Power Struggle

"What are you even talking about dude?" Jaden asked defensively. Jessie smirked as he walked closer to him and stared the vampire down with a complacent smile. "I know you heard me. I asked you if it was alright for me to have her. You said so yourself, there ain't nothing going on between the two of you so there shouldn't be a problem, right?" He said back to him. Jaden didn't understand where this was all coming from. They literally only spent one day together, and now Jessie is over here trying to make claim to one of his best friends as if she was just some object to be passed around. "You don't have to ask me for anything when it comes to Alexis. She's a person and she can date whoever she wants to, so who are you to ask me to give her to you when she's not mine to give away?" Jaden said with anger in his voice.

Jessie couldn't help but giggle. It was so obvious that the vampire had at least a little bit of feelings for the human girl, so why was he playing dumb? It was kind of adorable to see him acting so innocent. "Woah, calm down partner. I never claimed she was an object, so you are misunderstanding my intentions. It's clear that your friends mean a lot to you, so I was just simply asking about your opinion of me trying to court her. But if you really don't care, then I'm going to ask her out on a date. Sound good?" He said with another smile and tried to offer to shake Jaden's hand, but the vampire continued to glare at him and smacked his hand away. "Do whatever you want. But I'm giving you a warning right now. If you do anything to hurt her, then I will break you." Jaden said as his eyes flashed red with anger. 

"Oh wow! You vampires sure are intimidating. I'm just trying to be friendly with you, so what's with all the hostility for?" Jessie said smugly with a shrug of his shoulders. "But the idea of you trying to break me is an interesting thought though." He said with a mischievous look on his face. "How do you think you're going to do that with that seal you got there around your neck? Don't think I didn't notice that earlier. And my cousin has mentioned it a couple of times when she talked about the headmaster's wife. With that thing on you're as weak as a human, ain't that right?" He said as he started to laugh which only pissed Jaden off even more. Was he purposefully trying to make fun of him now? "I don't need that part of myself to kick your ass. I have other ways of silencing you besides relying on my vampire powers." Jaden said and Yubel immediately materialized next to him, ready to fight for their master.

"And I was told that you were a real nice guy, but you've been nothing but mean to me since we first met. What is it about me that you don't like so much?" Jessie asked as he placed a hand on his hip. Why was it that Jaden was so unfond of him? He didn't really know why; he just didn't like him. It's not like the incubus seemed particularly malicious or anything, but the vibe he was getting from Jessie just seemed to put him on edge. And not to mention this guy wanted to try and take his Alexis away from him. Jaden shut his mouth tightly as he recapped what he just thought to himself. Wait… did he just refer to Alexis as his? Without even saying a word, his face burned a bright red and he turned away to try and hide his expression, but Jessie had already seen it.

Jessie smirked and he started to chuckle. "Ah, so the gears are finally starting to turn in that head of yours huh? From the look on your face, I can tell exactly what you're thinking. But don't worry, I'll be a good man to her. At least unlike you, I won't ignore her and make her feel unwanted. I will show her every day how a woman like her should be treated by a true gentleman." Jessie said as he placed his hand in his pockets and started to walk towards the stairs, but not before brushing shoulders with the agitated vampire. "If you really want to have a fight, then let's do it in a place where we won't get into any trouble. When lunch ends and we have that competition, I want to be your opponent. So you better be ready cause I ain't gonna go easy on you, even if you are Miss Akashiya's kid brother." And with that, he left the roof and left Jaden alone to ponder.

As Jessie walked through the hallways by himself, a ghost-like figure appeared walking next beside him. The spirit was almost a spitting image of him, except for the fact that his hair was a darker shade of blue and his eyes were a piercing orange color instead of Jessie's normal seafoam green. "I know I said to pick a fight with him because I wanted to know if he really was the king or not, but I didn't tell you to hit on his woman. But hey, that's not my problem. I died a long time ago so I ain't worried about the consequences of your actions. Just saying." He said as he rested his hands behind his head. Jessie looked at his counterpart and smiled innocently. 

"I couldn't help it! I know it wasn't the original plan, but I just couldn't help but feel like meddling. I am an incubus after all, stirring up drama is kind of my whole thing. And you said you wanted to see his potential, right? What better way to do that than to get him angry? If I push his buttons enough, then he might snap, and you'll finally get the answer to your question." Jessie said to his doppelganger who sighed in response. "Like I said, it's your funeral. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back in that noggin of yours. Wake me up if shit hits the ceiling." The spirit said before reentering Jessie's body. Almost as if the gods were in his favor, he spotted Alexis who was leaned against a set of lockers as she stared at the soda can in her hands, lost in thought.

What a perfect opportunity, the incubus thought to himself. He looked around really quick and saw that they were alone before he took his chance and walked up to talk with her. "Hey beautiful. What's got you acting all mopey?" He asked her which made her jump when she didn't immediately notice his presence. "Jessie! Oh my gosh, please don't do that! You nearly scared the life out of me!" She said as she placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart and sighed. Jessie chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well I didn't mean to scare you. It's not like I was trying to sneak up on you or anything. Something must really be on your mind if you couldn't even notice me like that." He told her, and she just continued to look dejected.

"I know it's none of your business and that we don't really know each other, but I think it's for that reason that I feel okay to talk about this with you since I know I won't hear about it later with us going to different schools and all." She slunk down the lockers she was leaning on until she was sitting on the ground, and Jessie joined to sit by her on the floor ready to listen to her with open ears. "It's obvious how I feel about a certain someone… Everyone knows that I like him, except for him!" She said with a deep scarlet blush as she fondled the can in her hands. "And it's not like I don't try to hide my feelings, but he's so oblivious to them that I might as well be invisible!" She said a little too loudly and crushed the can she was holding. "You probably think I'm being dramatic, don't you? It's just a silly crush. I'll get over it… And he and I are from completely different worlds. I'll be old and gray while he still looks young as ever." she said with a sorrowful expression.

"You're talking about that Jaden guy, aren't you?" Jessie said boldly, which made her blush deepen even more. "So even you could pick up on that? Do you see what I mean? You're practically a stranger but even you noticed that I like him! So why does he continue to treat me like everyone else? Am I just not his type or something?" She said with a deep sigh before she placed her head between her knees. This was perfect, Jessie thought to himself. She was so vulnerable right now that manipulating her would be that much easier. "Well, he's an idiot if he isn't attracted to you! I mean just look at you, you're a straight up goddess!" He said as he stared at her passionately and got closer to her slightly, which made her blush even more. "Oh, you're just saying that to make me feel better." She said as she started to fondle her hair.

He smirked as he took ahold of her hand and looked deeply into her eyes. Using only a fraction of his romance magic, he cast a minor charm spell when she looked back at him. His eyes flashed purple as his spell took a hold of her, and soon enough she felt her body start to relax as she gave in to his advances. She didn't know why, but at that moment, Jessie was becoming more alluring to her by the second. But why was that? "Now why would I go and lie to you about something like that? I mean it Alexis, you're beautiful. And if Jaden can't see that, then it's his loss…" He said as he started drawing her in closer, their lips only inches away from each other. 

He was about to kiss her and seal the spell when he felt a flare of demonic aura which made him stop. As he started to swivel his head to see where it was coming from, two angry hands wrapped themselves around his jacket collar and lifted him up from the ground, before slamming his back against the lockers with a loud thud. Jaden glared at him with his teeth clenched tightly together and his fangs bared on full display. He hadn't been listening through their entire conversation, but he had heard enough to make him want to step in and put a stop to whatever Jessie was planning. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?! So this is how you plan on winning her heart? By casting a cheap charm spell? I knew you were a scum bag, but I didn't think you'd go that low!" He said with anger fuming in his voice.

Jessie smirked when he saw his reaction. Alexis by now had also stood up on her feet and took a step back while covering her mouth in shock. Just how much of that did he hear her say? Did he listen to her confession about her feelings for him? "Jaden?! Hey, calm down! Nothing happened between us! It's not what it looks like, I promise!" She said as she tugged on his sleeve to try and get him to let the incubus go, but what surprised her the most was when Jaden glared at her with a look of disgust that she had never seen on his face before. He was normally so happy and friendly, but when she looked at him, he might as well have been a different person. "It's not what it looked like? Because from my perspective, it looked like you were about to let this jerk kiss you." He said spitefully, which made her chest start to ache. Jessie began to chuckle as he combed a hand through his spiky blue hair.

"It looks like you're scaring her Jay. Is this really the side of yourself that you want her to see?" He said smugly, which made Jaden suck his teeth before letting him go. Jessie fluffed his collar and straightened out the wrinkles on his blazer before he flashed Alexis a sympathetic smile. "We can finish our talk later, okay? Sorry, I didn't mean to start any drama." He said as he bowed his head and brought his attention back to Jaden who had his arms crossed over his chest. "Since it seems like you're really in the mood for a fight, I promise I won't disappoint you later. I'll be seeing you during the exhibition, mister supreme vampire." Jessie said mockingly before he continued walking to the gymnasium with his hands in his pockets.

As Jaden watched him walk away, that scary burning feeling started to flood inside of his heart again. He had never felt such disdain towards a person before in his life. The last person he felt like this was towards his father, but it's not like Jessie did anything nearly as bad to him as that evil man has. So why? Why couldn't he get over this hatred he was feeling towards him?! Him and Alexis were finally alone, and she gulped before approaching him again and wrapped her hand around his wrist. "Please don't be angry Jaden. If I had known you were there, I wouldn't have been getting all close to him. You forgive me, right?" She said softly as she pouted and looked at him with puppy dog eyes. "I'm not mad at you Alexis. I'm just… disappointed. You can't trust him, or anyone here for that matter. They're monsters who are selfish in their nature. They don't really care about your feelings. He just wanted to use you for his own gain."

"Why would you go ahead and say that? Not all monsters are bad, you're the one who taught me that. If what you're saying is true and that I can't trust monsters, then does that mean that I can't trust you either? You're my friend! It's not like you're just using me too!" She said loudly as she started to scold him. Jaden sighed and lowered his head. His bangs covered his eyes as he gripped her chin and pulled her into a hug which made her stiffen up. When he looked back up, his eyes shined mischievously with a wicked glint in them. "Are you so sure about that?" He said huskily in her ear which made her shiver. "I'm just a scary, no-good vampire…. There's only one thing my kind want from innocent human girls like you." He said before placing his lips to her neck which made her gasp. "Jaden? W-what are you talking about?" She said before he bit her without warning. She was shocked as her mouth hung open and a moan escaped her lips.

No! This wasn't right! Jaden was acting very strangely. He never bit her without her permission so why was he doing it now?! She gripped onto his arms and tried to pull him away, but he just held onto her tighter. "Stop! Jaden, please!" She begged him with tears pricking in the corner of her eyes, but he didn't seem to care as he continued to drink from her. She was starting to feel dizzy, but eventually he did let her go and she started to wobble, but Jaden held her up with his arms to stop her from falling over. His eyes were glowing a glistening red as he wiped away the blood that was dripping from his mouth. "Do you understand now Alexis? You are mine. Your blood is the most important thing to me. This is what I want from you… So, the thought of that guy trying to take away what's mine- "SMACK!

Jaden held his cheek that tingled with pain after Alexis had violently slapped him across the face. She was glaring at him while she clutched her injured neck with her other hand, and tears were now streaming down her face as she looked at him with anger. "What the hell has gotten into you, you jerk?!" She screamed in his face, but Jaden was unresponsive as he continued to stare at the ground while holding his cheek. After hearing him say that about her, Alexis was beyond hurt. She felt betrayed. So that's all she was to him? A hot bodied meal for him to take whenever he wanted? "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I don't like it. If that's really all I am to you Jay, then I don't want to be around you at all! So go find some other person to sink your fangs in to, because I am DONE!" She said before turning around and running away from him.

She cried as she ran away from the person who she adored the most in the entire world. Why was he acting like this? What did she do to get this kind of treatment from him? She understood that she made him upset with the whole Jessie situation, but was that really her fault? He had no right to start acting all possessive and jealous now when after all this time he only saw her as a friend! She was starting to get tired of all these mixed signals that Jaden was sending her, and now he had crossed the line. She ran until her lungs burned and she made it to the gymnasium where Bastion and Syrus were waiting for her. The short Slifer turned around and saw her in her distressed state and ran up to meet her to see what was wrong.

"Hey! What were you running away from?! Is everything okay?!" He asked her worriedly before he noticed the still fresh teeth marks that were on her neck. He put the pieces together and furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh no… Is it because of Jaden? What happened? You know you can tell us!" He said to try and encourage her to confess, but she didn't give an immediate response. She was still upset with him of course and she had every right to tell them what Jaden did to her, but she didn't want to stir up any more drama. "I-I'm fine Syrus. I just need some time alone… If Jaden comes looking for me, tell him that I don't want to see him right now." She said vaguely before walking past them and entering the gymnasium. Syrus and Bastion stood there by themselves and exchanged worried glances between each other. 

Jaden still stood in the hallway by himself, with guilt finally making its way into his consciousness. "Why the hell did I do that?" He said aloud to no one in particular. He fucked up and he knew that. He let his rage get the best of him and he ended up taking it out on Alexis who absolutely did not deserve what he did to her. As he thought to himself, it was like his surroundings started to blur out and fade away as he withdrew into the center of his mind where the Supreme King resided. He was back inside that endless void with the floating mirrors, staring at his feet as he let his negative thoughts continue to control him. 

"You were just showing her what you desired the most. Is that so wrong?" Said the King who stepped out from one of the mirrors to stand in front of him. He was no longer just a shadow but was now in his true form. He looked exactly like Jaden except for the fact that his hair was silver like his inner self and his eyes were golden with cat like pupils. Jaden slowly looked up from the ground to stare straight at his doppelganger. "It was you… This is all your fault!" Jaden shouted, with his voice echoing within the blank space they were standing in. "You're the reason that I've been feeling all these bad emotions. Ever since I remembered what you made me to do my own mother, I've felt lost. You've been taking advantage of that, haven't you?!" Jaden yelled out with hatred. 

The King chuckled with his demonic sounding voice ringing in Jaden's ears which made him clutch his head to try and muffle the deafening noise. "Oh please, you're really going to blame me for what you did? I am you, Jaden. Everything you did was because you wanted to do that. Don't go acting like you're better than me." He said as he walked around to stand behind Jaden and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him into a chilling embrace. "How did she taste? Was she sweet? Was the taste of her blood so delicious that you didn't care about losing her? It's just like that time with your mother, isn't it? When you were so hungry that you ended up drinking her dry." Jaden's eyes flew wide open when he turned around to swat away his evil half, but he had disappeared into thin air.

More mirrors started to spawn around him with the image of the King reflected on every surface. "You're becoming more like me every day! You can no longer control it, can you? That desire to want to take everything you think you rightfully deserve. That's why Jessie pisses you off so much, right? He comes into your life and is already trying to take away everything that you worked so hard to obtain! From the way he tried to win over your friends with his sweet personality, or how he tried to take away your lover…" Jaden was hunched on the ground and curled up in a ball as he covered his ears with his hands. "SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!" He said with his eyes shut tightly. "That's where you're wrong, you foolish child… I know everything you try to keep hidden away. Every selfish desire, every greedy need."

"You can try and pretend to be the hero you think you are, but we both know what you're really like. You're a monster Jaden. Despite how happy you pretend to be, something will always feel like it's missing from your life. Nothing will ever be able to fill that empty void inside of you. But I can change that." The Supreme King said to Jaden who was close to giving in. He was close to getting what he wanted, that is, until an unexpected visitor made an appearance. Standing beside Jaden was his true Inner Self who stood confidently with a smirk placed on his lips. "Wow, you're pathetic you know that? You're old news buddy. You died how long ago, and you still refuse to give up? Well, I won't let you have your way. Unlike this sad sap, I'm the true owner of this body." Judai declared.

Outer Jaden looked up to see his more confident self, standing protectively over him. And with his presence, he was starting to feel not as alone and the grip the King had on him started to loosen. "It's you… How are you even here?" He said before standing up on his feet with a distressed look on his face. Judai sighed before smacking his weaker half on the back of the head, making Jaden cry as he clutched his wound. "Idiot. Were you really going to let this pathetic loser manipulate you with his cheap words? You really can't do anything without my help, can you?" He said as he rolled his eyes.

The king started to laugh maniacally which made the two of them tense up and take a defensive stance. "It's so funny to hear you say that. When all those years ago you were in the same boat and accepted my power which resulted in your mother's death. You are nothing but a hypocrite!" The evil spirit said which made Judai glare at him. "Yeah, you're right. I was fooled by you. But I learned from my mistakes, and I won't let this wimp suffer what I had to go through. So get the hell out of here! Because I won't let you win! Not this time!" Judai said boldly with Jaden staring at his back admiringly. "Okay. I'll retreat for now. But not even you can stay strong forever. One of these days, you both will have your guard down and I will make this body mine. Mark my words… Your days will be numbered soon enough. This is my world, and you both are just living in it." The King said before the mirrors started to shatter, leaving the yin and yang personas by themselves.

Jaden stared at the ground while feeling ashamed that he almost allowed the king to take over. He always felt like the weakest person within his splintered soul. He was not like his inner self who could stand tall with confidence in himself, and he wasn't like the king who despite being evil, was strong minded. He was the weak link, nothing but a liability, who always seemed to rely on the strengths of others. "Hey, thank you. You really saved my neck back there." He told his inner self who looked at him indifferently. "The King has a point you know. He will try to do this repeatedly until he gets what he wants, he will never give up. And I won't always be here to protect this body of ours." Judai said as he yawned. "You need to grow up Jaden. Stop letting every little thing get to you. I have the same memories you have, but you don't see me crying over them." 

Jaden felt like he was just getting stomped into the dirt even deeper the more his other half demeaned him. "Go back to the real world and make things right. Starting off with that Jessie guy. He's not a bad dude, you only hated him because the Supreme King was manipulating your emotions, but I get the feeling he can be a useful ally. And then there's Alexis." When he mentioned her name, Jaden's head perked up and he was wracked with guilt again. "Oh god, Alexis! I really messed up! I told her a bunch of things that I didn't even mean, like why did I have to go and say that?!" he said with a loud groan. Judai chuckled as he watched his outer self continue to freak out. "It's because you're a child who can't resist throwing a temper tantrum. You were mad and you felt like punishing her. I get that, because I don't like people messing with what's mine either. Just tell her you're sorry. She likes you, you damned idiot. Can you really not see that?" 

Jaden tilted his head in confusion. As of lately, everyone has been telling him the same thing. But could it really be true that Alexis has feelings for him? In fact, how did he even really feel about her anyways? He knew he cared about her, but could he honestly say it's because he liked her too? Thinking about these kinds of emotions was never his strong suit. Judai rolled his eyes when he looked at his other self and shook his head. "Never mind… You're still an idiot. Just do what I said. Now wake up." He flicked Jaden in the forehead and sent him back to reality. When he came to, he was still standing in the hallway and saw on the clock on the wall that a whole two hours had already passed by in the blink of an eye. 

"Oh crap! I'm late for the exhibition matches!" He said before taking off running towards the gymnasium. But as he ran, an uncanny smile found its way onto his face. Inner Jaden had given him a lot to think about and consider. He needed to grow stronger. Not just physically, but mentally too. If he wanted to protect his friends, then he needed to stop being his own enemy and getting in his own way. "First things first, I have a crap ton of apologies to give out, don't I? Just wait Alexis, I promise I will make everything right that I screwed up! And Jessie? You better get your game on because your challenge is accepted!" He said with a happy leap as he made it to the gymnasium. He took a deep breath and smiled brightly before pushing the doors open and stepping inside.