[OOC] Personal History
Born into a standard Japanese family, of an upper-middle class, Judai spent a great deal of his childhood almost completely alone, due to the fact that his parents were, more often than not, deeply preoccupied with their careers. He was offered very good living conditions as a result of this, but Judai's own sense of loneliness was much greater than any compensation which could have been derived from his parents' hectic lives and successful careers. This was the main reason why, as deeply imaginative and enthusiastic as he was, the child immersed himself into the game of 'Duel Monsters' very early on, developing a deep bond with his cards -- viewing them as friends and, sometimes being able to hear the voices of their Spirits.

At the age of five, the little boy received a special gift from his Father – a card named Yubel, one whose Spirit appeared clearly to his eyes the instant that his fingers touched it. From that moment onward, Judai and Yubel became steadfast companions, with her taking on the role of Spirit partner -- the one who always watched and stood guard over him – while Judai offered her his entire love and affection, emotions which he was unable to express towards his habitually absent parents.

What the boy did not know was the fact that the deep bond which he shared with Yubel was not merely caused by his status as a lonely child in need of a caring, supporting companion. It ultimately stemmed from a much older and unfathomable source, one that he wouldn't have been able to even imagine without the proof offered by memories. Countless centuries before the modern age, somewhere in a distant Dimension, Judai and Yubel had once lived out their past lives together, inextricably liked by friendship, loyalty and love. At the time, Judai had been the Crown-Price of that kingdom, the King's heir and the heralded protector of the world, born with the powers of Darkness sealed within him. More or less ignorant as to his role in the grander scheme of things, the little Prince had befriended Yubel, an androgynous-looking high-born girl, with whom he used to spend his days either in childish play or in various acts of mischief. Over time, as the years passed, he slowly became aware of the fact that his feelings for Yubel ran deeper than mere friendship, but this was a confession thwarted by the fact that she willingly chose to have her blood infused with that of a dragon, in order to become a much stronger creature -- an Ultimate Shield -- swearing her life in his service, as his ever-faithful protector, until he would grow into an adult and learn to utilize his powers. Despite the fact that this act had turned her into an unsightly draconian creature, a hermaphrodite built upon the unification of both genders, the young Prince's feelings of love had not not diminished in the slightest -- reason why he made a fateful pledge to her, promising that his undying faithfulness belonged only to Yubel, later adding a vow of physical celibacy to the oath of emotional fidelity.

In the end, however, this sacrifice was not enough, as the Prince lost his life several years later, most probably struck down and destroyed by the Light that he had sworn to defeat, despite Yubel's desperate efforts to save his life.

Thoroughly ignorant of this shared past – as well as of his greater purpose in life – the young Yuki Judai merely contended himself to enjoying his days in Yubel's company, counting upon her aid in Duels and her caring, faithful presence when he needed a close friend. This serene existence, however, was perturbed by the Duel Monster's possessive jealousy toward the little boy, as she began – in her deeply-seated fear of losing him once more – to assault, injure or frighten all other children or teenagers who happened to best him at his favorite game or make him unhappy, for any reason. The direct result of this aggressive behavior on her part was the fact that most of his former playmates became quite frightened of Judai, refusing to play or spend time together with him anymore, to the despairing sadness of the little boy, who once again saw himself locked in his lonely little world, with only Yubel for company. While he possibly suspected that his Spirit partner might be the source for all of this suffering, Judai refused to harm her in any manner, much too attached to Yubel in order to even comprehend the idea of a separation from her.

The end, however, was long overdue; it came when Yubel, furious that an older Duelist and neighbor of Judai's had dared to prevent the boy from playing her card and subsequently defeated him quite throughly, resorted to placing her little companion's opponent into a deep coma, from which he would probably never awaken. Completely shocked by this – and not a little frightened as well – Judai finally decided that she was much too dangerous in order to be used or even kept near him anymore. Treading past the peculiar pain which he had felt at the thought of separation – as well as the guilt born from Yubel's pleas – the boy opted to have her card sent into orbit by KaibaCorp, along with several of his contest-winning card-designs, in the hopes that the energies of justice from space (Judai's instinctive definition for the Gentle Darkness) would transform her into a much more accepting and balanced creature.

However, despite his youthful hopes, Judai's life did not improve after Yubel was forcefully ripped from it, as he began to spend most of his nights squirming uncontrollably, in the throes of terrible nightmares -- endlessly hearing her desperate voice calling out his name, begging him to take her back, screaming in agony alongside him, in the midst of a never-fading pyre.

It is at this moment in time that Judai's history throughly deviated from canon, as one crucial decision was changed -- his parents opted to not tamper with his mind, in order to end the recurring nightmares -- reason why he retained his memories of the years spent with Yubel as his Spirit partner, as well as the deep bond that had begun to form between the two of them, along with which inevitably came remembrance of a good portion of his former life, spent as a scion of royalty and herald of the Gentle Darkness.


I. Beginning

After Yubel's card was blasted off into space by KaibaCorp at Judai's request, the boy began experiencing a series of frighteningly vivid nightmares, in which his spirit-partner, agonizing in the cold, barren expanse of space, cried out to him, in frenzied pleas to be taken back, to be loved and trusted once more. Without knowing that what he was experiencing were the sensations of the mental bond which had existed between them during their past lives, severed by his death – and which had slowly started to re-form when the two of them were once again reunited, after lonely centuries of separation -- Judai was understandably frightened, the sheer vividness of his nightly terrors making it almost impossible to sleep.

Instead of altering his memory, his parents chose to use the less invasive method of influencing his sleep-patterns with sedatives. Slowly but surely, as he became more and more accustomed to the silver chord which seemed to tie him to Yubel, Judai began learning ways in which to use the bond as an active communication channel, as well as methods of blocking off sensations on the other end, when they become much too overwhelming for him.

With each passing year, he would tell himself the same thing, even though Yubel's voice would always send a burden of crushing guilt tumbling on his shoulders: when she was cured of her vindictiveness towards those around him, when the good energy of Justice would infuse her, then he would request for the capsule to be brought back to Earth.

However, what he had not expected had been the fact that the prolonged mental contact between him and Yubel managed to weakened some unseen barrier within his mind, creating little fissures in that safety-dam -- fissures through which memories of his past reincarnation started to flow outward, in ever-increasing quantities. At first frightened by these dim, scattered recollections, Judai soon accepted them as merely another novelty, with the innocent curiosity of a child. It was this innocence which lead him to tell his family and few close friends of his memories-in-dreams -- ventures which always ended up with the adults shaking their heads and passing everything off as merely the active imagination of a child.

Still, Judai's peaceful life had never been meant to last and it came to a crashing, burning halt one night, at the age of ten years, when the boy remembered his excruciatingly painful death in the other life -- burned on the stake, killed by a hidden plot and by the betrayal of a man whom he had considered his closest blood-kin, on the behest of the Light of Ruin. This horrific memory frightened him more than anything else before, as it kept repeating itself over and over again, every single night, despite the numerous drugs that his parents and several doctors used, in order to offer him some semblance of peace.

Unable to even close his eyes for fear of experiencing that indescribable pain once more, Judai began to experience the typical effects of sleep-deprivation: from a general lack of energy, to pronounced depression, lack of focus, exhaustion and moments of full-blown hallucinations. It was during these tribulations that he intimately remembered just what the Light of Ruin had been -- as he had ended up perishing by its effect -- and that his true purpose was to guard the world from its searing touch. Plagued by so many untold fears, Judai began resenting the Light, considering it to be responsible for both his premature death, as well as for the turmoil that he was experiencing in this new life -- a resentment which slowly metamorphosed into deeply-set hatred.

It was thusly inevitable for his parents, even rarely present, as they were, to not notice the fact that their otherwise cheerful and optimistic boy had become sullen, withdrawn, silent, moody and sometimes had bursts of barely-controlled anger. To this end, the two adults finally decided that it was truly necessary to aid him on a psychological level. Since normal psychiatrists hadn't seemed to work -- Judai would close up completely, refusing to talk about his troubles in their presence -- they settled upon opting for the services of a certified specialist in hypnosis, who would delve deeply into the unconscious side of the little boy's mind, in an attempt to locate the source of his recurring nightmares.


II. Katabasis (Descent)

Well-intentioned though he may have been, the hypnotist made one critical mistake, after he had instructed Judai to lay down on a soft bed of cushions and guided him through all of the steps necessary for the descent into the hypnotic state. Unknowingly, the man delved far too deeply into Judai's mind, in his attempt to find out what had caused this child to experience such vivid and horrific dreams. Mistakenly, he made Judai re-live, under hypnosis, the grueling moments of his other life... which, coupled with the overbearing guilt of having condemned Yubel to painful solitude, as well as the horror of having to experience one's death hundreds of times, over and over, night after night, served to shatter a seal deep within the boy's body, sending his forgotten powers surging straight to the surface, in one violent tidal wave of darkness. Unable to even think anymore, reacting only in accord to blind animal instinct, every fiber in his being screaming at the defilement that was the invasion of his mind, Judai unleashed his powers upon the doctor and his parents with absolutely no regard to the consequences.

When several fire brigades and emergency medical services arrived at the Yuki home, to find a good deal of it in flames, they also stumbled upon a little boy outside, dressed only in nightclothes, breathing heavily and appearing to be in a state of shock.

What followed is quite easy to predict - the Yuki family was effectively destroyed by that one event. Judai's father managed to pull through the ordeal with only minimal injuries, but the poor hypnotist was killed on the spot, while his mother perished due to extensive burns several weeks later. As for Judai himself, the nearly catatonic boy was admitted to the psychiatric ward of a children's hospital in Tokyo, where he could be aided and where he could not pose a danger -- either to himself or to others.

In this rather dreary place, Judai spent the next six months of his life, completely unaware of what had happened to his family or of the reason for which he had been admitted in the first place. In order to protect his still fragile mind, his psyche had once again blocked access to his powers, as well as sealed away the memory of his terrible deeds, done out of sheer desire for self-preservation. Blind in his innocence, yet still retaining his deeply-held fear and hatred of the Light -- as well as an unexplainable aversion to the mere thought of mind-tampering of any kind -- Judai accustomed himself with the rigors of life in a hospital ward, making several friends among the other children -- among which was Min, an older girl who enjoyed calling him 'Juu' and whom he taught how to Duel, since he was still in possession of his Elemental Hero Deck.

Still, it would seem that fate had deemed for Judai to never be freed from his inherited tribulations, as Yubel's screams became shriller and more painful inside his head -- as if the Duel Spirit was experiencing a great deal of pain. In fact, at exactly the same time, Yubel was being methodically taken over by the Light, her sensations transmitting themselves through the bond all the way down to Judai, who reacted with shock, terror and rage at the feel of the Light against his mind, his powers once again beginning to manifest themselves. Worried by this new development and seeing their little patient's mental state beginning to fall apart once more, the physicians gained his father's permission to do what should have been done much earlier -- seal away all of Judai's memories of the traumatic events that had occurred over the last few years.

Naturally, nothing took place according to plan -- Judai point-blank refused to have them meddling with his mind, his reactions almost resembling those of a desperate, cornered animal fighting for survival. His conflicting emotions were the ones that spurred the Light-infested Yubel -- who had started falling back to Earth and disintegrating upon re-entry -- to use the last of her crumbling abilities in order to steer her wrecked pod in Judai's general location. As for the boy, the sensations of Yubel's burning agony -- along with the feel of the Light and the prospect of once again having his thoughts tampered with -- caused him to have an almost complete mental breakdown, its peak coinciding with the apocalyptic moment when Yubel's burning pod struck the hospital in full.

It was, to put it simply, hell on earth. Most of the building was blown to bits by the impact and nearly all of those inside at the moment perished -- either from the blast itself, or from the fire which erupted after it. Judai was among the ones who were fortunate to not be killed instantly, saved by the fact that, at the time he was in the fully-shielded tomography room. However, this did not spare him the sight of all the mangled bodies in the corridors -- among which were Min and his father -- as well as of the reunion with Yubel, merely a fragment of charred flesh, an eyeless, faceless, unspeakable horror, kept alive only by sheer determination and the Light's power. When he ended up face-to-face with this grotesque creature, Judai was broken once more, realizing what his own foolish beliefs had done to the one that he had sworn his eternal love to -- even though, at the time, he was not that accustomed to the concept itself.

It was Yubel herself who brought about the next set of events, as she had crawled over the floor, guiding herself by the feel of his unforgettable presence, calling out his name in a raspy whisper, intent upon imprinting her love on his flesh, showing her feelings by making him experience the full agony that she had gone through on re-entry. Terrified by her and disgusted at himself, flinching in front of the Light, Judai was backed against a wall -- and when Yubel's stumps made contact with his own hands, the heat of her still-burning form seared the flesh of his palms, while the Light tried to posses him, coming into direct contact with Judai's Darkness. This, of course, caused a deep reverberation within him and a pain of indescribable proportions, as his powers once more roared to life. Now, however, Judai was able to keep at least a single shred of control and, with it, he stopped himself from killing Yubel by instinctively opening a gateway and leaping through it in order to flee from the Light's touch and from the sight of his mutilated guardian.


IV. Culling

This instinctual action caused Judai to fall through the portal that his uncontrolled powers had opened, landing straight into the Dark World. Dazed and driven near the fine edge of all-out madness by the complete and utter destruction that he had lived through, the boy was found by a group of human Duelists, renegades and vocal opponents of the Mad King Brron's rule, who took him to the relative safety of their hidden village. Here, in this small sanctuary -- within a dark, cold world which he couldn't even begin to understand -- Judai slowly started to methodically piece himself back together, demonstrating the strength of character that was befitting of the Champion of Dark Justice, even though he was only eleven years old at the time. Still swathed in guilt and crippling shame for everything that had happened because of him – given that the memory of his mother's death had returned as well -- the boy struggled to integrate himself into the small community, learning how to accomplish simple house-hold chores with his mangled hands, as well as improving his Dueling skills against the other villagers.

Tranquility, it seemed, had never been a state meant to last all that long for Judai,as previous events have shown. Thusly, it came as little surprise that his newly-built existence was once again uprooted and tossed every which way. One fateful moment was all that it took, a single inexperienced sentry, for the village to be stormed by the Mad King's loyal fiends, led by one of his most trusted Lieutenants, Broww, Huntsman of Dark World. Once again, Judai was placed face-to-face with the cruel reality of senseless destruction and murder, as several villagers interposed themselves between him and the fiends, offering the boy a chance to escape. Terrified by the horrors that seemed to follow him doggedly wherever he went (when, in fact, it had all been just a very rare and unfortunate series of painful events, with very little relation to each other), Judai fled blindly, uncaring where his steps brought him.

What he did not know was that Broww, as his name implied, delighted in the chase and took a great deal of pleasure from hunting down the little human Duelist who had tried to get away from his troops. Following Judai's sloppy trail, he eventually caught up with the child, cornering him and mock-challenging him to a Duel. At first, Judai out-right refused, already knowing full-well the price which had to be paid in this vicious world for defeat. Delighted by such a stubborn opposition, Broww had his soldiers execute several unarmed villagers and Duel Spirits under the boy's eyes, relishing in the fact that he had absolute power over his adversary's mind and body. The factor that had never existed in his plans to begin with had been one small detail -- Judai had reached his peak of despair. Driven far beyond the known limits of human endurance, his powers finally manifested themselves fully, this third activation proving to be the final and complete one.

The rest, it needs to be said, was quite obvious -- the young Haou-Judai arose, as the energy resonated and mixed with his inner horror, helpless despair and powerless rage, turning into a dark maelstrom of world-shattering potency, the Gentle Darkness' initial benevolence becoming fully twisted by Judai's almost fatally wounded mind. Broww's fate -- and that of his other lackeys -- was sealed then, as Judai unleashed his full wrath upon all of them, leaving no trace of their existence behind.

The following three years where ones characterized only by blind obsession -- a fixation to fulfill what the young Haou perceived was his only reason for existence: the total, complete and absolute destruction of the Light of Ruin in this Universe. In a sense, his awakening made him see himself as merely a living, breathing weapon, a harbinger of strife and suffering, not a human being who was free to choose his own path. The above-mentioned obsession with the Light became the staple that defined every single one of his actions or deeds. To this extent, he became determined to find a way back into his own Dimension, realizing that the Dark World had not been touched by the Light and, thusly, presented no interest whatsoever to him. During this time, while he kept a rather low profile -- at first not wishing to make the ruler of this world all that aware of his presence -- Haou-Judai gathered a significant number of followers, largely human Duelists who had chosen to rebel against Brron and subsequently sought a figurehead, as well as various opportunistic Duel Spirits, who felt and recognized the ancient strength that burned inside this boy.

In these long moths spent on the run, his actions earned him various monikers across Dark World -- the commoners referred to him as 'The Sword', because he always struck with the lethal, surgical precision of a blade, seeming to possess absolutely no mercy for his foes; Brron's Lieutenants spoke of him as the 'Wraith', due to his infuriating ability of hiding within shadows, attacking with blinding speed and disappearing before reinforcements could ever hope to arrive; his own followers addressed him as 'Haou', the Supreme King, even though he had not claimed this title in full view of the entire Dimension, considering it irrelevant what he was or wasn't called, as long as he reached his goal in the end.

While they also served to cull his spirit, tearing away or pushing back all traces of weakness from his being, these years spent in Dark World also turned him into one of the most dangerous Duelists that one would ever have the misfortune of facing, despite his young age. After acquiring the full Evil-Hero fusion-line, Judai also found out a potential manner in which to open a gateway back to his own world -- Duel energy. In copious amounts. Since he still didn't possess full control of his powers -- which, due to his still-developing body, could very well destroy him -- the boy opted to confront every capable Duelist that he could find, in hopes that his or her death would cause enough of a shock-wave in order to allow him to manipulate the space-weave and open a gate. Hundreds upon hundreds fell to him in this manner, from officers in Brron's army to his own followers who, for some reason or other, had foolishly chosen to oppose him or to not comply with one of his direct orders. At the end of it all he had almost decimated Brron's army and the Mad King could no longer remain impassive in regards to the Duelist who had torn through his ranks like wildfire. To this end, the monarch officially challenged the one regarded as the Haou to a Duel, with the Dimension's rule as a prize to the victor. Judai accepted, not out of any kind of desire for the position of King, but as a recognition of the fact that Brron was exactly the kind of adversary that he needed.

The grueling confrontation eventually ended with Judai's victory, even though Brron had succeeded in summoning some of the strongest monsters in his Dark World Deck. The Mad King's demise -- not before he had managed to laugh at Judai's expense, leaving him with a frustratingly vague description of a card of unrivaled power, 'Super Fusion' -- succeeded in triggering a strong enough release of energy that it affected the fabric between worlds, allowing Judai to make his way back into this original Dimension, callously leaving his followers to slaughter each other for the privilege of occupying the vacant throne. They had never been living, breathing persons in his eyes, anyway -- merely tools of the trade, more or less useful means to an end, that were abandoned when they had outlived their usefulness.


IV. Anabasis (Ascent)

At the age of fourteen, Judai managed to make the crossing back into his own world once more -- having to experience the surprise of modern civilization, in comparison to the almost medieval environment in which he had lived for the past three years. For a while, he struggled to adjust to a world that held far too many restrictive rules for his taste and that most certainly would not offer him the same freedom of movement and action that the other land had (such as slaying his opponents in full view of anyone happening to pass by). Still, his adaptability showed through again and, in his search for means to fulfill his goal of crushing the Light, Judai got himself involved in the underground dueling business -- both out of practicality, since it was a rather profitable venture, allowing him to support himself, as well as due to the rules being far less strict, in comparison to other types of competition.

In this kind of dim, anonymous, cutthroat environment, a person like him -- devoid of all regrets and social mores, more demon than human, uncaring of what it took to succeed in what he was doing -- proved to be ideal, as he earned himself, over the course of one year, a large amount of notoriety, becoming infamous as the child-Duelist who kept his silence in almost all confrontations, speaking only when it would hurt his opponent the most, gazing at everything around him with the same yellowish, baleful look of indifference and mild distaste. His stoicism, coupled with the ruthless methods he often employed during Duels -- sometimes reaching 'overkill' proportions -- made it so Judai was able to open a good deal of doors in this world of perpetual dusk, learning of things that would have remained otherwise unknown to the average Duelist.

One certain foray into the shadier dealings of this particular business ended up offering him a clue as to what he could do in order to gain another advantage in front of the Light, if he were to ever come across it or its many controlled creatures again. Frustrated by the fact that he couldn't figure out just what Brron had meant when he had spoken of 'Super Fusion', Judai was understandably fascinated to hear talk of three extraordinarily powerful cards, the likes of which had almost never been seen by the Dueling world, ones which came extremely close to the wonder of the famous Sangenshin - the Egyptian God cards. Wishing to find more about the so called Sangenma, the young Haou manipulated, threatened or outright assaulted several Duelists, until he managed to come across a well-hidden but very promising path, which lead him from Tokyo all the way to Domino City, in southern Japan. His efforts were somewhat impeded by the fact that breaking a particularly stubborn person took some time and the only one of his powers that he was loathe to use was the ability to influence, alter or otherwise manipulate the minds of others, due to his own aversion and abhorrence towards the act.

In the end, however, his perseverance seemed to pay off, as the shadowed mastermind behind the entire plan to obtain the Sangenma took notice of the Duelist that had so brazenly walked straight into his carefully-laid plans. Knowing of Yuki Judai -- and especially of his chilling reputation in the underground circuit, Kagemaru proposed a parlay between the two of them, while keeping his identity hidden. Judai, who had managed to reach a dead end in his own search for information, accepted, even though he was quite incensed at not knowing exactly who his interlocutor was. During these discussions, in which the two tried to get a very good feel for each other, to understand what the other's strengths and weaknesses were, Judai found out that the three miracle-cards had been sealed away under the Duel Academia, hidden behind a seemingly impenetrable security system. Hiding his interest in such knowledge, the Duelist recognized the fact that the best course of action was to enroll into the Academia and do everything in his power to get his hands on the cards, in order to use them as a very effective weapon against the Light. However, he was also aware of the fact that he had absolutely no idea where to look for them in the first place, inside the extensive grounds of the school -- since using the more effective strong-arm tactics that he had learned in Dark World would be almost impossible, given the close surveillance within the school. Thusly, he acknowledged the fact that he needed the information that this hidden person held -- information which Kagemaru was quite glad to part with, under one single condition: that Judai should be his eyes and ears inside the student body, acting in accordance with his plans and ensuring that no one would be capable of opposing him when it came time to claim the cards.

Naturally, the proud young Haou was disgusted with the suggestion that he work for anyone else's interests -- even in a very loose affiliation. He ended up refusing Kagemaru's offer, telling the shadowed patron that he was his own master. However, in several months' time, he came to slowly rethink his rash decision, recognizing the fact that Duel Academia was almost built like a fortress and that, should he end up doing something wrong or exposing himself prematurely, an entire mass of people would rise up against him. While he was confident in his ability to crush them, the fact of the matter remained that there was a chance that one could get in a lucky shot -- especially if he were exhausted enough by having to take care of the rest. Then there was also the fact that a massacre was just about the last thing that he needed to get himself involved in, given his need to keep a low profile. No, the wisest of moves was to work with this hidden man -- especially since their interests coincided, up to a point. To this end, Judai once again came into contact with Kagemaru, offering him his support in the whole endeavor. By no means naive, the boy knew full-well that the other trusted him just as little as he did in turn, both of them quite prepared to betray the other at a moment's notice, working only on the basis of a very fragile, unsteady alliance. The end result was that Judai joined the ranks of the Academia's pupils that year with some knowledge of what was to come (an assurance from his hidden ally that one of the teachers was on their side, as well as the general outline of the Seven Stars' planned assault).

It was around this time that Judai also received one of the most significant gifts in his life – Hane Kuriboh's card, gifted to him by a man who had watched one of his matches in the underground arena and who apparently thought that the boy was missing something crucial. Judai himself scoffed at the notion – yet was intrigued by the stranger's motivations when he recognized him as Yuugi Mutou. His questions remained unanswered, however, as the older Duyelist departed, leaving Judai with a card that he initially considered useless – an assessment which he would come to re-evaluate after seeing Hane Kuriboh for the first time and beginning to forge a bind of trust with the little Duel Spirit. A bond which would somehow heal the still bleeding wound left by Yubel's fate.

Ending up into the lowest ranking dorm of Osiris Red -- as he had made almost no effort in the written exam, considering it a pointless endeavor, since it did not matter what his level was, as long as he made it into the Academia in the first place -- Judai jumped headfirst into the life of a DA student, with all of its assorted sensations, feelings and experiences. It was this single moment that served to be the turning point in his life, the bend in the road that lead him onto a whole new path, one that he had thought lost to him forever.

Having forgotten what it actually meant to follow the courses of a school -- as he had stopped attending at the age of ten, due to his unstable emotional and mental condition -- Judai required some time to become familiarized with the routines inherent to the Academia and, especially to those of its' students -- most of whom insisted on being irritatingly cordial and friendly in relation to him. At first, he regarded all of them with nothing less than contempt and scorn, blowing off their offers of friendship and keeping himself as far away from their presence as possible. The main reason for his cold, brutal, standoffish attitude was the fact that he simply did not see any use for close interpersonal relations anymore, considering that others were merely tools to be used, one way or the other. However, an even deeper motivation behind his misanthropy (one that he kept well-hidden, within layers of smoldering darkness, refusing to accept it even only toward himself) was fear -- deep, world-shattering, mind-numbing fear. Fear that, if he ever allowed himself to feel again, as any normal human being could, he would end up broken into small fragments once more. Fear that heartache and suffering would find him for the fourth time, smashing whatever imperfect simulacrum of a relatively balanced, controlled existence he had succeeded in building around himself. Fear that, this time, he would end up either far too damaged in order to re-arrange his mismatched parts properly, or weakened enough that his powers would consume him entirely, extinguishing his consciousness forever.

All of these deep fears he kept secret and well-hidden, behind a mask of carefully-crafted indifference and cold disregard -- a mask whose cracks became more and more apparent day after day, as those stubbornly infuriating people kept imposing their presences upon him, even though he had made it quite clear that he did not want to have anything to do with them. In spite of his sometimes mockingly cruel jibes and sneering contempt, they still persevered -- Marufuji Sho, with his meek, mousy little attitude, Maeda Hayato, with the perception and outlook of a perpetual failure, Misawa Daichi, with all the curiousness of a teenage genius, Tenjoin Asuka, with the strange determination of a person who simply would not allow injustice to happen around her, Daitokuji, who had seemed to find a kindred spirit in the person of the boy who appeared to harbor so many dark secrets, Chronos de Medici, who had, it seemed, desperately needed a student upon whom to pin the blame for most things that didn't turn out as they should have in the school and even Manjoume Jun, with the nasty attitude to match his own, at times, who had stubbornly tried to defeat him over and over and over again, refusing to resign himself to the prospect of becoming second-best of the first-years to an Osiris Red.

And, in the end, it proved to be too much for him. Slowly, over the course of the year, he found himself, beginning, inch by painful inch, to care for these people, to be worried for their fates, to feel his heart drumming a quick, hard rhythm inside his chest whenever one of them was subjected to a Shadow Game by one of the Seven Stars. Who would have thought, he would ask himself much later, with a small, self-deprecating smile, that the fierce, heartless, apparently invulnerable Haou would end up succumbing (if not in full, then at least a part of him) to the vagaries of human emotion once more? It was a question that he could never answer in a satisfactory manner, but one that was, nonetheless, becoming truly crucial to the person that he was evolving into. In a sense, the Academia was another crucible for him, but this one endeavored to mold and influence him not through fire, pain or terror, but through the nearly forgotten virtues of warmth, closeness, camaraderie and respect.

By the end of the year, Judai had already defeated Darkness, Camulla, Abidos, Taniya -- both in order to keep the Spirit Keys to himself, out of Kagemaru's greedy hands, but also because the last thing he had wanted was to see harm brought to these wonderfully open and honestly innocent companions of his. During this time, he came to finally realize two crucial truths about himself and his mission, truths that his darkness-addled brain had refused to even regard up until this point: when all was said and done, he was still human, regardless of what he had done in order to strip away the remnants of his humanity. He was Yuki Judai, just as he was the Haou, or the long-dead Prince, the Herald of Gentle Darkness and Champion of Dark Justice. He was a human being, with all of the complexities that resulted from such a status, not a living, breathing weapon, with no regards to either itself or those around it.

However, along with this realization also came the sense of deep, hidden shame -- shame that he had lied, tricked and manipulated a good deal of them in the beginning, in order to serve his own interests. The Machiavellian edict of 'the end justifies the means' was still Judai's main point of reference, but he became increasingly weary of using it when it concerned those who were truly blameless, in the grand scheme of things, who had made no mistake and, thus, were no enemies of his. Added to this crushing burden were also the facts that he had made his position in the struggle for the Sangenma all too clear and, subsequently, the shadowed patron would strike at him first, when he would arrive on the island. Then there was also the little detail of the seventh star, Amnael -- whom he had long ago suspected as being Daitokuji, due to the teacher's apparent involvement in the entire Gravekeeper Duel -- revealing himself, defeating the Tenjoin siblings along with Manjoume and locking their essences inside his Emerald Tablet.

It was little wonder, then, that Judai felt as if the world was going haywire around him, not at all certain where his true loyalties lay, torn between his initial desire of possessing the Sangenma cards and the more down-to-earth realization that his actions were inherently wrong, given that those cards could wipe out all Duel Spirits upon the planet – something that even he didn't dare to do, despite his usually callous and cruel methods.

His Duel against Amnael/Daitokuji ended in the boy's victory -- since Judai had refused to relent and ended up assaulting his teacher with the full power of his Deck, infuriated with the fact that Daitokuji had kept his own involvement in the entire debacle secret, that he had effectively used Judai over the course of the school-year and that he had dared to jeopardize the lives of those whom he had begun to call his friends. After releasing the three students from the Emerald Tablet, Judai took possession of the Shadow Charm and the mysterious card which had been offered to him by the deceased teacher. However, the respite which he enjoyed was only a brief one, given that the hidden Shadow Patron arrived on the island soon enough, just as the young Haou had expected, taking possession of the seven keys due to Manjoume's carelessness and using them in order to unseal the Sangenma. With his identity being revealed as that of Kagemaru, the school Chairman – something which grated on Judai's nerves, since the boy had looked up details in regards to the school's ruling committee, yet hadn't suspected any of its members of foul-play -- the confrontation with his wayward accomplice began. In an intelligent move, Kagemaru chose to speak publicly of Judai's personal involved within the current plot and of his role as a spy among the students – something which shocked many and enraged Judai himself, who had wished to keep his dubious alliances a secret, in order to not hurt his friends.

This served to fan the flames of his hatred for Kagemaru, leading to the man's defeat at the young Haou's hands, after a brutally intense Duel. At that time, Judai fully intended to kill the decrepit old man for his actions, yet the insistent pleas for mercy offered by his friends stayed the boy's hand, as he contemptuously spared the Chairman's life – callously telling him to never set foot upon the island, if he wished to remain in one piece.

While this victory did serve to make Judai a hero of the Academia, a good deal of the prestige that he earned was overshadowed by the fact that his involvement with the Seven Stars became public knowledge. Samejima himself offered him the chance to keep his seat at the Academia in a show of gratitude for his actions at the end of the year, yet Judai firmly refused, on account of the burden of shame that he had to carry in regards to the friends who had trusted him implicitly and the knowledge that no weapon of practical use could be found at the school. Since his initial reason for joining the Academia had been to gain hold of the Sangenma, the boy saw no reason to extend his stay when that goal had become one which he simply didn't wish to fulfill.


V. White Blitzkrieg

Even the requests of his close ones – most of whom had chosen to continue trusting him, since his actions had saved the entire world – weren't enough to sway Judai from his firmly-set decision, reason why he departed from the Duel Academia island shortly after the end of the school year, obtaining residence in Domino City and becoming involved in the underground Dueling circuit once again. This arrangement was only a temporary one, since his general intent was to begin traveling around the world, in search for the Light and an effective point of advantage against it. What Judai certainly didn't know what the fact that the Light had already begun to weave its sinister web through the person of Saiou Takuma, a young man endowed with prophetic capabilities – ones which aided him in understanding that Yuki Judai was a significant obstacle in the Light's path, reason why his interest in the boy's abilities became quite significant, especially after he understood that the boy could defy Fate itself.

Unaware of the ones plotting against him, Judai assumed his leading position in the underground Dueling scene once again, resuming his earlier collaboration with the sleazy Saruyama – who was both thrilled to have a top-performer under his wing again and very unsettled by the young Haou's ability to put him into his place with merely a single glance. For his part, Judai settled back into his previous routine quite well, the compassionate traits gained at the Academia being once again hidden under a layer of thick ice, given that none of those he cared for were around him – merely people that he was entirely indifferent to, whom he would save from the Light of Ruin, yet who didn't elicit any other reaction of caring within him. This routine carried on for several months, until the boy witnessed the defeat of Marufuji Ryo by the rising star Edo Phoenix, in a televised Pro League match, along with Edo's mocking challenge issued to him in an interview after the event. While the challenge intrigued him – given its sudden, seemingly random nature – Judai nevertheless chose to accept it, both curious in regards to the Duelist who had managed to defeat the Kaiser himself – one of the first people who had earned the boy's respect at the Academia – and irritated by Edo's claim that he was not worthy to use the Hero cards.

The Duel was slated to take place at the Academia – something which gave Judai pause, yet the boy steeled himself and arrived on the island once more, meeting with Edo in the empty grand Dueling arena, given that no spectators were allowed to attend the match. Judai himself was quite attentive during the opening moves, uncertain of Edo's motivations and well-aware that it was a mistake to underestimate an opponent who had managed to defeat the Kaiser himself. The lead shifted back and forth between the two several times during the match, with Judai efficiently countering some of Edo's never before seen Destiny Hero cards with his own Evil Hero Fusion-line. However, victory came to the other boy in the end, as he used his brilliant mind in order to drag Judai out of his traditional style of play, based on the sheer destructive power of the Evil Heroes. To this was also added the fact that Judai himself could feel a vague inkling of the Light from Edo's Deck – something which distracted him enough as to allow mistakes to slip into his play. The victory itself was very surprising to him – yet it certainly didn't compare to the wave of Light which blasted his mind along with the final attack, one which sent Judai's power straight over the edge once more, causing them to explode onwards, with devastating effects.

Nearly half of the aren was turned to rubble by the massive blast of power. Fortunately, there weren't any casualties, given the fact that it had been empty at the time. Edo was wounded slightly by falling debris and Judai himself lost consciousness and collapsed. Upon awakening, the boy discovered several horrific facts – the connection to his cards had been entirely severed (to the point where he couldn't even see their images anymore) and his own ability to use the Gentle Darkness had become somewhat limited by a block placed by the Light within him. Brought into a nearly frenzied state by this discovery, the boy was held by Ayukawa in the medical ward, for fear that he might attempt to harm himself in his current condition. With some part of him well-aware that he was heading at full speed towards madness once again – with everything that he had built unraveling within him once more – Judai cruelly lambasted himself for the choice that he had made. Driven to despair by his current condition, the boy fled from his room at night, attempting to leave the Academia -- fully convinced that his presence could bring nothing but suffering to those he cared for and pushed onward by the feverish need to regain contact with the spirits within his cards once more.