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: Place In The World
Friendship: Shou & Juudai
Word Count: 2,500||Status: One-shot
Genre: Friendship, Drama||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section E, #054, write a post-canon fic; Written for the Friendship Boot Camp, prompt #3, gentle
Notes: This is set some years after canon. It also includes some headcanon about Johan and how the GX universe is set up. There is also a speck of Ryou x Yuusuke alluded to, as well as a tiny breath of Shou x Black Magician Girl. Also, the no quotation marks? Did it on purpose.
Summary: Shou and Juudai have been friends for years. That brings many problems. Not the least of which is being a living target for his enemies. But that is not the place Shou wants in this world and he will make his own.

After all of these years, Shou has learned things about Juudai. They're not the angry, cold things he thought he knew in Dark World, but they are strange things all the same. Juudai sees spirits the way that most people see human beings. He treats them the same as well. Shou doesn't mind that. He would do the same if he could see them. On those rare occasions when he's in a place where he can, he does. After all, he loves Black Magician Girl. How could he not?

But he's learned other things as well. Juudai's not human. Not like other people are human. Not like he is human. Juudai probably started off that way, but he isn't anymore. He doesn't seem to regret it, and Shou thinks he can understand it.

Sometimes he thinks that, anyway. Other times he's not always certain. His friendship with Juudai lost lost the easy adoration of when they first met and became something else. He thinks he likes this, too. Kenzan was right, once upon a time. There's something wrong with things that never change. Things that don't change became stagnant and break. Shou does not want to break.

Juudai isn't human. Juudai wears mortal flesh, but Juudai isn't human. It isn't just having Yubel comfortably living in his soul that makes him not human. That was where it started, for those who know his secret. They didn't know what else Juudai was. Or who else. That's something else Shou isn't sure of. He doesn't think it matters, though. Not nearly as much about Juudai and his differences matter as he might've thought once upon a time.

But above all else, Shou knows that Juudai bears a power. He's heard Juudai and Johan talking about it, when they didn't think he was awake to hear him. Through other bits and pieces of conversation over the years, Shou has picked together why Juudai's never told him of this. He's in danger enough just being Juudai's friend. They all are.

But to those who stand beside the Herald of the Gentle Darkness, the incarnate form of the power that brought life to the universe, a special danger exists. The Light of Ruin itself is not the only one of those.

Shou remembers it the clearest, though. Remembers seeing it manifest through Saiou, seeing it turn Edo into dust, and cover the school in gleaming white that took months to get rid of and weeks afterward to get rid of the smell of paint that wafted from the Obelisk Blue dorms.

It takes him longer to figure out why Johan is 'allowed' to know this and he isn't. Johan has a secret of his own: he is as much a force of the universe as Juudai and the Light of Ruin - and somehow, that Darkness that once manifested through Fubuki-san – are.

A little thinking tells him this isn't surprising. Everything needs a balance, doesn't it? And if Juudai is the counter to the Light of Ruin, then someone has to be the counter to that evil Darkness.

Gentle Darkness, Light of Ruin, Darkness of Nihility, and the Light of Hope. And the Gentle Darkness is his best friend, and he considers the Light of Hope his friend as well.

And technically two former hosts of the Darkness of Nihility are also his friends, since he gets along reasonably well with both Fubuki-san and Fujiwara-san. It would be a little strange if he didn't for that last one, since they're almost brothers-in-law.

For that matter, he gets along reasonably well with Saiou, even if they don't talk all that often. He doesn't blame him for what happened anymore. So he's kind of friends with everyone. Sort of. If you want to look at it like that.

But he knows Juudai is right about his reasoning for not letting many people know about who he is, because how could he not know when he's been a target just for being Juudai's friend? He'd scarcely been at Duel Academia for a week before he'd been used to lure Juudai into a duel!

Of course, Asuka apologized for that a long time ago, but that still didn't mean it hadn't happened.

To make it worse, even O'Brien did it once upon a time. Shou kind of wonders once in a while if they've ever discussed that and what they'd say about it.

But they're not the only ones, either. Not when Juudai and Johan take him on a trip to one of those other worlds for his birthday and he gets to meet Black Magician Girl in person and oh, he can hardly think straight, because she's pretty enough in a card or a hologram, but to see her in person, smiling and cheerful at him? Oh, this is the best day ever and he doesn't think that's going to change for a long, long time.

Until it does, because it seems the Chaos Sorcerer who once worked for Juudai came from this same village as Black Magician Girl and some of the other people who live here now remember what happened and they aren't happy. And they don't like Juudai at all because of this.

Finding out that one of Juudai's friends is a common, ordinary mortal must've given them absolute fits of delight, because the little group has barely been there two days before Shou turns up missing one morning.

Of course, Shou doesn't think that he's missing. He knows that he's been kidnapped. He's gone through this before, after all. He knows the drill by now, and frankly, after spending three months alone save for Ojama Yellow in Dark World, he's just not that upset about it.

Which he thinks worries his captors, and he's fine with that. Let them be worried. Let them wonder what he's got up his sleeve.

Better yet, he wants them to worry about what Juudai is going to have up his sleeve, because Juudai has never reacted well when his friends are hurt, and it can get even worse now that he has actual powers to enact his revenge with, and probably the only thing holding him back from bringing his holy wrath on the area is Johan being there with him. Johan holds Juudai back when he needs to. It's part of his role, Shou thinks, part of why he exists in the universe.

Shou likes Johan, but sometimes he wonders how nice it must be to have such an important role. To be an important person. Being the head of his own Pro League isn't so bad, but being important to the universe? That's a bit of an upgrade.

At any rate, his captors are magicians from the village, and they want revenge for what Chaos Sorcerer did and for what Juudai did and they mean to make Juudai surrender to them or something. Shou isn't paying that much attention to their demands. He knows what will happen next. Juudai has outgrown a lot of things from being a kid, but his need for dramatics? Nope. Never gonna happen.

Which is probably not a bad thing, because it makes for a very good show when Juudai walks out of a shadow, looking fit to shred something. Oh, they probably don't know it. They don't know Juudai like he does. They see the remnants of a tyrant and a murderer. Shou can't blame them for that. Juudai did those things. But he's worked hard to not do them again and there are plenty of people he can think of who didn't try to avoid re-making their mistakes.

What Shou sees is his friend, come to help him, come to show them what they've done that is so wrong, and no matter what they've done, Juudai won't kill them. They haven't done anything to deserve that.

Though from what Shou has seen over the years, he doesn't doubt that if they did do something worthy of death, then Juudai would do it, and while he would hurt about it, he would not regret what he did. Regret is for humans. Juudai is not human.

Duel us, they declare, duel us all and let us finish you, as you should've been finished ten years ago.

And Juudai listens and laughs, and it's not a cruel laugh at all. No, he says, and he smiles and it's a cheerful, friendly smile, no, I won't duel you. You haven't done anything so I should.

And they look like they want to threaten Shou, but before they can, Shou isn't beside them anymore, but beside Juudai, and his bonds are gone, cut away by hands no one can see.

What's more, his Duel Disk, left behind when they took him away, now rests on his arm, his deck comfortably situated inside of it.

If you want to duel someone, Juudai tells them, one hand resting on Shou's shoulder, then you can duel him. He's the one that you hurt. He's the one that deserves a chance against you.

Shou does not like to duel to kill people. He would never, ever do it on purpose, just to advance himself. To defend his own life, if there's no other way to do it, then that he would do, and hate every moment of it. But to fight in a war, to take glory in it? He would never. And Juudai knows this.

Juudai's hand rests warm and comforting on Shou's shoulder. There is trust there. Shou can only return that trust, believe that Juudai knows what he is doing.

They want to know why they would duel against him, when Shou has done them no wrong. This is more of Juudai's cruelty, they declare, to set them against an innocent. And Juudai smiles.

It was Shou's brother, he says, who defeated and killed Chaos Sorcerer. Should they not honor Shou for what his blood has done? Legends and tales in this town speak of the Hell Kaiser, he who announced the defeat of Haou, and many also say he caused it.

Shou knows that is not true. But no one wants to hear that truth here, and O'Brien never brags of what he did. Nor does Ryou speak of what happened. But what Juudai says is still true.

Shou's blood has only helped them. Why bring Shou into their disagreement at all when he's done nothing to them? But by doing so, they've given Shou the right to fight them, if they wish to take it. To stand against him.

Juudai smiles in a way that should send fear through them all, Shou is as much the Kaiser, if not more, as his brother. Just because he chose not to participate in that war does not mean that he cannot fight. Will they risk their lives against him?

Shou does not try to look dangerous. Shou doesn't want to be dangerous. He just wants to be the kind of respect duelist that he's wanted to be for so long. He doesn't want to fight them. There has been more than enough fighting.

This isn't about him, one of them shouts, furious as only those denied their perceived justice can be. This is about what you did! And what Chaos Sorcerer did!

Chaos Sorcerer already paid for his crimes, is Juudai's way of thinking, as he speaks to them, and I do what I can for mine. And if it didn't involve Shou, then you shouldn't have taken him in the first place. If any of you think you want to fight me, then you're welcome to do it, but don't involve him first. I'll duel you in a world without death, because there has been enough killing. Killing me wouldn't bring the ones who died here back. It would only kill other people.

Shou finds words at last on his lips and speaks them. It would do worse than just kill someone here. It would mean other people who his aniki could've saved won't be saved. It will kill people they don't even know about. How can they stand there and insist on one death that won't do anything except make other people die?

He doesn't think they believe him. He can't tell if they do. But regardless, he knows they know who Juudai is, and who he was, and as much as they might wish otherwise, they can't take some chances. More darkness than Juudai's has touched this world, as it touched all worlds back in those days near graduation.

One by one they leave, with looks cast over their shoulder that say this isn't the end, that they will find another way to gain what they want. Shou worries about them. They're very bitter people. He can't blame them. But he worries anyway.

Juudai's hand remains gentle on his shoulder, and he makes certain Shou hasn't come to any harm. Shou reassures him that he's fine, that all he wants is to get a little rest. They drugged him so he slept too deeply to awaken when they took him away, and drugged sleep doesn't do much good.

He can't say for certain if they return to the village by walking or by some strange manipulation of the shadows. But they're there, and Black Magician Girl is there, and looks furious that her townspeople, her friends, did this to him. But he's dealt with worse and isn't that bothered. He still worries more about them than himself. Someone needs to worry about these people. Juudai does a good job of it, but they don't want him to. They want little from him, even if they don't know that. Not everyone recognizes Haou as he was in the man that he is.

Those are all problems for another day. He and Juudai need to rest. Talking people out of murderous rages isn't easy.

He lets Black Magician Girl, who has told him her name is Aitumn, guide him to a new place to rest. She doesn't trust the cottage he'd been in before. He realizes later that this is her home she guides him to. He tries hard not to blush, fails. She thinks it's cute, or so the kiss she plants on his cheek, so like the one she did so long ago, tells him.

They'll have some things to talk about before he leaves. He hopes he can come back again. Maybe she can find a way to visit his world. He'd like to see her again, no matter how it happens. He hopes she wants to see him too.

It doesn't take him long to fall asleep. The shadows feel safe to sleep in. If Juudai's not watching him, then they are for him. He's forgotten if he ever feared the dark. How can he fear his best friend?

Shou knows his place in the world now. Perhaps it's not as big as Juudai's, but Juudai's always been taller than he is anyway. It's a good place. He'll take it.

The End