A/N: Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.

When Sho went to breakfast in the morning, he immediately started acting when he saw Judai sitting at the table.

"Morning, y'all!" he said in his fake accent. "How ya doin'?"

"Sho, cut that out," Judai said.

"I reckon I don't know what yer talkin' about, partner. I'm—"

"Acting like that to make me feel better, but you don't have to," Judai cut him off. "I'm fine. Okay?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Asuka asked, sweating. "Th-there's nothing like that going on! Honest!"

"Oh, yes, there is! And it's not just you guys. Yubel and Winged Kuriboh got in on it, too. Look, I'm okay. You don't have to pretend you're a cowboy, or Rei, or whatever the heck you were doing, Manjoume. I'm fine."

"Rei? Who's Rei?" Asuka asked.

Judai sweat. "Uh, forget I said that, 'kay?"

Asuka stared at him in confusion, wondering if this was another person they would meet in the future.

"So what the hell were they doing?" Jack asked. "When I saw them last night, they were writing up character bios. Was that really all your doing?"

Asuka, Sho, and Manjoume sweat, followed shortly after by Judai.

"Heh," he laughed. "Yeah, that was probably my fault... Funny thing is, I can't imagine Manjoume doing it, but I have no doubt that Sho would."

Manjoume humphed. "Blame Asuka. She made me do it."

Asuka sweat again.

Judai grinned. "Yeah, that makes sense, too." He rubbed the back of his head, saying, "Sorry you guys had to do that for me... But I'm fine now, I promise."

That one move, rubbing his head like that, hit the three hard.

"Judai! You're back!" Asuka said. I think...

"You idiot!" Manjoume snapped. "Stop doing that! You're making me feel!"

"Anikiii!" Sho cried, hugging him.

Judai laughed a bit.

The future kids were stunned—this was a drastic change. Most of them had never seen Judai like this before.

"Wow...," Aki said.

Crow looked at Yusei. "Yusei? Is that your doing?"

All but Judai looked at him, stunned.

He shrugged. "Maybe. Ask him."

Everyone turned back to Judai in disbelief. Sho let go and looked at him.

Judai glanced off to the side, saying, "I...can't keep letting what happened in the past get me down all the time. I mean, I should be grateful for the time I've had with the people I care about, right?"

All but Yusei stared at him, stunned.

Yusei smiled. "Glad to hear it."

Judai smiled back at him.

"...Okay, then," Asuka said. "I still don't get where all of this came from, but I'll go with it..."

"Yusei. You've got some explaining to do, you know?" Aki said, glaring at him slightly.

"I know," he said. "Can we take this someplace more private, though?"

He got up and walked her off to talk.

Yubel smiled. "So, I take it what he said last night got through to you?" she asked.

Judai thought about it before answering, I don't know if it was him or you guys, honestly.

"W-what!?"

You guys were so thrilled to have me joking around with you... I guess I just needed someone to snap me out of it.

Yubel thought about this for a moment before asking, "So it had nothing to do with Yusei telling you your luck was changing?"

Like I said, I don't know who it was... I mean, I was just glad you weren't acting like my mother anymore. And then you were happy about how I was acting, and...

"Judai. Is this just an act?" she asked, concerned.

I...I don't know, he admitted. I mean, I am feeling better right now...though I can't say how long that'll last...

Yubel looked at him sadly. "Judai..."

I'm fine, Yubel. Really.

"If you say so..."

"So, does this mean that you're okay being with us now?" Asuka asked. "Because yesterday...well..."

Judai nodded, smiling. "Yeah."

Sho teared up, but he wasn't entirely sure why. "Anikiii!" he cried, hugging his friend again.

Manjoume humphed. "Glad to hear it. I hate acting like an idiot."

"Yeah, that definitely didn't suit you at all, Manjoume. You'd be better acting as a robot!" Judai teased, grinning broadly.

"Hey! Who you calling a robot!? I'm not that bad!"

Judai just laughed.

"I see what Yusei meant when he said the guy and Rua were almost twins," Crow said.

Eyes closed and arms crossed, Jack nodded.

The smell of food filled the air, albeit space-food. Judai's stomach growled.

"Great," Jack said. "Everyone stand back!"

Asuka, Sho, and Manjoume looked at him and asked, "Huh? Why?"

"Because it's breakfast time," Jack answered.

"Huh?" the three asked.

Their questions were answered soon enough. When Judai saw food, he scarfed it down. Apparently it didn't matter that it was space-food. Jack knew Judai would be scarfing it down, regardless of what the food was like.

Asuka stared for a minute before asking, "Why does that look so familiar...?"

"I suddenly have a craving for fried shrimp...," Sho said.

"I feel out of place!" Manjoume freaked. "Really out of place! Why on earth am I thinking of the Red cafeteria at Duel Academy Island!? I've never even been to Duel Academy Island! Let alone in that dorm!"

"Huh? Why not?" Sho asked.

"Calm down," Asuka said, trying to soothe Manjoume. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation."

"Yeah! I'm losing my mind!"

Judai looked at them and asked, "Somebody say 'fried shrimp?'"

Everyone stared. That stopped Manjoume dead in his tracks.

"Come on, pal!" the spirit teased from above, grinning. "Get your head out of the clouds already!"

Man, I really missed the goofy, carefree, shrimp-loving Judai, the spirit thought, enjoying every minute of this behavior.

"So, let me get this straight," Aki said as Yusei finished up. "You think all your bad luck was going on just so you'd have something in common with Judai?"

"Yeah," he answered as they walked along. "And, since we just took an undisturbed 10-minute walk together, I'm pretty sure talking to him ended it."

"I see. And what if you're wrong? What if, in the next five minutes, our spaceship gets pulled off-course by a nearby black hole or something?" she asked, glaring at him.

"I don't think we have to worry about that, either, Aki," Yusei answered. "Ever since talking to Judai yesterday, I've been feeling a bit better. It's like all the weight of the world's just been lifted off my shoulders. And I believe that means that, by helping him, I proved to him that I understand him. That I know what he's going through and that I'm here for him. I'm sure that's what our problem's been about. Judai needed a friend to relate to, so I was chosen for that."

"Okay, Yusei. We'll try one more time," Aki conceded. "But one more date like that, and it's over, understand?"

Yusei nodded and held out a hand. Aki stared at it for a minute before smiling and taking it.

"Good," Yusei said. "Now let's get back in there before all the food's gone." He grinned, thinking of why that might be a problem.

Aki smiled, and they headed back to the cafeteria, hoping Rua's long-lost twin brother knew how to share.

That night, after having left Judai alone for the entire day to be safe, Sho turned up at Judai's room with one question in mind.

"Aniki? Can I, uh..."

Judai knew what he was asking—the same question as yesterday: could he share a room with Judai? The brunette took a moment to answer, deciding whether he could handle that.

"Yeah, sure, Sho," he said after a moment.

"Wha!? Really!?" Sho asked, startled. "But I thought..."

"It's cool, Sho. I kinda miss rooming with you," Judai said with a smile.

Sho teared up again. "Anikiii..."

He hugged him, crying. Judai just laughed.

"Aniki!" Sho cried, still clinging to Judai. "Thank you! I thought for sure you'd hate the idea! I may not know why, but I love being with you! It doesn't feel right for us to be apart! Aniki!"

Judai hugged him back. "No surprise there. You're the one who threw a party the first time I..."

He trailed off, not wanting to upset Sho by mentioning his own death.

"Aniki..." Sho sobbed a little.

The spirit watched proudly. "And here I though that bringing them here was a bad idea. Way to go, Asuka! You're a genius!"

His friend nodded its agreement.

Two days later, the ship arrived at the space ark. The gang gathered to look at the...massive...object.

"Wow... It's huge...," Sho said, staring in awe.

"So that's a space ark, huh?" Asuka asked.

"It reminds me of when that Ark Cradle thing was threatening to crush us," Crow said.

Judai started, looking at Crow, then looked away, saying, "Dang I've missed a lot. Even being there..."

He thought about future events of which he had no knowledge until after the fact. Zero Reverse, for instance.

"What!?" Sho asked.

"Let's just say, some lunatic from the future was trying to destroy our hometown," Yusei explained. "We stopped them, though. Right, guys?"

Jack nodded, his arms crossed. Crow gave a wink and a thumbs up.

"That's right, bro! We sure did!"

"Right," Aki said. "Though that was close. We almost lost you, Yusei."

"True. But you didn't," he said. "Thanks to Bruno and Z-One, that is."

Yusei and Aki lowered their heads. Crow rubbed the back of his head sadly. Jack turned away.

Sho looked at them, wondering what was going on.

Lunatic from the future? Again? Judai wondered. He looked at Yusei, the question written clearly on his face.

"Yeah. I know," Yusei said. "Turns out they were related, too. Bruno turned out to be one of them, even. But he was on our side, at least."

"Seriously?" Judai said. "Huh."

"Attention," the pilot said. "We will be landing at KaibaCorp 365 very shortly. All personnel, prepare for landing."

"It won't be long now," Yusei said.

"We better get our things ready," Aki said.

They all headed off to their rooms to pack up their things and get ready to enter the space ark.

"So, once we get in there, any ideas on how to find that card?" Sho asked as he and Judai walked along to their room.

"Not a one," Judai answered. "All I know is that it's in a capsule orbiting the earth."

"Then if that's true, what if we can't find it in time? Do you have a backup plan?"

"...No."

"Then what will you do?"

Judai shrugged. "I don't know. Go back to my own time and hang with Yusei and the others until they're gone?"

It wasn't an appealing option, but it was the only one he had if this failed.

"Then what?" Sho asked, worried.

"...How about we stop thinking about the future?" Judai suggested. "If there's one thing I've learned from all this, it's that the past is better left in the past, and the future should be ignored until it comes."

Sho was quiet a moment. "Okay," he said at last.

Judai sighed. "Sorry."

"Huh? Why? I'm the one being nosy."

They stopped outside of their door as Judai said, "Because...I don't know."

"Attention. In less than five minutes, we'll be landing," the pilot's voice came over the intercom. "At this time, please return to your rooms or have a seat somewhere secure. That is all."

Sho stared at the ceiling a moment. "I get the feeling it's gonna be a rough landing and we should brace ourselves...," he said, sweating.

"...Yeah...," Judai said, thinking of the takeoff. "I need earplugs..."

"H-hey! I highly doubt it's gonna be that bad!"

"Sho, at takeoff, you screamed so loud that Crow couldn't hear clearly for a couple hours."

"But that was takeoff! This is a landing! It can't be as bad!" Pouting, Sho muttered, "It's not like we're going through the atmosphere again."

"...Right, but, just to be safe, why don't you and me just stay in our room?" Judai suggested. That way, only one person has to go deaf...

Sho humphed, clearly insulted.

Sho was right—the landing wasn't so bad. He didn't scream at all.

"I told you it wouldn't be too bad!" Sho told Judai.

"Better safe than sorry, Sho."

He humphed again.

From outside their room, Yusei called, "Hey! You guys about ready in there? We've landed at the ark and are getting ready to head out."

"Yeah, we're all set here!" Judai called.

"SORRY! I DIDN'T HEAR THAT, ANIKI! CAN YOU SPEAK UP!?" Sho bellowed, annoyed.

"What!?" Yusei called, sounding a bit worried.

Judai sweat. "Don't worry about it, Yusei!"

"I'M SORRY! YOU'LL HAVE TO SPEAK UP IF YOU WANT TO BE HEARD AFTER ALL THE SCREAMING I JUST DID!"

In the hall, Yusei stood there in absolute confusion. What am I hearing? he wondered.

"Alright, I'm sorry, Sho!" Judai said, exasperated.

Sho humphed again.

Yusei was silent another moment before saying, "Well, when you're ready, just come meet us at the exit. We'll be waiting."

"Yeah, okay," Judai said.

When Sho and Judai joined the others, Asuka asked, "Judai? What was all the noise a minute ago about? Is Sho okay?"

"Because it sounded like he went deaf or something," Aki added.

Judai sweat. "He's fine... Just mad at me..."

"Why's that?" Asuka asked.

Manjoume smirked. "And here I thought you two never fought," he said.

"Oh, no, we fight all the time," Judai said. "There was the time I ate his fried shrimp, that time in Dark World, that one time when he was so psyched about me coming back from the dead and I said that wasn't a good thing..."

Too far—he'd said too much. That memory he'd been holding at bay, the one he wanted to remember as much as the other two, maybe less, was resurfacing, and he couldn't bury it again in time.

He was fighting some psychopath who had brought duel monsters to life. Currently, the guy was trying to use a bunch of fairies to take over the world—weak fairies, like Watapon, Mokey Mokey... This was going to be a piece of cake!

The maniac laughed. "That's it, my pets!" he said as the fairies flew around. "Show these fools what you're made of! Attack!"

"Mokey!"

"Eep!"

"Kurii!"

Oh...he had a Winged Kuriboh... Nope, Judai wasn't gonna let that stand.

"Wow," Yubel said. "Who the heck's dumb enough to attack with those wimps? Real or not, that's never gonna work."

"Yeah. Should count ourselves lucky that this one won't be too tough," Judai said.

A Key Mace charged at him, aiming to attack. He looked at it lamely, then summoned Elemental Hero Neos. Overkill, but why the hell not?

Neos watched with a lame look as the simple fairy jabbed him in the chest with its itty bitty key before he flicked it off.

"Yeeek!" the fairy cried as it was flung backward.

"What was that!?" the lunatic demanded, glaring at Judai. "How dare you attack my precious angels! Do you really think you stand a chance against me!?"

Judai rolled his eyes. "Uh, yeah!"

"Then you leave me no choice! Fairy army! Attack that fool!"

All of the weak fairies responded, even some Ojamas.

"Oh, brother...," Judai sighed. "What a pain..."

He would have summoned some other monsters to help Neos out...if the enemy monsters weren't coming at Neos one-by-one. They were literally attacking one at a time, so Neos just punched each individual monster.

"You think you're so smart, don't you!?" the idiotic villain said as Neos wiped out the last of his monsters. "Using such dirty tricks as those! But you haven't won just yet, boy!"

"What dirty tricks? You just suck at commanding an army!"

"I've had it with your sassy attitude! It's time I call upon my ultimate soldier!"

Judai got ready for another wimpy monster, maybe this time with 1000 attack points. However, that wasn't what the guy called.

"Come forth, Tualatin!" the villain called.

A big white angel appeared, with red eyes and gold trim. Judai didn't even have time to react before it had wiped out Neos and aimed for him.

The lunatic laughed maniacally. "This is the end of you! Finish him, my pet!"

The monster did as it was commanded, firing a beam of light at Judai. The attack hit him with enough force to kill him, and it looked as if the attack had burned his body to ash.

Sho, age 45, arrived on the scene, hoping to help. He was just in time to see Judai getting attacked by Tualatin.

"Aniki! NOOOOO!"

The villain laughed again. "Now no one can stop me! I'm—"

"Cyber End Dragon!" Sho cut him off. "WIPE HIM OUT!"

The three-headed metal dragon fired at the fairy, destroying it in one blast.

"W-what!? Bu-but that's impossible!" the villain cried. "NOOO!"

A couple of police officers ran over, putting the guy in handcuffs.

"That one's for Aniki!"

"You, sir, have the right to remain silent," one of the officers said.

Sho fell to his knees, crying. "Aniki..."

He was still there in the morning, sleeping on the sidewalk, when Judai reappeared.

"What happened?" Yubel asked, looking around in confusion. "Where'd that guy go? Did someone defeat him, I hope?"

Judai was fighting back horror—up to this point, he had been holding onto the hope that he could die in some way or other. He pinched himself.

"...Why am I still alive...?" he asked, looking at himself in horror. "How am I still alive...?"

"Don't look at me. That was one powerful blast, though." She looked at the horizon and said, "Hey, look. The sun's rising."

Judai looked, wondering how long it had been this time.

A moan drew Judai's attention to a blue-haired man sleeping on the sidewalk. He turned, startled to see that. Well, at least that answered his question: It probably hadn't even been a day.

"Sho?"

He walked over and shook his friend a bit, trying to wake him. "Sho? Hey, wake up."

"Aniki... I...miss..."

Sho opened his eyes and looked around. "Huh? Where?"

"I don't know why, but you're sleeping outside, pal," Judai told him.

Sho looked at him in disbelief. "Aniki? But I thought..."

"Apparently I come back, no matter how many times I die," Judai said, upset by this new realization.

Sho teared up, looking...happy?

"Anikiii! You're alive! You're really alive! I'm so glad!" He hugged the immortal teen.

Judai hadn't expected that sort of reaction. "Wha!? Sho! I can't die!"

"I know! Meaning you can't get killed in battle! I don't have to worry anymore! Aniki!"

"Sho! This isn't a good thing!"

Sho pulled back and looked at him in confusion. "Huh? But why?"

"I can't die, and I'm not aging! Sho! I'm gonna be around until the end of time!"

"But that is a good thing!" Sho insisted. "Do you know how many people dream of immortality!? You're so lucky, Aniki!"

"Are you kidding me!?"Judai exclaimed, outraged that Sho could think there was anything good about this situation. "Do you have any idea how much dying like that hurts!? Not to mention, you guys are all still normal!"

"Yeah! Which means we get to have arthritis!" Sho countered. "We get ugly wrinkles! Memory loss! Hearing, too! We turn into mere shadows of our former selves, wishing we were young again! But you!? You never have to worry about all that! Of course you're the lucky one! You'll even get to see the future! No fair!"

Sho had always wanted to see the future. Judai knew that, but still, this was that day with Asuka all over again—he needed comfort, and all he was getting was shit.

"Wanna trade places? It's not as great as you think it is, Sho."

"Sure it is! I just threw my back out for the first time yesterday! Do you have any idea how much that hurts!? I don't think so!"

"I highly doubt it hurts as much as a violent death, Sho!" Judai snapped.

"Well, does it hurt now?"

"No, but—"

"Well, my back does!" Sho cut him off. "I have to see a chiropractor to make it stop! That's why you're lucky! Get injured!? Kill yourself and, boom! Instant fix! That's way better than endless pain! Get it now!?"

"I don't think you get it, Sho. Just 'cause it might go away faster doesn't mean it's any better!"

"Look, you're overreacting. It's not that big a deal. Why do you think people like Kagemaru do what they do? Why do we search for the Fountain of Youth? The Holy Grail? Because we all want what you have. Everyone's jealous of people like you."

"I don't want this!" Judai cried. "Why can't you see that!?"

"Why can't you see that you should!?"

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Judai bellowed, tears burning in his eyes.

Johan came running over. "What's all the yelling for, guys!?"

Sho turned away with a humph. "Fine, Judai. If you're too dense to see how great you have it, then fine. Be that way. Just don't bother me about it anymore."

He stormed off, leaving Judai with an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. First he lost Asuka because of this when she put her own feelings ahead of his, now he'd just had a fight with Sho over immortality that may have just ended with the loss of a friend.

Johan stared after Sho before turning to Judai and asking, "What just happened?"

"...I got killed violently, and Sho's telling me how great immortality is..."

Judai could still feel the tears burning in his eyes.

"What!?" Johan exclaimed. "You died again? Then why are you still here!?"

"Because I'm immortal," Judai answered. "Why else would Sho mention the 'awesomeness' of immortality?"

"And you're fighting...why?"

"Because it's not that great, Johan!" Judai snapped, anger in his voice as the tears still burned in his eyes.

Johan backed up, holding up his hands. "Whoa! Hey! I never said it was! I just asked why it started that fight! No need to bite my head off!" He walked over and put his hands on Judai's shoulders. "It'll be okay, pal. Maybe you still have something to look forward to."

Judai looked down, thinking about Yusei. He was from the future, so he wasn't around just yet. This could be his chance to duel his not-yet-friend...

"So, you gonna be okay, pal?" Johan asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "Yeah, as long as I don't have that conversation with Sho ever again..."

Judai shook his head, desperately wanting to drive that memory away—it was definitely one of his worst, either first or second. He couldn't decide if it was worse than Asuka saying they couldn't be friends or not. After all, that was the last day Sho called him "Aniki." At least, until he died and finally realized just how miserable Judai was with this situation. It was the day he lost his best friend, the day Johan truly replaced Sho in that role. Even though Judai eventually apologized and pretended he thought it was great being immortal, Sho never quite forgave him—and Judai knew that he never forgave Sho, either.

"Judai?" Asuka asked, drawing him away from his thoughts. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he lied. "I'm okay."

Manjoume stared at him a minute before saying, "Okay. I don't wanna know, do I?"

Judai shook his head. "No. Let's not talk about it anymore. I didn't even want to know." Muttering, he amended, "Or, rather, remember..."

"Well, anyway, let's go," Yusei said. "Time to locate Yubel."

Judai nodded, now more desperate to find that card and fix things. Without further ado, the gang left the shuttle, entering KaibaCorp 365.