"Hey. Hey get up." The tall, slender man sucks his teeth in frustration. "Guess I'll have to tell Atem and call a nurse."
Mana's head shoots up and she looks around frantically, panting heavily. "Where?! What?! Who?!" she exclaims, jumping to her feet to Seto's surprise. That quick motion causes her stomach to growl and she drops her shoulders, groaning loudly. "Food. I need food."
"You're acting weirder than normal," Seto says folding his arms.
"What do you mean?"
He scoffs at her. "You passed out just now."
"Probably because I still haven't managed to get food in my tummy yet!" she sprints down the stairs and he raises an eyebrow. He ponders in his head whether or not he should tell Atem about her strange behavior. But perhaps he is used to it. He shakes his head and continues to his room.
"About time you decided to join us," Téa says as Mana hops into one of the bar stools in between her and Kisara. The chef sets down a plate to which she gobbles down. She can gradually feel her energy returning with each bite.
"How did your sparring go, you two?" Yugi asks.
"Mana lets her guard down a lot," Kisara teases, causing Mana to nearly choke on her food.
"Can't say I disagree," Atem says, taking a sip of his drink to which Mana pats her chest to make the food go down before glaring at him.
"Well Kisara has gotten rusty," Mana says with a smirk, wanting to get back at her for her recent remark. "She's always talking about how much more powerful she is than me, but I honestly don't see it."
Téa hits her forehead. "Yugi, why did you get them started…"
Yugi chuckles nervously, placing a hand behind his head. "It was only a simple question!"
At this point, Kisara and Mana's faces are mere inches from each other as they glare into each other's eyes, blurting out any comeback they can come up with to prove that the other is stronger. The tension is so thick that the different silverware and plates begin to rattle as the energy between them begins to grow. Atem continues to sip on his drink, unfazed by the room shaking while Téa, Yugi and the chef grab onto something to keep their balance.
"Well let's settle the score then!" Mana exclaims, feeling better now that she has something in her stomach.
Téa lets out an exasperated sigh, clinging to the counter. "Are you guys gonna do anything else other than spar?"
"Yes, after we spar," Kisara replies, not taking her eyes off Mana.
The two friendly rivals find themselves outside once again, this time with spectators to watch their face off. Téa stands in between Atem and Yugi with a pout on her lips and her arms crossed as the two women go back and forth, landing different blows on each other. Having two friends that are not considered 'normal' is always interesting, but it can also get exhausting for a normal human being such as herself. Yugi and Atem don't seem fazed though. In fact, they watch with the same amount of interest that they would a duel.
Kisara shoots a blast from her mouth and Mana quickly jumps up in the air, with her wand in hand and her eyes to the ground. As the smoke clears, she sees that Kisara is nowhere to be found. That's when her eyes slowly scroll up and she sees that Kisara has jumped up at a higher distance than her.
"What the—" Mana gasps as Kisara opens her mouth to shoot another blue wave at her. Mana crosses her arms and wand over her face.
Kisara smirks. "Got ya." She snatches Mana's wand out of her hand and they both land on the ground.
"Hey! Give that back!" Mana yells.
"Let's see how good you are without your—"
Mana lets out a battle cry, outstretching her arms out wide, charging two magical spheres in the palms of her hands to Kisara's surprise. Mana begins flinging her arms, shooting a barrage of blasts Kisara's way.
"Whoa, that's new," Yugi comments. "Since when could Mana do that without her wand?" Atem only smirks. If there's one thing he can't take away from her, it's the fact that she has been training her butt off, taking herself to new limits and bigger possibilities with her powers.
As she continues to shoot the magical energy balls at Kisara, Mana feels a twinge in her lower abdomen again. She narrows her eyes and grits her teeth, deciding to fight through it. A pearl of sweat goes down her temple and she clenches her teeth tightly. She is determined to land one hit on Kisara.
Kisara growls in frustration, throwing down Mana's wand when she gets at a safer distance from the attacks. "ENOUGH!" she yells, and a huge force from her immense anger causes Mana to get blown back. She lands safely on her feet and puts up her guard. She opens her mouth once again and Mana holds her hands out to form magic at her palms. Both of their blasts collide in the middle of the field. The huge force of wind is so much that Téa shields her face as Yugi and Atem look on.
Mana hisses. It seems the more power she puts out there, the more her body has a negative reaction. She thought for sure that after she had a meal, she would feel better. But that annoying pinch refuses to go away. As she begins to get distracted with the thoughts swirling in her head, her blast starts to get weaker and Kisara pushes on.
Atem looks over to Mana questionably. It seems they were evenly matched for a moment, but Mana looks like she is losing focus. He observes her expression. One of her eyes is closed and her teeth are clenched, almost as if she's in pain. "Mana?"
The magician pushes through, and the collision of attacks in the middle of the field gets bigger and bigger until it explodes. Luckily, Yugi and the others are at a safe distance from their heated battle. As they charge at each other, the pain in her stomach becomes more excruciating, nearly taking her breath away.
"No…not now," Mana pants as she runs at Kisara. What feels like electricity shoots down her body and she clenches the side of her stomach. She uses her free hand to form another ball of energy to attack Kisara with, totally ignoring her body's warnings. But this motion, makes the pain unbearable. Her body suddenly feels stiff and that same feeling of electricity goes through her body once more. She gasps and stops in her tracks, aiming her hand upward to avoid hitting anything random in the midst of her pain. The magical ball shoots into the air as she cries out and falls to her knees.
Kisara immediately stop charging at her, concerned by Mana's actions. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Is she alright?!" Téa yells out to them.
Atem is the first of the group to jump over the barriers in place and rush to her aid. He kneels down just in time for her to collapse forward in his arms. "Mana, tell me what's wrong," he says worriedly, turning her over and looking down at her. She screams in agony, sweating profusely and she uses both of her hands to clench her lower abdomen.
"We need to take her to the hospital!" Yugi exclaims with concern.
"We have our own medical area here. We'll take her there," Kisara says.
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Mana slowly opens her eyes, immediately shielding them from the bright light. Compared to the other rooms in the house, this room is extremely white and bare. She is surrounded by different machines and charts, almost as if she is in a mini version of a hospital. What doesn't Kaiba have, she asks herself internally.
"Atem?" she calls out softly, seeing that he isn't there.
Just as she observes the IV going into her arm, a doctor wearing the typical white coat and black dress pants walks in. "Oh good, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Better, I guess. But what's up with all this?" she asks, motioning to the clear stream going into her arm.
"You were a bit dehydrated Mana," he informs her.
She breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, is that all? I guess that explains the cramping in my lower abdomen," she assumes with a shrug.
The doctor scratches his temple and smiles. "Well, not quite," he says and she raises an eyebrow. "We did take a blood sample and…"
Mana blinks. "And?"
"Well…did you realize that you're pregnant?"
Mana's face drops and her expression becomes blank as she stares at the doctor like a deer caught in headlights. He couldn't have possibly said what she thought she heard him say. No way. She proceeds to laugh and attempts to take the IV out of her arm. "Haha! How do you get this thing off? I can just drink some water to get back in tip top shape right? No need for this thingy."
"What you were experiencing were implantation cramps," the doctor explains further. "Though they're usually not as severe as the ones that you have been experiencing. I assume it has something to do with the fact that you're not a typical human being from what I've been told. The cramps must have been intensified in your unique case."
Mana's expression goes blank again. "Wait, you're serious aren't you?"
"Congratulations."
A wave of emotions hit Mana all at once. But all she can manage to yell is, "WHAAAAT?!"
Hearing the sound her screams, Atem bursts into the room to the doctor's surprise and he takes a few steps back as Atem rushes to her side. "What is it? Are you alright?" he asks. The doctor takes this opportunity to slip out, deciding it would be best for Mana to tell him.
Mana punches him in the arm, but immediately regrets it, turning red with embarrassment. "Ow! What was that for?" he asks, rubbing his arm with a confused expression.
"Sorry! Sorry!" she apologizes, her cheeks turning more red.
"What's going on? Why did you scream? What did the doctor say?" She looks down and begins to twiddle her fingers, shyly, not knowing how to reveal the news to him. "Well?"
It's best if she just comes out with it. "Well…remember when we had angry make up sex?"
He raises an eyebrow, puzzled as to why she would bring that up at a time like this. "What about it?"
"Well…" She looks at him from the corner of her eye. "I'm pregnant."
He gives off a similar blank expression that she gave the doctor earlier. He stands perfectly still, not giving her any eye contact. Even with his melanin skin, he is starting to look pale. He can feel his legs getting weak and he reaches blindly behind him, trying to find the nearby chair. His hand finally lands on the armrest, and he pulls it up behind him before plopping down on it with a dazed expression. Mana looks at him with her eyes wide. It is rare that she ever sees him lose his composure, especially in this manner. He is completely silent and his mouth is slightly agape.
"Atem?" She waves her hand in front of his face and his eyes slowly scroll over to look at her.
"Pregnant?" he repeats slowly and she nods. The color begins to return to his face as the news really begins to settle in his mind. "YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" he yells and she uses her entire body to lunge at him to cover his mouth. They both yelp as the chair falls back and they fall on the floor with Mana landing on top of him.
"OW!" Mana yells, feeling the IV snatch out of her wrist.
Atem quickly sits up, alarmed. "Mana, are you alright?"
She chuckles. "Well wowzers. I wasn't expecting you to yell like that."
"Well I wasn't expecting you to be pregnant either!"
"That makes two of us."
He gets up carrying her and places her back on the bed. He stands the chair back to its upright position and sits on it with a sigh. This is something he has been wanting for a long time. He has dreamed of the day of having a child of his own to raise alongside Mana. But does she feel the same? She was living somewhat of a fast life, being carefree. What would this mean for her? He edges up in his seat and grabs both of her hands.
"How do you feel?" he asks, his tone more serious.
"Hm?"
"Well…I just want to make sure that this is something you want too."
"Of course, Atem! While this is certainly unexpected and happened sooner than I thought, I'm happy to be carrying our baby."
"What about…" He hesitates. It is already hard enough for her to go a day without displaying her abilities. How would that affect the pregnancy?
Knowing what is already on his mind, she smirks. "Looks like I'm gonna have to make an extra effort to stay out of trouble, huh?" she giggles. He brushes the hair out of her face and cups her cheek, bringing her in for a kiss. She happily returns the kiss and they briefly pull away, their faces only centimeters apart.
"I love you, Mana."
"I love you too." She leans forward and kisses him passionately once more.
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Later that evening, Mana sits in the middle of the bed in a high-neck, orange dress that is sheer at the top and the bottom is about 3 inches above the knee, revealing her nicely toned legs. They are having a dinner catered to them on the outside deck of the cabin and Kisara wanted them to go all out in terms of getting dressed up. Mana makes a white book appear in her hand and she begins to flip through the pages. Atem walks in from the bathroom, wearing a white, short sleeve button up shirt and black pants. He raises an eyebrow at the book she is reading. It's not her typical brown spell book that he has grown accustomed to seeing.
"What is that?" he asks and her eyes look up at him, only the top half of her face being visible to him.
"Well that doctor didn't know squat about pregnant magicians. So I'm doing my own research," she tells him.
"Oh? There's a book for that?"
"We have books for everything," she tells him with a chuckle.
"Well, is it that much different than a typical woman's pregnancy?"
"Not a huge difference. The rule of thumb is if you were previously doing something, like physical fitness, then you can continue to do so, but with modifications. The same goes for magicians, but with bigger modifications."
"Go on." He is pleasantly surprised that she is taking this seriously. A part of him thought that she would be reluctant to the changes in lifestyle that comes with being pregnant. But on the outside, she appears to be handling it just fine.
"Magic can take a huge toll on the body. Which makes sense since my body was reacting negatively to it earlier due to me and Kisara's intense sparring sessions." She puts the book down and closes it as he joins her on the bed. "So I really just need to be careful and make sure I don't overexert myself. Should probably stay away from the magical blasts in particular."
"Sounds simple enough," Atem says somewhat sarcastically and Mana gives him a playful jab on the arm.
"Ah come on, Atem! Have some faith in your wife, will ya?"
He smirks. "Who said I didn't have faith? I have so much faith," he says in a flat tone.
Mana rolls her eyes. "Anyway. Should we tell the others?"
"Let's wait. This is Seto and Kisara's night. There's plenty of time to reveal the news."
"Good point," she agrees, hopping off the bed and heading to the door. She turns to look at him over her shoulder with a smirk. "For now, it'll just be our little secret."
He returns a smirk of his own, standing up to join her. "Our little secret."
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
The dark sky is illuminated with the stars in the sky along with the lights hanging over the deck. A small band plays soft music as the soon to be newlyweds dance in the middle of the floor. Kisara smiles, resting her head on Seto's shoulder with her arms wrapped around him. She wears her favorite color—a strapless blue dress that is short in the front and trails to the floor in the back.
Seto's arms are wrapped around her slim waist and his eyes are closed. Partially to savor this moment of peace, and the other to tone out any distractions, such as having a small audience to witness his softer side. Yugi and the others sit at a table with plates that once contained food and glasses filled with champagne. Mana's glass, however, is filled with water.
"This is beautiful," Kisara says softly, not wanting this night to end. "Thank you, Seto." He responds only by tightening the hold around her waist. In just a few months, they will be finally be husband and wife. She has waited so long for this moment to come and it is almost here. She visualizes herself walking down the aisle in her white dress as Seto waits at the other end. Having their family and friends by their side as they say their vows. And ending it with a celebration.
She's comes out of her brief daydream when she hears a fork clanking against a glass. She and Seto look over to see Mana being the source of the sound as she hits her fork on her glass with a grin. Kisara covers her mouth, giggling at her friend's antics while Seto cuts his eyes at the magician before looking over to Atem in a quiet plea to get her to stop. Atem only shrugs his shoulders with his arms folded across his chest, a mischievous smirk creeping on his lips, knowing that public displays of affection aren't Seto's thing.
Nevertheless, Seto isn't the type to back down from anything and so he captures Kisara's lips in a kiss. Téa chuckles and gives Mana's a low five underneath the table. Mission accomplished.
Yugi shakes his head with a smile and looks up to the sky. It's nice to have a calm night without chaos for a change.
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Another chapter finished! Mana's preggers and a wedding is fast approaching. But will it all be smooth sailing from here? Stay tuned.