Chao- Readers should enjoy this piece after seeing Haru's memory!

YChao- You couldn't wait to post up either chapter, huh?

Chao- (bouncing in seat) What makes you say that?

"Talking."

"Thinking."

Journal text.

/Yami and Yugi's mind link./

Chapter 13: Pages of the Past

Yami faithfully watched over his sleeping partner since the ill-fated incident. Despite not carrying the ability to travel anywhere on his own, he openly remained by his friend's side. He only vanished once to grant privacy between a mother and son.

Returning back to the hotel room when Haru left, his heart drowned in grief, remorse, and confusion. He did not understand what had attacked them or for what purpose. The vile witch did not hold any knowledge of the Puzzle or desire for it. He also pondered about the cream that had been placed on his partner. He noticed he could no longer see its process due to the bed sheets covering the teen's body, but he continued to pick up the odd atmosphere with a new one forming.

He turned his head and glanced to the door as guests on the other end talked freely about the Duel Monsters' tournament in progress. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily; he understood how much his other half had been looking forward to compete in such a feat. He truly wanted his light to play on his own.

On the outside clouds rolled in. Over time water unhurriedly descended upon the hotel and the areas around it. Yami did not know what entailed for the tournament, if it was to be hosted outside in a courtyard or inside a ball-like room, but he had no way of seeing the hotel's solution.

Looking from the window to the desk, a piece of writing caught his eyes. The side of the page had been torn, as though it had been ripped out of a book. The paper had turned a bit yellow from age and had endured a few bends in various directions and uneven folds. Though written in pen, the letters were quite clear and legible.

As rain gently pattered down against the roof and with his light at last resting easily, Yami began to read.

I can't believe it! I'm going to have a child of my own! I'm actually going to be a dad!

"Is this… Yugi's father? Is this Hiroshi?" Yami mumbled to himself fascinated. He recalled Naoki tried to rid of any papers, but he performed his best to protect them. He did not know Daiki had gathered them and left them on the desk. Fully interested, he continued eagerly. Each paragraph made his heart jump faster and faster with suspense.

Haru is such an amazing woman. She said yes to my proposal to marry her! She's going to finish school while carrying our baby! Every time I see her, I can see her belly expanding. Day by day our child is growing inside her. I often wonder what it would be like to carry life, other than my own, within me. Though I may be rusty, I had offered Haru to switch bodies with me, like that one incident in high school, and she slapped me! (Excuse me for being concerned!) I can see how tiring carrying life must be, other than in forms of crystals. My heart leaps for joy whenever my eyes rest on Haru, but even though she smiles at me, I can see just how exhausted she's become, far more than any villain we had ever faced.

School is hard with us both in our final year of college and taking care of our growing baby. I can see just how worried everyone has become. As our graduation date comes closer and closer, so does our baby and its formation. Even though grades matter, I worry about Haru more. I know she sometimes feels strange when others stare at her enlarged stomach. I do my best to comfort her; I tell her we're in college, not high school. Is it me or is there less peer pressure in carrying a child in college than high school? I guess so. We get more comments about how cute our baby will look, and I haven't heard anyone call my soon-to-be wife a slut. (If they had, I would have kicked their asses!) I can't imagine having THIS much stress in high school. Not only would we have our crazy adventures, but how would we make time for friends and studying if we had a child on its way?

No, I shouldn't say such a thing. A baby is a gift. It wouldn't be its fault coming into the world just because a couple didn't think ahead of time. No, I'm going to love this baby with all my heart, like I am at this very moment.

Even if it's just me and Haru eating lunch together at the school's cafeteria, it's no longer just the two of us anymore. We are a real family now: there's me, Haru, and our growing baby. To think that one day we'll be sitting in a restaurant with two adult menus and one child's menu. I sure hope our kid doesn't throw food at me! The stain of ketchup wouldn't match any of my shirts.

We are very fortunate to have our friends and family by our side. We're quite lucky some of our friends, like Daiki, let Haru borrow their dorm bed for her to take naps in between classes rather than us having to commute between home and school every few hours. Though I have seen her many days and nights in my bed, it's so wonderful seeing her sleep and our child resting within her. I even sometimes place my hand on our growing baby while she sleeps. It's so strange but knowing our baby is flourishing in her and I can actually feel it… It just feels wonderful.

When Dad found out about me and Haru, he was quite surprised. Between my Role Playing Game nights and gaming conventions, he couldn't believe where I would even find time to be with a girl, let alone DO IT with a girl. But despite his comical shock, he was quite glad. Maybe it was because Haru was so good looking? Or maybe it's because she's good at games? Or perhaps there was someone out there willing to be with someone as geeky as me? Either way, it's nice that Dad and Mom are eager to help out instead of yelling at us and screaming we screwed up our lives. Guess they're excited to be grandparents just as Haru and I are to being parents. (It's still hard to imagine me and Haru ARE going to be parents!)

Haru's mother sadly passed away while we were in high school. Even though her father is constantly going about on business trips and is quite serious, he's still at least willing to help. He had promised to be there for our wedding. (He actually had tears of joy streaming down his face hearing the news, crying his little girl is now a woman!) We tried to get into contact with Haru's brother, Kichiro, but no one has heard from him in months. Everything seemed to have changed for him after he lost his powers. I hope he's ok. I hope we can reach him in time for his invite. And in the future, I hope he'll make a great sitter.

But what's also nice is that if I can't take Haru to her doctor appointments about her weight and eating schedule, at least Mom's there to help. (And it seems less awkward for three women to talk instead of Haru, her doctor, and me in the room) Mom often jokes with Haru by saying this baby isn't giving Haru as much trouble as I was to her. (Can babies really be that much trouble before they're born?) And she's really good at giving Haru advice, like how she shouldn't worry about being seen eating so much. She even knew where Haru could find new clothes that not only would fit but were also pretty fancy. Until Haru gets some money from her father, Mom had allowed Haru to borrow some of her old clothing, like a beautiful dress she wore when she was pregnant with me. We were both surprised to see just how nice some of those old outfits were. Though I will miss her colorful tank tops and sleek jeans that showed off her wonderful figure, I'm glad Haru seems less stressed. I can't imagine how she felt when she first found out about her pregnancy.

I still can't believe she even tried to hide the news from me. Guess she thought I might have left her like so many guys on TV do, and even sadder, guys from our class. (It's pretty damn depressing seeing such a happy couple break up after learning about a pregnancy). Maybe when she first told me, I should have done something cooler other than slipping on her ring and saying "Then make me a happy man." I should have said "It's not my baby" only to take her hands and say, "It's ours."

This may sound odd, but I think this baby is bringing us closer than any of our adventures in high school. Rather than being in a sea of horny teens and dealing with the villain of the week, it's just me and Haru walking around our college campus for her exercise. And when she gets tired, we can sit together on one of the benches in silence with her and our baby leaning and resting on me. When we study, we can be either in the library, at my house, or the school's cafeteria, just as long as there's a table for our books and a place where Haru is allowed to munch on her much needed snacks. We even see couples from our classes strolling around with their own kids. They see us together and offer their own advice and tell their own stories. When Haru sees the mothers taking care of their toddlers, I notice her angelic eyes light up with such overwhelming joy.

Though this all sounds nice, it's not all rainbows, glitter, and sunshine. We get into arguments sometimes, like who's going to be invited to our wedding, where our wedding will take place, or what type of dress Haru will wear. I know she sometimes gets frustrated that she can't fit into the white gowns that look so beautiful in the display windows and that she needs to keep her eyes more on the dresses made for expecting mothers. (Though some of them are made more for high school students than college age ones. Maybe we're just not looking in the right places?) I try my best to stay calm, but even that's enough to set her off. My parents tell us that women will be more emotional over every single little thing. Lucky for us, games usually cool both of us off. Maybe we can see all this like a game; an extreme RPG where both of us are computer characters preparing for a wedding. And even though it's strange, our baby seems to leap in Haru's womb whenever we do play games.

But, after graduation, getting married, taking steps for her pregnancy, Haru giving birth… After all this, I wonder what life will be like. What our baby will be like? It seems like the first thing people are concerned about is the child's sex. I can imagine that being important, such as knowing how soon I'll need to be dodging the baby's pee or not when changing diapers. Will our baby be good or rebellious? Will he want to take ballet? Will she want to join the military?

Will he/she even like to play games?

Well, as much I said I will love this baby no matter what, I shouldn't concern myself with all these questions yet; Haru won't be giving birth for a while. We are quite fortunate she isn't scheduled during Finals. I can't imagine how much more stressful that'll be for both studying and going into labor. At least we had been assured there are women experienced in measuring women for their graduation gown when pregnant. I guess Haru and I will have plenty of photos not only of us and our well-deserved diplomas but of our growing baby as well. (Though I sometimes wish we had the kid sooner, so we could have bought our baby's clothing with the school's logos like other parents have.) But if she needs any help, I'll be there. We can start preparations for our child after we graduate.

Together.

Yami had been blown away with what he read. Although he did not understand all the written material, he better comprehended just how brave Hiroshi and Haru had been. He never thought just how much work came to taking care of a child.

He pondered about his own past life. He wondered if he was ever married, and if he ever had any kids of his own before anything had happened to him. He wondered if he was a good father like Hiroshi.

Looking back at the desk, he saw one more piece of writing.

The doctors and nurses said he had a lot of hair for a boy. Three different colors! I guess he gets that from Dad's side.

After some talk, the choice of what name to give was very simple.

We named him Yugi.

Yami glanced over his partner and was very happy to know just how much the teen's parents cared about him. He was glad the adolescent who was destined to place together the Puzzle was born into a good family.

The boy that had been resting woke up once more.

The spirit smiled as he walked over and took a seat on his light's mattress.

Yugi sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. Though a strain formed in his chest, the dark bags underneath his eyes vanished and his breathing returned to normal.

/Feeling better?/ Yami quietly asked through their link.

The teen simply nodded. He had fallen asleep after his brief meeting with his mother. He had been told he had been moved to the hotel after Daiki had found him unconscious in the woods. He knew he had blacked out at some point during the battle, but he hoped everything was fine with Yami and everyone else. Opening his large orbs, he saw his other half grinning mischievously, an act he didn't commit often.

/What's up?/ Yugi asked as he placed down his heavy hands on his thick sheets. He decided to enact his link as he was too weary to use his voice. /Is everything ok with Naoki?/

/Of course. She's gone./ the spirit answered, using the link to keep his partner at ease. /But more importantly, I think I found a way for you and Tea to get together./

/Um, what?/ the adolescent questioned confused. /Have you really been thinking about that while I've been asleep?/

/Let's just say I found some inspiration through your self-proclaimed geeky father./ the pharaoh responded with a small, excited laugh. Though Yugi disagreed with the label he heard, Yami unleashed his grand idea, /Why don't you and Tea have a child of your own!/

Yugi's face turned as red as a strawberry. He shouted with widened eyes, "What!"

/It's a perfect plan!/ Yami insisted, completely sure of himself. /Just have a child with Tea, and she's bound to be with you!/

"You're impossible!" Yugi spat while remaining flustered.

/What's wrong with my plan?/ Yami asked, hurt his partner didn't thank him for his brilliant notion.

Yugi took his pillow and covered his extremely embarrassed face as he replied sternly, /That isn't how it works!/

/Well you don't need to do it now./ the spirit insisted, still confident in his arrangement. /You can make one when you're both in college, like your parents did. Or maybe after Tea comes back from studying in New York./

Yugi buried his face deeper into his pillow as the word make entered his ears. He was sure his other self had retained a few memories of his education about infant formation after he had allowed his friend to share his thoughts and other recollections.

He replied to the naïve spirit in a dead tone, /Yami, I'm still sick. I don't need this now./

He hurriedly flipped himself over and continued to cover himself with his pillow over his head as he attempted to block out any new ideas his other self may have.

Lost in thought, he reflected what his mother had said to him.

"You were only having a nightmare…"

To be continued…

Chao- It was actually pretty fun to write that entry; Hiroshi is a very fun loving and outgoing character. And after some time, Chao had learned that it isn't so much Romance that Chao dislikes as much as it is just all that stupid drama, especially found in idiotic gossip books and TV programs.

YChao- Like what? Give one example you've seen and/or read that involved a couple that didn't have senseless drama.

Chao- Oh, that's easy: Disney Pixar's Up!