Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX or "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts, who wrote the song.

What Hurts the Most

Chapter One

Rated: M - English -

Hurt/Comfort/Romance

Published: 07-01-08 -

Rewritten: 01-23-24

By Kellyq

Things were still holding up two years after the peace treaty was signed. Johan did most of the patrolling and ensured things didn't get out of line. Some demons tried to mate with him, but he didn't want other demons who wanted to didn't get near him. Johan wouldn't fall in love with anyone after what happened to Judai; he told himself that. Johan didn't have time to mate or love anyone with all the patrolling he did.

The white cat demon entered the forest with alert yellowish-orange eyes. The cold air nipped at his fur as he came to a cave, ready to rest after doing some scouting. He walked in, and a scent passed his nose, causing him to stop.

Johan's expression darkened. "Whoever you are, get out. I don't have time for this - and don't even think about mating. I'm not interested." the last part came out like a hiss.

The white cat demon scanned the cave and realized that it was empty. Johan sighed and found the scent stronger in the back of the cave. The cat demon gasped with shock and pain. The smell caused him to have memories of his mate. Johan growled in anger. He would find this demon and teach it not to play with his feelings. He went into his demon form and started to dig at the spot, trying to get rid of the scent, but it didn't go away. It was driving him crazy.

"Hey, are you okay?" came a voice full of concern.

Johan turned and came face to face with brown eyes. The first thought that struck Johan was Judai. He did have the same appearance: This demon looked like a dog. The two stared at each other. Topaz Tiger jumped on the brown-haired stranger, who yelped in shock. The two went crashing to the ground. Topaz snarled at the brown-haired demon.

"H – hey," the brown-haired teen yelped in pain when Johan walked up and stomped on his chest and leaned in. "There's no reason to be hostile!"

Johan noticed that the brown-haired demon had dog ears, a crooked tail, and the scent of his mate. Pain and anger washed over Johan as he growled. "You've got two minutes to explain why you want to play sick games with me."

"W – what are you talking about?" the brown-haired demon said, confused.

Johan growled again and slapped the dog demon. He reached for his ears and yanked on one, causing the brown demon to yelp in pain.

"Ow! Stop it! You're hurting me!"

"Just answer me, and I'll let you go," Johan said in a deadly serious tone. "But I'll tell you right now - I'm not interested in mating."

Jaden blinked a few times. Then, the realization hit him. "Y – You're Johan Yubel Anderson ..." he murmured, looking sympathetically at Johan.

Johan interpreted that look, and in one swift motion, he lifted the dog demon by the throat and threw him. Jaden went flying and landed three feet away with a dull thump. Johan's ears twitched when he heard what sounded like a bone had broken.

"Topaz, go get Miss. Fontaine," Johan said with a sigh. This is going to be a long night, he thought. The tiger nodded his head and dashed off to find help. Johan walked to where Jaden Lai was. Brown's eyes looked up at Johan's orange-possessed eyes with confusion and fear. "Get up. Miss. Fontaine is going to take a look at you," Johan ordered.

Jaden nodded his head. He was going to move when a female voice caught their attention. Johan turned to see Miss. Fontaine and Topaz Tiger are running up.

"What happened?" the demon rabbit asked, seeing the brown-haired demon was in pain. When she didn't get a response, she gave Johan a scowling expression. "Can you move at all?" Miss. Fontaine asked gently. The injured demon shook his head. "Johan, I need you to move him into the cave."

The white cat demon's tail twitched in annoyance, but he did what he was told. Johan bent down and scooped the injured demon in his arms. They walked into the cave, and Johan laid Jaden.

"You have a name, I presume?" Miss. Fontaine started.

The brown-haired demon blinked. "Oh. It's Jaden Haou Yuki. Brother of Judai Haou Yuki," the dog demon shared.

"I thought you looked familiar," Miss. Fontaine said with a smile. She was now checking for broken bones in Jaden's arm as she cleaned the torn skin.

Jaden turned to see that Johan had left. Jaden stared at the ground with guilt in his eyes.

Miss. Fontaine saw the look and patted Jaden on the head. "Let Mr. Anderson be. He's still crushed after what happened to Judai ..."

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Right after Jaden said that he was Judai's brother, Johan left.

"So, you have no family?" Johan asked Judai.

Judai looked a little nervous. "Well. I do. But I don't know where he is," Judai shared.

Johan nodded his head. "Well, sometimes we have to find him. I want to meet your brother."

Johan let out a dark chuckle at the memory. He was so deep in thought he wasn't aware that Jaden was standing behind him until Johan caught his scent.

Jaden scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh .. I'm sorry that I startled you ..."

"Gomane, precious! I didn't mean to hurt you .."

Johan growled and spun around, ready to glare at Jaden, only to see that the dog demon had a bandage around his arm. Johan turned to stare at the stars again. Jaden sighed. I have my work cut out for me, Jaden thought.

To Be Continued...