A/N: Sorry for the wait but I believe the length will make up for it!
I realise that there is no way a project like this would use real babies, so this is were the fiction in this fanfiction will come from. However I still want to be realistic in the sense of how the characters act in this kind of situation. So basically I'm trying to keep the characters IC and make the babies act like what real babies would.
Also I appreciate all the names everyone has given me so much that I will try to use as many of the names you guys have given me in the story as I can.
"Talking"
"Thinking/Stress on word"
"Talking with Duel Monster Spirits"
Getting Started
The next morning while Jaden was walking to the main auditorium, he was having a serious conversation with Yubel regarding a certain project.
"Something's just not right about all of this. I mean what kind of school has this kind of assignment?"asked Yubel with distaste in her voice.
"The same school that had Shadow Rides and the Sacred Beasts the first year, the Society of Light the second, duel zombies and dimension travel this year…need I go on?"Jaden countered back.
"That is true, abnormal and dangerous things have happened here. So can you say this assignment isn't suspicious or a potential danger?"
"Yubel I'm not saying I don't agree that something about this is off, but what can I do about it. I may have saved the world a few times, but I'm still a student like everybody else."
"Oh, now you're trying to act like a model student."
"Better now than never,"dejectedly replied Jaden.
"This has to deal with what Crowler said to you yesterday doesn't it?" Yubel asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"I knew I wasn't doing that well, but I didn't know how bad until he said I might not graduate,"answered Jaden in a saddened tone.
When Yubel heard the distraught in his voice, she didn't know just how much this piece of information bothered Jaden until now.
"Jaden…"but before Yubel could say anything else another voice interrupted her.
"Jaden!" called out Alexis as she ran towards Jaden.
Hearing his name, he stopped walking and waited for Alexis to catch up with him.
"Hey Alexis," he greeted when she finally reached him.
"Hey Jaden, mind if I walk with you the rest of the way?" she asked kindly.
"No, we're going the same place anyway," casually replied Jaden.
"Thanks," Alexis said gratefully before they both continued walking to their destination.
The two had been walking in silence for awhile now so Alexis tried starting a conversation with Jaden.
"You know I'm kind of surprised I ran into you on the way," she started, making Jaden glance in her direction.
"Why's that?" wondered Jaden with his brow rose slightly.
"Well you've never been up this early before," answered Alexis with a small smile on her lips.
"We're supposed to be at the auditorium by eight, aren't we?" he replied in a fabricated questionable tone.
"You know what I mean Jaden," causally remarked Alexis.
However this made Jaden immediately stop walking and brought a firm expression on his face.
"So it's impossible for me to be up before noon for once? Is that what you mean Lex?" he sarcastically asked using a harsh tone.
Alexis was surprised when she heard this and was confused by his sudden attitude change. She quickly went over what she had said in her head before she realized that he must have taken her little joke very seriously.
"Jaden I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you," she apologized, looking at him with regretful eyes.
Jaden's eyes softened from her apology, causing him to feel guilty for talking to her like that when he know she was just trying to cheer him up.
"I know, I guess I'm really not a morning person after all," he lightly joked with a shadow of a grin on his face, yet Alexis could tell that something was still bothering him.
"Is something wrong?" she softly asked him.
"I'm fine," answered Jaden, keeping his face void of emotion.
Yet this had made Alexis angry. She was tired of Jaden trying to push people out, especially his friends. Sure he started coming around after their tag duel, but he was still holding back from them when he shouldn't. She wanted the Jaden that wasn't afraid to talk to his friends about his problems, the one that didn't try to avoid them when he deemed necessary. Sure she understood the importance of growing up and being mature, but there were also certain things that you should keep with you no matter how old you get. And Alexis promised herself that while she had the opportunity she was going to remind Jaden of that.
"I don't like it when you lie to me about this stuff you know," she told him strongly though you could hear the hurt in her words as well.
Jaden was about to respond to that however before he could say anything she continued on telling him what she needed to say.
"Jaden if we're going to be partners we're going to have to help each other out. But I can't help you unless you let me," Alexis remarked before closing the small distance between them and placing her hand gently on his shoulder.
"Please don't push me away," said Alexis in a pleading voice as she locked her distressed eyes directly with his.
If what Alexis said before hadn't broke down Jaden's defenses that certainly did. The pain that was displayed on her face and in her words had shocked him. The last thing he wanted was for any of his friends to suffer because of him, which was why he had been distancing himself from them in the first place. Nevertheless it took this sudden expression from Alexis for him to realize that he was actually hurting them by trying to disconnect himself from them. Right then he felt so foolish about how he had been treating his friends. After all how many times did Yubel, Kuriboh, and his other duel spirits tell him that staying away from his friends did no good? Heck even Banner had to put his two cents in every once in a while about it.
"Jaden are…"
Alexis had stopped speaking when she was stunned from being suddenly embraced in Jaden arms. Her heart started quickening as his hold on her became stronger and she felt his breath against her ear.
"I'm so sorry Alexis. I promise I wouldn't push you guys away ever again," he whispered in her ear, using a very severe and sincere tone to let her know that he meant what he said.
At first Alexis was too shocked by this that she didn't move an inch. Yet when she got over the shock and had registered what Jaden had just said, she happily hugged him back and wore a smile on her face.
"It's alright. I forgive you and I'm sure the others will too," assured Alexis with contentment in her voice.
"Thanks Lex, you have no idea how much you helped me," Jaden appreciatively confessed to her after they had separated from the hug.
"Well that is what friends are for," she lightheartedly proclaimed, bringing a true smile on Jaden's lips.
Alexis's heart warmed at the sight of that smile that she hadn't seen for quite some time now. Even though she knew it would take awhile before all of them retained that relationship that they had earlier, she had the satisfaction of knowing that it could now be gained back.
"So can you tell me what was bothering you now?" she asked carefully hoping the question wouldn't set Jaden back to being defensive.
Unfortunately the question did make the smile leave from Jaden's lips and form into a frown. Yet this time it wasn't because he didn't want to tell her, it was because he was embarrassed and nervous to tell her. How does he go about telling her that he might not graduate? Luckily for him, Alexis could see that he wasn't ready to tell her so she was going to drop it for now.
"You don't have to tell me right now if you don't want to," she told him surely with an understanding expression on her face.
"Alexis…"
Alexis immediately placed two fingers on his lips to stop him from speaking. She wanted him to tell her when he was ready to, not because of feeling guilty.
"Just remember that I've got your back ok," stated Alexis with a grin before removing her fingers from his lips, making Jaden smile once again.
"We should get going. By the way what time is it?" she asked, which made Jaden take out his cell phone to see what time it was.
His eyes widened when he saw that it was seven fifty seven and that now they had to make an eight minute trip into a three minute one. Not wanting to be late for once, Jaden quickly told her what time it was and they both began running to the auditorium as fast as they could.
"There you guys are. You're just in time, Dr. Crowler's about to start," Syrus proclaimed as Jaden and Alexis had just crumpled down in their seats from exhaustion after running the rest of the way there.
Just as Syrus finished that comment, Crowler had walked to the front center of the auditorium, eagerly ready to start speaking.
"Good morning everyone, I'm glad to see that all of you are here," declared Crowler while sending an amused smile in Jaden's direction having seen his and Alexis's hasty entrance into the auditorium.
"First off, there are a few people I would like all of you to meet and get to know. These people will be your advisors and are here to provide guidance to help you during the course of this project. They have agreed that they will do their best to be available to you as much as possible. You may go to them for advice and even counseling if you need it, however I do not expect you to go to them for everything, understand?" he asked his students, getting various nods and yeses in response.
"Good. Now advisors please come out and introduce yourselves."
Ten adults that looked to be in their early thirties entered the auditorium and were walking in a straight line to join Crowler at the front. Once they reached the front of the room, the woman who was first in line stepped forward. The woman had palatinate purple hair that was in a ponytail that reached her back and her eyes were a violet color. She was wearing a light blue short sleeved blouse with a black skirt and black heels.
"Ava Jenkins," she introduced before bowing to the students then stepping back into the line.
The next one to step out of the line was a man with dark blue hair and royal blue eyes. He was wearing black pants with a yellow long sleeved buttoned up shirt and black loafers.
"Ethan Jenkins," he said before he too took a bow and returned to his place in the line.
After him was a woman with straightened seal brown hair down to her shoulders and had sandy brown eyes. She wore a casual green mini dress with dark green knee-high boots.
"Caroline Sanders."
Then was a man with blonde hair and green eyes. He wore gray pants with a black t-shirt and black shoes.
"Nathan Sanders."
Following after him was a woman with torch red hair in a braid and her eyes were a light orange color. She had on a black blazer over white halter top and black pants and heels.
"Emily Wilson."
Next was a man with silver hair that went down to his neck and had gray eyes. He wore a yellow short sleeved shirt with a green vest over it and white pants with brown shoes.
"Xander Wilson."
The seventh person was a woman with pale magenta hair that went down to her waist and her eyes were a pastel pink color. She wore a light blue dress with dark blue stilettos.
"Emma Parker."
Number eight was a man with Indian yellow hair and jonquil eyes. He had on a beige long sleeved shirt with brown jeans and white tennis.
"Adam Parker."
Ninth was a woman with pigment green hair that was wrapped into a bun and harlequin colored eyes. She had on a brown jacket over an orange tube top and a long brown shirt with black boots.
"Natalie Clark."
Lastly was a man with lavender blue hair and light blue eyes. He wore a blue jacket over a yellow shirt and blue jeans with black tennis.
"And I'm Simon Clark."
As soon as all the introductions were done, Crowler coughed to bring everyone's attention back to him.
"Thank you all for the introductions. Now each of them has their own area of expertise and experience with taking care of children so don't be afraid or skeptical about approaching them. Each team will be assigned to two of the advisors, and will receive contact information from them so you can reach them. Now In order for you to get to know them a little better I will now give you all a chance to ask them questions. So does anybody have any questions for them?"
Right away several students' hands went up, eagerly and a female student was the first one to be picked.
"Do any of you have any children of your own?" the girl asked, making smiles appear on the adults faces.
"Yes we all have our own children," answered Emily.
"And I might add that they're all growing from wonderful modeled teenagers into wonderful modeled adults," Xander added proudly before another student was selected to ask a question.
"Is it really hard to raise children?" wondered a male student with a slight hint of worry in his voice.
"Anything you want to do your best at is never easy and parenthood is definitely no exception to that," Caroline told them in a very serious tone.
"Exactly, it's just like all of you wanting to become the best duelists you can be. You have to keep working at it and never give up when something unexpected happens," reminded Nathan with a strong vigor shown on his face.
"Being parents is full time job and it's one you can't afford to lose or quit," Caroline proclaimed firmly, making some students cringe in concern while others looked forward to the challenge and the rest were indifferent.
"Did you guys have any help with raising your kids?" questioned a female student, bringing hilarity to the adults' faces.
"Of course! You wouldn't believe how many times I've had my siblings babysit for me when I was very busy," remarked Emma with a grin.
"I remember one time going to my own parents when I couldn't figure out how to get my daughter to stop crying," Natalie said with a small blush coming to her cheeks.
"That's nothing, one time I had to ask my neighbor to help me put together the crib my wife and I got for the baby. It took us two hours to finally figure out how that complicated thing was supposed to be set up and another two hours to actually put it together," chuckled out Adam, which made some students of the students snigger as well.
"Like I'm sure Dr. Crowler told you this project is to help you all work together and help each other. You can't always work alone and there will be times when you are going to need some help, especially when it comes to taking care of children," Ava strongly reminded them.
"One more question and then we will head to the place where all of the babies are located," announced Crowler, causing more students hands to rise up in hopes their question could be the last one that would be answered.
Yet when one student had suddenly raised their hand, looks of shock and disbelief appeared on the rest of the students' faces. Nervousness swiftly caught Jaden as everyone's attention now seemed to be focused on him, though he did his best to not show it. When he was actually chosen to ask the last question, expressions of interest and amusement from his peers made him even more uneasy. Seeing the nervousness that flashed in Jaden's eyes, Alexis give his hand a quick comforting squeeze to which he sent a grateful look in her way.
"How do you know what to do?"Jaden asked as calmly as he could with all the eyes that were still staring at him.
Some students were amazed that Jaden had asked a good question and others were thankful that he asked it, while the rest didn't make anything of it. Nevertheless when the adults were about to answer the question, everyone's attention left Jaden and returned back to the adults.
"That's really a tricky one to answer because there's no definite answer for that. No one else can tell you how to raise your own child. Sure as we said you may need assistance every now and then, but no one can do it for you," Ava elaborated a best as she could.
"What she is saying is that only you can figure out how you should raise your children," further explained Natalie.
"The best advice I can give you is to follow your instincts and reasoning," Simon suggested using a supportive tone.
"As Benjamin Spock once said Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do," poetically recited Ethan.
That had truly made the students feel a little more confident about their situation and lightened some of the anxiety of the students. Finished with the Q&A segment, Crowler once again brought people's focus on him.
"Alright now everyone please follow me," he instructed as he begun leaving the auditorium.
The adults and students without delay followed Crowler to an area that was only a few rooms down from the auditorium. When everyone was inside the room, there were a collection of gasps, awes, and a very few groans. There were many cribs with babies that looked to be at least twelve months old in them that were aligned in five rows in the room. Beside each crib were huge bags and on the side of the cribs were printed labels with the babies' names on them. Also Ms. Fontaine and Ms. Dorothy were present in the room, having been assigned to watch and take care of the little children until the students arrived to get them. The ten advisors then split up into pairs and walked to a row of cribs.
"Now, the advisers will call down the pairs they are assigned to and give you your baby along with their and the baby's information and a duffle bag containing some necessities for the baby to help start you off. As I mentioned yesterday you will be dueling for items which will start tomorrow so take the time to plan what and how much you will need. Once you receive your baby you may start looking for a place to live, or if you have any more questions you want to ask you may ask me or the advisors. Is that clear?" asked Crowler, who received nods and got it's in response.
"Ok then let's get started. Orion and Rena!" called out Simon.
The said two students walked to the row Simon was at and he started giving them the stuff promised, while Natalie talked with them and handed them their child.
"Andrew and Jasmine!" Emma announced.
"Chazz and Mindy!" proclaimed Xander.
"Syrus and Mana!" shouted Caroline
"Jaden and Alexis!" Ethan yelled.
As soon as they heard their names, all of them quickly went over to their respective advisors. As Jaden and Alexis reached their two advisors, Ava took the baby out of the crib and then Ethan began folding up the crib so it would be easier to carry.
"This little one here is Yuna. She's very energetic, playful, perceptive and a quick learner so be sure to keep a close eye on her and be cautious on how you act around her ok?" explained Ava while gentling handling the baby over to Alexis.
"We will," promised Alexis as she carefully held Yuna in her arms.
"Here are the bag, the crib, Yuna's profile and biography, and our contact information," Ethan commented as he gave the named items to Jaden.
"Good look, trust me with kids you'll need it," replied Ethan sending a knowing smile to Ava.
"Well then it's a good thing I have a partner who has amazing luck, right Jaden?" lightheartedly responded Alexis as she glanced in said boy's direction, making said boy blush.
"Oh I think you two will do just fine," Ava said with a light laugh at seeing how the two interacted with each other.
"Thank you," Jaden and Alexis both uttered before making their way out of the room.
The same process was done with all of the other pairs and once they were finished with them the advisors continued calling more teams.
As Jaden and Alexis made their way outside, Alexis had been mostly gazing at the bundle in her arms
"You're such a cutie," remarked Alexis in a sweet voice to which Yuna made little cooing noises to.
"What is it?" she suddenly asked Jaden having noticed that he had been staring at her.
"Nothing…so where do you think we should live?" swiftly wondered Jaden, clearly trying to change the subject.
Even though Alexis knew he was avoiding the question, he did ask a good one of his own so she decided to just move on with the conversation.
"Well, I've been thinking about it and I think the Sliffer Dorms might be the best place," she answered truthfully with a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Really?" Jaden asked with a slight hint of surprise showing in his eyes.
"Yeah, I mean most people would most likely be living in the Obelilisk and Ra dorms so it would be kind of crowed. However if we stay in the Sliffer Dorms we could stay in Chazz's old room. We both already know the area and I'm sure you know where everything inside the dorm is located so this way we don't need to waste time trying to associate ourselves with a semi-new environment," simply clarified Alex, causing Jaden to stare at her for a moment before a smile formed on his lips.
"Ok then the Sliffer Dorms it is," enthusiastically declared Jaden, which brought a smile on Alexis's face too.
"Great, I'll just get some things from my room and meet you there. Could you take Yuna with you so I can carry all of my stuff to the dorm?"
A sure came from Jaden's mouth before he rearranged the things he was carrying so he could hold the baby better. When he was done with that, Alexis cautiously passed Yuna to Jaden. Yuna had made a few noises and had made movements when she was carried from one arm to another, but had called down when she saw who was holding her now.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Jaden questioned to her after Yuna was transferred successfully.
"No I'll be fine," she told him.
He was a little skeptical about not helping her though he just nodded in response before they both began walking in different directions. Yet Alexis stopped for a moment and turned around in Jaden's direction.
"But thanks for the offer Jaden," appreciatively replied Alexis, making Jaden pause to look back at her also.
"Anytime," he replied back with a grin before they both continued on their way to their destinations.
When Jaden arrived at the Sliffer Dorms, he debated whether he should get his things from his room and being them in Chazz's old one. However the more he thought about it, he figured it was best to wait for Alexis in case she came and started looking for them.
"Besides, it's not like I need to go far to get my things so I can do it later,"thought Jaden as he managed to maneuver everything he was carrying enough to be able to open the door.
Once inside he immediately slid the duffle bag off his shoulder and placed it near the door on the floor. After that he decided it would be best to set up the crib next so he gently laid Yuna down on the soft and squishy couch where he could keep an eye on her and started putting the crib back together. It didn't take him long to set it up and place the pillows and sheets back inside it. Once he was sure the crib was up properly, he brought Yuna from the couch and placed her inside the crib.
"I bet you're glad this wasn't one of those put together in four hours cribs," Jaden joked to Yuna as she curiously stared at him with her own adorable brown eyes.
"You're really are cute," commented Jaden as he delicately roamed the tips of his fingers over her petite clothed covered stomach.
This caused a small giggle from Yuna and a sly grin to come from Jaden.
"So you're ticklish huh," he stated mischievously before he used both hands to begin tickling Yuna's stomach and waist.
A fit of giggles erupted out of Yuna as she started squirming in enjoyment from being tickled. A very warm feeling made its way inside of Jaden when he continued to hear the sound of laughter coming from the baby that he was causing. The smile on his face grew bigger when Yuna had managed to take a hold of one of his fingers and played with it.
"Aww, is someone turning into a father already,"teased Yubel as she materialized in front of Jaden in spiritual form, making a very noticeable red color display on his cheeks.
"Kuri Kuri Kuri,"happily added Winged Kuriboh, who also just appeared near Jaden.
"Kuriboh, not you too!"stressed a very embarrassed Jaden.
"But he's right Jaden; you do look adorable playing with the baby," Yubel said through her laughter.
Jaden was saved from even more embarrassment when there was a knock on the door and Yubel and Kuriboh quickly disappeared.
"That must be Alexis,"thought Jaden, figuring that she couldn't open the door because she was carrying a lot of stuff.
Jaden slowly took his fingers away from Yuna to which she made little whining sounds of protest at.
"Don't worry, I'll play with you again soon ok," he told her in a tender voice.
Surprisingly this had calmed Yuna down enough so Jaden quickly went to get the door before she may start to whine again. Yet when he opened the door he was stunned at who was there.
"Syrus, Mana, what are you guys doing here?" he asked with a look of surprise on his face.
"Well…we uh…"
Seeing how Syrus was stuttering, Mana decided to answer the question for him.
"We were hoping we could stay here with you and Alexis. That is if you don't mind."
"Um, not to be rude or anything but why do you want to stay with us?" curiously wondered Jaden.
"Most likely for the same reasons you and Alexis wanted to stay here of course," positively assured Mana.
"She means that since I know the place just as well as you do and too many people would be in the other dorms, it would make since to stay here," hastily summed up Syrus.
"Plus this way we won't be completely by ourselves and it would be easier for us to help each other out if the other needs it," Mana added, making a thoughtful expression cross Jaden's face.
"Well I'd have to ask Alexis when she gets here if it's ok, but I'm sure she won't mind," causally said Jaden.
"You've only been her partner for ten minutes and already she's got you whipped,"mockingly noticed Yubel while once again appearing before the three.
Syrus and Mana tried hiding their laughter while Jaden tried hiding his blush. When Yubel felt she had enough fun for the moment, her expression became staid.
"There is a problem with you wanting to stay here though," she stated seriously, which brought three pairs of puzzled eyes to look at her.
"Is there enough space for all of you?"asked Yubel, causing realization to dawn on the other's features.
"That's right I forget that the space is kind of limited," muttered Jaden.
"Oh man," said a now dejected Syrus.
"That's not a problem at all!" suddenly announced Mana with a large smile, making everyone else including the baby she was carrying glance at her in bewilderment and astonishment.
"Can we come in?" she politely asked Jaden.
"Sure," answered Jaden, even though he like everyone else were still lost about what Mana was thinking.
"Great," she replied before Jaden had let her and Syrus inside the room.
Once inside Jaden went back to Yuna and decided to carry her in his arms since she had been getting restless. During that Mana had took a quick scan of the place before turning to face the other with a bright smile on her lips.
"Yep it's nothing a little magic can't fix," she announced with a wink, causing understanding to reflect in their eyes from finally knowing what she was going to do.
"Syrus, could you hold Neander for me please?" kindly asked Mana.
"Of course," answered Syrus before Mana carefully passed the now wiggling baby to him.
"Thanks sweetie," she replied, giving him a quick peck on his cheek that made them turn a red color.
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's whipped eh Sy," Jaden joked with a sly smirk formed on his lips, causing the red color on Syrus's face to deepen.
Mana let a grin slip on her face at that before her face took on a look of concentration. It was then that her body was covered in a pink glow which told them that she was transforming. She grew a few inches taller, while her brown hair turned blonde and became straighter and longer. The Obelisk Blue girl's uniform was replaced with a more revealing blue and pink magician like outfit. After the transformation was finished, the famous Dark Magician Girl stood before them. Both Yuna and Neander made load excited noises at seeing the transformation take place, bringing smiles on everyone's lips. However Mana instantly remembered what she had to do so she once again scanned the room, figuring out the best way to add on to it without it being too noticeable.
"Alright, I've got it!"exclaimed Mana as she clapped her hands together and summoned her magic staff to her hands.
Mana made several motions with the staff in her hand, causing it to emit a blinding pick light that engulfed the entire area. When the light faded and everyone uncovered their eyes, they saw that the room looked the same except there were a few additions such as an extra bedroom and bathroom included in it. Overall the inside officially looked like a more spacious apartment complex.
"Yep, this should do just fine,"declared Mana, taking a glance at her handy work.
"Wow, this looks great Mana!" praised Syrus.
"I must admit that this looks pretty good,"replied Jaden also observing the new improvements.
"Agreed,"commented Yubel after taking a look at the room herself.
"Thanks,"said Mana in an appreciative way from all the praise she was getting.
"This is great! It's going to be just like old times, right Jaden," Syrus excitedly said to him.
Thinking back on the time him and Syrus had been roommates caused a contented expression on Jaden's face. Jaden truly did miss spending time with his friends, especially Syrus, so this situation worked well in his favor. Especially since he made a promise to Alexis that he planned to keep
"Right Sy," affirmed Jaden, sending Syrus a genuine smile.
Syrus beamed at this, seeing that his old friend was starting to come back. Just then everyone heard someone at the door and the knob being turned.
"Mana, quick change back!" urgently stated Syrus with a panicked look on his face.
Mana nodded her head and immediately she was covered by the same pick glow from earlier. Just a second after she transformed back Alexis had opened the door and placed the various items carried on her person neatly on the floor.
"Hey Jaden I'm….what are you two doing here?" she questioned as soon as she noticed Syrus and Mana with their baby.
"We're your new roommates!" cheerfully answered Mana.
"Roommates?" wondered Alexis wearing a perplexed expression.
"They want to live with us," explained Jaden, bringing a considerate and understanding look on Alexis's face.
"I see, but it might get cramped with all six of us here," Alexis reasoned, yet she was surprised by the lack of response from her statement.
"That's already been taken care of," proclaimed Mana, when she noticed Alexis' baffled stare.
"Really?" she asked suspiciously, knowing that something was amiss here and that she was apparently the only one left out of it.
"Yeah, we uh…found some extra space," nervously explained Syrus, not likely the skeptical and disbelieving glare Alexis was giving all of them.
Only Syrus and Jaden knew who Mana really was and that it was best that no one else found out or it would cause problems. Even though Jaden knew Alexis could be trusted and didn't think it would hurt for her to know, it wasn't his secret to tell. So since Mana and Syrus didn't seem to want her to know yet, he was just going to have to help them keep it until they were ready to spill.
"So Lex did you get everything you wanted from your room?" abruptly asked Jaden, hoping to at least distract Alexis some from the subject.
"Now I definitely know something's going on. But I'll let it go… for now," contemplated Alexis before a clearly plastered smile formed on her lips.
"Yeah I did," she answered with an expression that clearly said "you won this one but I'm not giving up".
They all definitely got her message, making worried and nervous display on their faces. Suddenly remembrance dawned on Mana, which the others right away took notice of.
"Speaking of things why don't we take a look at what they gave us in those duffle bags," she suggested.
"Good idea Mana, we need to see what we've got so we know what to get," gladly agreed Syrus as the tension was now diminishing from the room.
"Then let's go to our room and check it out," Mana eagerly proclaimed before swiftly dragging Syrus and Neander into the newly created bedroom.
"Talk to you guys later!" she told them with her head sticking out the door before she closed and locked the door.
Alexis and Jaden had sweat dropped at this before they noticed that they were now alone.
"Mana sure is a free spirited girl," stated Alexis with a light smile.
"You have no idea," Jaden muttered quietly to himself.
"Well she does have the right idea. Why don't you let me take Yuna off your hands while you check out the bag?" suggested Alexis.
"Alright, besides I think she missed being in your arms anyway," Jaden told her wearing a teasing grin before he passed Yuna over to Alexis so he could get the duffle.
Apparently Jaden was right about Yuna missing Alexis because as soon as she was in Alexis's arms, happy sounds escaped out of her cute little mouth. Unfortunately the joyous noises from Yuna didn't last as she began crying loudly.
"Yuna don't cry," pleaded Alexis as she started rocking the baby in her arms, to try and calm her down.
However she continued to cry, despite Alexis's efforts to calm her down.
"Maybe she's hungry," Jaden reasoned, though you could hear some panic enter his voice.
"Quick, look for a bottle in the bag!" Alexis urgently told him while she continued to rock Yuna in her arms.
Jaden rapidly went to bag and started frantically searching for what he was looking for. Yet hearing Yuna cry even louder made Jaden even hastier in his search as he started carelessly tossing random things out of the bag.
"Here it is," triumphantly stated Jaden as he took the carton of whole milk and a bottle with a note attached to it from the bag.
His eyes ran swiftly over the instructions that was on the note and then hurriedly made his way over to the kitchen part of room. Jaden took a pot from the cabinet and filled it with water before placing it on the stove. He set the temperature for the stove and waited until the water was boiling before taking the pot off the stove and carefully submerged the bottle in the hot water. After about five minutes he took the bottle out of the water and quickly washed it thoroughly. When he finished washing and drying it off he poured the milk into the bottle before putting it in the microwave and heating it for the recommended amount of time.
"Don't worry Yuna; daddy is bringing you something to eat," Alexis told Yuna, seeing Jaden heading towards them with the bottle in his hands.
Jaden had almost tripped and dropped the bottle when he heard the word daddy come from Alexis, but was able to stop himself in time. Alexis propped Yuna up in her arm before using the other to take the bottle Jaden gave her. When the bottle entered Yuna's mouth she immediately calmed down and started drinking the milk. Alexis let out a sigh of relief at this, while Jaden plopped down on the couch from exhaustion. Sure when he read the instructions it didn't seem like that much, but when you're actually carrying them out with the baby's crying in the background making you panicky it's a whole different story. The thought of taking a nice nap on the couch sounded really good to Jaden.
He closed his eyes, ready to do just that, unfortunately piercing crying made his eyes snap back open. Jaden instantly sat up and turned to where Alexis and Yuna where. Alexis was sitting down on one of the chairs with an empty bottle in one hand and a now crying Yuna on her lap being secured by the other.
"She's still crying?!" Jaden asked/yelled in complete shock.
"Maybe she wasn't hungry after all," dejectedly said Alexis as she started bouncing Yuna up and down on her lap, trying once again to settle her down.
"Then why is she crying?" wondered Jaden also feeling a little down at not knowing what was bothering Yuna.
"I wonder…" started Alexis with a thoughtful expression showing on her face.
"What is it?" Jaden asked her curiously, wondering if she know what was wrong having seen the contemplating look on her face
Alexis gently picked up Yuna from her lap and felt that the diaper she was wearing was soggy and squishy.
"Her diaper needs to be changed," uneasily stated Alexis, making Jaden wince at what they had to do.
"Oh boy,"dreadfully thought Jaden.
Several minutes later Mana and Syrus with Neander came out of their room and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw how Jaden and Alexis looked. Jaden was covered in baby powder with damp wipes stuck to him and Alexis was also covered in powder with some wet spots on her cloths. In fact the only one that was clean was Yuna who appeared to now be resting comfortably in the crib.
"What happened to you two?" asked Mana to which Jaden and Alexis couldn't help but groan at.
"Let's just say that changing a diaper is a lot harder than it looks," answered Jaden
A/N: Whew! That took a good while to write! Can you believe that all of this happened and it's not even noon in the story yet!
Seriously though, I just had to have Syrus and DMG together in this fic because they are so cute together. If you're wondering how DMG came back and became a student it will be explained later. Also since this is technically in Japan, to fit in better Mana doesn't have a tan in the story, so just try to picture her without one.
I'm also planning on bring the brother/friendship relationship Syrus and Jaden had in the earlier season similar to how it was. I just didn't like the fact that their relationship started diminishing when Jessie entered the picture.
Next chapter title: Getting Acquainted With the Family
