A/N: Here's the next chapter! It's going to be awhile before my other story,"Human or Monster," gets updated, but this one will keep going in the meantime! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.

Yusei met up with Crow, and the two of them ran into Asuka, getting her involved in the clothing search. Judai, meanwhile...found Manjoume in a pool? Why the hell was there a pool on a space ark anyway?

Yes, that's right, Manjoume was in a pool on a space ark. He was wearing black swim trunks, lounging on an inflatable chair in the middle of the pool, with sunglasses on for some dumb reason. Oh, and he was sipping lemonade. What the hell was wrong with this picture?

Yubel stared for a moment. Recovering from the initial shock, she said, "Judai. Any idea why he brought those things to space with him...?"

It's Manjoume, Judai answered. He had the red dorm redone our second year when he didn't get promoted. I'm not even remotely surprised, really.

Yubel just stared. She had known Judai had some weird friends, but that was just ridiculous.

"Hey, Manjoume, I've got a question," Judai said, walking over to stand on the edge of the pool.

"Oh. Hi. What do you want?" Manjoume responded, looking like he was in a great mood.

What is this, his vacation? Judai decided to ignore the fact that the guy was vacationing on a space ark when they were here to help him and asked, "You haven't seen my clothes around, have you?"

"Yes I have." Manjoume smirked, adding, "Why, you want them?"

"Uh, yes!" Judai said. Why am I surprised?

"That's too bad. I no longer have them."

Through gritted teeth, Judai asked, "Then who does?"

Manjoume gave another smirk, looking rather evil as he did so. "Try the girls' restroom, north block."

Judai groaned. "Seriously? Why?"

Manjoume just smirked and went back to relaxing, taking a sip of his drink.

"Okay! What are they up to!?" Yubel demanded.

I don't think I really want to know... Turning to leave, Judai said, "Great. Thanks."

Asuka was searching the north block for any sign of Judai's missing clothing when she saw the brunette talking to a girl.

"Ah! You're such a jerk!" the girl said before slapping his face and storming off.

Asuka wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what Judai could have done to get that reaction out of a girl. From what she could tell—and mysteriously remembered—Judai was a nice guy.

"Uh, Judai?" she asked quietly, too stunned to speak any louder.

"Ugh... Manjoume, I'm gonna kill you...," he muttered to himself.

"Judai?" Asuka said more loudly. "What's going on?"

Judai turned.

"Uh... Manjoume stole my clothes and hid them in a...girls' bathroom..." Silently, he swore, Damn you, Manjoume! Damn your fucking rich ass to hell! Why the fuck should I have to say this to Asuka!?

"What!?" she asked. That perv!

Much more calm on the outside than the inside, Judai said, "Yeah...so, clearly, I can't go get them..."

Every girl he had asked to help him with this had laughed at him or called him a pervert and slapped him, leaving him to figure out this problem of his some other way. There was no way in hell he was asking Asuka for help. If she volunteered, that would be great, though.

"I guess that means it wasn't Sho, then?" she asked.

"Still not sure I can rule him out... They could be working together on this... I mean, it wouldn't be the first time something like that happened," Judai said, thinking back to school when Sho and Manjoume had worked together at times. Though, granted, Judai was usually involved.

"And why do you supposed they're doing this? What are they after, anyway?"

"Heck if I..." He trailed off, then said, "Well, Manjoume's probably just enjoying picking on me. That wouldn't surprise me. Sho..." Judai sweat, thinking of the scheme he'd tried yesterday. "Trying to get me to talk to you..."

"What?" Asuka asked.

Judai blushed. Damn it, Sho.

Asuka's face flushed, though she wasn't sure why. "Uh..."

Oh, I'm gonna have to ask it, aren't I? Judai thought. Still blushing, he asked, "So? Think you can help me out with this?"

Asuka, still blushing, was quiet a second before saying, "Uh, sure. Which one...?"

"North block."

Asuka sweat, blushing deeper. "Judai, I, uh... My room's around that one..."

"Yeah... I know..."

"...Okay, let's...let's just go...," she said, walking off. She was still blushing furiously.

Judai followed her.

While Judai waited outside, Asuka headed into the bathroom to find his clothes. When she returned, she looked mad enough to kill, but she had Judai's clothes with her. Her eyes were closed, as if she were picturing all the ways to kill a man.

"Here," she said, sounding annoyed, as she slapped his clothes into his arms.

"Thanks," Judai said.

Eyes still closed and still sounding annoyed, she said, "Don't mention it. Please."

Judai stared at her for a long moment. "Sorry," he finally said.

Asuka sighed. "No. It's not you. It's him. Do you have any idea where those were? The showers! He stuck your clothes in the damn shower! Meaning he's been in the showers! ARG! THAT DAMN PERVERT! I swear! He's dead this time!"

Judai just stared, slightly scared. Asuka took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"Uh, might be a good idea to go get dressed while she calms down some...," Yubel suggested, pointing at the men's bathroom across the hall.

Right..., he affirmed, heading off to change into his own shirt.

Judai came back out, wearing a black turtleneck and his red jacket, to see Asuka leaning against the wall, eyes closed, arms crossed. She still looked annoyed.

"Asuka?" he asked, slightly hesitant.

"You dressed yet?" she asked without moving.

Judai stared a moment. Technically, he was dressed earlier, just in Yusei's shirt.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Good."

A long, awkward silence followed this.

Feeling the need to break this silence somehow, Judai asked, "You okay?"

Asuka sighed and opened her eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine. I just can't believe any guy could be so...arg... Well, you know."

"It doesn't surprise me, really," Judai said, thinking of some of the creeps he'd met over the centuries. "Disgust me, sure, but not surprise me."

Asuka sighed again. "Yeah, I bet. I mean, you've probably met all sorts of characters after all this time, right?"

"Yeah, and your brother's still in the top ten." His eyes widened slightly as he realized what he had just said. He sweat.

Asuka's eyes widened. "You know my brother!? Where is he!?"

"Uh..." Judai sweat. Damn. Probably shouldn't have mentioned Fubuki... He's still missing, you idiot, he chided himself.

She got up in his face, glaring, and demanded, "Well!?"

Judai leaned back slightly. "...I'm not sure I'm actually allowed to tell you..."

Asuka growled. "Speak up already! Don't I deserve to know after all we've been through!? I mean, I'm helping you, so why won't you help me!?"

Yubel glared at Asuka, not liking the sound of that.

Judai hesitated, thinking he'd be doing her a favor if he didn't tell her. "Even if I tell you, you won't find him any faster."

She growled again. "I see you're going to make a great friend! Keeping secrets from people who help you out! Fine! Be that way! Sorry I ever tried to help you!" She humphed, turning and starting off.

"Fine," Judai said, caving. "He's... It's hard to explain, but he's in another dimension...where he met this girl..." He sweat, finally making the connection of Sara the Gravekeeper's Assailant and Fubuki.

"Judai, you idiot!" Yubel snapped. "1. You're putting the future in jeopardy, and 2. she's using you! She's trying to get you to feel guilty so you'll tell her anything she wants to know! She's using helping you against you to do that! Some friend you're gonna be!? Judai, this Asuka isn't the one you knew! She's! Just! Using! You!"

"W-what?" Asuka asked, turning.

Judai didn't answer, thinking of what Yubel had just said.

"What do you mean he's in another dimension!? What happened to him!? Tell me!"

Asuka knew that she was playing dirty, but her brother had been missing since his first year of high school. She knew she shouldn't be blackmailing Judai this way, but he knew what had happened to her brother, and she had been trying to figure that out for a long time.

Judai stared at her for a moment, remembering how much she had wanted to find her brother during their first year. It had seemed that she would do anything to figure out what had happened.

"Yubel's right, isn't she?"he said at last.

"Huh?"

"You can see I'm going to make a great friend? Well, I'm finally seeing how great a friend you are!" Judai snapped. "This is the third time something like this has happened! Why is it taking me until just now to realize what's going on!?" He looked and sounded hurt.

"What are you talking about?" Asuka asked.

"You do this sort of thing a lot! You either put me down because of something that I can't control, get on me for things that I already know are my fault and accuse me of things I didn't do..."

The first: ending their friendship because of his aging issue. The second: that whole thing in Dark World. That one led him off on a tangent.

"'I will have to live forever with the sadness of having been betrayed by you...' No, Asuka, that's me! It's always been me! I never betrayed you, but you're always doing something like this!"

"I never did..." She trailed off, then went on, "You're talking about in the future, aren't you?"

"YES!" he snapped, tears burning in his eyes.

Asuka stared as Judai took some deep breaths to calm himself.

"So, what you're saying is, I'm the bad friend?" she asked at last. "That's crazy!"

"Then you weren't just baiting me, trying to get answers about the future, while I'm trying not to mess with the space/time continuum too much and cause the end of life as we know it?" he asked, glaring at her. "I don't know what could happen if I go messing with too much back here, Asuka. I'm the one looking out for everyone's well-being. Isn't it enough to know that your brother will be fine, regardless of where he is now?"

Asuka was silent, thinking about that.

"I'll admit, I've been a lousy friend in the past, but at least I've never abandoned a friend when they needed me the most," Judai finished, the pain in his voice almost tangible, as he turned to walk off.

"Oh, boy... Now he's thinking of that again," the spirit said sadly as he watched. "The words of a broken heart..."

While Judai had never openly admitted it, the spirit knew for a fact that he felt betrayed and abandoned by Asuka's decision to end their friendship all those years ago. It didn't help that he had gotten cancer and been told he only had a short while left to live, and Asuka hadn't answered when he called—it had left him with the impression that she didn't care about him. The spirit wasn't even sure if Judai had admitted these feelings to himself, but, as his best friend, the spirit knew things about Judai that even the brunette didn't know.

"...Judai, wait," Asuka said, following.

He stopped and glanced back, waiting.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said. "You're right. I shouldn't have been doing that, but try to understand! This is my brother we're talking about! He's as important to me as I am to you!"

"I know. But I can promise you that he will be fine. Otherwise, how would I know what a character he is?"

He thought back to that day on the beach, when Manjoume had stolen the seven keys to the Spirit Gates and challenged Asuka to a "Love Duel." He'd been too disturbed by the whole thing to even comment on that much, and Fubuki's appearance in a flower-print shirt with a ukulele hadn't helped any.

"Okay...," Asuka said.

Judai relaxed a bit—he hadn't even realized how tense he had been until his shoulders relaxed.

After a moment, Asuka asked, "So, do you still think I'm a bad friend? I mean, if I did do all that, I'm sure I had my reasons!"

Judai sighed, and the spirit could just hear the lie coming.

"No," he said. "I don't know where that came from, honestly... I mean, that one, you weren't yourself. Then, that other time..." He shook his head, not wanting to think about her decision and the rift it had caused between them. "Let's just say, I can see your reasons there, too."

Asuka responded quietly, almost as if she were in a trance. "...I couldn't stand losing you..."

Judai just stared at her.

She blinked. "Huh? What?"

After another moment, Judai asked, "What was that?"

She blinked again. "What was what?"

"You just said... Never mind."

Asuka just blinked at him a couple more times, looking confused. He shook his head.

"No don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing," he said.

Asuka looked at him questioningly.

"Anyway, thanks for the help. I should probably go tell the others they can stop looking now," he said. And get Yusei's shirt back to him...after I wash it.

He started walking off, but Asuka's voice called him back.

"Judai...?" she asked.

He stopped and looked back at her. "What? Something wrong?"

"I'm sorry..."

"...Huh?"

"I shouldn't have used you like that... I know it was wrong, and, from the sound if things, my future self's not any better to you. Please let me make it up to you."

He stared at her for a few seconds before asking, "How?"

Asuka thought about it for a moment. "How about I treat you to lunch today?" she suggested. "I-I mean, since you love food and all... N-not as a date or anything! I-I mean—" With each word, she blushed worse, sweating the whole time. Oh, this isn't going to go well... Please don't get upset, Judai.

Judai smiled. "Okay."

The spirit pumped his fist in the air. "Way to go, girl! That's the way!" As another thought occurred to him, he stopped. "But, wait. Should he be dating a girl from the past? And it's Asuka, too... Hmm..."

Now he was worried.

"W-what!?" Asuka asked. "S-so, it's not too much for you to—"

"Asuka," Judai cut her off. "You've got to stop worrying about upsetting me. I mean, it's not like you and I ever really dated anyway, so it's really not an issue."

Asuka stared at him, worried.

"Uh, not to upset you or anything, but what about that one time, back at school, with the tag duel...," Yubel asked.

Not a date, Judai countered.

"Close enough," she taunted.

Shut up.

"Okay, then," Asuka said at last. "So, where should we meet?"

Judai grinned and said, "That depends... Where do you think you can find without getting lost?"

"Ha ha. Very funny," she said sarcastically. "Then why not meet me at my room, then? I doubt I can get lost in there."

Judai laughed. "Sure, that works for me."

Yubel was worried now—this was sounding more and more like a date.

Asuka hadn't meant for him to take that seriously. "Okay. I guess that works, but..."

Knowing what she was going to say, Judai said, "Great. See ya later!"

With that, he ran off, never giving Asuka the chance to worry more about hurting him by dating him.

"You realize you're on the line here, right?" Yubel asked him. "Didn't the spinning lunatic say, 'no dating past people?' You're this close to doing that..."

"Yeah, well, might as well break every other rule in the book while I'm at it, right? I mean, she probably shouldn't even be here... Besides, there's no chance of me becoming my own grandpa."

"Judai, do you realize what you just said?" she asked, worried. "Don't you remember what she did to you in the future? And how long it's been since you last saw her? I...don't think you should do this to yourself..."

"...I'll be fine, Yubel."

Winged Kuriboh appeared, apparently disagreeing. "Kurii..."

"I'm telling you guys, I'll be fine!" he said.

"But, Judai, what if—"

"Don't say it," Judai cut her off. "Aren't you the one who's been assuring me it won't?"

He knew what she was going to say: What if their plan failed? And he didn't want to hear it.

Yubel hesitated. "Well..."

Judai stopped where he was. "Well?"

Finally, she confessed, "I don't know for sure. I just think it will work, okay?"

With a growing sense of dread, Judai said, "And I'm gonna pretend I didn't just hear that."

He knew that, if this plan didn't work, he'd be stuck in this mess forever, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"I'm just saying, careful what you do and don't do, okay?" Yubel said gently, concern filling every word.

"I'll be fine, Yubel. Don't worry."

She and Winged Kuriboh just stared at him—they doubted that he would be if this failed, but they were through arguing with him.

Crow headed by, still looking for Judai's clothes.

"Hey! Crow!" Judai called, running after him. "You can stop looking now!"