Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Well Watched
Characters: Shou
Word Count: 627||Status: One-shot
Genre: Angst||Rated: G
Challenge: Written for the One Character Boot Camp, prompt #35, guarded; Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section B, #28, write an angsty piece.
Summary: He would not speak unless he must. He would not duel. He would only watch. He watched himself. And he journeyed to watch Haou.

He would not duel.

He spoke only to a few people, and only when he had no other choice. He did not ask about Haou. He learned that quickly; no one who asked about him made it very long. He'd seen one group of warriors, whose loud-voiced gossip indicated that they had every intention of finding the dark warlord and challenging him to a duel.

His heart broke a little more at the sight of who defeated them, and he tucked himself away even more in the depths of his cloak. If he hadn't known that Freed the Brave Wanderer was already dead, he would've shed tears over such a valiant soul enslaved to Haou.

But this was not the Brave Wanderer; this was Dark General Freed, and his loyalty to Haou shone absolute as he finished the dozen warriors who thought they could lift their hand to Haou and survive the experience.

Shou did all that he could not to have attention drawn to him short of hiding under the table. That, long experience in hiding from Obelisk Blues had taught him, would only draw attention to him. He'd gone a long way from hiding in trashcans, but if one had presented itself, he might have at least given it a thought.

Of course, in this world, the trashcan could end up being just as alive as he was, so it wasn't the best plan he'd ever come up with.

He could not let himself be seen and recognized. Word would spread to Haou, who would then...then...

Shou didn't know. He didn't think Haou would set out to kill him in that hour, but he didn't know that Haou wouldn't either. It wouldn't at all be the first time that he'd killed people who'd once called him their friend.

He would not cry.

He had to watch. He had to know. He had to see what was going on for himself.

The problem with that was that he didn't know where Haou's castle was, in order to watch, and doing so from a distance wasn't really getting what he wanted done. He could hear a thousand tales carried by those who made it their task to do such things, spreading the terror of the world's ruler everywhere they went, but none of those told him anything about Yuuki Juudai, and that was what he wanted to know.

So he would have to find a way to go there, and see what he could see for himself. He'd heard more than enough rumors to convince him that Haou and Juudai were one and the same, especially combined with what he'd seen at Brron's arena. He did need to confirm it as well, which gave another reason to make his way there.

It would not be an easy trip. But regardless, it was one that he would make. He couldn't do anything else. One did not watch over one's straying friend by listening to rumors and tales by people who wanted to earn enough coin for a hot meal and a safe place to sleep.

He would speak only when he needed to. He would guide others who needed to avoid Haou away from his warriors, but he did not give them his name. He said only what he needed to in order to put them on the path to safety.

It would be better if they didn't know. If he wasn't close to anyone. Just in case.

No matter how much he wanted to follow and watch, he could not forget the pain. But he pushed it aside and kept his words well-watched and his trail well-hidden. He would follow and he would find and he would see this through to the bitter end.

The End