, "It wasn't an offer. You asked if there was anything you can do to help. Well, apparently, I need a girlfriend for that stupid barrier to go down. So, unless you're a single girl, you can't help."
About that moment, the three new first aid kits arrived, and everybody looked relieved. ...I should probably have started writing eulogies for my friends at that point. By then it should have been obvious somebody could die.
Rei watched the scene with me. After the guy who'd brought the first aid kits opened one, Kenzan immediately grabbed some gauze and headed over to a worker who was kneeling on the ground, holding his knee. Yeah, Fubuki had whacked a ladder the guy had been on, knocking him off. Fortunately his knee was the worst of the damage from that accident.
Even though Rei hadn't been here for the start of that, she didn't seem phased by any of what was going on here. Actually, she was acting like it was totally normal. Man, my friends had issues, if that was the case... "Oh. Okay," she said finally, answering me. "Yeah, Jim filled me in on that when he came and got me. Said we should probably start slow, though, if we wanted it to last." She looked at me, way too calm, and asked, "So? What say we have ourselves a little picnic so we can hang out? We can catch up with each other in the process and see if we wanna take the next step after that. What do you say?"
Oh, wow, was this really the same Rei I'd met in school? She was acting totally different! Not pushy at all, just...inviting. Gently. As if it would be totally acceptable for me to say no to her.
Still, in spite of the way she was acting, and even though I knew I needed to find somebody, I was hesitant. I mean, first of all, Rei was another stalker, even if she wasn't nearly as bad as Ai. Second, I was still (stupidly) holding onto the past and hoping Asuka would break up with Kyle or something. Finally, though, I said, "Okay."
Rei stood up, smiling warmly. "Great!" she said, sounding a bit more excited—still not nearly as excited as she would have been back in school, though. "Then wait here. I'll go get everything ready, okay!?"
And, with that, she ran off, leaving me to hope that hadn't been a mistake.
No sooner was she out of sight than two things happened: 1) Jim showed up. 2) Fubuki did it again.
Kyle was carrying an open bag of cement when Fubuki tripped him, spilling the cement mix inside all over them both. Fubuki, meanwhile, had been carrying a hammer, which went flying when he and Kyle made contact. Another guy got hit in the back by the hammer. Fortunately, this guy was wearing some of Kyle's padding, so it didn't really, hurt him. The worst part about that bit, though, was that the claw nearly stabbed the guy in the back. Again, fortunately it missed, though, so this left me free to enjoy the fact that perfect Kyle was in a heap on the ground, messing up his stupid suit with sand and cement.
'Course, I didn't get to enjoy it for long. Like I said, when that happened, Jim came over, too. And he seemed like he was concerned about me, so it didn't seem like a good idea to ignore him. "Hey, Judai, about earlier...I'm sorry," he said. "We shouldn't have been jumping to conclusions like that. I talked to Asuka, and she explained what was going on."
"Did she somehow explain it better than me?" I asked, a little irritated that he would believe the story after hearing it from Asuka but not me. I mean, seriously, nothing happened!
Jim sweat, looking uncomfortable. "I've...decided I don't care what you and her do anymore. It's not my business."
Wow. Why'd he have to word it that way?
Kyle and Fubuki were dusting themselves off, with several people running to make sure everyone was okay, while I was busy turning Jim's words over in my head.
Finally, I said, "Okay, that almost sounded dirty, even though all we were doing is sleeping."
I mean, it did!
Jim laughed and said, "And now you see why we jumped the gun!"
Well, he had me there! I grinned and answered, "Yeah, I guess I do! Sorry about that."
Everybody in Constructionville got back to work then, so I figured all three of the latest victims were okay. The cement may have been a waste, but at least I'd gotten to see Kyle covered in dirt. He and Kenzan had gotten most of the dust off, though, so they weren't nearly as entertaining now.
"Don't worry about it, mate."
Always forgiving, huh, Jim? I could probably have taken out his only good eye, and he'd still be willing to be friends with me.
"So what are you up to?"
"Watching the show and waiting on Rei," I answered. "We're having a picnic."
Jim raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh?"
"Yeah."
A loud bang echoed from the construction site, along with a yelp. When I looked, Fubuki was standing on a ladder, apparently trying to use a wrench as a hammer...probably because he'd just nearly stabbed a man with and actual hammer and had been banned from using them. I guess wrenches weren't a good idea, either, because Natsuko was swaying while standing next to Fubuki's ladder. Hard hat or not, Fubuki had clearly given him a good whack while trying to get the nails. The wrench he'd hit him with fell to the sand as I watched, and Fubuki had a sheepish look on his face. Kenzan and Kyle ran over to check the damages.
"Oops!" Fubuki said. "Sorry! Didn't see you down there! You alright, Natsu!?"
Natsuko didn't exactly look alright. He looked dizzy, actually, or like he was about to lose consciousness. And his words made that even clearer. "Oh, look at the little birdies..." he said before falling over backwards, unconscious. Yep, called it.
The guy with the first aid kits headed over, too, and Fubuki cringed as the three worried people crowded around Natsuko, checking the damage. "Sorry..."
He looked pretty guilty, which made sense. That was the worst one he'd done all day. Sure, others were getting hurt, but that one was definitely the biggest problem.
"Way to go, Fubuki!" I called. "You knocked him out cold!"
"He alright?" Jim asked, concerned. Couldn't blame him—that sounded bad.
"Hey! I said I was sorry!" Fubuki called to me as the other three took care of Natsuko.
"Don't worry about him!" said the first aid guy (I really should have learned these guys' names...). "Just a bump on the head! He'll be okay!" Turning a worried look to Fubuki, he added, "But, sir? Maybe you should stop helping. You're a bit of a klutz, you know?"
I'll say. Who thought it was a good idea to use a wrench as a hammer? That wasn't just klutzy, that was dumb!
Kenzan and Kyle hauled Natsuko out of the way so they could take care of him as Fubuki called in indignation, "Hey, it's not my fault he was there!"
"He's been doing that all day," I told Jim.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, and yesterday, too." Seeing as they said Natsuko would be fine, I decided to turn the conversation to something I thought was a little more important than how bad Fubuki was as a construction worker. "So where's Johan? He...just kinda vanished."
You know, it kind of sucks when your best friend has to go into hiding. But what makes it suck even more is when that same friend accuses you of sleeping with another man's girlfriend and then just disappears. It wasn't like I was hard to find if he wanted to say anything to me. I mean, I was stuck on the beach!
"He...has a plan," Jim answered.
I raised an eyebrow. Why did Jim hesitate there? What was Johan's plan? "A plan?" I asked, feeling a bit concerned. What kind of plan could Johan possibly have that would do any good for me or him in this situation?
Sho's POV
Well, at least I wasn't the only one having problems... While all that was going on, I was at the hospital, seeing a doctor about my condition. My brother came along to keep an eye on things, he said. We were sitting in the waiting room—my doctor had flown in during the night and made arrangements with this hospital so that he could actually treat me, if he needed. We were just waiting for them to finalize the arrangement.
I hadn't realized how serious my condition had gotten until my Nii-san told me that I'd gone completely wild on Ai for hurting Aniki. That part, at least, I wasn't sure I really cared about. I mean, she deserved it, as far as I was concerned, the devilish, wicked, so-called princess. But, whether she deserved it or not, the way it happened wasn't good, no matter how you looked at it! And here I thought those crazy rituals I hadn't wanted to do were a waste of time! If this kept up, though, I was thinking maybe I should go through with one of those wild, spiritual things people had been suggesting for years. I'd have to shop around, figure out which one would work. I mean, medicine didn't fix it, it just controlled it.
Regardless of how crazy people thought the cure was, now all I wanted to do was get some control over the situation again. After all, while I probably should have remembered to take my medicine the day before, the fact still remained that was one of my worst episodes to date! Did this thing just get worse with age!?
I felt guilty, not so much for attacking Ai, but for the way I had done it. I just sat there, staring at my feet while I waited for the doctor. My Nii-san and I had been talking about what happened, but I had to make absolutely sure it was really that big of a problem.
"You sure, Nii-san?" I asked. "Has it really gotten that bad?" I looked over at him. Under his usual calm expression, I saw something that made me think he was feeling sorry for me. Well, at least I know he cared.
"I'm afraid so, Sho," he answered. "If you don't believe me, we can go see Ai in her room after this."
I looked down again, feeling more guilty than before. I was afraid of that. No doubt about it. I needed to just stay in bed when the moon was full... That way, I couldn't hurt anyone else, even if that witch did deserve it...
"Aw, man. I can't believe I did that. I should've stayed in bed yesterday, I guess..."
See? It's right there. I should have stayed in bed.
Right about then, the answer to Aniki's question from the section before this one came walking up to us—at least, I'm guessing that's what that was, considering a cowboy walked over and stood in front of us. I mean, he even had a lasso! I was awed, wondering if he'd left his horse down by the entrance. That's how much of a cowboy this guy was. But, seeing as I didn't know Johan was a cowboy back then, I was wondering what one was doing here, of all places! There weren't any cows on this island! And, even better, why was this stranger giving me such a cheerful grin, as if we'd met before!? I didn't know any ranch hands!
The unnervingly friendly guy tipped his hat to me, smiling broadly. Somehow, his face reminded me of Aniki—you know, before all of that stuff with Yubel had happened.
Can I point out once again that I didn't know this was Johan back then? I didn't know until we all swapped stories later.
"Howdy, y'all!" the man said in a Southern drawl. "What's up? You folks wouldn't know where I could find a Princess Ai, now, would ya? I hear she's round here somewhere, and I've always wanted to meet her."
W-w-WHAT!? This nut case always wanted to meet Ai!? Of all people, why Ai!? Then again, she was a princess. There were bounds to be lots of people who'd love to meet her. But...had this guy come here to the Island of the Maiden just to meet Ai? How had he even known she was here? ...Unless...
Nii-san raised an eyebrow, and I thought from looking at him that he had to be thinking along the same lines as me. This guy was acting suspicious. "You want to meet Ai?" Nii-san asked, his suspicion showing in his tone. "Are you saying you came all this way just so you could meet Ai? Are you nuts? Why would anyone want to do that?"
That was a good question. I mean, Ai was a nasty little bitch who didn't treat anyone right, and there would only be one kind of person crazy enough to travel so far to a hospital just to take a chance on meeting a celebrity who was bound to have guards around her. If that was what this guy was, then wouldn't that be ironic?
Sure enough, karma had found Ai! "I guess you could say that I'm a bit crazy," he answered, sounding a bit dreamy as he closed his eyes and smiled. He opened his eyes, sounding a bit like Rei used to when she was around Aniki. Was this how Ai looked at Aniki when I wasn't there? "Crazy 'bout Ai, that is!"
Oh, yeah, this guy was nuts. He put a hand over his heart. "Why, every time I see her on the tube, I just know she wants me bad."
She doesn't know you, weirdo.
He smiled wildly as he finished, "She's my soul mate, after all." And he winked. Then he saw a nurse walking by and seemed to forget we were even there. He turned his attention to her, looking more excited. "Ah!" Then, still looking like he should have been checking into the psych ward, he went after her, saying, "Nurse! Over here, I got a question for ya!"
Insane. That was the only word to describe that guy. He followed the nurse around the corner, asking her about Ai. For my part, I thought the guy's brain wasn't working right at all. Stalking Ai was about as stupid as stalking a serial killer.
Apparently Nii-san agreed with me because he sweat, looking off in the direction the man had gone, apparently disturbed. Gee, I wonder why? (Rolling my eyes now!)
"...Who was that?" Nii-san asked after a moment.
Well, couldn't hurt. The lunatic was gone. I answered honestly, I don't know. But he's clearly nuts. Who stalks a girl like Ai?"
Nii-san closed his eyes, still calm. "I don't know. But it's starting to look like Manjoume was right. This really is Stalker Island."
I thought about it. Sure, Manjoume had been exaggerating, but... Nii-san had a point. Ai was here stalking my poor Aniki and wasn't planning on—uh, sorry for the rant. Anyway... Haruko was stalking Manjoume-kun. Everybody thought calling Rei in to stalk Aniki was a great idea.
Which leads me to another rant—didn't Aniki have enough problems without everybody giving him more all the time!? Asuka, Ai, her stupid trap, and—Calm down, Sho, deep breaths. Back to the point.
...Uh, I was talking about Stalker Island, right? Right, Ai, Haruko, Rei, and now a stalker stalking a stalker! Say that five times fast. That made four stalkers, so maybe Manjoume-kun had been right.
I looked at my brother, curious now. "Really?" I asked.
If that was true, then this place might get a whole lot crazier before we were done. Stalkers did seem to be attracted to it right then. Hopefully, however, any new craziness wouldn't affect Aniki.
Johan's POV
Okay, before I start, I'll admit, I was definitely doing something wrong here. But, with how poorly everything else was going, what choice did I have? Judai was suffering, Rei and Asuka had just made things worse, everyone else seemed to be losing it, if Sho being at the hospital with the Kaiser was any indication, and then there was the fact that the barrier had shrunk again while I was gone, leaving Judai with nowhere to go but a random construction site that had come out of nowhere. With Judai hiding out there, though, I figured the gang had to be behind it somehow, though how and why I didn't really want to know. No offense, but I've always thought these guys were a little weird. I mean, dinosaur DNA? Live crocodile? Sho?
Either way, these problems weren't going anywhere. If anything, they were just getting worse, and somebody had to stop Ai already! So, like it or not, with the help of that cute red-head who wasn't Ai that I'd met in Utah, I'd come up with a plan that was bound to open some eyes. If Ai didn't get the message after this one, she never would.
I struck out with the nurse, which wasn't surprising since Ai was royalty and I didn't know her, so I went down to the gift shop and bought a bouquet of lilacs, her favorite flowers (and took the time to be grateful that they actually had them). Then I sneaked around the hospital for a bit, looking for her room. I decided to use my duel spirits to gather some info on Ai, sending them off to figure out whatever they could so that this would seem worse.
It was dark out by the time I found Ai's room. About the time I did, my Crystal Beasts returned to me, with just enough information to get Ai unnerved. They also warned me to be careful with this. No surprise there—what I was doing wasn't exactly legal.
Ai's room was, obviously, not something you could just walk into—there was a guard stationed at her door. However, during a change of the guards, I managed to slip passed them and greeted the princess in the most "loving" of manners—with a tip of my hat and a smile to match Stalker Rei looking at Judai during third year.
"Howdy, miss!" I said, sounding so excited that I know I would have been unnerved, especially considering I wasn't even supposed to be there. "Ya ready to meet your dream come true?"
Just as I'd been hoping, Ai didn't look comfortable with my advances, even in these early stages. She raised an eyebrow at me, a little uneasy. "Who are you?"
Ignoring this attitude (since it was exactly what I wanted), I moved toward her bed, smiling widely and still holding my bouquet of lilacs and said, "Why, I'm exactly who I said I am, sugar. I'm Jesse Woodsman. Your dream guy."
I know, real creative name I'd come up with, huh? But it worked, so who cared? I was more concerned with the important details of my plan, like getting all "romantic" on Ai right at that moment.
What I did was similar to what Ai had been doing the day she ambushed Judai. I stood right at the head of her bed, smiling warmly at her, took off my hat with my free hand and placed it over my heart. Then I closed my eyes as I started bragging about my knowledge of her, trying to sound as romantic as possible. "I know everything about ya, to prove it, too. Your birthday wish is for a new dress, ya love to eat fettuccine Alfredo, ya own 44 pairs of shoes, your room smells like lilac, and your blood type's AB positive." I opened my eyes then, grinning wildly at her and hoping this would have the desired effect. "Well? How'd I do?"
I don't think I should have to tell you that I was very pleased with the results when I saw Ai's reaction. Her eyes widened as she recoiled from me. And the best part was she had gone from unnerved to downright creeped out! Perfect! That was exactly what I was hoping for! "H-how did you know all of that!?" she stammered. "Who are you!?"
Well, with that in mind, it was time to move this thing along! Uh, brace yourselves, and, if there are any children reading this, they probably should skip the next couple of pages. What I did next wasn't supposed to be pretty. After all, there seemed to be only one way to teach Ai a lesson, and that was to act just like her, if you know what I mean.
So, as if I were completely ignoring her feelings (the same way she kept doing to Judai), I opened my arms wide, getting all excited again. "I just told ya, sugar! Now come here and give your future husband a hug!"
And, without anymore warning than that, I threw my bouquet aside and pounced on top of Ai, wrapping her tightly in my arms as I tried really hard to "enjoy" the warm embrace of an unwilling victim. Needless to say, this was the most uncomfortable thing I'd ever done! I mean, I was about to act like I was going to molest a tiny woman just to save a friend! (Don't get too upset about it, I wasn't going to do anything...)
Ai's reaction to such an aggressive action from a total stranger was typical of the average human being—she screamed in terror at me. Oh, the things I do for friendship... "Get off me!"
No doubt about it, Ai hated this as much as I did. She started trying to shove me off, but I was stronger than her. I held on tight, refusing to budge, and said, "Come on, darlin'! I know ya want me!"
...I uh... Just to be clear, is this book going to be used in any kind of, say, court case? No? Okay, good, because I was getting ready to start removing clothes. Don't look at me like that! What did you expect? I was dealing with a rape-happy stalker!
The editor must say that, for the sake of the narrative, my dispute with Johan about the morality of his actions (and my own) has been removed. We will, hence, continue with the story from Johan's viewpoint.
Well, anyway, you don't have to worry about that because I didn't get anywhere with that. As I reached for her shirt, I heard footsteps heading toward us, followed by a man's alarmed voice calling, "Princess Ai! What is it!?"
No doubt that was the royal guard. Since I wasn't really in the mood to get arrested right then, I quickly got off Ai, deciding to hightail it out of there. But first, I wanted to give Ai one more thing to worry about.
I got off her, looking disappointed, and said, "Well, guess this meetin's over." Then I waved at her as I made a beeline for her window. Yes, I know it was on the third floor. What's your point? "See ya around, sugar!"
Then, to avoid getting caught, I leaped out of the window. I heard the guards come in just after I'd cleared the window sill. That was a close call.
Ai's POV
After my crazy stalker "Jesse" had left, three of my guards came running in, as well as a couple of nurses. All of them seemed worried or concerned, and for good reason! I'd just screamed as if my life were in danger, and I knew I had to still look troubled! Who was that guy? And how did he know so much about me? ...And why were these questions I was asking myself sounding familiar? This hadn't happened to me before!
The guards rushed over, and one, Omar, asked, "You alright, my princess?"
"Th-there was this guy...! H-he...!"
I was still processing it. It was just too much.
One of the nurses put a hand to her pale face as her eyes widened. "A guy!?"
My guards glared as the nurses moved to comfort me. Omar asked, "Which way did he go!?"
I pointed out the window as the nurses started massaging my shoulders. Omar ran over to the window to look, poking his head out the window. Then he quickly turned to the others and pointed toward the door. "Quick! Get down there and see if you can't find him!"
The others nodded, and both of them ran out in search of Jesse, who I probably should have actually described to them in some way. I'm sure it would have saved many innocent men some trouble that day.
One nurse continued to tend to me while the other gathered up the lilacs on the floor. Lilacs. He'd actually brought my favorite flowers with him. Creep.
"It's okay, sweetheart," the nurse said. "Can I get you anything to calm you down?"
"N-no. I'm alright," I answered. I was a bit unnerved, but I wasn't hurt in any way.
The nurse patted my shoulder in a reassuring way. "It's okay. You're safe now, so don't worry. We'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious from now on, okay?"
"A-alright."
The nurse nodded. Meanwhile, the other nurse took the unwanted flowers from the room. "Now get some rest. You go home tomorrow, and then he shouldn't be able to find you again, okay?"
"Alright," I answered, not bothering to correct her—I would be leaving the hospital, but I certainly wasn't going home. Judai was still resisting me, after all.
...Wait, what did I just say?
The nurse nodded and left. This left me to work out these thoughts that were suddenly creeping up on me.
That had been familiar. No, I'd never been treated that way, but...the way I'd reacted was similar to how Judai reacted to me, although he usually seemed more annoyed than scared. I'd taken that to be shyness or just playing hard to get, but...was I acting like Jesse? The thought was horrifying! If that was how Judai saw me, it wasn't any wonder he wasn't interested.
But, no, I had never gotten that kind of reaction from Judai. He always seemed irritated, like I was driving him crazy, not scaring him in any way. There was a difference.
And that's how I talked myself into thinking that what I was doing was okay, different from Jesse. Having put myself at ease, I went to sleep.
Johan's POV
Oh, you're back? I thought you were disgusted by me. Why aren't you getting everyone's whole story all at once and then deciding how to put it together, anyway? Oh, never mind. Why am I asking?
While all of that was going on in Ai's room, I was hanging from the window directly above Ai's so that I could hear exactly how much damage I'd caused. Don't ask me how I'd managed to do that, I've got my ways. Fortunately for me, the guards probably wouldn't think to look up for me—they'd assumed I'd hit the ground and run for it.
Either way, when I figured the coast was a little clearer, I slipped down to Ai's window and took a look at my work. What I saw was pleasing and at the same time damning. Ai looked scared and unnerved, the same as she was making Judai feel. From the look on her face before she lay down, she thought I was insane or dangerous—maybe both. Just what I was looking for.
I grinned mischievously, glad my evil plan was working. Heh. Looks like it's working. Brace yourself, Ai. Cause now, it's your turn to get stalked.
Having accomplished my goal for the night, I waited until the guards had cleared a path so that I could sneak down safely, then I made my way into town and away from the hospital, taking so many turns that there was no way anybody could have been following me and not lost me. I didn't figure anyone had seen me, but I wanted to be safe instead of sorry.
Now that I was home free, I slipped to the villa, debating staying there. Of course, realizing I was bound to get a lot of crap from certain people—namely, everyone in there—I decided against it and went to find a cave instead. There was one near the villa, so, even though Judai had clearly failed to find anything of the sort, at least I managed.
Before you go getting angry at me again, though, keep in mind that these were desperate times. I didn't have any choice left but to fight fire with fire. And, as the saying goes, when you do that, someone's bound to get burned.