A/N: New chapter! Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.

As she walked down the hall with Judai, Asuka said, "So, you're probably wondering why I'm dressed like this. Well, let's just say, it's for a good cause, okay?"

Unsure what cause she was talking about, Judai hesitated before he said, "Okay."

The two entered the cafeteria, where Sho was eating. Upon their arrival, Sho's attention snapped to them, and he ran for his life, sweating.

"What was that about?" Asuka asked, slightly stunned.

"Apparently he paid Manjoume to put my clothes in that bathroom so that I'd run into you, and now he thinks I'm gonna kill him," Judai answered casually.

Asuka laughed. "Well, are you?"

He closed his eyes, smirking. "No."

"Well, that's good. 'Cause most guys would." She laughed some as she said, "Are you saying you just forgave him like that?"

Judai grinned and answered, "Well, he's doing such a good job of punishing himself, I don't have to do anything. Though I wasn't going to in the first place, but he doesn't seem to remember that much about me."

Asuka laughed some more, then asked, "So, you're not mad, then?"

"Not that mad!" Judai answered, still grinning.

As Asuka laughed again, the smell of food reached Judai's nose. But not just any food—one of his favorites.

"...Is that...fried shrimp?" he asked, sniffing the air.

The unseen spirit grinned, gesturing to the shrimp, and said, "And there goes all his focus and maturity, folks!"

Asuka blinked. "Why?" she asked.

Somewhat dreamily, Judai said, "I love fried shrimp..."

"Well, why not go get some?" she asked with a grin. "We came here to eat, after all."

With those words, Judai ran to get some of the delectable seafood.

The spirit grinned again. "See?" he asked no one in particular as he pointed to Judai snatching up a bunch of fried shrimp.

Asuka just stood there for a few minutes, watching in awe, before she laughed and followed him over to the food stand. Once they both had their lunches—Judai's being nothing but shrimp—they headed to an empty table, where Judai proceeded to scarf down space shrimp.

"Wow! You must really love those!" Asuka exclaimed, seeing that he was scarfing the shrimp down faster than any other food she'd ever seen him eat.

Judai stopped eating for a second and nodded quickly, then went right back to scarfing down food. Asuka laughed, watching him eat.

As she watched, she suddenly got the feeling that she had seen this behavior countless times: during duels, meals, time with friends... This must be who he really is. Compared to how he acts most of the time these days, he's a completely different person...and it's partly my fault...

As she thought about how she had tried to use him earlier that day, those mistakes he had mentioned she had made in the future, and...something else she wasn't sure how she knew about, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

She looked down. "Judai, I am so sorry."

He stopped, swallowed his food, and asked, "Huh? What for?"

"Everything. Everything I did or will do to you in the future! I mean, I..."

Judai cocked his head, not sure where this was coming from. "You what?"

"I did several horrible things to you!" she exclaimed as memories—from her future?—came rushing back. "Not just those three, I betrayed you in Dark World, hit you afterward believing you to be a jerk, misunderstood you during that tag duel thing, never saw how much pain and guilt you were feeling in high school, then, afterward, I cut off our friendship when you really needed me and married another man! I should have at least married you to repay you for all I'd done! You were a good friend to me, and I abandoned you! How could I be so cruel!?" Drowning in guilt over what she would do, she was on the verge of tears by the end.

"Asuka. It's okay."

"No, it's not!" she protested. She began listing all the things she had done to him. At least, all that she could remember. "One, I should have supported you in Dark World. You needed to be shown that our deaths weren't your fault because, honestly, they weren't!"

At least, not from what she could tell with her scattered memories.

"Two, I should have never hit you like that since it was obviously severe scarring that caused you to act like that, and I should have tried to keep reasoning with you instead."

When a new threat had come to the island during their third year, Judai had gotten a bit rough with her brother, trying to get answers out of him. She'd said he had changed, but, now that she was thinking about it, it probably was severe scarring. After what had happened in Dark World—or, rather, what she could remember of it—she couldn't blame him for being anxious to find out how to deal with a new threat.

"Three, since I should have known about the scarring when you said that during our tag duel, I should have been more understanding and helpful so that you could get back on your feet instead of knocking you down even more."

He had said he had been making sure they didn't lose and she should trust him. After what had happened in Dark World—from what she could remember—that was a logical thing for him to say...if he was still thinking losing could kill him.

"Four, had I paid attention to the scarring, I should have been helping you through it, and—"

"Asuka!" Judai called, trying to get her attention.

"Let me finish. The last one's the most important one!"

"...Fine," he said. Then I'll refute all your points...

If Yubel had been paying attention, she probably would have gaped at him for using such a big word.

Asuka took a deep breath and said, "When you told me you weren't aging, I should have never left you like that. Sure, we'd be separated in death, but that shouldn't have stopped me from enjoying you in life! I mean, you're at least 18, so I still could have... Well, you know..." She looked down, blushing slightly.

Judai stared for a moment, waiting to see if she would add anything else. Finally, he said, "If that's all, let me say my piece. One, you weren't the only one in Dark World who said that I had betrayed you all. Besides, thinking back on it, those runes inside of you probably didn't help any."

He hadn't thought about it at the time, but Yubel had since told him that the runes had played on his friend's emotions, making them even stronger. Knowing that they had been manipulated by those runes had eased some of the hurt from their words that day.

"Two, I needed somebody to snap me out of it before I hurt your brother. If you'd kept trying to reason with me, I might have hurt him or something. Three, you did help, Asuka. It just took me a little too long to get the message."

He had been being rough with Fubuki, and she'd commented on him not having as much fun as he usually did during their tag duels. If he'd gotten the message a bit sooner, he may actually have paid attention, and they could have avoided their little feud.

"Okay. One, what runes, and, two, you did?" she asked.

"I'm hating this selective memory of yours," Judai said, looking at her lamely. Muttering, he added, "Then again, I don't know if you guys were actually all there when that duel happened..." Louder, he continued, "And, yes, otherwise that duel would have ended with you and Kenzan as partners. I got it about the time you really got mad." He grinned and finished, "I'm slow like that."

She looked at him for a few moments before saying, "I notice you didn't counter the rest of it..."

It took a moment for Judai to find the words to say, "That couldn't have been easy for either of us. It's not something you should be blaming yourself for." Silently, he added, Though thinking about it still hurts like hell... Shut up about it, already!

Asuka stared at her hands folded in her lap. "Yes, I can."

"Well, you shouldn't," Judai reiterated.

Asuka pounded her hands on the table and leaned forward, glaring at him with tear-filled eyes. "Oh, yes, I should! Sure, I'd lose you eventually, but, in the meantime, we could have done so much more together! Tell me how long we were apart because of that!? How much time was wasted!? Well!?"

...Fuck, she has to ask, doesn't she? Judai thought, staring at her.

As if to answer his unspoken question, Asuka kept glaring at him, her eyes demanding an answer. Judai lowered his eyes and stared at the table.

"...Eight years...," he said quietly. Eight years, two months, ten days, five hours and forty minutes, to be exact...

"And that's eight wasted years, thanks to me! The ones to follow weren't much better, since I got married, were they!?"

He didn't answer, still staring at the table.

"Well!?" she demanded.

Seeing his eyes well up with tears, Asuka got her answer. She sat back as he fought to keep the tears from falling.

"I thought so," she said. "Judai, you had feelings for me that you never got to share. And, based on what you've said about us, and what I somehow know about you, well, I..."

He glanced at her.

Asuka considered carefully what she should say next. Finally, she said, "I think my future self was in love with you, too. But she couldn't stand losing you like that, so she walked away. She forced herself to forget those feelings, which took her awhile to do, then moved on to a new relationship to finish the healing process. After she did that, she felt okay with losing you and could see you again. But that was wrong! There's one thing she still could have done, and she'd at least have that!"

Eyes still bright with tears, Judai cocked his head slightly, looking at her questioningly.

After another moment, she clarified, "She could have married you and had your kids. That way, you two could have had a happy life together til the end, and she'd have a piece of you to take with her when she died." Silently, she amended, Okay, they'd join her when they died. Aloud, she added, "Granted, it's not as good as the real you, but at least it's better than nothing, right? And you'd never have had those lingering regrets..."

He just stared, still absorbing that.

"So, you see. You can blame me for that one..."

"Asuka..."

She lowered her head, starting to cry. "Forgive me, Judai... I'm such..." She trailed off, the words lost in her sobs.

Judai arose from his seat, walked around to her side of the table, and pulled her into his arms. She hugged him back, holding on tight as the tears kept coming.

Stroking her hair a bit, Judai said, "Heck, you aren't even the one who did all of that. That all happens in the future, and it's not set in stone. Knowing what's coming makes it easier to change it."

Her breath hitched, and she looked up at him.

"You don't even know me yet, technically. So you haven't done anything wrong," he told her. "If you're feeling this bad about how things turned out, you still have the chance to change it, even if this whole mission fails."

Asuka wiped away the tears and nodded. "Okay."

Judai smiled at her.

After a moment, she asked, "You going to finish those last few shrimps, then?"

"Oh! Right!" he said hurrying back to his seat—and his lunch.

Asuka smiled, watching him scarf down what was left of his meal. At least he seems to understand now. I just hope he forgives me for what I've done—or, rather, haven't done—so I can do the right thing if I must. I just really hope it doesn't come to that...

Having watched all of this go down, the spirit stared, speechless, for quite awhile.

"Whoa...," he said at last. "I did not see that coming... So that's why she's here. Now maybe he can finally feel better about his past. Is that also why Sho's here helping out?" he wondered. "They're here to make amends for all the pain they caused him. To help him heal. Who knew? Well, besides, Yusei, that is." He was pretty sure Yusei knew everything at this point. As another idea occurred to him, he couldn't help but worry. "But...does that mean that's the reason for this mission? The reason the scale finally turned into a magic time-traveling stone? Then, is he still meant to live like this? That's not fair!"

His friend tried to calm him down, saying he might draw attention to himself. Besides, maybe helping Judai heal was only a part of the reason, and retrieving the card was the rest.

"All I can say is I better be wrong about that one!" the spirit responded, horrified that his friend could be meant to suffer for all eternity. "Because that's just not right."

After lunch, Judai and Asuka walked down the hall together, heading back to her room.

"So, how was your shrimp-filled lunch?" she asked with a giggle.

"I love fried shrimp," he answered, sounding satisfied.

Asuka laughed. "I noticed!" she said, smiling. The smile faded as she added, "Uh, Judai, about what I said to you..."

Judai looked at her, a bit anxious. Oh, please don't tell me she's gonna start crying again!

Asuka hesitated—little did Judai know she was worried that he'd start crying. "You gonna be okay?" she asked, eyes closed.

He smiled. For the first time in a long time, his voice was sincere when he said, "Yeah, Asuka. I'll be okay."

Asuka looked at him, shocked. "R-really!? But I thought—"

"I know how that kind of guilt can weigh on a person, Asuka, and the fact that you're feeling that bad over something your future self did—or does—to me tells me you do care," he said, cutting her off. "I mean, for awhile, I was pretty mad at you," he confessed. "Here I was with the problem, and you were telling me we couldn't be friends anymore. I felt like some sort of leper. Knowing what was going on there makes me feel a bit better, and knowing that you care so much." He smiled at her as he finished.

"Judai..." The two stopped outside of her room, and she asked, "So I didn't just cause you more pain? I mean, we just had a date. A real date, and you may still..." She trailed off, fearing that finishing that would only hurt him.

In answer, Judai pulled her closer and kissed her. Her eyes widened.

How's this going to effect him if we fail!? she wondered fleetingly. But...he's a good kisser...

She closed her eyes, joining in on the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As the kiss deepened, she saw sparks fly.

Feeling a completely new sensation—one that she could remember from her past life as a human—Yubel awoke and went into a total panic. "JUDAI! ARE YOU MAD!? WHAT IF WE DO FAIL!? YOU'RE KILLING YOUR SOUL HERE!" Gentler, she asked, "Do you want to make the pain worse, you idiot? Quit it."

Asuka pulled back, blushing. That had been an insanely good kiss, but...thinking about it, she hadn't actually met Judai yet...and here she was, making out with him. Time travel...is so confusing...

Judai leaned over slightly to look her in the eye. "Asuka?" he said, his tone suggesting the additional words "Earth to."

"I...I just kissed a guy I...," she said, still stunned.

Yubel was ready to cry. If they failed now, that one was gonna hurt Judai like hell.

"...And I..."

Judai cocked his head, not sure what she was saying, and waited for her to finish a sentence.

"...And he's from... Oh, boy. What was I thinking? Was I thinking? I mean, I..."

"Asuka," he tried again.

She stared for another moment before saying, "Uh, anyway, glad you enjoyed yourself so much..." Slowly, still blushing furiously, she backed into her room. "See. You. Later...," she said, closing the door very slowly.

Judai stared for a moment, wondering what that was about. "Huh..."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Yubel started crying.

"Yubel?" Judai asked.

It took a moment before she asked, "Why?"

"...Huh?"

"Why did you do it? Did you forget why we're even here in the first place? Why your new friends felt they had to bring you back here to make things right? Did you forget your curse!? What happens if you miss me? What happens if there's nothing we can do? What happens when we go back to the future with the others? Did you ever think of that while you were off making things worse!? I mean—"

"I'll be okay. I've worked out the worst of my issues with Asuka, so stop worrying so much. It's okay."

She stared for a minute. "But what about that lingering loneliness you'll always feel not being with her, or any of your THOUSANDS of DECEASED friends, Judai!?" she finally demanded, still crying. "Soon Yusei, Crow, Jack, and Aki will join them, and then you'll be all alone again! With nothing but their memories and this memory to keep you company! Still think it'll be okay, kid!?"

"...If we fail, it doesn't matter how many memories I make, Yubel," he told her. "Spending time with Asuka won't make things any worse than making new friends that I didn't even want in the first place, and that's going to keep happening. Apparently I should just go be a hermit somewhere... 'Course, my luck, then the place I live will become a tourist attraction."

"Probably..."

"So regardless of what I do here, if we fail, things are just gonna keep getting worse for me, anyway. Why delay the inevitable?"

"Judai...," she sobbed.

Winged Kuriboh appeared, joining Yubel in Tear Land. "Kurii..."

"Hey, don't be like that," Judai said to them both. "We still don't know how this is gonna end, right?"

Neither answered, which told Judai that they were pretty damned sure this was going to fail miserably.

"He's right," the spirit said to himself. "What am I so worried about? I planned this. I should have more faith in them. I know they won't fail! Heh. Thanks, Judai." He looked at the brunette. "You almost rubbed off on me there. But this was my plan, and I won't let it fail! You're getting out of this no matter what! I promise, pal, I'll end this. Just you wait."

"Hey. Judai!" Jack said, coming up behind Judai. "Look what I caught for you."

"Huh?" Judai asked, turning to see what Jack had—and wondering why he should want it.