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.
Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: As Long As It Takes
Characters: Juudai, Johan
Word Count: chapter 1: 1,649||story: 1,649
Genre: Drama, Angst||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I, #011, multichapter with 9-14 chapters; Written for the GX Non-Flash Bingo, #007, patience is a virtue
Notes: This takes place in the world where Juudai is the incarnation of the Darkness of Destruction and Johan, formerly a rebel against him, is now his prisoner.
Summary: It takes time to completely break someone, especially when they're as strong-willed as Johan Andersen. Haou of the Destructive Darkness will take that time. Because such a sweet prize is worth waiting for.

Haou, unquestioned ruler and master of all that he surveyed, strolled his way through the corridors of his castle. Anyone who he passed bowed down at once, making certain not to meet his eyes. There weren't many who could stand to look into them and he quite liked it that way.

There weren't many entities whose presence he could tolerate for more than a few seconds. Most of those were his most loyal servants and slaves, the ones who would gladly throw themselves between him and any incoming danger, without any recourse to his powers necessary.

As he moved closer to the dungeons, he mused briefly on the fact that the entity whose presence he tolerated the most was the one who wanted to kill him the most. At least he was fairly certain Johan wanted to kill him more than anyone else in the world did. There was a very long list of people who wanted to do that.

Of course, one of his current goals was to get Johan off that list entirely and onto the list of those who would defend Haou without even a thought to their own safety. The fact this would indeed require using his powers didn't bother him in the slightest. Sometimes you had to work for what you wanted, especially if it were something worth having.

Johan was worth having. Very much so.

Haou licked his lips. He would have Johan in every way by the end. He anticipated every single moment of it as well.

While the door that led to the dungeon had two guards stationed outside of it, the dungeon cell itself where Johan spent his time didn't have any guards. That was one of the ways Haou maintained his mastery. Even without the dungeon guards, Johan knew to stay in his cell.

He would try to escape, sooner or later. Haou didn't doubt it in the slightest. And when the time came, Haou would pick him up and put him back where he belonged. It would take more training then, but in the end, Johan would submit to him.

I hope it doesn't take too long. I'm enjoying this too much.

Now he stood inside the doorway and examined his lovely prize. Johan had very little here, and all of it was because of Haou's largesse. He wore the tattered remains of what he'd had on when he'd been captured and a couple of blankets that he slept on and under. A small bucket, kept ruthlessly clean by Haou's slaves, provided for other needs.

Johan rolled to his feet as soon as he realized Haou was there. That didn't take long; Haou knew his presence was unmistakeable. But now the prisoner stared at him, pressing himself against the far back of the cell.

"So good to see you again, Johan," Haou said, not moving from the doorway just yet. "Have you missed me?"

Johan shook his head. "No! I'd rather you hadn't even come now!"

Oh, Johan. So defiant. So amusing. Haou would almost miss the defiance when he finally snuffed it out. The amusement would remain, of course. It would simply end up taking different forms.

"But why would I not come to see you?" Haou took a step forward and smirked at the sight of Johan pressing himself harder against the stone wall, as if he hoped he could meld into it and thus get away from his captor. "You are mine, Johan, and I enjoy my possessions."

Johan shook his head swiftly. "Not yours. I'm not ever going to be yours. You'd have to kill me first."

"I could make you mine in a heartbeat," Haou told him, lips thinning. "It wouldn't at all be the first time I've -" he paused to choose just the right word - "convinced someone to see the world my way."

Now Johan sneered at him. "If you were going to do that, you already would have."

"Yes, you're right about that," Haou agreed, taking one more step into the cell. There wasn't much room in here, and nowhere Johan could go. Johan knew that as well as Haou did. "But I will tame you the way that I choose and it will be more entertaining for me, and stronger on you, than any other method. It may even take me years to finish, but in the end, Johan Andersen? In the end, you will be absolutely mine, and you will enjoy every single moment of it." A quick flash of bared teeth that held little of being a smile. "But not nearly as much as I will."

Johan had no real room to move but he tried anyway. For all that Haou had already done to him in the weeks and months since his capture, his spirit hadn't flagged all that much as of yet. Haou wasn't at all surprised to see him dart forward, then duck around Haou, making for the door.

Sadly, today wasn't the day Haou wanted him to try to get out. That would come another time, more to Haou's liking. He did permit Johan to take two paces outside the door, before he caught up with his fleeing property and wrapped a hand around Johan's throat, slamming him into the wall.

"We were having a conversation," he reprimanded, staring into Johan's eyes. "It's rude to run off like that. I'm going to have to teach you a few lessons."

Johan struggled for so much as a breath of air more than Haou allowed him, but to no avail. Haou lifted him off the floor by his throat and carried him back into the cell, where he tossed him down.

"Stay there." Haou commanded. Johan couldn't even move at the moment, too busy breathing. Haou enjoyed the sight of Johan half-collapsed to his knees and enjoyed it more when Johan finally stared up at him, hatred in every line of his body. All of his lessons so far had only increased that hatred. That pleased Haou so very much.

He came closer. "This is your first lesson for the day. I have a question for you. If you give me the wrong answer, then you'll be punished. Give me the right answer, and you'll be rewarded. That's not hard, is it?"

When Johan said nothing, Haou reached down and grasped hold of his shoulder, sending a light jolt of energy through him to stimulate Johan's pain receptors. It was a very light jolt, little more than a tap on the shoulder, but Johan jerked, his eyes round and staring up at Haou now.

"You should always answer me," Haou reminded him patiently. "Now, you heard what I said before?" That got a quick, jerky nod. Haou allowed it as an answer. "Answering me correctly won't be difficult at all, will it?"

This one got a shake of the head. Haou decided he would be generous today. After all, he was about to be extremely hard on Johan. Johan wouldn't possibly get the right answer today. He couldn't.

One step at a time. Haou had patience like none other's. When one's goal was the conquest, domination, and destruction of all life in the cosmos, then patience was absolutely necessary.

Now. To begin.

He stared down into Johan's eyes, remaining dead silent, letting Johan's fear and worry build up until he spied a trickle of sweat going down his forehead. Perfect.

"Who are you?"

Johan blinked in confusion. "W-what?"

Haou smiled. One would think this question wouldn't be difficult. Still, the right answer wasn't the one Johan thought it was. "I asked who you are. You know who you are, don't you?"

Johan nodded, still confused. Haou tsked. "Then answer the question. Tell me who you are."

"Johan Andersen." Underneath the two words there remained a dust of confusion and the tension hadn't left him at all. Good. Johan didn't know if this was what Haou wanted at all. Beneath his bravado, he was terrified.

Just the way Haou wanted him.

He hadn't released Johan from his earlier grip and now he tightened it, until Johan's breath hissed between his teeth and he tried to get away from Haou. That, of course, still wasn't allowed, and Haou's hold on him tightened as he sent another wave of energy through Johan. He bent over slightly, watching, as Johan's teeth ground against one another, his head fell back, and he jerked underneath Haou's touch, every pain receptor in his body howling in agony.

Haou only kept his hand there for less than a minute, but it was more than enough to keep Johan in agony for some time. Haou watched every moment of it, drinking in the pain and terror.

"That was the wrong answer," Haou said at last, when he knew for certain that Johan could hear him. "Do you want to try again?"

He wasn't surprised to see Johan shake his head, but he waited a few more moments, wanting to be certain that it wasn't the remnants of the pain talking.

"Too bad. I do." That was part of the lesson Haou had worked on teaching Johan since the moment he'd arrived at the castle. What Johan wanted no longer mattered. Only Haou's desires held any effect. "Now, who are you?"

Johan's defiance never surprised him. Even suffering the aftereffects of the pain, Johan glared up at him and declared his own name one more time. Haou let out a long-suffering sigh, hiding his amusement.

"So stubborn." He ignited the pain again with a touch of his fingers, avoiding Johan's clumsy attempt to bat his hand away. "We'll try this again and again, until you learn the right answer. I'm patient, Johan. I know you'll figure it out sooner or later." He leaned forward to whisper into Johan's ear. "But can you convince me that you know it before the pain drives you insane?"

To Be Continued

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.