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.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Holiday Surprises: Chapter 4: Unbound
Characters: Misawa Daichi, Taniya, Misawa Saki
Romance: Taniya x Misawa
Word Count: chapter: 1,683||story: 6,595
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Yu-Gi-Oh GX Non-Flash Bingo; Diversity Challenge, section H, #9, a multichapter with exactly five chapters.
Notes: This takes place a few years after the end of Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
Summary: [4/5 chapters, Taniya x Misawa/Misawa x Taniya, OC (Misawa's mother), GX Non-Flash Bingo & Diversity Challenge] Misawa Saki expected visiting her son and his beloved would be a different way to spend the holidays. She had absolutely no idea of how different it would be.


With two Harpie Ladies behind her, Harpie Queen touched down in front of King Goblin's cave, just as he stepped out, dragging Saki behind him. The gag kept her from saying anything that she wanted to say, and the more she settled into this situation, the more she wanted to say. They'd asked if she knew anything about governing children; indeed she did, and these goblin children needed far more governing than they imagined.

Harpie Queen looked her up and down, a thoughtful tilt to her head, then turned her attention to King Goblin.

"This is my child-tender?" Unlike the screech Saki had somewhat expected - they were harpies after all - her voice was soft and firm, the voice of a leader and a queen.

She oddly reminded Saki of Taniya, only with feathers instead of fur.

King Goblin puffed out his chest. "That she is! Do you have my gemstones? Perhaps one or two extra could be provided as well? I did find her so quickly, after all."

Harpie Queen said nothing at all, her wings folded over her chest instead. Her gaze fell firmly on Saki. "She doesn't look like a very content slave."

"She's new to the position, that's all," King Goblin waved his hands quickly. "I'm certain you'll be able to train her well."

The Harpie made a noncommittal noise before taking a step forward, seizing hold of Saki by one shoulder and pulling her close. Saki glared back at her, wondering just what this strange creature wanted out of her.

The bonds holding her loosened a trifle, and Saki's eyes widened as she realized why: Harpie Queen's talons gleamed sharp and dangerous.

"Perhaps. I think I would rather like to see what she can teach you, however."

Harpie Queen took a step backwards and gestured with one talon. Saki did not waste another breath, but slammed one fist into King Goblin's stomach with all of the might she could muster. She wasn't as built as Taniya was, but she had a great deal of annoyance boiling in her from everything that had happened since the moment the goblins invaded the Amazon settlement, and she saw nothing at all wrong with taking it out on their leader.

The Harpie Ladies with her pounced on the goblins that stood guard to the king, keeping them away as Saki kicked her former captor as hard as she could. She didn't want to kill him; that wasn't her sort of action at all. But she wanted it made very, very clear that kidnapping people was a very bad idea.

Finally she ripped the gag out of her mouth and stared down at him. "And if you think I'm angry, wait until the Amazons get here."

"Which they should very soon. They were already on the way when the messengers reached me," Harpie Queen said, coming over to stare down at King Goblin, who lay there groaning and battered.

"Messengers?" Saki rubbed her fists; she couldn't remember ever having punched anyone like this before. Or at all.

Harpie Queen's lips lifted into a swift snatch of a smile. "Didn't you know? Amazons and Harpies have been allied for time out of mind." She turned her gaze back down to King Goblin. "I expected him to know that and to know better than to try to offer me someone of Taniya's clan."

At Saki's curious look, the queen continued. "Taniya and I have known each other since I was little more than a hatchling and she not that much older." She rested one taloned finger on a pendant that hung from her neck, which Saki recognized on a closer look as being a tiger's fang. "She told me of her mating with your son, Misawa Saki. I can smell his scent in yours."

Saki blinked a few times, trying to wrap her head around that. "Oh. All right." She wasn't entirely certain of how that made her feel, but if it got her away from these goblins, then she had little to complain about. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Tsubasa," Harpie Queen said. Saki tilted her head, not understanding at first. "My name, Misawa Saki."

"Oh." Saki drew in a breath to try to balance everything in her head. She wasn't having a great deal of luck. "You can call me Saki." That seemed the best way to handle everything right now.

Tsubasa turned her attention slightly away as the two Amazons who'd been captured as well came up, freed from their bonds by the work of her attendants. The other goblins remained cowed underneath the steely glare of the Harpies, who looked more than a little eager to start a victory feast, quite probably with the goblins as the main course.

Saki decided if that happened, she would politely ask to be excused. She could understand different customs, but she had no intentions of taking part in that.

"By our customs, you are allowed to take a trophy from your defeated enemy if you so desire," Tsubasa said, pulling Saki's attention toward her. "Is there anything that you would like?"

Saki pursed her lips, eyeing King Goblin thoughtfully. Truth to be told, while she'd taken the chance to punch when she could, she didn't really want to do anything else to him. She was free, he would likely be terrified enough of her, the Amazons, and the Harpies to never try this again, and that was all she cared about.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if he has anything that I want." Everything he had that looked remotely presentable belonged to the Amazons anyway, from what she could tell. That should all be returned to the proper owner.

But she couldn't resist the urge to give King Goblin a hard look as she made the statement, hoping to give the impression that if he had owned something that caught her fancy, she might well have taken it.

Whether she would have or not was beside the point. She'd never liked bullies and he was one of the worst she'd ever met. Those types needed to learn the world did not bow to them.

King Goblin, perhaps being wise for one of the few times in his life, said nothing at all, just glared at them both impotently. Saki turned her attention toward Tsubasa.

"I need to get back to the Amazon village." She hoped all of this hadn't set back the celebration plans too badly. Everyone had put too much into it to let it all collapse.

"You don't have to worry about that. Taniya will be here soon with her rescue party," Tsubasa said. She smiled for a moment. "I don't think she realized that we would be here as soon as we were." She tilted her head to the side, much like a bird, in a moment of thought. "Perhaps we will join this year's celebration. It's been some time since we shared a festival."

The idea sounded good enough to Saki, though it was wasn't any of her concern overall. She wanted only to finish this holiday vacation and get back to her own world. This one was much more interesting, but in ways she thought might take some serious adjusting to.

Her legs began to wobble underneath her without warning, and she grabbed hold of the nearest pile of rocks to support herself. Tsubasa's wings twitched in alarm.

"Are you injured?" Tsubasa peered closer at her, sniffing at the same time. "Do you need help?"

Saki slowly shook her head, gripping at the rocks. "I need something to eat." She'd looked forward to the celebration and the feast after it so much that she hadn't had more than the few bites before the goblin attack happened. Adrenaline had kept her going all this time, but now as her body realized she was safe, that faded away, and with it all of her energy.

The goblins had already devoured everything they'd stolen, and at Tsubasa's command, one of her Harpies soared off into the sky to acquire something else somewhere. Saki made herself comfortable on the rocks; it seemed they would be staying there until Taniya and Daichi arrived. That was quite good enough by her. She wanted to go back, but having a rest first would put her in a much better mood.

"I don't know if I could accept such things as you have, Saki," Tsubasa said after a few quiet moments. "If a hatchling of mine chose to mate with one from another world, it would be...difficult for me."

Saki fought back a bit of a smile, but not very well. "It is difficult. Taniya isn't who I ever expected for a daughter in law. It's not even being an Amazon or from another world." She considered, choosing her words with care. "I never had any idea that Daichi would like someone like her. I expected someone..."

What had she expected? The thought had never even truly occurred to her. "Someone more like the people I knew at home," she said at last. "But he didn't. He always has surprised me."

"No one expects their chicks to fly that far from the nest," Tsubasa nodded. "Or to find a flock that is so different."

Saki didn't try to hide her smile now. It was easy to talk to Tsubasa. Perhaps because she was a mother as well. "I always worried about that for him. If he would ever find people who loved him for him." She'd worried about more than that, but it was hard to put that into words as well. "But he has."

"That's good to know." Tsubasa flapped her wings and settled onto a tree branch not that far away, close enough so they could still speak to one another. "I do have a question for you." At Saki's look, she continued. "Would you still care to come and see my chicks, after the celebration? Not as a slave or a captive, but as a mother."

Saki raised her head; she hadn't expected that at all. The answer came easily. "I'd be honored."

To Be Continued