Wow. Have not updated this in a while. I really don't want to discard these prompts, though! It's one of my only motivations to write again, after neglecting this for so long. I know this is super rushed, and stuff, but it's because I'm a little rusty. Haven't updated (or practiced writing) since April. I do hope you enjoy!

Spoilers for episode 126 on.

This drabble is of Foilshipping (Vector x Yuma). The prompt is "Mad."

He went crazy for him. Insanely crazy.

There wasn't a day when Vector didn't think about annihilating everyone and everything in his path. Destroying it all, watching everything in the world wither and rot and crumble to ashes and dust before him… like the weak, pathetic, fragile things they are. And with each and every passing day, he'd get closer and closer to his goal. Each scheme spelled out a victory; each move would result in another death, another assertion of dominance, and another step closer to spreading his reign on the ruins of the worlds he'd lay waste to. All of it was just so close…

… And so damn far…!

He thought of it much like a chess game. Vector was the king of the evil side, with Gilag and Alit his bishop and knight, and Mizael and Durbe the rook and queen. He'd form his plans carefully, to have his comrades useful enough to wipe out the opposing forces but still disposable in the end, so he can rid of them whenever he'd like.

If it were only that simple. His plans were easily foiled. Despite spelling out victory if they were to succeed, they weren't fail proof, and the enemies easily exploited the flaws in the plans to thwart all attempts he made to take the numbers and run off with them.

And there was one person responsible for that. One person who he must kill, if he wished to get any farther at all...

… Yuma Tsukumo.

The very name made his teeth grit and his fists clench, as the redhead seethed in anger and pounded his fist in the cement wall. He was nothing but a boy, an immature, idiotic, and bothersome child. His smile made him want to cringe, his laugh made him want to throw up, and his dumb catchphrase made him want to tear him into pieces.

"Kattobingu da, ore!"

Please. The only thing this kid was able to do was run into walls and trip on his own two feet. He was only a threat when those like Ryoga Kamishiro and Kaito Tenjo teamed up with him. So why was he such a formidable foe? Why was it so hard to kill him?

He drove Vector mad. Insane. Desperate for a way to kill him. He will have his way with him, all in due time.

...

Time passed, and most of his plans succeeded. He awoke Don Thousand and turned the human world upside down, with almost no effort at all. Ryoga awoke as the Barian leader Nasch, and his sister Rio awoke as the princess Merag, more filthy creatures Vector wished to forget. But it didn't matter much. Everyone began to fall like dominoes, as Nasch and Merag posed as temporary allies for him.

Many of the humans died, which didn't mean much to him. The pawns were always on the frontlines in chess. That girl Anna died... the one who teamed up with the boy Fuuya… Who else? The man Gauche, the woman Droite, the old geezer Roku, his student Kage, Yuma's friend Bronk, the bratty family that is the Arclight sons… was that it for insignificant losers?

Then it got more interesting. The little game of chess took a turn for the exciting, when the higher ups began to fall. Vector captured Nasch and imprisoned him for a while, which allowed him to lay waste to Durbe and Merag. He turned Gilag on Alit and had them die, and ran off again. Word got out that Kaito died in his duel against Mizael, and oh man, was that great to hear! Yuma losing both of his closest allies, the two people that made him a thread to begin with! Ah, he could die laughing right now.

He waited patiently for Nasch to corner him and challenge him to a duel. He expected to win. He knew he would win. With Nasch's moral support shot down entirely, he had nothing to fight for but vengeance, and what kind of idiotic resolve was that?

And Yuma… Yuma decided to follow them to Barian world, possibly to challenge Vector as well. Which was fine; after he got Nasch out of the way, which wouldn't take long at all, he was going to do to Yuma what he'd been dying to do since day one of this madness. He was going to torture him, play with him like the dumb ragdoll he is, pull the strings of the little puppet and make him realize just how useless he is without the help of his friends.

And he lost... he lost against Nasch.

Again, his plans failed, and he was sent back from the blast of the finishing blow. The pain he received from the duel is no where compared to the agony of his final defeat. It was the last straw. He was going to make sure Nasch and Yuma rued the day they crossed paths with him!

…

He didn't want to die.

Vector dared not look behind him. A huge wind was blowing him back, trying to send him into the void that was Don Thousand's eye; it morphed itself into a vortex that sucked away at the Barian, who helplessly clung onto the cracks in the floor to keep from being absorbed. Fuck, he was screaming. Crying, almost. He'd lost his grip and was being sucked into the vortex. He didn't want to die. Not then, not there. He dared not shut his eyes again.

"Kattobingu da, ore!"

That catchphrase again. Even though he hated to hear it, at a time like this, it brought a strange sense of relief to him. Yuma had lifted himself from his spot, ran to Vector, and threw himself in harm's way to grab his hand and protect him from flying away. 'I won't let you go, Shingetsu,' was all he practically heard. 'I'll protect you, I'll save you. You are Shingetsu, and you're my friend! That's your true self!'

The words drove him mad again, and Vector cackled, tightening his grip on his enemy's hand and yanking on him. "Then let's go down together! Come now, Yuma, won't you die with me?" More words like that floated among his head, dying to let themselves be heard; 'Why do you insist we're friends? Shingetsu was a fake, and you're a stupid gullible brat! Die already!'

But they didn't.

The evil grin plastered on the Barian's face instantly fell at the sight of water welling in the child's eyes. Yuma was crying. His eyes were glassy, but he still gave him, his mortal enemy, the brightest of smiles. 'Yeah, let's do this, Shingetsu. I won't let you go alone. We're in this together.'

… No. They weren't. Vector would not let him die.

The redhead released the hand that he was using to force Yuma into the void with him. 'You're so troublesome. An idiot. That's all you've ever been…' And it was true. He couldn't count how many times, during this idiot chess game, that Yuma drove him insane. A stupid boy foiling his carefully laid-out master plans…It was more than enough to make anyone mad.

But Yuma did not deserve to die with him. No. He needed to live. He, who had faith in the little light inside of a monster of a person, even if it was nonexistent.

'I can't drag you down with me…So this is goodbye, Yuma-kun.'

And with that he released his hand, letting himself get sucked inside the void and consumed by darkness once again…

…

"Shingetsu?"

Vector opened his eyes to see the familiar boy standing above him, wearing the goofy grin he always did when around his friends. He remembered he was sprawled along the grass, gazing up at the sky until a light sleep decided to take over him. "Oh, it's you."

"Of course it's me, Shingetsu," Yuma laughed, taking a seat next to the redhead. The other pulled himself to sit up, glancing to his right and listening to the other talk. "After school, me and the gang were gonna ask you if you wanted to hang out with us! But you weren't at school again today, so I wanted to come find you." He tilted his head, smile slightly faltering. "Is this where you stay now?"

"For the most part." The former Barian raked his fingers through his hair with a smirk. "I was just hanging out, and happened to fall asleep out of no where."

Yuma let a soft hum escape, turning to grin at Vector again. "So, what were you dreaming about?"

Vector leered at him, his smirk growing darker (but it's only playful, despite how scary he looks now). "About the time when I was destroying the world, back then." Yuma's mouth dropped, though no sound escaped, and Vector laughed. "Wish it were a joke, but it's true. I was comparing the whole war between Astral World and the humans against Barian World to a game of chess."

Yuma's mouth closed and he beamed. "Oh, really? So you're a fan of chess then, Shingetsu?"

"Not really," the redhead answered, shaking his head. Not at all. "It takes too much thought. I'd never be good at a game like that. Let's stick to dueling."

"Uh… sounds good, I guess."

Besides, games of skill are for mad men.