Tales from the Shadow Realm-BB's Yu-Gi-Oh short fics

[BBkat]

Ok, so not from the Shadow Realm, but I wanted a catchy title. :p

With the Yu-Gi-Oh 20th anniversary movie looming on the horizon(2016!this show was my child hood, I'm excited), my sister's been on a bit of a Yu-Gi-Oh kick recently, rewatching the series, and the first spin off GX. Of course, this means I've been rewatching it all too, and it got my gears turning, a lot(why wouldn't I sit and watch it?).

So I'm going to share some of my short fics here(the one's I'm proud of). I'll try to give, some context so they make sense. They'll only be revolving around the original series and GX and for simplicity's sake I'll be using the dub names.
If I do use the original japanese names, I'll provide a quick who's who before the fic.

And it's all SFW(safe for work) so don't worry, nothing worse than you'd see in the show.


Tale of Contents(for finding stuff quick)-

Reverse!Ishtar Au (Part 1)

Reverse!Ishtar Au (Part 2)

Reverse!Ishtar Au (Part 3)

Reverse!Ishtar Au (Odion's Fall)

Joey and the Orichalcos

Mourning

One Last Dance

Sins of the Past

Drabble Request 1-Love is...

One Last Dance-Part 2

Drabble Request 2

Smile!

[BBkat]

This one's sort of a three parter. While watching the Battle City arc(season 2) I got the idea, 'Hey, what if it was Ishizu, rather than Marik that had been evil'.
And then I just rolled with it. I refer to is as the 'Reverse!Ishatar au'

So these next three are all linked in that they take place simultaneously but with three different character POVs. They're all pretty short though.

So without farther adieu, Part 1-Marik's POV.
Originally posted here!

'All the finalists have arrived for the final rounds of the tournament, but while waiting for the jet, Marik notices something is wrong.'

_______________________________________

Marik sighed, pressing his fingers to the glass of the blimp’s window as he looked out over the city below. Something was wrong, something was very wrong.

“What happened Odion?” he asked, addressing the other man in the room. “They way they looked at me, it was so, cold. Like they didn’t trust me.” He turned, hand falling away from the window. “You don’t suppose she got to them, that she is controlling them do you?”

Odion sighed, he’d noticed it too, while they were waiting, gathered at the place shown on the locator cards, the looks the Pharaoh and his friends had directed towards his master. They didn’t say anything to them, but they didn’t need to, their disdain for his master was clear. It was strange though, when they had first met with the Pharaoh in the museum he seemed very certain they could help him. But now, that was beginning to seem unlikely.

“I, cannot say Master Marik. It is a possibility, Ishizu does have a way with words.”

Marik clenched a fist at his side, even if she wasn’t using the power of the Millenium Rod, as he had not felt its power in use, if she had met with them, even once, who knew what she could have said. “I thought for sure we had their help, but I think we may be on our own Odion.”

“I fear you may be right.”

They lapsed into silence once again, Marik bringing a hand up to the gold ornament worn close to his neck as he turned back to the window. The Millennium Necklace, it had once belonged to his sister, but she had discarded it for the powers of the Millennium Rod instead.

Unfortunately, it had proved to have been little use to Marik, as he was unable to tap into its powers as well as she could and he’d soon noticed that she’d shrouded herself from its power. It was merely a reminder of what he had lost, and what he was fighting to regain.

‘Sister, even if don’t have the Pharaoh’s aid, I will find a way to save you and make our family whole again. Or I will die trying.’

A loud ding filled the air, followed by a crackle as a male voice sounded over the intercom.

“Attention Duellists! The Battle City finals are about to begin! Mister Kaiba requests the presence of all finalists in the main hall!”

“This is it Odion,” said Marik as he turned from the window, grabbing his duel disk and deck from a nearby table. “The beginning of the end.”

[BBkat]

And part two, this time featuring Yugi and Yami.

Reverse!Ishtar Au-Part two.Yami and Yugi's POV
Originally posted here!

_______________________________________

“Is something alright Yami, you’ve been awful quite since we boarded,” asked Yugi, setting down his deck.

The Pharaoh sighed, arms folded over his chest, “To be honest Yugi, I don’t know. Did you notice Marik when we first arrived?”

The young duelist nodded, he’d noticed all the finalists, though he wasn’t sure where the spirit was going with this. “Of course I did, why?”

“Do you remember what Ishizu told us about him?”

Again he nodded, “Yeah sure. She said he wanted the power of the Egyptian gods for himself, that he’d do anything for it. And if those Rare Hunters are anything to go by, we should be on guard.”

The pair of them had met Marik and his bodyguard Odion once before, at the museum exhibit where they first learned about Yami’s connection to the ancient past. The young man they met then was sincere in his pleas for help, not a trace of darkness around him. He warned them of his sister, Ishizu and the danger she posed to them and the world.

Then they encountered Ishizu after a nasty dealing with some Rare Hunters and she seemed visibly surprised that they had met her brother. He was cunning and manipulative, she’d said, and would say or do anything to get his hands on the Egyptian God cards. Yami hadn’t wanted to believe her words, there was no way the young man they met was someone like that. But then he began speaking to them through the Rare Hunters and Yami was forced to admit that, perhaps they had been played as fools.

But now, after seeing him again at the meeting place, at the almost confused look he gave them, now he wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

“Exactly Yugi, which has me concerned, I do not know who to believe any more. I just hope we won’t make the wrong mistake. If we trust the wrong one, the whole world will be in danger”

Yugi frowned, looking up at the spirit of the puzzle, worry etched on his face. He hated seeing him like this, didn’t the Pharaoh have enough on his plate with his lost memories?

“Hey, don’t worry Yami, we’ll figure this out, I know we will. We’ll find the truth together, partner.”

The optimistic sound of his voice brought a smile to the Pharaoh’s face. “Yes, I’m sure we will Yugi, thank you.”

The intercom buzzed as a male voice spoke, “Attention Duellists! The Battle City finals are about to begin! Mister Kaiba requests the presence of all finalists in the main hall!”

“This is it partner,” said Yugi as he stood up, grabbing his deck and sliding it into the disk.

“Yes, the fate of the world rests in these duels, so we must be prepared for anything.” His posture straightened into a more confident pose as the elder spirit took over. “And perhaps we will find out the truth.”

[BBkat]

And of course, part three. Ishizu's POV. After writing the first two, it just felt like it wouldn't be complete without one featuring the villain of the whole thing.

Reverse!Istar AU- Ishizu's POV

_______________________________________

Ishizu reclined in her chair with a satisfied smirk, turning the Millennium Rod over in her hands. Things were going far better than she could ever have anticipated.

When she first heard that her little brother had spoken to the Pharaoh she was worried, if they were allied it throw a hitch into her plans, so she knew something had to be done. And done it was, first she spun a web about how her brother had lost himself, that he was maddened by a dark spirit, that nothing he said could be trusted.

Then using the powers of the Millennium Rod she posed as her brother through the Rare Hunters they encountered, further providing truth to her story. It was hard to argue with facts like those now wasn’t it? And if their silent, almost stony treatment of her brother was any indication, it was had worked well.

A cold smirk tugged at her lips, at this rate it would be easy to get all three Egyptian God Cards. The Pharaoh had ended up with one, a mistake and miscalculation her part but that was no matter. First she would take Kaiba’s Obelisk the Tormentor, then she would take Yugi’s Slifer. And with Ra tucked away in her deck her victory was assured.

First though, she would need to make sure that her brother didn’t interfere. She frowned, that could be a problem, she didn’t want to hurt her dear brother, not if could avoid it. He’d been hurt enough as it was, but if he stood in her way, well she would do what she mad to if it came down to it.

She drew a slender finger across the handle of the Millennium Rod, bringing it to rest on the carving at the top. Perhaps she could get to him through Odion, not that she wanted to hurt him either, he was basically family. But if he was out of the picture, even for a short while, Marik would be far to distracted to stop her.

‘I’m sorry Odion, but I must do this, I cannot have any interference with my plans.’

Her frowned deepened, why didn’t they understand, she was doing this for them, for their benefit. The Pharaoh was the reason for their suffering and pain, it was his fault. None of this would have happened if they hadn’t been a family of tombkeepers, and with three Egyptian God Cards in her possession she could finally do away with the Pharaoh once and for all.

“Attention Duellists! The Battle City finals are about to begin! Mister Kaiba requests the presence of all finalists in the main hall!”

With a sigh she rose to her feet, tucking the Millennium Rod away into her cloak and flicking a braid over once shoulder. So, it was time to find out who would be facing who was it? Not that it really mattered who it was that would face her, they would lose, and lose badly.

‘Perhaps you will see my way by the end of this brother.’

[BBkat]

This one popped into my head alter on, when I was trying to figure out how events would play out. I figured that Marik and Ishizu's opponents would be reversed(Marik would face Kaiba and Ishizu Mai), but then I realized that Odion would still need to be eliminated and Joey would have to move on. Of course, Joey could simply win since Odion wouldn't have a false Ra card in his possession.
But I decided on a different route. Because a simple win wouldn't be any fun. And this was that route.

Also it's a bit longer.

Reverse!Ishtar AU- Odion's Fall
Originally posted here!

_______________________________________
‘At this rate the duel will be over soon enough,’ thought Marik, watching as Odion’s duel against Joey Wheeler progressed.

The older man had brought one of his strongest beasts to the field, the Mystical Beast of Serket, and was systematically destroying Joey’s strongest monsters, first his Jinzo, then his Insect Queen and finally his Legendary Fisherman, getting stronger with each beast it devoured.

‘I almost don’t even need to stay.’

The cold looks and less than subtle whispers from the Pharaoh’s friends were wearing on him and the sooner he got out the better. One more direct attack from Odion’s beast and Joey Wheeler would lose anyways.
Turning away, he started towards the door to the stairs, watching wasn’t mandatory anyways, as he noticed that his sister was conspicuous by her absence.
He’d only gone a few steps when a sound from the field caught his attention.

”Hey uh, you ok over there?” asked Joey, frowning as he looked at Odion. He had been about to direct an attack right at his defenceless life points when he stopped.

Slowly, Marik turned back to look at the field, had something happened?

Odion was shaking, one arm still outstretched in preparation to direct his attack. One by one his cards slipped from his grip as he grabbed his head, dropping to his knees.

"Odion!”

No, no this couldn’t be happening, not now!

”Odion no!”

He pushed past the Pharaoh, desperate to get to the edge of the ring. If what he thought was happening, was happening, no he couldn’t think about that. He gripped the side of the arena, readying himself if he had to climb up.

”Master Marik please, you mustn’t come any farther,” gasped Odion, still holding his head in visible pain. “It’s your sister.” He grimaced again, eyes clenched shut.

Marik froze, no she wouldn’t, she wouldn’t dare hurt Odion. That was one line she would never cross, or at least he’d thought she wouldn’t.

”You have to fight her Odion!”

”I fear, she may be to strong now.” He trailed off into a cry of pain as he doubled over.

...

Ishizu pursed her lips, watching as a light glow engulfed the surface of the Millennium Rod.

‘I wish I didn’t have to do this Odion, but you’re too close and I need you out of the way. I cannot allow you to win this duel.’

...

”Odion no!”

Odion ceased fighting back, hands falling limply to his side as he dropped to the ground in an unmoving heap.

Marik’s eyes widened in fear as he watched Odion fall, what had she done to him?

“No, get up Odion, get up!”

Yugi frowned as he watched the scene unfold before him, now things really weren’t sitting right with him. If Marik was truly the heartless monster Ishizu made him out to be, why did he react like this? These weren’t the words and actions of a heartless monster, far from it. Something wasn’t adding up, and he was going to need to speak to Marik later. If he was even up to speaking.

”Odion, Odion!”

Marik barely noticed the hands grabbing at him, pulling him off the arena and away from his downed friend, his brother.

...

The infirmary was quiet, almost deathly silent save for the sound of the machines monitoring Odion’s vitals. He was alive, but comatose and it had the doctor baffled. He said their findings were much like that of someone who’d been struck by lightning, a massive amount of energy had passed straight through him even though there wasn’t a storm for miles.

Marik knew the truth though, a massive amount of energy has passed through him and overwhelmed him, but not from lightning. It had come from the power of the Rod and Ishizu’s own will.

“This is all my fault, you only entered to help me.” He gripped his knees tightly as he sat at Odion’s bedside, shoulders shaking. “This was never supposed to happen, she was never supposed to take it this far.” He clenched his eyes shut, hot tears stinging at the corners and splashing onto his hands. “I don’t know what to do any more Odion, I’m all alone.”

The door to the infirmary creaked open as someone stepped inside, behind Marik and out of his view. Marik spun around, who would be coming there, surely not his sister.

“Pharaoh!” he sputtered, dumbfounded at the site before him, the Pharaoh standing in the doorway, looking his way. After a moment he regained his composure, using a hand to dry his face quickly. “After my cold reception earlier, you are the last person I expected to be here. What brings you down here?”

He was quiet for a moment before speaking, “I have some questions for you, and I hope you will answer them truthfully.”

“I’m listening.”

“Over the last few days my friends and I have been attacked by Rare Hunters who claim to work for you. In several instances you spoke to us through them. So I am asking, tell me truthfully, are you the one behind these attacks?”

“Of course not!” he snapped, affixing the Pharaoh with an icy glare. “I haven’t the power to do any of that, nor the reason to. If I had to guess, I would say my sister was behind the attacks on you and your friends.”

The Pharaoh smiled, shoulders relaxing, “I believe you.” Marik gave him a quizzical look, that was not what he expected to hear. “Yugi believes you, and I trust his judgment. What I-we saw out there earlier, that was not the same ‘Marik’ we encountered before, the one who would selfishly sacrifice their pawns left and right.”

“Ishizu,” sighed Marik, closing his eyes. “She wields the power of the Millennium Rod, and it allows her to control the minds of those around her. Or in the case here,” he looked down at Odion with a frown, “Overpower them. I never thought she was go this far, that she was so far gone as to attack her own family.” He was quiet for a moment before speaking again, “They said he’ll live, but they don’t know if or when he’ll wake up. And I don’t know what to do any more.”

Slowly, Yami walked across the floor to Marik as he slumped back down into the chair. “Marik, I promise, we will help bring this to an end, before any more innocent people are harmed.” As he spoke he placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “You will have my support.”

‘You know Yami, we’re going to have to try and explain this to everyone first,’ said Yugi.

'I am aware, but I have faith they will understand.’

“The next round will be announced soon, we should get going.”

Marik nodded, “I will join you shortly, I need a few more minutes here. Besides, you need to speak with your friends.” The Pharaoh nodded before turning and exiting the room and leaving Marik alone with Odion once more. “I don’t want to hurt her Odion, but if this keeps up, I may have no choice. She must be stopped before anyone else gets hurt.”

[BBkat]

Another AU idea, this time from season 4(the Waking the Dragons arc, or the Seal of Orichalcos arc).

What if it had been Joey, not Mai that was tempted by the power of the Orichalcos? Power to finally make something of themselves and stop being a laughing stock, stop being an amateur and half rate.
I noticed that Joey always seems to get the short end of things and his various achievements mocked and looked down on. Which has got to suck, hard. Especially when it's your friends teasing you(sure it's meant as harmless fun, but after a while that's got to wear on you).

Also, I dug a bit into manga canon for this too-for those not versed in the manga, Joey's father was an alcoholic, with a gambling addiction. And while never directly stated to be so, I think it's safe to say he was probably abusive too(there's a scene where Jo's friends go looking for him at home and his father throws a beer bottle at the door thinking its him and demanding to know where he was, that speaks for itself I think).

Honestly, he has all the makings of someone that group would pick up.

And fun fact, I wanted to have Valen say something along the lines of 'You look like you could use a drink'. Except then I remembered Joey's 16-17, so that didn't seem like a good idea even though it felt like something Valen would say. xD

Originally posted here!

Joey and the Orichalcos

_______________________________________

“Well Joseph, have you made your decision? Join us, or walk away?”


The blond was quiet, eyes fixated on the dark green stone in front of him and the promise of power, to make something of himself. He winced slightly, nursing a split lip and a bruised jaw from an earlier fight, before his mind drifted back to the events that lead to where he was.

It hadn’t been a good day, first there was getting out of the house before his father woke up, and the drunken, slurred words as he shut the door told him he’d only just made it. It only got worse as he had a run in with a gang, resulting a busted lip and several nasty bruises and some stinging insults.

With a frustrated groan he slammed his fist into the brick wall, using the pain in his hand to distract him from the injuries.

“You look like you’re having a bit of a rough time there mate,” came a heavily accented voice from somewhere to his right.

“Oh yeah, you wanna go too? Cause I’m not exactly in a good mood alright?”

“Hey now, I’m not looking for a fight, but you look like you haven’t got a friend in the world.”

“Hey, I got plenty of friends got it?” he snapped at the biker. “They’re just busy today.”

The other man tilted his head, “That a duel-disk you got there?” he asked. “You a duelist?”

“Yeah, so what if I am?”

“Why don’t we have a duel then, just a friendly one, you look like you could use the distraction.”

The duel was a curb stomp, Valen, as Joey learned his name was, easily beating a distracted Joey.

“Aw come on, how did I lose?” He sunk to his knees, maybe he really was just an amateur who’d gotten lucky after all.

“You talk a good game, but it didn’t look like your heart was really in it,” said Valen with a sigh and shrug. ”To bad, I was hoping for a good duel, especially from you.”

He scowled, “You just got lucky that’s all, and I’m having a bad day. I’ll have you know I took second place at Duelist Kingdom and runner up in Battle City.”

Valen smirked, “Issat so? Then I really should have gotten a better duel outta you. Those wins musta just been luck.”

“You take that back!” Grabbing Valen’s collar he slammed the man into the alley wall. “Joey Wheeler is no amateur, I got that far on my own, with my own skills. Sure, I may have had some luck, but I have skills too.”

Valen smirked, pushing his hand down, “You got spunk you know that? But right now, it sounds like you need someone to talk to.”


And talk he did, though he wasn’t even sure why. He barely knew this Valen fellow and yet he just kept talking, venting his frustrations about his life, about not being taken seriously no matter what he did, about life in general. He’d taken on an Egyptian god card and held his own, yet no one seemed to care. And all the while Valen listened attentively, absentmindedly twisting around the green stoned ring on his finger.

“You know,” he said as Joey finished, “I know someone who can ‘elp you, I’m sure he’d love to meet ya. Come on, why don’t I take you meet him?”


And so he found himself in front of this man, Dartz, and the green stone that he promised would solve his problems, one way or another. All he had to do was take it.

“Well, I haven’t got all day.”

He clenched his eyes shut, he was tired of being second best, tired of being mocked and ridiculed, especially by the jerk in the suit Kaiba. It wasn’t fair, he tried and tried but what did he get, nothing, no respect at all, even his own friends teased him.

Looking back to the stone he felt his resolve steel itself in his heart, he was going to show them, to show the world that he could do it, he was strong. Before he was even aware of what he was doing his hand curled around the vibrant green stone tightly and a piercing hat seared through him. It burned as it travelled through his arm and coursed through his veins. His skull began to pound as the burning sensation settled in there. He could hear them, all the voices that had even put him down, they were screaming in his mind, amplified a hundred times over. Then, silence.


Datrz watched with a satisfied grin as Wheeler took the stone in his hand, the power of the Orichalcos surging through him. For him it was a win either way, either he’d get a powerful new pawn, or a new soul to power the Great Beast.

The harsh green glow faded and Joey remained standing, the stone held tight in one hand as he panted heavily, legs shaking.

“Welcome Joeseph, it seems you passed the test. I do believe you’ll be a perfect fit here.”

[BBkat]

'Ever since they returned from Egypt, Yugi just hasn’t been the same, and his friends are beginning to worry.'
----
After we hit the series finale this one crept into my head. There was no way, in my mind, that Yugi would not spend some time mourning the loss of Atem/the Pharaoh after his departure. How could he not? He shared a body with him for several years and he was a close friend. His departure was basically dying.

Also Bakura is a natural sweetie would definitely comfort his friend in need. Also he would know what it's like to lose someone close to him-drawing again from manga canon, its revealed he had a younger sister that he lost in a car accident. It's also implied that his mother is deceased though we don't know how, for the purpose of this story, I'm going with that she died in the same accident.

So yes, sad warning ahead for post series feels!

Originally posted here!

Mourning!

_______________________________________

“Has anyone else noticed that Yugi hasn’t been himself lately?” asked Joey, leaning against the wall of the school, arms folded over his chest.

Teá nodded, “Now that you mention it, he has been a little distant.”

Tristan snorted, “A little? He spends more time staring off into space than he does paying attention to class, he didn’t even realize when the bell had gone till I said something.”

“That’s why I’m worried,” said Joey. “It’s not like him to be, like this. He even turned me down for a friendly duel the other day, because he didn’t feel like it. Yugi’s never turned down a duel before.” He shook his head, “I asked what was wrong but he said everything was fine. I don’t think it is though.”

Teá bit the edge of her bottom lip, “What do we do, if he won’t talk to us how can we help?”

“Perhaps I can be of some assistance?” asked a soft voice from behind them.

____________________________

Yugi sighed as he trudged home, head bowed slightly as he let the facade drop. It was tiring, putting on a smile everyday for his friends. But he had to, he had to put on a brave face for them, to be strong, he’d promised he would. He just wished he didn’t have to be so strong all the time.

“Yugi, Yugi!”

He lifted his head at the sound of his name being called from down the road. Turning he saw a familiar face running to meet him. “Bakura? I thought you lived in the opposite direction? What are you doing here?”

“Well, I saw you leaving school and you looked a little down, so I thought you could use the company,” he said, offering a smile.

“I-I’m alright, but I guess some company would be nice.” He didn’t get to talk to Bakura as often as he did the rest of his friends, for one Bakura lived on the opposite side of town, and up until recently, the spirit of the Millennium Ring had been keeping him isolated from them.

Bakura watched him quietly as they walked, Yugi’s friends had been right, he wasn’t his usual chipper self at all, and he had a hunch he knew why.

“You know,” he said, breaking the silence, “You don’t need to pretend.”

“Pretend?”

“That everything’s alright.”

Yugi looked away quickly, hoping to doge the question and move on, “Everything’s fine.”

Bakura sighed, ‘You’re a terrible liar you know that Yugi?’ he thought. “It’s the pharaoh, isn’t it?” he asked. This got his attention, Yugi’s head snapping up suddenly at the mention of the pharaoh. “I thought so. You miss him, don’t you?” Yugi only response was a small nod, so Bakura continued. “You know, it’s alright to feel sad, you don’t need to pretend that nothing’s wrong, it’ll only make it hurt that much worse.”

“You wouldn’t understand, nobody does, they weren’t as close as we were.”

“Actually Yugi, that’s where you’d be wrong. I do know what it’s like, to lose someone close to you, that’s why I want to help.”

For the second time that walk, Yugi found himself without words, what did Bakura mean he knew? He hadn’t been close the Ring Spirit at all, quite the opposite in fact and Yugi was sure he was glad to get rid of it.

“Who did you lose?” he finally asked.

“My little sister, and my mother. So believe me when I say that talking helps, and I think there’s a part of you that wants to talk.” I know I’d have loved to have someone to talk with.

He sighed, Bakura was right, he did want to talk but he didn’t know who to talk to that would understand where he was coming from. None of his friends would understand, they couldn’t.

“It hurts Bakura, I can’t not think about him and it hurts. It’s not fair that he had to leave. I know why he left but, that doesn’t make it any easier.” Warm tears stung the corner of his eyes as he clenched them shut. “I feel selfish, wishing he could have stayed, leaving was for the best for him after all.”

“Of course it hurts Yugi, you lost someone very close to you, he left but you’re still here.”

Yugi wiped his eyes quickly with the back of his hand before looking up at Bakura. “Does it ever get better? Does it ever stop hurting?”

A small frown formed on Bakura’s face, and he reached a hand to touch Yugi’s shoulder reassuringly, “I’m not going to lie, it’ll probably never stop hurting, but it will get easier to bear. I can promise it will get better though.”

“It’s not fair, why does it have to hurt so much? It feels-it feels like a hole’s been left in my heart.”

He could feel Yugi shaking under his hand, trying to fight back tears and sobs as he talked. The poor guy, he must have been hurting more than he’d been letting on.

Despite the trembling he continued speaking. “When I get up in the morning, there’s a moment when, for a moment I think I’ll hear his voice greeting me. Then I remember that he’s gone. The silence, I can’t stand this silence any more. I hate it Bakura.”

He bit the inside of his lip, he was enjoying his newfound silence, no longer having to hear the whispers of the dark spirit in his ear. But he did understand what he meant, the silence after losing his mother and sister was deafening.

Under his hand he felt Yugi tremble again as he tried to hide his face into the crook of his arm.

“You know, it’s also alright to cry, you’ll feel a lot better after I promise.”

Yugi shook his head, “I can’t, I promised I’d be strong.”

“You are strong Yugi, but bottling everything up isn’t the way to go. And there’s nothing wrong with crying once in a while. I won’t tell anyone I promise.”

To his surprise, that earned a half laugh from Yugi, the other half being a sob. “Thanks Bakura, you’re a good friend. Think you could stick around for a little longer?”

He smiled, “Of course, now let’s get you home.”

[BBkat]

And the last one(for now, I'll probably write more at a later date).
We finally hit GX and this came about.
I actually had to do a bit of research for this because it takes place at the end of the series, season 4, which I have not seen(yet) because it never got dubbed. Yup, dubbed the first three seasons of GX and, didn't do season 4. It still breaks canon a bit but, idc.

It's short and fluffy and, it's shipping. Spiritshipping (Jaden/Jesse, Judai/Johan) to be exact. I jumped that ship hard oh man.
And it's my favourite and probably the shortest right now.
(made a few edits)

Originally posted here!
I present you,

One Last Dance.

_______________________________________
“Well hey there Jay, guess they’re right, I would find ya here,” said Jesse, leaning against the frame of the doorway to the dorm. He glanced to the bags on the floor, tightly packed and filled, “You certainly don’t waste time in packing.”

Jaden flashed him a rare smile as he sat down on the bed, taking a much needed break, “Yeah, I can’t wait to go. It’ll be a whole new adventure, there's a whole world out there and a lot of people.”
A rather tightly stuffed back sat on the floor at his feet, as if he'd managed to cram all his possessions into it, somehow.
His trademark red and white Slifer blazer lay unfolded on the bed beside him, leaving Jaden dressed in a more subdued black shirt and dark jacket.

“You know you’re missing the graduation dance right?” He asked, setting a small plate of food down on the table as he stepped inside. "Brought you some grub by the way, so you don't miss out on everything."

He laughed, “So I can hear.”

The faint music from the dance carried across the campus, all the way from the Obelisk Blue dorms to the Slifer Red dorms, though by then it was faint and muddled together.

“So what you brings you around here? I thought you’d left.”

Jesse gave a meek smile, rubbing the back of his head nervously, “I thought I’d stick around a bit longer, catch ya before ya left, ya know? Could be a while before we see each other again after all, wanted ta get a chance ta say goodbye.” He glanced around, as if making sure no one else was around, before sticking his hand out towards the brunette,trying not to let his nervousness show.

Jaden cast his a curious look, glancing from his hand back up to Jesse.

Jesse smiled, a light blush tinging his cheeks, “A-a dance, just one, before we have ta part ways. Care ta dance with me?”

Jaden was quiet for a moment before putting his hand in Jesse’s as he stood up, “Alright, but I gotta warn you, I have two left feet. I don't think even Yubel can cure me of that.”

Jesse just laughed as his hand curled around Jaden's, the other settling against his waist. "Don't worry about it, ain't no one around to see anyways." His forehead bumped against Jaden's lightly, "Besides, you'll have time to get better before my graduation. You can make it up to me then."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

[BBkat]

The context I'm about to give(and the story), contains spoilers for season 3 of Yu-Gi-Oh GX. Like, big plot related ones. So a fair warning if you don't want those.




Ok, now that you've been warned, onto some context.
Basically, I didn't think that there was anyway that Jaden could come to terms with what he did as the Supreme King(see: he racked up a body count of probably hundreds, if not thousands) as quickly as they show in the series. Like, one or two duels isn't going to remove that sort of guilt and stuff. It's gonna be stuck with him for a long time. and that kinda spawned this.

I'm personally quite proud of it.

Also, minor Spiritshipping(though of the comforting variety, kinda fluffy)

Originally posted here!


_______________________________________

It wasn't the first time Jaden had woken up in tears, a scream dying in his throat as he clenched the bed sheets in a death grip, his body soaked in sweat and trembling from the night terrors. It was just the first time that Jesse had born witness to one.

It was the shuffling and rustling of sheets that first roused him from his sleep, followed shortly but the soft, unintelligible mumblings.

"Jay?" he asked, rubbing an eye sleepily as he sat up. "You ok over there? Jay?" A soft coo came from beside Jaden's head as Winged Kuriboh materialized, looking down at Jaden with sad eyes, then back at Jesse, as if asking him to help Jaden.

Jaden's face was twisted in pain, tears streaking down his cheeks as he held the sheets tightly. He shifted around, twisting and writhing in his sleep. "No, no." His voice was strained and laced with pain and fear. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Jesse felt his stomach knot as he looked at him, he'd never seen Jaden like this before, of course, Jaden was always good at hiding things too. "Jaden, Jaden wake up," he said as he grabbed his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Come on Jay wake up."

The brown haired boy gave a strangled cry as it eyes flew opened, flailing against the sheets in a blind panic.

"Easy Jay easy, it's just me. Just me." He kept his voice soft and gentle as he held Jaden's shoulder, easing him into a sitting position once he was calm.

Winged Kuriboh materialized again next to Jaden, chirping comfortingly as it snuggled against his cheek and shortly thereafter Ruby Carbuncle joined him, purring softly as she wove around him.

For a few minutes Jaden sat there, staring at his hands as he held the edge of the sheets, heart hammering in his chest, the look of fear still plastered on his face. Slowly he looked up at Jesse, who looked at him with a worried expression.

"What happened?" he asked after a moment.

"I-" A lump formed in his throat as he tried to speak and it took several long moments to force it out so he could speak again. "I can still hear them Jesse, all the screams of everyone I-" he was cut off by a choked sob as he gripped the sheets tighter, tears blurring his vision. "All those people, everyone I hurt, all the people I k-killed. I can still hear them."

Jesse's eyes widened slowly as he listened to Jaden, this was the first he'd heard about all this. "Jay how-how long has this been happenin?"

"Ever since I got free from, that," he said. "I thought, I thought I was passed this, that I'd gotten over all this. But I'm not." His hands shook violently and tears splashed onto the sheets in front of him.

"Aw Jay, why didn't ya ever tell me?" asked Jesse, moving to hook an arm around Jaden's shoulder.

His shoulders hunched as he bowed his head, "I thought, I thought it would make me look weak. And I was afraid that if you knew, if you knew you'd hate me."

"Now tha's just not true, ah could never hate you Jaden you know that," he said, rubbing his shoulder gently. "An I'd never think yer weak, even with all this. Yer one of the strongest people ah know. You've fought through more than most people will in their entire lives. This ain't weakness." He placed his other hand on Jaden's to calm his trembling, slipping a few fingers between his carefully.

"But it's all my fault, I caused so much pain and death, and now I can't stop reliving it. Every night I relive it."

"But that wasn't you, not this you anyways, that was the Supreme King. He did all those things not you."

"That's still me, two sides of the same coin remember? He's me and I'm him. I let it take me and didn't even try to fight back. And then it used me to do all those horrible things, to hurt all those people, to hurt my friends." He shook his head, "How-how could they forgive me so easily?"

"Because they are your friends Jay, an they know you, that's why. An, that's how I know that you aren't like that any more, that you're different from then."

Jaden looked up at him with bleary eyes, "What do you mean?"

A soft smile graced Jesse's lips and he raised a hand to brush away the tears from Jaden's cheeks. "Because, you feel guilty, and you feel regret for everything that happened. The other you wouldn'ta felt any of that. I wasn't there so I don't rightly know everything that happened, but I know you're the one in control now and that you'd never do anything like that again. You're a good person Jay, don't you forget that." He hooked his arms around Jaden and pulled him close to his chest, stroking his back gently. He knew the events had weighed heavily upon Jaden, but he'd never known just how heavily; every time he asked, Jaden insisted he was fine and brushed aside the topic. In hindsight that should have been a give away that something was wrong, but it had always been a sore spot so he never pressed the subject in case he pressed to far.

He pressed a kiss to his forehead before Jaden's head came to rest on the crook of his neck. "Just please, don't hide stuff like this from me. I wanna help you, but only if ya let me. I want to help you, just like you want to help everyone else. It doesn't have to be a one way street, you deserve help as much as anyone else in this world. You've given so much, I think it's about time you let the world give back to you."

Jaden's fingers moved to grip Jesse's shirt tightly as he sobbed, still trembling in his arms. "I'm s-sorry Jesse," he stuttered.

The small duel spirits snuggled closer to Jaden, cooing and chirping happily in comforting tones, trying their best to make him feel better.

He rubbed Jaden's back softly as he held him close, letting the boy sob into his shoulder and cling to him tightly. "It'll be ok Jay, I promise it will."

[BBkat]

This was for a drabble prompt, I got to chose basically everything though, all I was told was the series, which was GX.

‘Love is…sometimes putting them before yourself’ (I made my own prompt xD)
Soulbondshipping (Johan/Judai/Yubel)
Judai=Jaden, Johan=Jesse
I've since started using the original names, not the dub names.
Originally posted here!
——

“You are aware that you are going to be exhausted because of this correct?” asked Yubel, their form flickering slightly from where they sat in the corner of the couch.

“I know,” said Johan with a nod, letting his arm fall to his side as he relaxed against the opposite corner of the couch. “I’ll probably follow his lead and sleep till noon.” He gestured to Judai, who lay curled between them, his head resting on Yubel’s lap as he slept.

“Then why?”

Johan smiled as he looked down at Judai. His ability to manifest spirits had never been as strong as Judai’s, an ability that only sem stronger after his union with Yubel, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t do it.

“Just look at him Yubel, he’s exhausted, you saw how fast he fell asleep. He didn’t even have the strength to call out Winged Kuriboh, let alone you. He didn’t say anything but, he needs you more right now.”

Yubel looked down at Judai, brushing his hair aside with one hand. It was true, the day had taken a lot out of him and he had just about fallen asleep the moment he crashed on the couch.

“I can deal with being a bit tired for his sake,” said Johan with a yawn. “Even if he probably won’t remember this.”

Yubel smiled, gently smoothing Judai’s hair and brushing it from his face as he slept. “Thank you, Johan.”