I'm glad to see you guys are enjoying this so far! I'm updating because I have a day off from work and I love you guys, so here it is!

…

…

Akari and Haru followed the doctor down the busy hallway like zombies, clinging to each other and avoiding eye contact with the nurses and other patients. They came to a stop in front of a closed door, Yuma's room. The doctor turned to them and sighed.

"We haven't told Yuma the news yet. Out of respect, we figured we would ask the two of you what you would like us to do. Would you like to tell him yourselves or shall I?"

Akari and Haru glanced at each other, the elder spoke up first.

"I doubt he will believe us if we tell him. Perhaps it would be better suited if he hears it from a professional." Haru suggested.

The doctor nodded and motioned for the women to wait outside the door as he entered Yuma's room. There was the sound of the doctor's voice, followed by a loud "WHAT?" from Yuma and some muffled screaming. Akari and Haru's grip on each other tightened. The doctor began speaking again. More shrieks from Yuma and what sounded like gibberish as the boy tried to form a coherent sentence. The doctor exited the room.

"Well," He began, rocking back and forth on his feet and crossing his arms. "He's not taking it too well."

Akari face-palmed herself. "Of COURSE he's not taking it well! He's a 13-year-old BOY. How is this even going to work? He can't give birth!"

The doctor raised his hands in his own defense. "We're going to try to figure this out. Don't worry."

Akari opened and closed her mouth several times before speaking again. "Don't worry? DON'T. WORRY? How on earth are we not supposed to worry?"

Haru patted her arm. "Just calm down, Akari. We have to trust the doctor."

"Would you like to see him now? I think he could use the company." The doctor said, offering the women a comforting smile.

Haru smiled back and nodded, grabbing Akari's hand and dragging her into the room. They were greeted with the sight of Yuma lying back with his hands covering his face in shock. Akari was the first to approach him, tapping her index finger on his forearm.

"Yuma?"

Yuma peeked at her through his fingers and lowered his hands from his face. He stared up at Akari like a sad little puppy, the hurt in his eyes stabbing through her heart.

"Oh, Yuma, it'll be okay." She said softly, sitting herself on the bed beside him.

"No," Yuma whispered in disbelief. "No, it won't."

Haru moved to stand by his other side, stroking a hand through his hair.

"Yuma," She began. "Did - did someone hurt you? Is there something that happened that you're not telling us that could've caused this?"

Yuma thought for a second before shaking his head. "No. Nothing 'happened'. I don't know what's going on!" He sobbed out the last sentence, his hands returning to his face as he began to cry. Both women hugged him tightly, glancing at each other and desperately trying to think of something else to say.

"Don't worry, Yuma." Haru said quietly. "We're going to help you get through this. Me, your sister and the doctors, okay?"

Yuma was quiet for a second before looking up at his grandmother and nodding, leaning his head on her shoulder. The family sat in silence until Yuma spoke up again.

"I think I just want to be alone for a little while to think. Is that okay?"

Akari and Haru looked at each other, both wondering if it was a good idea to leave the boy alone in such a distraught condition. They ultimately both nodded, standing up and walking out the door, looking back to give the boy one last comforting smile before closing it.

Yuma let his head fall back onto his pillow and he stared up at the ceiling, lifting up his right hand and resting it on his stomach. He sighed in both tiredness and annoyance, tracing circles with his index finger around his bellybutton. He was still in shock over the whole thing. How did this even happen?

"Yuma?"

Yuma jumped, lifting his head up to find Astral hovering over with his arms crossed. He groaned quietly.

"Not now, Astral."

"What is going on? Are you alright?"

"Astral, please, just leave me alone." Yuma rested his head back onto his pillow, closing his eyes and hoping Astral would take the hint and go away.

He didn't.

"Yuma? You are not dying, are you?"

Yuma grumbled to himself and turned onto his left side, away from Astral.

"Yuma? Please tell me you are not going to die."

"I wish." Yuma responded quietly.

This answer alarmed Astral slightly. "…Yuma? Please, I am worried, what is going on?"

Yuma sat up harshly and faced the blue spirit; a mix of hurt, anger, and shock flashed in his red eyes.

"You wanna know what's going on, Astral? Let me tell you what's going on. I'm pregnant. Yeah. Having a baby. Uh-huh. Something that only women are supposed to do. So now I have to go through 9 months of this torture and spend the rest of my life caring for someone when I shouldn't be worrying about that for at least another 10 years! Great, huh? Now I'll be famous for being some kind of freaky medical marvel when I should be trying to get famous for my dueling!" With that, Yuma threw himself back onto his pillow and sobbed, his hands once again covering his face. The beeping of his heart monitor increased.

Astral stared down at him with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open as he tried to process the information.

"Who did this to you?" He questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Yuma asked from behind his hands.

"Remember that talk we had before? It takes 2 people to make a baby, correct?"

Yuma dropped his hands into his lap and stared up angrily at the spirit.

"I don't know, Astral, okay? That's the whole problem!" He cried, turning back onto his side and away from the blue ghost.

The room was silent for several minutes, Astral watching as Yuma clung to his abdomen with his right hand, crying lightly to himself. Astral's mind was jumbled with thoughts until one realization struck him.

'I wonder if…? No, that couldn't happen…'

Yuma heard the thought loud and clear, his eyes snapping open as he sat up and faced Astral.

"What couldn't happen?" He asked with desperation. "What do you mean?"

Astral mentally slapped himself for forgetting the boy could hear his thoughts.

"N-nothing, Yuma."

"NO! What? Tell me!" The boy cried, leaning so close to Astral that the spirit felt the need to back away.

Astral took a deep breath. "Well…I was just thinking that perhaps something went wrong during our Zexal overlay."

Yuma's eyes widened madly. "Went. Wrong?"

"Perhaps when our bodies fused a portion of my energy was implanted inside of you and is starting to grow."

Yuma's mouth gaped open. "There's…there's another one of you inside of me?"

Astral nodded slowly. "I believe that may be the case."

Yuma stared at the spirit in shock before he began screaming; shrieks of terror, confusion, shock, and anger raged from the boy. His fingertips curled and his entire body shook. Astral barely had time to register what was happening before the doctor, Akari, and Haru bustled into the room.

…

It had been almost 2 weeks since Yuma had been released from the hospital. He was confirmed to be almost 8 weeks pregnant with what he now knew was another Astral being. The initial shock and terror of the news had worn off and Yuma was slowly trying to accept his newfound fate.

He lay in his hammock gazing out his open window, his hand absentmindedly stroking his stomach. Astral observed him from across the room; he had spent that past 2 weeks feeling guilty that he had caused Yuma's current state and may have potentially gravely endangered the young boy. Astral gracefully floated over to Yuma, kneeling down so he was face-to-face with him.

"Yuma?" He whispered.

Yuma looked away from the window, bringing his other hand to rest under his head whilst continuing to rub his stomach.

"What is it, Astral?"

Astral sighed and stared at the boy with a great amount of sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Yuma looked confused for a second before he sat up. "It's okay. You didn't know this was going to happen."

Astral looked down, he couldn't bear to look the boy in the eyes.

"I am worried that this could be dangerous for you."

Yuma smiled. "So am I, but I think I can handle it."

"I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to you, Yuma." Astral said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I think perhaps you should…reconsider."

Yuma frowned. "What do you mean?"

Astral turned away. "I think you should have the child removed from you immediately. This is far too great a risk to take."

Yuma's eyes widened drastically and he leaped off of his hammock, moving to stand in front of Astral.

"You - you think I should…get rid of it?" He whispered the last part in disbelief. Astral nodded and smiled sadly.

"No way!" Yuma cried. "I could never do that!" Astral looked down at him in shock.

"But Yuma - "

"Look, Astral. I'm going to go through with this. Just because I was freaking out before doesn't mean I can't handle it!"

With that, the boy stomped down the stairs from the attic, leaving a confused and worried Astral in the room by himself.

…

…

Well, there you go! Now, if you're wondering where exactly I'm going with this, I'm kind of going for a Twilight approach. I'm not a fan of Twilight at all, but I thought the premise of 'getting pregnant with this otherworldly baby that might be deadly' could be interesting for Zexal. So, I hope this chapter holds you over until the next!