---------- Chapter 3: Horns of Darkness

The previous night's events had left Judai exhausted the next morning. He could barely get up in time for class. Fortunately for him, he was able to get plenty of extra sleep during class. By the time class was over, he was refreshed and ready to go for the rest of the day. Judai couldn't concentrate all throughout the morning because all he could think about was Asuka and tonight. He could hardly wait for 6:00, which made the day seem even longer. He had just finished lunch and was hanging out in front of the academy with Shou.

"Judai, you haven't been yourself lately. You seem so distracted. What is bothering you?" asked Shou.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," replied Judai.

"I know you well enough to know it isn't nothing. Come on Judai, tell me. Please?" wined Shou.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But you need to keep it a secret and not blabber it to everyone around school, got it?" said Judai.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just tell me already!" answered Shou.

Judai clears his throat, and in a low, barely audible voice, he said, "I'm… well… ehem."

"Come on, spit it out already!" said Shou, clearly eager to know what was happening.

"I've got a date with Asuka tonight," he finished in a rush.

"What? You're not serious are you?" questioned Shou. Then, after seeing Judai's expression he exclaimed, "That is great Judai! I've got to go and tell Misawa about this. He'll be so amused and surprised, although he did know Asuka had a crush on you." With that Shou ran off back to the academy to find Misawa.

"Wait, come back Shou!" yelled Judai after him. "You said you wouldn't tell anyone! Whatever, there's no stopping you now…" Judai then began to head back to the academy since his only company ditched him.

Meanwhile, Asuka, Momoe, and Junka were heading towards the Obelisk Blue dorms when Junka asked, "Hey Asuka, I was just wondering, what happened yesterday? I heard a lot of rumors about you being kidnapped or something and I never got around to asking you in person."

Asuka began to recount the events of the previous night without pause until she reached the end of her story, right after Werechi was defeated. Then she blushed and quickly added, "And then Judai asked me out."

As soon as Asuka said that, Momoe and Junka looked at her in pure amusement.

"I knew it! I just knew you had a crush on Judai! I knew since the day you first dueled him," said Junka.

"Wait a minute, I didn't even tell you my answer! All I said was that he asked me out," replied Asuka.

"You don't need to tell us, we know your answer already, so don't even try to lie and say that your answer was no," countered Momoe, giggling as she spoke.

"Fine, I did say yes. But don't start telling other people about this okay Momoe? You too Junka," said Asuka. However, before she even finished her sentence Momoe and Junka had already run in two different directions with looks of glee on their faces.

------------Shortly under an hour later----------

Judai and Asuka met up at the entrance to the dueling arena.

"Oh, hey Asuka," said Judai, slightly blushing. "Are you going in to watch the duel between Manjoume and some other student? I think it is almost over though."

"Yes, I am. Momoe, I'm sure, is already here because of her obsession with Manjoume. And here come Shou and Misawa," replied Asuka.

Shou and Misawa walk up to them and usher them into the arena.

"Hurry up or you'll miss the whole duel! It is almost over. Oh and by the way, good luck on your guys' date tonight," said Misawa. He and the rest of them sat down in empty seats next to Momoe and Junka and watched the remainder of the duel. Manjoume had XYZ Dragon Cannon on the field and his opponent had 7 Colored Fish and one face-down card. Manjoume's LPs are at 1500 and his opponent had 1800.

Manjoume: "My turn now! Draws a card Now I summon V Tank in attack mode. I activate the card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card. Now, go XYZ Dragon Cannon (2400), attack 7-colored Fish (1800)! The opponent's LPs drop to 1200 And finally, go V Tank! Attack his LPs directly! The opponent's LPs drop to 0"

Manjoume then walks of the Dueling area and goes to the large group of friends that just came down to the ground.

"Hello Asuka. I hear you have a date with Judai tonight," said Manjoume, rather sourly.

Asuka blushed and stared at Momoe and Junka, annoyed that they told Manjoume. Then another group of students that Asuka vaguely knew walked by and made more comments about her date.

"Momoe and Junka, how many people did you two tell?" demanded Asuka, furious that they revealed such private information.

"We only told one person, honestly! I guess that one person just started spreading the news… sorry Asuka," said Momoe, cowering behind Junka.

"And how did you know about it Manjoume?" asked Judai.

"I overheard some guys in Slipher Red talking about it. One of them said Ryo told them," grumped Manjoume.

Suddenly Judai turned on Shou and asked sharply, "Shou, who did you tell?"

"I only told Misawa, Aniki," answered Shou.

"Well… ummm… I did tell a couple of people about that though, including Ryo," mumbled Misawa.

"Well that is just great. In just one hour after our date was revealed, every person in this academy seems to know about it!" exclaimed Asuka.

Then Fubuki came sprinting up to the group. Panting, he said "Asuka, what's this I hear about you kissing Judai?"

Suddenly, Asuka turned bright red and marched out of the arena. Judai decided it was probably best not to go after her, although he hoped she would still go out with him, despite the rumors that seemed to be going around.

After a long afternoon, it was finally time for Judai's date. He started walking to the Obelisk Blue dorm when he realized he was still wearing his uniform. It was too late to turn back now because he was only a minute or two away from the Obelisk Blue dorms. If he went back to change he'd be late by at least twenty minutes, so he trudged on, hoping Asuka would wear her uniform too. Soon, he caught his first glimpse of Asuka standing in front of her dorm, and to his surprise and contentment, she was also wearing her Obelisk uniform.

"Judai! Over here!" yelled Asuka as she began running towards him.

"Hey Asuka. So shall we go?" he asked. And with a nod from Asuka, they began walking into the forest, arm in arm, towards a cliff that overlooked the ocean and the island's port.

Then, suddenly a pair of horns came jetting out of a bush nearby, stopping inches from Judai's forehead. And just beside the horns was a pair of gleaming, red eyes that stared straight into Judai's. He wasn't sure if it was this creature that spoke, but either way there was no mistaking what was said. "Duel me in a shadow game or that girl dies!"

Judai was about to refuse, thinking this was some joke being played on them when suddenly the horns shifted so that they were touching, and slightly prodding, Asuka's forehead.

Asuka went rigid and spoke softly, as if afraid that if she spoke too loudly the horns would pierce her, "Go for it Judai. You are a great duelist and you can beat whoever this is easily. I'll be fine."

Then it was silent and no one spoke. All that could be heard was the harsh breathing of the horned creature. Then, still anxious, Judai gave his answer.

"Alright, Game On!" yelled Judai, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth a purplish cloud erupted around Asuka, the creature, and Judai. A few meters in front of him, he could vaguely see the outline of a human, but he could see that the person was wearing a duel disc. Although the horns remained in front of Asuka, the pair of eyes was now where the person was. He also knew it had to be a male by the sound of the person's voice.

"Prepare to be crushed," he hissed.

Judai – 4000

Red-eyed person – 4000

Meanwhile, far off in a dark chamber a figure enveloped in its cloak was speaking to a small man who was wrapped in a purple robe and kneeling before it. "Go, my servant, and watch over Judai's duel. However, I do not want you to interfere; just make sure all goes according to plan. If it seems for some reason Judai has refused the duel or defeats his opponent, you are to report to me immediately. Understood?"

"Yes, my lord. And if the boy discovers our plan…?"

"I doubt that should be a problem. He is too dimwitted to see through it. However, I have learnt to never take chances, and so I send this with you," said the figure as a knife materialized on the floor just in front of the kneeling man. "If the need arises, use it. And I trust you understand how to use it because we need that boy's soul, not a lifeless body."

"Yes master, I understand completely," said the man. He then stood up and quickly raced out of the chamber to reach the site of Judai's duel."

"Judai, I hope you enjoyed this day because it was your soul's last free day. By the break of dawn your soul will be trapped in the catacombs of the shadows."

As the man ran to the duel scene, he began wondering if his motives were strong enough to justify what he was doing. He was involved with a group that stole souls and threatened other people's lives. Strangely, however, he felt no remorse over the actions that he committed. In fact, he enjoyed his work and wanted to see the shadows emerge from their darkness. Not even he, the leader's personal and most trusted servant, knew the true motives and desires of his master. But what he did know was that one of the side-effects would aide him immensely, for once the shadows were released, the shadows and humans would be united in one dimension and he could be with the soul he lost to the shadow realm. He had to free that soul, no matter what. He felt reenergized and grew confident in his cause once more, feeling foolish for ever doubting his motives. Right now, he had a job to do, and he intended to do it. He quickened his pace and, before the hour was up, he reached the site of the duel just in time to witness the cloud that was the shadow realm emerge from nothingness to envelope the girl and the duelists.

He could still see the duel within the shadows because of his shadow eyes. They were a gift from his master and allowed him to view the shadow realm from this world. These eyes, which also belonged to his master, were only a small portion of his master's true power and they only gave a slight glimpse as to the control his master wielded over the shadow realm and everything within it. He knew that once Judai's soul belonged to the shadows, his master's power would be limitless. The possibilities were endless and barely imaginable. He knew that Judai's soul would definitely belong to the shadows, sooner or later, because once his master sets its mind on something, his master is always successful. Judai's soul was as good as gone because there was no escaping the wrath of his master. No one could escape, including himself, despite the numerous and pitiful attempts he made.

--------------------------------------- End of chapter 3

The next chapter may take a while to be written (approx. 2-4 days) because I haven't really thought about it yet. The first three chapters were up quickly since I knew exactly what I wanted to write. Also, the weekend is over so it is back to school tomorrow . Right now, I'm still trying to think of a good theme for the red-eyed guy's deck.

Not much else to say about this chapter, since everything is self-explanatory and I have no notes to add that are not mentioned in previous chapters.

P.S. The whole beginning to this chapter was AsukaxJudai since last chapter ended with the date thing, but there won't be so much in the later chapters since the focus here is the plot, not the couple. They are unimportant and insignificant in comparison to the other parts and are only a side thing.

P.S. P.S. But I do still enjoy writing those scenes, or else I wouldn't write them in the first place. I am a loyal and determined AsukaxJudai fan and am also a loyal and determined critic of those obsessors who write fanfics with absolutely no duels and are solely about intimacy between Asuka and Judai and do not reflect Yu-Gi-Oh at all.

P.S. P.S P.S. Maybe I should scratch that part about "not much else to say" since I was able to come up with three P.S.'s and the end notes for this chapter are longer than any other's.