(A/N: So I meant to have this chapter out days ago, but a combination of needing my windshield fixed, getting a new job—I start on the 26th—and having to do research to answer some really serious questions in relation to some heavy stuff that goes on in this chapter delayed its release. You'll see what I mean as you read).

The next day, during class, Chiaki made the big announcement to the rest of the students that she was with child. She also told them that not only were she and Hajime planning on keeping the baby, but they were going to get married too.

The first person to say something was Mahiru as she began lecturing Hajime about how he could have let this happen. "They make condoms for a reason!" she exclaimed, hands on her hips like a fussy mom.

"Seriously," Fuyuhiko snapped. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Well, I…" Hajime sweated, trying to find words.

"A baby? Are you guys serious?" Akane asked with a worried expression. "Do you have enough food and money for something like that?"

"Doubtful there would be any shortage of food here at Hope's Peak," Ryota's imposter stated. "There is plenty of nourishment for an infant here."

"Well, that's good at least," Akane said and then broke out into a big grin. "Well then, congratulations!"

"Don't just congratulate them!" Mahiru scolded. "This isn't so simple as just feeding it! There's raising it, paying for diapers and baby formula, taking it everywhere. Nurturing it. Daycare. Preschool. Hajime and Chiaki will be looking to start their careers right when their baby is in the middle of their toddler phase."

"Yeah, but…" Hajime started to say, but Mahiru cut him off.

"No. You listen to me here!" Mahiru scolded, wagging a finger in his face as she and Fuyuhiko proceeded to lecture him.

Ibuki giggled. "Well, well, well, looks like Joey and Tristan owe Ibuki money later."

"I can't believe you're going all teen mom on us!" Hiyoko snapped at Chiaki. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I was in love," Chiaki responded, smiling, blushing.

Hiyoko took one look at Chiaki's happy, innocent smile and it practically shut down all her typical grouchiness. Hiyoko just stared at Chiaki in flabbergasted confusion before turning her head away from the brunette, blushing. "Y-yeah…well…whatever. I'm sure you'll like…come to regret it and stuff."

Chiaki responded calmly with a serious, "I'm going to try not to."

Hiyoko got a little grouchy and said softly, but irritably, "If he backs out or hurts you, I'll kick him where it hurts."

This got Chiaki to smile. "That much I don't think you need to worry about."

"So the reliable one and the singularity have procreated have they? Hmm. How quaint," Gundham mused to himself.

"It is a bit troubling though, don't you think? I do not believe Hajime or Chiaki have a arcanist to perform the summoning rights and bless them with the mark of spirituality."

Gundham stared at Sonia a moment. "This is commonplace in your domain, Dark Queen?"

"Oh yes, would you like to see my mark? It's on my lower back," Sonia said, eyes shining.

Gundham blushed, pulling his scarf up over his nose. "Er, maybe later."

Teruteru, unfortunately for the dignity of the happy couple, had to put his own two cents in. "So, you guys going to do anything kinky as the baby starts to develop?"

Before Hajime could awkwardly give a non-answer, Nekomaru picked up Teruteru by the head and chucked him at the back wall of the classroom. "Listen here, Hajime! If you wanna be a good dad, it starts with motivation, muscles and the right baby formula and…"

And now Hajime was even more uncomfortable than when Teruteru had put his two cents in.

And unfortunately, yes, it could get more awkward. Nagito grabbed one of Hajime's hands with both of his and had a smile that was both somehow whimsical and creepy at the same time. "I'm so happy for you and Chiaki, Hajime. Your baby will be bring so much hope into this world."

This can't possibly get any worse, Hajime thought.

"Hey, man, if you need a supped up crib for the baby, I'll build ya one," Kazuichi volunteered.

I stand corrected, Hajime thought. His eyes darted around the room, Nagito, Nekomaru, Fuyuhiko and Mahiru's words blurring through his increasingly nervous mind and pounding heart.

However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Peko outside the classroom. She was making eye contact with him—easy to tell with her piercing gaze—and waving him over very studiously.

Hajime, using his not-quite Ultimate Spy skills from Izuru's physical remnants, waited for an opportunity for Mahiru to get into an argument with Nekomaru, and then snuck out of the classroom to go talk to Peko. Of all the students in his class, Peko seemed to have her head on pretty straight. He could, he felt, expect no wacky zaniness from her.

"Quite a riot in there," Peko stated calmly.

"Y-yeah," Hajime said, sweating to the point his shirt would become see through if this kept up.

Peko bowed politely at a 45-degree angle. "I would like to offer my most humble congratulations to you and Chiaki. May you find happiness together."

"Oh. Uh. Thank you," Hajime said. "But…um…can I be honest with you?"

"This whole situation makes you nervous?" Peko asked.

"You can tell?" Hajime asked, a little startled.

"It's plain to see on your face," Peko said. "Though that's to be expected. You and Chiaki are still quite young." She asked him very pointedly. "Do you have doubts?"

Hajime's gaze became quite serious and his posture rigid. "No. Strangely, that's the one thing I'm not worried about. I've never been more sure of anything than our relationship."

"I see," Peko said, her expression impossible for Hajime to read given her stoic nature. "Then what is the source of your discomfort?"

"Well…" Hajime said, gazing down at his trembling fist. "I just…"

"Yes?"

He clenched his eyes shut. "I don't think I'm going to be a very good dad."

Peko's red eyes stared back at him with unflinching interest. "Honestly, I never knew my parents. So, you can't possibly be a worse father than that. Will you abuse the baby?"

"What? No! Of course not! What kind of question is that?"

"Then what are you so afraid of?" Peko asked curiously.

Hajime looked at the closed classroom door. "Chiaki's…really great, you know? She has enough life savings saved away that she was willing to pay for my tuition in the reserve course if I didn't get transferred into the main course. She has sponsors and an adoring fanbase, neither of which she takes for granted. I just…I know the baby will love her, but…what about me? What can I do?"

"I see, so your concern is a fiscal responsibility. You feel you would be letting Chiaki down," Peko said.

"Yeah," Hajime nodded.

"I think there's plenty you can do," Peko said. "For starters, food and lodging will likely be provided here at Hope's Peak. And, once you graduate, you could always care for the child while Chiaki is busy with her career. Unconventional to be sure, especially in this country, but given your bond, I doubt the judgments of society would break either of you. As long as the child knows that you did your best, there would be nothing to regret."

"Is that how you feel about your adoptive family?" Hajime asked.

It wasn't common knowledge that Peko wasn't just abandoned, but also adopted by the Kuzuryus. In fact, if not for Peko's statement earlier, Hajime wouldn't have even known about the former. So, to this question, Peko hesitated a moment to avoid revealing too much. "My…father, if you want to call him that, has done most of my raising. My childhood isn't exactly what you would call conventional. But, I suppose, in the end, once I have left this academy and moved onto my career, I will still thank him as is expected of me." She paused and then added. "No. More accurate to say, it would be my sincerest honor to thank him."

Hajime smiled a little. "It's rare for you to be this chatty. It's kind of nice."

"Well…it's even rarer for someone to open up to me like this," Peko admitted. She blushed. "It's kind of nice."

Hajime smiled. "I guess it's because you are the only one acting normal right now." He chuckled a little. "Even though I know so little about you, I knew you wouldn't make me uncomfortable and overwhelmed like everyone else has."

Peko got a little flustered. "O-oh…I-I see…"

Uh oh, Hajime thought. I don't like that reaction.

"U-um, Hajime…if I may…" Peko stuttered.

Here it comes…

"When the baby is born…I…"

Hajime shut his eyes as Peko bowed at a right angle, clenching her skirt, blushing with all her might, "May I be the first to hold your baby?"

Huh? Whatever Hajime had been expecting that was very far removed from it. In fact, it almost sounded…normal…the intensity of the request aside.

"Of course you can hold it first."

Hajime and Peko both looked in the direction of the door to see Chiaki standing there, having just slid the door open.

"I…can?" Peko asked, heart thumping.

Chiaki nodded and smiled. "Yes. When the time comes to pass our baby around, I'll gladly hand him or her to you first."

Peko bowed to Chiaki at a right angle as well. "Thank you very much," she said archaically.

Fuyuhiko stepped outside into the hall, Mikan almost right behind him. "Peko? What's going on out here?"

Peko tapped her fingers together, blushing, glancing to one side. "N-nothing. J-just a…" she glanced at Hajime, "Normal conversation." She let out a nervous chuckle.

"Well, whatever," Fuyuhiko said and then headed back inside, brushing past Mikan, almost knocking her over.

"U-um, Chiaki, did you need to go somewhere?" Mikan asked. "Does your stomach hurt? Is it hard to breathe?"

"Um…bathroom," Chiaki answered, embarrassed. "I…guess you could accompany me if you think it's necessary. I feel fine though."

"Um…better safe that sorry," Mikan said, accompanied by a nervous laugh.

There was a slight pause before Chiaki said, "Fair enough." The two girls then headed for the women's restroom.

Now that he was a student in the Main Course, Hajime had on campus housing and was therefore not required to go home every evening like he was when he was in the main course. However, with the newfound knowledge that he was going to be a father, he knew that he couldn't and probably shouldn't keep this from his parents. To that end, he called his mother to let her know that he was coming home for dinner.

Shiori, being the supportive mother that she was, was all too thrilled to have Hajime home for dinner even once after his transfer. She and her husband, Akihiro, already knew about Chiaki. They did not know what they were in for tonight.

"Are you sure I can't come along?" Chiaki asked. "You did tell them you were dating me, right?"

"I mean they know about you, but they don't know about…" Hajime swallowed and smiled nervously. "This."

"Even so, I…"

"Look, let me clear the air first. And as long as they don't start planning my funeral, I dunno…maybe I could try and arrange dinner or something?"

Chiaki smiled gently. "I would like that."

Hajime almost reflexively thought to ask Chiaki about her parents, but he knew that was a touchy subject. So, he just awkwardly shuffled off school grounds for the train station.

Then, hours later, far to the southeast, beyond Domino's city limits, Hajime got off the train. He then made his way to a sturdy looking two-floor home. Short driveway, neck-high stone walls on either side of the path to the driveway and front yard. Mailbox attached to the front wall. It was a pretty standard house.

Taking a deep breath, Hajime marched up to the front door and twisted the knob. Unlocked. Okay, no need for the key then, Hajime thought and pushed open the door. "I'm home," Hajime said extremely casually, sliding off his shoes and stepping out of the foyer.

Shiori entered from the kitchen and threw her arms around her son. "There he is, my little almost-champion." She gave him a big motherly kiss on the cheek and rubbed the top of his head by his stubborn cowlick. She then backed off and smiled. "Welcome home, Hajime. I made your favorite: Meat and potato stew. And I didn't have to buy the store brand meat either."

"Mom, come on. It's meat and potato stew even if it's discount meats," Hajime said, giving her a nervous smile.

"Oh, son, it's a mother's job to spoil her child in the hopes that he'll grow well. Now sit down and wait for your father," she said, pulling out the chair.

"Right…dad…" Hajime stuttered as he sat down. Hajime knew his mother would support him no matter what. His father was another matter.

Fortunately, with the benefit of Izuru's leftover influence, Hajime had already begun to consider the possibilities. Sure, there was the ludicrous endings of him being buried alive and fire being set to his grave, but Hajime knew that that was hyperbole for the rush of emotion he'd have to suffer from his parents for his errors in judgment. Worst case scenario, he figured, after due consideration—whilst he sat there waiting for his father—was that his parents would be extremely disappointed in him and not speak to him until he proved he could be a father. Or, worse for Chiaki, force her to get an abortion to spare Hajime the obstacles of teenage parenthood.

Please be reasonable, he thought, please be reasonable, he thought again more strenuously.

Hajime's dad walked in less than half an hour later, greeting Shiori amicably. Hajime breathed a sight of relief. His dad seemed like he was in a good mood. This might smooth things over a little better than he originally expected.

His dad gave Shiori a playful smack on her lower back and then sat down at the table. He sat up just a little higher than Hajime, the Hinata hairstyle seemingly being genetic, minus Hajime's stubborn cowlick. "Rare for you to come home, son."

"I tried to call you when he called the house," Shiori said, "But the office said you were busy."

Akihiro laughed. "Ah yes, had a real stubborn one today. Just refused to drop the balls on the jackpot. Almost thought I'd have to junk the whole machine." He smiled at Hajime. "Can't wait till your girlfriend is old enough to gamble. Then she can play one of the machines I fixed." He then laughed.

Hajime laughed nervously. His dad fixed Pachinko machines for a living as an engineer. His company was the outsource to many casinos.

Akihiro reached over the table and ruffled Hajime's head, fingers spreading on either side of the cowlick. "So glad you managed to get into the main course, kiddo," he said and sat back, laughing with his hand upon his chest, "I swear, that pizza restaurant was trying to kill me."

Shiori gave the stew one last good stir, "Oh, Aki, come now, Midnight to 6am could not have been the worst hours."

"It wasn't the hours, Shiori. I swear, sometimes I thought the animatronics were going to come to life, break into the security office and attack me," Akihiro said, laughing.

"You have an active imagination, dad," Hajime said, sweating a little.

"You try working the graveyard shift, son. I swear, at one point I thought I saw the face of god, but it was just the night janitor, Scott. On the plus side I gave him a hell of an ego boost. Man was riding that compliment for days," Akihiro chuckled.

If he's in a good enough mood to make stupid jokes, Hajime thought. Maybe this won't be so bad.

Shiori put the stew on the table and, like an old-fashioned wife, served her men before serving herself and sitting down, hanging the apron on the hook of the chair.

"Ikadimasu!" The Hinata's all declared in unison.

After a few bites, Hajime's mom started the conversation. "So, Hajime, how's school?"

"Oh. It's fine. I told you I passed my practical, right?" Hajime questioned.

Akihiro nodded. "Yup. Good job. Next thing you know you'll actually win your next tournament."

"Hey now, nothing wrong with a silver medal," Shiori said with a smile, holding up her index finger. "It did get our Hajime into the main course."

"That it did," Akihiro smiled. "Still, son, what do you plan to do with this? You tried all sorts of things to get into the main course, but Duel Monsters was what finally opened the door?"

"Didn't you ask this question when I was being transferred in?" Hajime asked.

"I did," Akihiro said, swallowing a spoonful of stew. "And last time you told me you hadn't really thought about it. So, any changes?"

"Er, not really," Hajime said.

"Time's ticking, Hajime," Akihiro said. "You won't be a kid forever."

Hajime could feel his heart throb in pain with that comment. He took a deep breath and began to muster up the courage to tell his parents the real reason he came home tonight. Eventually, he'd made enough internal peace to start speaking. "Mom. Dad. There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, Hajime?" his mother asked. "You look so tense."

"I…uh…" Hajime started and then swallowed. Here goes. "I got Chiaki pregnant."

Silence. Utter silence for the next few seconds. Then, his father grunted and, almost at the same time, both of his parents erupted into laughter.

Huh? Hajime thought, looking at both of them, confused.

Shiori wiped a tear from her eye. "Oh…oh…" she panted, trying not to relapse. "That was a good one, Hajime."

Huuuuuh?

"Son, you'd have to have sex to get her pregnant," Akihiro said, taking a sip of his water.

Hajime looked at both his parents very seriously, causing his father to nearly spit his water back up when he realized Hajime wasn't fooling around.

"What did you do?" Shiori asked, almost shrieking.

"It was her idea!" Hajime exclaimed.

Akihiro pat his wife on the shoulder. "Shiori, it's fine. Kids these days get up into all sorts of shenanigans. I mean, condoms are only 97% effective." Akihiro needed to only look at Hajime's face to know that that wasn't remotely a factor. He pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging it. Sighing.

"Y-you're not keeping it, are you?" Shiori asked, eye twitching.

Uh oh, Hajime thought. "Y-yeah, w-we're keeping it," he stuttered. "Chiaki's um…well…if people knew she was getting an abortion. It might…you know…"

His parents were smart enough to fill in the blanks. "Hajime, raising a baby isn't easy and you two are still in school," Akihiro told him.

"I…I know," Hajime said, heart pounding like a stone inside his chest. "But…"

"Hajime, what were you thinking?" Shiori blurted out.

"I was thinking I was in love!" Hajime exclaimed, slapping the table.

"Awwww," Shiori smiled, sniffing. Akihiro shot her a look. "I mean…ohhhh. Sweetie. Time and place."

"Look," Hajime said, trying to take control of the conversation. "I know that having the baby will put huge financial stress on you guys. So…what I'm trying to say is…you don't have to worry." Hajime put his fist against his chest. "I plan to take full responsibility. The school said they would help us raise it and, well, food and shelter for free so that at least gets the two of us to at least raise the baby for a year. Chiaki has her career already. All I'd need is a job. We can be stable all on our own…I think."

"Wait, so then you're—"

Hajime cut his mom off, "Yeah. I'm going to marry her. Miss Yukizome is working on the wedding arrangements." He gulped. "She uh, also only gave me two weeks to get a ring so…"

Akihiro got up from the table. Hajime thought he was in for the slap across the face of his life, but his father instead pat him on the shoulder. "Son, I'm not proud of you for knocking a girl up, but I'm proud you're following the family motto and taking responsibility. You make that girl happy. You understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Hajime nodded.

"Good," Akihiro said, slapping Hajime's shoulder a few more times and sat back down. "Shiori, you think we could scrounge a little bit of money for Hajime to help get him started on the ring?"

Shiori nodded. "Well, I'm sure I have a couple 10,000 yen notes I can part with."

"A couple?!" Hajime was surprised that his parents had even that much money to just give him.

"Well, I was saving it up so your father and I could go away this summer since we don't have to worry about you being home alone for once, but this can take priority."

"Mom, no, you and dad deserve to be ha—"

Akihiro cut him off. "Hajime, it's fine. The summer is a long stretch of weeks and we haven't made any definitive plans. If you don't need your mother and I to help fund the baby's necessities or plan the wedding, at least let us help you get your ring."

Hajime smiled, relaxing. It sounded like things were going to work out after all. "Thanks, dad."

"So, has Chiaki told her parents about this?" Hajime's mother wanted to know.

"Well…" Hajime looked a bit nervous.

"She should," his father said. "You did the right thing telling us."

"Yeah, I know, but…um…how do I put this…I don't even know if Chiaki's parents know that she's even at Hope's Peak."

"What?! That's terrible!" Shiori shrieked. "What kind of mother would be that inattentive to such a sweet girl?!"

"Now, now, Shiori, it's not nice to speak for other people's parenting skills," Akihiro said calmly, doing his best to talk her down.

Shiori pat her hair and took a breath. "Yes, yes, I suppose you're right." She took a deep breath. "Well, I can't say tonight was an expected turn of events. But let's try to make the most of it." Happy tears poured from Shiori's face. "I'm going to be a grandma!"

Hajime sighed nervously, sweating. His parents were certainly characters all right. He was just glad it all worked out. Okay, money to get a good ring started on. Next, I have to find a good job.

When Hajime walked onto school grounds the next day, he happened to cross paths with someone not usually seen on campus: Seto Kaiba.

While Kaiba was still officially a student at Hope's Peak in class 76, he spent most of his time at Kaiba Corp's corporate office conducting business. Unlike Yukizome, who practically demanded regular attendance, Kaiba's teacher had no such requirement for the young business tycoon.

Hajime had just cleared the fountain as he saw Kaiba walking towards him, suitcase in hand. "Oh, h-hey Kaiba. Morning."

"Hinata," Kaiba said, glancing towards Hajime and then walked past him.

Cold shoulder as usual. That's Kaiba for you, I guess. Hajime began to walk away from Kaiba towards the school. He had to have been at least a dozen paces away before he suddenly heard Kaiba speaking.

"Come to think of it, you and Chiaki are together, aren't you?"

Hajime turned to see Kaiba merely turning his head sideways and speaking over his shoulder. "Oh, uh, yeah, we're dating," Hajime said.

"Then I guess maybe I'll ask you," Kaiba said, turning towards Hajime. "I took some time to come down this morning to make a request of Chiaki, but I was told she was too sick to see me by Tsumiki. You wouldn't happen to know what's ailing her, would you? She was sketchy on the details and then she ran away."

Hajime sighed inwardly. That sounded like Mikan all right. And it sounded like morning sickness was at it again. "Yeah, she's been throwing up a lot lately," Hajime said. "We're fine, er, I mean, she's fine."

Kaiba took a step towards Hajime, his cold, icy stare seemingly gazing into the younger boy's soul. Hajime gulped, but said nothing and, without another word, Kaiba suddenly backed off and walked away. Hajime wondered if maybe he shouldn't tell Kaiba, but decided against it. Hajime had been lucky with his parents, he felt, understanding people as they were. And Yukizome, despite her bubbly nature, had proven to be downright terrifying. There was no telling what Kaiba would do if he found out. Counting his blessings, Hajime made his way to class.

After the final bell to signal pre-lights out free time, Hajime left campus for the second afternoon in a row. He decided to comb through town, checking out all of the potential part-time jobs available, swiping up paper job applications to fill out when he returned to campus that evening.

However, as he rounded the mall's food court, he unfortunately, yet again, crossed paths with Seto Kaiba.

"K-Kaiba, what are you doing here?" Hajime asked. He didn't think mall crawling was Kaiba's scene.

"Overlooking some infrastructure integrity," Kaiba stated. "The skylight glass was damaged during a duel I had during Battle City. Even if Marik was ultimately responsible for the damage, I was still involved, and the tournament was still sponsored by Kaiba Corp, therefore I'm making sure it gets fixed properly. That way, the next time someone duels on that roof, the glass won't shatter or even crack."

"Wasn't Battle City months ago?" Hajime asked.

"And? Your point?"

Hajime gulped. Yeah. He really shouldn't press Kaiba's buttons if he didn't have to. Unfortunately for Hajime, the young CEO was nothing, if not observant, and he managed to see all the applications Hajime was holding in his hand.

"Looking for a job, Hinata? Spend your school allowance so soon?"

"What? N-no…I…uh…" Hajime tried to find a good excuse to explain himself, but was coming up short.

"Seto…I…whoa!" Mokuba came running towards Kaiba from behind Hajime only to trip over his untied shoelaces. Hajime, being closer and with superior reflexes, managed to keep Mokuba from faceplanting, dropping all of his job applications onto the mall floor to keep the young boy steady.

"Whoa, thanks, Hajime," Mokuba said, steadying himself. However, in his attempts to get himself upright, Mokuba accidentally pulled out a flier that was sticking out of Hajime's vest pocket, crunching it.

"Here, give me that," Hajime said, holding out his hand. "You should tie your shoes better."

"Yeah, thanks," Mokuba said and knelt down to tie up his laces. Hajime then began gathering his job applications. Unfortunately, Kaiba saw the flier in Hajime's hand, even crumpled a little. He recognized the name of the storefront.

"Ring shopping, Hinata?" Kaiba asked.

Hajime froze.

"Ring shopping?" Mokuba asked, in the midst of tying his second shoe. "Why would he be ring shopping?"

Kaiba approached Hajime and towered over him, blocking out the nearest ceiling light. Hajime never felt more intimidated in his life.

Hajime knew he could make fifty thousand excuses, grab his papers and bolt with Kaiba having zero chances of catching him. However, he knew that Kaiba would just track him down and demand a real explanation. Resolving his defeat, Hajime collected his papers and stood up straight, coming almost to Kaiba's level. The CEO was still taller after all.

"I got Chiaki pregnant," Hajime said. "I'm buying a ring to properly marry her."

Kaiba stared at Hajime. For a brief moment he thought that this was Hajime's idea of a joke, but then he realized that nobody would pick this as their go-to gag. "Chiaki's pregnant?" Kaiba inquired, making sure he heard correctly.

"Y-yeah, we just found out the other day," Hajime stated.

"Hmm," Kaiba hummed. "That explains why you're looking for a job." Kaiba then promptly clamped his hand over the stack of papers in Hajime's hand. The younger Ultimate Duelist figured Kaiba was going to look at them and possibly pull some strings to get Hajime instantly employed. Hajime was not prepared when Kaiba suddenly ripped the stack of papers in half and then in half again.

"What the—hey! Do you know how much time I spent collecting those?"

"Hmph," Kaiba said with a smirk. "If it's a job you need, you don't need to waste your time with such menial tasks beneath your skill."

"Excuse me?" Hajime snapped.

"If you need a job, as luck would have it, I could use a man of your talents in my company."

Hajime was shocked. Kaiba wants to hire me?!

"Kaiba Corp. is in the midst of developing a handheld video game for Duel Monsters, the first of its kind. We don't want to put all of the cards into the game given how many of them haven't been in the official meta for long enough. Game balancing issues and talk of new hardware from console developers have the game in a hellish development cycle. Fujisaki has her hands full developing the enemy AI, but she's not an expert duelist. I'm a little busy with my own projects so I can't always be on hand overseeing production. As a Battle City finalist, you should be more than capable of knowing which cards will work for this game."

"You…you want me to lead the development of a video game?"

"Did I stutter?"

"I…I'm flattered, but I mean…are you sure I'm qualified? What about—?"

"If you dare ask me "what about Yugi Mutoh?" I will make sure you have to take a train to find a job."

Hajime swallowed and chuckled nervously.

"I'd let Kaiba Corp go bankrupt before I ever considered hiring Yugi Mutoh on as a full-time employee. I respect his skills as a duelist, but that's all," Kaiba said, frowning. He then smirked. "However, you I know I can trust to do things the Kaiba Corp. way. So," he said, folding his arms and giving Hajime a serious stare. "Do we have a deal?"

It took Hajime a few seconds to process all of this, but he realized there was no reason to even think about it. Bowing at a sharp right angle, he said to Kaiba, "Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Kaiba…sir."

Kaiba's smirk grew. "I'll see you tomorrow at 9am. I'll tell Miss Yukizome you've been," he now showed teeth as he said with the utmost amusement, "reassigned."

"Y-yes, thank you." Hajime responded.

The paycheck Hajime received after his first two weeks working at Kaiba Corp was far more money than he'd ever held in his hand at once. The check was for nearly 220,000 yen and that was just one week's pay. It was more than enough money to get a beautiful ring for the girl he loved.

Hajime was never more excited than the time he spent sprinting from the ring shop to the school. He'd done it. It was the last day before Yukizome turned his nuts into coffee grinds, but he'd done it.

He was so excited that he was almost not surprised when he saw Chiaki wandering around the campus courtyard without a game console in her hands.

"Ch-Chiaki?" Hajime asked, marching up to her.

"Oh! Hajime!" Chiaki exclaimed. "How was work? You're back a little later than usual."

"Oh, uh…yeah. I uh…had an errand to run."

Chiaki reached out and fixed the right lapel on Hajime's Kaiba Corp. jacket. Kaiba had made sure that his newest game developer was dressed properly for the company. "You shouldn't ruffle up your uniform like that," Chiaki laughed. "It looks silly."

"As silly as a guy madly in love and getting you pregnant?" Hajime asked.

Chiaki laughed. "Not that silly."

Hajime chuckled. "So, what are you waiting out here for? Usually you're in bed taking it easy by now."

"Miss Yukizome said I should wait for you," Chiaki said.

"Oh…did she now?" Hajime asked, nervously. It was only then that he saw Yukizome peering around the corner of the school building with a pair of oversized kitchen shears. She clipped the blades back and forth, smiling sweetly, but Hajime knew all manner of what darkness was hidden behind that smile. He shuddered.

"Something the matter?" Chiaki asked.

"N-no, n-nothing's the matter," Hajime said nervously, sweating. "Er, I uh…you lost track of time, didn't you?"

It took Chiaki a good minute. Hajime could see her brain playing catch up. "Oh. It's been two weeks, hasn't it?"

So glad she could forget, Hajime thought sarcastically. He took out the box and got down on one knee. "I know…it's not exactly a surprise, but…" he said as he took her left hand. "I'd still like to treat this like a formal occasion." He showed Chiaki the ring, a .9 carat diamond with a gold band.

"H-Hajime, are you sure? That must've cost almost your entire paycheck," Chiaki said.

"Yeah, it did," Hajime said, not even denying it, "But…you're worth it, Chiaki. And…we can make this work. I know we can." He slipped the ring onto her finger.

"Thank you," Chiaki said, hugging Hajime's head against her stomach.

Hajime smiled and snuggled against her. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life together with the girl he cherished more than any other.

When the New Year rolled around, Miss Yukizome organized a school field trip to the nearby shrine. So, there stood her class in jacket's and earmuffs and gloves, each of them able to see their breath as they waited in line for their turn to pray at the shrine. Snow fell upon them like soap flakes, dusting the hair of each of the students.

"Should we go up together and pray as a couple?" Chiaki asked Hajime, smiling.

"I was thinking that," Hajime said, smiling back at her.

Holding hands, the fleece of their warm gloves separating their skin, Hajime and Chiaki marched up to the shrine and dropped their yen coins in. They then bowed their heads together in prayer, hands clapped together.

Chiaki then looped her hand under Hajime's forearm and indicated the O-mikuji station. "Let's go get our fortunes."

"Are you sure?" Hajime asked. "I don't want to be cursed."

Chiaki laughed. "It'll be fine."

The two walked over and deposited their coins as they each took turns determining which drawer their fortune would come from and then pulling out the appropriate fortune. They agreed not to show each other their fortunes until both had pulled one out. Chiaki showed hers first. It said "small blessing".

She put her hand on her stomach. "I want that for the baby. Do you think it can transfer?" she asked.

"I think it's possible," Hajime said. If they believed hard enough, why couldn't it?

He looked at his. It was the same as Chiaki's "small blessing"

"Well if it isn't the wonderfully hopeful couple," Nagito said, walking over to Hajime and Chiaki, hood pulled up over his head to block the snow.

"Aren't you cold?" Hajime asked. Nagito happened to be wearing a shirt with his hoodie over it, pants, shoes, socks and naught else.

"Oh, I figure if I increase my chances of catching a cold, then the bad luck of getting sick will be counterbalanced by the good luck of getting a good fortune."

Hajime sighed, but was smiling. "That is the most ridiculous nonsense I've ever heard, but it's very you, Nagito. Just don't break anything."

Nagito laughed, knowing that, unfortunately, that was still a very real possibility for him. He reached into his pocket to pull out a yen coin, only to find that his pants weren't in the best of condition. The seam broke on the inside of his pocket, causing the coin to roll out of his pocket and down his leg and then somehow manage to end up on its side as it began to roll down the hill. Nagito began to chase after it as he nearly tripped over a small child with their mom. In an attempt to regain his balance, Nagito stepped on his own two feet and went hurtling in midair over the edge of the top of the staircase, still seeing the coin bounce down the side of the stairs. He ended up colliding into one of the people standing in line, knocking them over and causing a domino effect that knocked over almost the entire line of people and caused a few to spill out into the street. Upon the street being filled with people, a half-asleep driver, swerved to avoid them only to hit a fire hydrant, which erupted into the air and the water hit a telephone pole, causing a short circuit and knocking out power across the next several blocks. As Nagito rolled onto his back, after the collison, to the sound of a very loud car alarm, he sighed. And just to add insult to injury, a stray cat walked over, licked his face, and then walked towards his shoe and peed all over his foreleg.

More ridiculous? After laying there for a few seconds, his dropped yen coin bounced down the staircase and came to rest on his chest.

Most people would groan. Nagito, however, broke out into a huge grin. Amazing! He declared internally, clutching the coin. He sprung to his feet. With so much bad luck, now I'm guaranteed to get a good fortune! He then sprinted back up the staircase, completely ignoring and uncaring of the mess he created.

When he got back to the O-mikuji dispenser, he heard Hajime audibly sniffing. "What smells like cat piss?"

"My leg," Nagito said. "I uh…well," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "You know me."

"Is that why there's a car alarm—?"

"Yup," Nagito said, cutting Chiaki off.

Hajime and Chiaki exchanged awkward glances.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Nagito reached into his hoodie pocket for a small metal case with a ribbon around it. "Happy birthday, Hajime."

"Huh? For me?"

"Well yeah, your birthday's today, isn't it?"

"Wow, Nagito, thanks," Hajime said and opened it up. Sitting in the case were five Duel Monster cards: Black Luster Soldier, Black Luster Ritual, Zombyra the Dark, Maryokutai, and The Last Warrior From Another Planet.

"Whoa, I don't have this fusion monster yet. It's supposed to be really good," Hajime said, pocketing the card and the cards needed to summon it. "And Black Luster Soldier?!"

"Fun fact about a certain monster I heard you guys used against Dartz, your fusion substitute deck would pair well with it," Nagito stated.

"Oh, Master of Dragon Soldier," Chiaki stated.

It took Hajime a couple of seconds, but his brain caught up to what his two friends were saying. "Oh! Hey! Yeah! I could summon the two most powerful monsters in the game at the same time!"

Nagito smiled. "I can't wait to see the new levels of hopes you can reach with the improvements you make to your deck."

"Thanks, Nagito. I mean that. And if I win, it won't be because you're a stepping stone to me. It'll be because we're friends."

"Friends," Nagito said, his smile going from exuberant to calm, "I like that."

Chiaki smiled. Seeing Nagito act a bit more normal made her feel a lot better.

Nagito also seemed rather ecstatic with his fortune, and for good reason: Medium Blessing.

Good, he's not going to show excitement over bad luck, Chiaki thought, unaware of Nagito's earlier episode.

"Oh come on. Presents already?" Kazuichi complained. "I was gonna wait until we got back to the school. I made you something cool!" He exclaimed to Hajime, looking excited to show it off.

In truth, as it turned out, all of Hajime's classmates had a present for him. Hiyoko, impatiently wanted to go first. And, while Hajime expected the worst, her gift was surprisingly thoughtful: high-quality artisanal sandals.

"I mean, it's super cold right now, so you probably won't wear 'em a lot until the summer, but you could still like, wear 'em if your bathroom gets too grody. Or, if you just want to fetch the newspaper or something from outside on a Sunday and not have to get out of your bathrobe."

"Thank you, Hiyoko. That's actually really thoughtful."

"If I did a good job, will you pat my head?" Hiyoko requested earnestly, face all jubilant. Hajime did just that. He could almost swear she was purring.

Kazuichi's gift turned out to be a bike he made from scratch. "You can't get craftsmanship like this anywhere else. Sure, it doesn't have like an engine, but you won't find control and speed like this on even the most expensive dirt bikes. And hey, if you don't like the paint job or it gets busted up or nothing, I'll fix it up free of charge."

"Awesome, I can get to work a lot faster with this," Hajime said, extremely grateful.

Akane, predictably, got him food, mostly sweet buns and cookies. Surprisingly, Ryota got him almost the exact same gift.

It's the thought that counts, I suppose, Hajime thought.

Gundham had given Hajime ritualistic tools to summon demon beasts. In other words: a how to build your own bird feeder kit, guide, and some bird seed.

Mahiru's was simple, but practical: a deck box. "I know it's not expensive or glamorous, but it beats a rubber band, yeah? And look…" she knocked on the box as it made a sound like thick wood. "Hard plastic. You could drop it from a high height and no damage to the cards or the box."

"Wow, that is really good," Hajime said, immediately ditching the rubber band around his own deck and sliding the cards in before stuffing the whole thing in his vest pocket.

Fuyuhiko gave him a bottle of amazake. "I'd give you real sake," he said. "But you're too young to drink, so this'll have to do."

"Very like you, Fuyuhiko," Hajime said. "Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever."

Teruteru, at first, attempted to offer himself up as a present, but after being pitched out of the room by Yukizome, he came back with a gift card…and some bruises. Given he made all the food for the party, including the cake, it was enough in Hajime's opinion.

Ibuki not only sang Happy Birthday to Hajime—though she added that special Ibuki touch to it—she also had gone out of her way to get him a year-long subscription to a gamer magazine. "I mean, it was hard enough putting my own spin on Happy Birthday. I put my heart and soul into it. And anyone can just buy cards, you know. Plus, you're already nearly a champion, so you probably know what you need to improve your deck anyway."

"Whatever you say, Ibuki," Hajime said. He gave Nagito a look that indicated the white haired boy had still made the right call and Ibuki was just being herself.

"U-um. I-I wasn't sure what to do, so I…um…" Mikan stuttered.

"I'm sure it's fine Mikan," Hajime said reassuringly.

"Um, well then. Here!" she shoved a huge box into Hajime's arms, nearly stumbling into it.

"What the heck did you get him? A dead body chopped up? That thing is huge," Hiyoko pointed out. Yukizome swatted Hiyoko on the head with her pinky. Hiyoko rubbed her poor head, receiving the message that that was a bit far.

Chiaki's eyes lit up when she saw what Hajime was unpacking. It was a gaming chair. It had adjustable arm rests, head rests, and ankle and back massager built right in.

"Mikan, this must've cost a fortune," Hajime said. "Where did you get this?"

Mikan looked like she was going to cry. "You're right. A person like me shouldn't get you something so nice. You probably hate it."

"What? No! This is amazing, but how did you afford this?"

"Huh? You like it?"

Hajime pumped his fist. "I'm going to use this as soon as I set up next time I play games. But seriously, how did you get this?"

Mikan broke out into a wide grin, laughing happily. "Not telling. I'm glad you like it. Eheehee, I finally got someone a good birthday present."

Yukizome leaned over towards her. "Seriously, how did you get that?"

Mikan tapped her fingers together and spoke to Yukizome quietly. "Well, I uh…had some help."

"Kaiba then?" Yukizome inquired.

"Shh-shht!" Mikan squeaked, shushing her teacher and looked even more jittery, poking her index fingers together, sweating. "M-maybe…" she averted eye contact with Yukizome, who raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Yes."

"Awww, I'm so happy you two are getting along," Yukizome said patting her on the head.

Mikan just chuckled nervously. In truth, Kaiba had noticed her freaking out about what to get Hajime, and offered a suggestion. Then, when Mikan liked the idea, only to freak out about the price tag, he then offered to help pay for it under the condition that Hajime never found out about it.

"Oh! Wow! Thanks, Nekomaru!" Hajime exclaimed, having unboxed a very thick parka and some gloves.

"Yeah, perfect for outdoor exercise and walking in the cold. Figured you could use one if you didn't have already," Nekomaru said. "It's practical."

"Hey, sometimes practical is the best, right Hiyoko? Mahiru?" Hajime wanted to show that it didn't matter the price tag, but the thought and use one could get out of a gift.

"Yeah," Mahiru smiled, appreciating Hajime's intended message.

"You better wear those sandals," Hiyoko said. "I spent two whole days trying to find something I thought you'd like."

"Speaking of shopping trips," Yukizome said, putting a bag on the table. "You don't think I neglected to get you something, did you?"

Hajime ripped the tissue paper out of the bag and found a few Duel Monster posable figurines of Blackland Fire Dragon, Blackland Void Dragon and Koumori Dragon, plus a custom engraved Coffee Mug that said "Ultimate Duelist" on it.

"Oh, wow! Thanks, Miss Yukizome!"

"Here, from me," Peko said, sliding a plain, ordinary wooden box with a bow onto the table. Hajime unwrapped it to find bags full of assorted, imported teas. "Tea helps heighten concentration and can keep you sharp, attentive and focused. I figured, with the job and all…"

"It's great, Peko, thank you," Hajime said.

"I…you're welcome…" Peko said, twirling her finger through her braid.

"Now all that's left is Miss Sonia," Kazuichi stated.

"Do not worry, Hajime. As it is your 17th birthday, I knew just what to get you!" Sonia exclaimed.

Hajime sweated a little. Relax, Hajime. As long as it doesn't bite you, you're safe.

Sonia handed Hajime a rectangular, wrapped object. It looked like a CD case for a game of some kind, but was actually for an anime. An anime with…very scantily clad girls on the cover. Very very scantily clad girls. Hajime read the title and immediately blushed. Words…and breath, failed him.

"Do you like it?" Sonia asked with shining eyes.

"Y-yeah, I-in fact, I like it so much…I'm going to make sure that it's glory is unseen to anyone, but me," Hajime said.

"Oh! I knew it! I always have amazing taste!"

"What show was it?" Chiaki asked.

"You don't want to know," Hajime said to her.

While Chiaki hadn't gotten Hajime anything materialistic, she certainly gave him a present she'd been practicing to give him. Since there was a baby occupying her belly, well…there were other ways for Hajime's girlfriend to please him…down on her knees. And for that day, it was the best present Hajime felt he got.

It had been two months since Chiaki found out she was pregnant, making it four months altogether that she was actually pregnant. She was getting married next month and the signs of her pregnancy had already begun to show. An alteration to her wardrobe had been made thanks to Yukizome's efficient housekeeping skills to compensate for her larger belly.

With the lack of morning sickness from the first trimester, Chiaki was now attending class regularly, though having to keep the chair pushed back to adjust to her change in body size distribution.

That, of course, did nothing to help Chiaki with her back pain if she woke up on her side or face-down after a night's sleep. And this particular morning brought with it some very uncomfortable feelings to her chest. Standing in front of a mirror, Chiaki could see that her nipples were starting to darken and it seemed as if her body was starting to adjust to carrying a child within it. Her butt was a bit thicker judging from the way her underwear refused to cooperate and she definitely looked like she was getting fatter in her hips.

I don't want to get fat, Chiaki thought. She showered, dressed herself and went to see Mikan for a regular checkup.

"Yup, you're getting thicker, and it's definitely the pregnancy to blame." Mikan said after a thorough examination, allowing Chiaki to get re-dressed. The entire procedure had been done with a locked door and her clothes off.

"What do I do about it?" Chiaki asked.

"Well, I'm a nurse not a nutritionist," Mikan admitted. "My specialty is anatomy, diagnosis, bedside manner and treatments involving licensed and unlicensed medicine. I'm sorry, but the most I can do for you is help run your regular checkups and tell you to exercise and eat healthy." She frowned. "Unfortunately, since you've started the second trimester, you're now going to experience a lot of pregnancy cravings. Ah, do let me know if there are any changes in appetite."

"I see," Chiaki said. She was disappointed, but could tell Mikan had good intentions.

"Oh!" Mikan exclaimed, as if she just had an epiphany. "You could always talk to Nekomaru. He knows all about eating healthy. Why don't we go talk to him together?"

"I'd like that," Chiaki said with a smile.

The two girls found Nekomaru in the gym lifting stupidly heavy weights. "Phew," he said wiping his brow. "Gonna need to eat a lot and take a big shit after this one!"

"Um, Nekomaru," Mikan's meek voice echoed feebly through the area.

Nekomaru turned towards her. "Well hey there you two, what's up?" He asked with a big grin on his face.

Chiaki stepped forward. "Can you teach me about staying in shape?" Chiaki asked. "I need to know how to eat right and keep myself from getting fat."

"We should also keep her from getting stretch marks," Mikan said. "So exercise helps."

Nekomaru nodded, grin faded, but looked serious and calm. "Sure, I can help. Lemme guess," he said, looking at Mikan, "We gotta work around cravings and the baby?"

Mikan nodded. "Oh! But Chiaki should have her energy up for at least the next three months. The second trimester is kind of like that."

Nekomaru scratched his temple with all of his fingers except his thumb. "Wasn't she laying sick in bed just the other day, barely able to leave her room?"

"Pregnancy is weird like that," Chiaki and Mikan said at practically the exact same time.

Nekomaru laughed at the coincidence. "Well, follow me. I got a whole buncha books on nutrition that'll help. Don't worry, Chiaki. We'll keep you from turning out like Ryota."

"Thank you," Chiaki said with a smile.

Elsewhere on campus, the Ultimate Imposter sneezed.

After some long hours spent listening to Nekomaru intently—far longer than any in-game tutorial had ever had to hold her attention—Chiaki was now in a prime condition to keep herself in shape. Given her poor history of exercising to start with—other than routinely practicing fighting game moves for fun—Nekomaru kept her regimen light: a medicine ball and some track work. Given it was too cold outside for comfort, they settled for the school's treadmill.

It was surprisingly effective.

As Chiaki stood on her bathroom scale, she turned around and marked her weight from the calendar she was keeping ever since she started working out specifically for her workouts and weight tracking. She had another calendar for all of her daily activities right above her bed. There was, unfortunately, only so much space one could mark on the day to day boxes of a flip calendar.

Marks of her previous weights lined the days of the last two weeks and Chiaki was happy that she was seeing progress. The pregnancy had been absolute hell on her body, bringing her normally inconsequential 101 pounds up to 123 thanks to laziness, eating too much, and her body's redistribution of nutrition. But, thanks to Nekomaru, not only was Chiaki down to 112, but her legs had returned to their pre-pregnancy state and, once she got rid of the rest of the body fat, she might gain a little muscle weight after becoming a mom. And then, Chiaki realized, subsequently lose it all during the early stages of motherhood and her lack of care for her regimen due to her game playing habits.

Still, at least she wouldn't bloat up like a balloon. That, of course, was the point of all this.

However, as Chiaki capped the marker used to mark her calendar and placed it in the medicine cabinet, she realized a significant lack of something that had been going on since the beginning of the year. With Hajime's job, and her transition into her second trimester, aside from some pleasant greetings during class, or on campus, their cushy little love nest had gotten distant and barren.

The realization of this hit Chiaki pretty hard. She had said, while the Canadian Nationals were being broadcast, that she and Hajime were not glued at the hip. The fact that they barely saw anything of each other this past month was proof of that. However, to the expectant mother, this posed a problem. She and Hajime were acting too responsible, too much like adults. They were kids. Kids with a child on a way, but kids nonetheless. Next month was their wedding, where they would exchange vows and resolve to stay with each other forever.

So why do I feel so alone? Chiaki remarked as she stared into the bathroom mirror.

Something had to be done and Chiaki thought of a plan.

Hajime's success at Kaiba Corp, he felt, could only be chalked up to two things: a deep understanding of the game of Duel Monsters, and whatever leftover mental abilities Izuru left behind for him to utilize. Making a game was so much harder than Hajime had originally fathomed. Balancing the budget, graphical compromises, talks with the companies that owned the hardware these games would be put on.

Hajime had actually asked Kaiba why Kaiba Corp. didn't make its own hardware given its status and prestige. Kaiba's answer was understandable. A while back, prior to Battle City, he had made a state-of-the-art virtual world arcade…that he promptly got trapped and almost died in. Couple that with Noah using the exact same technology to interrupt Battle City and Kaiba decided it was in the interest of his own sanity to steer away from hardware development and focus on software.

So, here sat Hajime in his Kaiba Corp. uniform, on the bench in front of the Hope's Peak fountain, ready to pull his hair out in frustration. As the lead developer, it was up to Hajime to oversee the game's story, balance the cards in the game away from easy, exploitable combo loops, and also oversee bug testing. Hajime was starting to see, slowly, why this game was not Kaiba's priority. Arguments between the level designers and the story writers erupted daily. Chihiro, the lead AI programmer, had her quiet, passive voice, lost in the maelstrom of anger and selfishness. There were days Hajime sulked in his executive chair and felt he was one paper airplane in his hair away from the business meeting turning into an elementary school classroom high on sugar, with Hajime was the decaffeinated teacher.

Kaiba was of virtually no help in this matter. Not only did he have his own projects to worry about, but his advice to Hajime was simply to "take charge". And while that did work, it was like pulling teeth and the updates Hajime received were barely noticeable. It was like the members of the development team were trying to spite each other and Hajime wasn't seeing the golden path towards progress. The group had a deadline this time next year before new hardware would be announced and they could kiss their console releases, and deals, goodbye. All that hard work for nothing and Hajime would likely be out of a job for his failures. Because if there was one thing Kaiba prioritized above all else, it was results.

And through it all, Hajime, like Chiaki, realized that he was trying too hard to be an adult. He was a teenage boy with an adult job, trying to do his best to support a third mouth in a series of events in his life he had long since lost control of.

Was it all a mistake? Hajime thought as his hands fell into his knees. He looked at them dejected. Should we just give up? Should I?

Hajime was so caught up in his own pity party, he failed to notice Chiaki's approach until she literally sat down next to him and squeezed his left hand with her right one.

"Hey," she said, smiling at him.

A warm smile crept over Hajime's face as he moved his hand and rubbed Chiaki's head, kissing the top of it as he pulled her in for a warm, gentle hug. "Hey," he said, continuing to hold her like she was a life-size plushie. "You managing all right?"

"Yeah, I'm losing weight. You?"

"Could be better," Hajime admitted. He continued to hold her, his chin on top of his hand, on top of her head. "You have no idea how good it is to see you right now."

"What's wrong?" Chiaki asked, concerned. "Tell me."

Hajime stared at the ground, leaning over. "Do you ever feel like we made the wrong choice? Like it might've been easier if you just learned to live with the funny looks and gotten an abortion?"

"No. I don't think that," Chiaki said. She looked at Hajime, wounded and hurt. "Do…do you think that?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe. I feel like we got so caught up in the rush that we didn't realize how much work it was going to be. We're kids, Chiaki. And I spend hours a day listening to grown men act like children and shout at each other. And you're doing more exercise in two weeks than you ever had in your life."

Chiaki blushed a little. What Hajime said wasn't exactly wrong about the exercise. "E-even so, I…" Chiaki looked at Hajime's face. He was tired. He looked partially defeated. Like a salaryman that wasn't given his holiday bonus, or just got fired. And he was only 16. "Do you…really regret it? Regret…u—?"

"No!" Hajime exclaimed. "Of course not. He wasn't going to let Chiaki finish that thought. I like the idea of being with you, but I mean…look at us. We're acting like we're twice our own age already, or at least I am. I've barely had any time to spend with you. I…I feel like this baby is ruining our relationship."

Chiaki sniffed in, starting to cry. "I don't want it to ruin our relationship! How could you say that?"

Uh oh. He'd done it now.

"I want to see the look on your face when its tiny hand grabs your finger. I want to have a fairy tale happy ever after with you in a big huge house and sit with the baby in our lap and play video games. Hajime, I don't want the baby to change how we feel about each other and I don't want you to feel like it's coming between us!"

Hajime hugged her tightly. "Of course it's not coming between us. Nothing could ever make me not love you. It's just…I've barely seen you since my birthday."

"Well…" Chiaki sniffed. "I know how to fix that."

"Really?" Hajime asked.

Chiaki nodded.

He was surprised when Chiaki held up what appeared to be three tickets to a convention. Judging from the date, the convention was in March. One day was for Friday. One day for Saturday and one day for Sunday. All of them had Hajime's name on it.

"I got tickets to another convention," Chiaki said, sniffing. "You're all signed up for the dueling tournament too. I…I don't want this baby to change our relationship. I don't want to grow up too fast. I want to keep doing fun things with you and," she hiccupped, "And be with you. I just…" she sniffed. "I just…"

Brain acting on autopilot, Hajime gently cupped Chiaki's cheeks and kissed her briefly. The two were sitting on their knees on the bench as Chiaki then buried her head into Hajime's shoulder.

"I guess we're the idiots, huh?" Hajime asked. "We spent so much time preparing for what's to come," he said as he rubbed Chiaki's back, "We forgot to keep being ourselves." He held Chiaki out in front of him, elbows bent. "I would love to go to another convention with you, Chiaki. Thanks."

Chiaki sniffed, smiled and then bear hugged her fiancé. "Do you promise that, even when the baby comes, we'll still make lots of happy memories together?"

"No," Hajime said, surprising her with his answer. "We'll make happy memories together with our baby."

Chiaki squeezed him even tighter because of his answer. "Yeah!" she said.

The two then sat shoulder to shoulder, holding hands on the bench and watched the sun set. "Hey," Chiaki said. "Do you have any idea what we should name it?"

"Name?" Hajime asked as if the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

Chiaki rubbed her belly with both hands. "I was thinking, if it's a boy, we should name him Izuru."

"Izuru? Why?" Hajime asked.

"Well, I mean…it's because of Izuru that we got together, you know? It's because of him that you found your courage…your resolve. And…" she played with her hands. "It's how you found me inside the leviathan when we defeated it together."

Hajime smiled. "Yeah, maybe we could name it after Izuru. But…what if it's a girl?" he asked.

Chiaki shrugged. "I dunno. Delthea?"

Hajime gave her a strange look.

Chiaki pulled her hood up over her head. "What? I like the game."

Hajime kissed her forehead. "Keep thinking about it, okay?"

Chiaki sighed, only to snuggle into Hajime's shoulder. "Warm."

Hajime chuckled happily as he put his arm around Chiaki to let her cuddle up to him and take a nap. He then wasn't surprised when Chiaki cuddled up to him, arms wrapped around him. "Mine," she said cutely, falling asleep.

"Mine too," Hajime said, rubbing her shoulder. And Hajime let her sleep there as he watched the sunset until they both fell asleep on the bench…only to quickly eventually need to get up and snuggle up in bed because good god did winter nights get cold.

The end of January had almost arrived and with it, the countdown to the wedding began. To avoid paparazzi hounding the fact that there were teen parents on Hope's Peak soil—the scandal of pre-marital sex on school grounds alone would've been disastrous enough—the wedding was to be held in the gym under an extremely closed circuit. No one outside the invitation list of people Yukizome knew she could trust was allowed to attend.

Expenses were also pretty low. No need to hire a wedding photographer when the class already had the Ultimate Photographer. And who needed catering when Teruteru could cook an entire buffet on his own? Even luckier for Yukizome, Hope's Peak had an Ultimate Minister in the upper classes, plus an Ultimate Tailor to create the perfect wedding dress from scratch.

A couple of weeks ago, Chiaki would've been overwhelmed by it all. However, after her bolstered trust and love to and from Hajime, she was feeling pretty confident in it all.

But, of course, when one was on top of the world, coming down the mountain was inevitable. And sometimes, rather than a gentle, if but tricky traipsing down the slope, a crash often brought one down to ground level.

This was no truer than when Chiaki, while in the midst of beating the final boss of the classic mode of a fighting game on the hardest difficulty, heard a knock at the door to her dorm room. Focusing a bit harder, she managed to defeat the boss and let the credits roll. As she'd seen them more than two dozen times already, she approached the door and opened it. Her eyes shrunk in and her jaw dropped open, a shrill gasp emitting from her lips when she saw the two people standing in front of her dorm room.

To her left stood a woman with chubby cheeks and not exactly the thinnest body in the world, but still not fat. She had dark hair in knotted pigtails and wore glasses, dressed in a tight sweater and a long skirt. Next to the woman was a slightly overweight man with light, short hair, wearing a suit. This was Leiko and Yosuke Nanami. In other words: her parents.

"Mom…dad…?" Chiaki asked, voice croaking, tears threatening to fall.

"Hey, Rice Ball," her dad said.

Chiaki stared at the ground, her bangs hiding her eyes from her parents, hands on her stomach. "You can't be here," she mumbled.

"I mean, we're standing here," her father said.

"Stop it," Chiaki sniffed. "I don't want to see you."

Her mother reached out to her. "Chiaki…what are you—"

"Don't touch me!" Chiaki shouted, swatting her mother's hand away. She balled her fists at her side. "You can't do this," she said, choking on tears. "You can't just be here out of nowhere."

"We were just—"

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Chiaki shouted. Tears were coming down as Chiaki just let her parents have it. "You ignored my acceptance letter to Hope's Peak! You didn't acknowledge my participation in Battle City! You probably barely recognized that I was missing during the monster attacks! Did you know I was without my soul for most of it? I bet you didn't even notice!" She glared up at her parents. "Now you want back into my life just like that? You ignored me for years! There were days you forgot to feed me! And I'm just supposed to forgive you? How can I do that?" She stopped sounding angry and just sounded heartbroken. "How can I ever trust you ever again?"

The guilt was all over their parents' faces. Ordinarily, children weren't supposed to scream and rant at their parents like that, but Chiaki's parents knew that they did pretty much everything Chiaki said and had no excuse for it.

"We're sorry, Rice Ball," her dad said. "Really. We're sorry we ignored you. We were just trying to get as good as you because we were afraid...we were afraid you weren't having fun."

Chiaki's mom put her hands together, hands held up like she was begging Chiaki in a way that was reminiscent of Mikan. "We never meant to hurt you, sweetie. Please forgive us."

"And how long before you ignore me again?" Chiaki demanded to know. The hurt in her eyes was as clear as day. "I never cared that I was winning," she told them. She then shrieked at the top of her lungs. "ALL I WANTED WAS TO HAVE PARENTS!"

Chiaki's parents said nothing else. Instead, they both simply hugged her. Their warmth covered Chiaki's whole body. It was a warmth she thought she'd never feel again. No, she couldn't let this happen. It was a trick. They'd just abandon her again. She had a family. She had Hajime. She had her classmates. She had Yukizome. She didn't need them.

"Stop it…" she sniffed. "I can't…" she said, voice cracking, but her parents didn't let go.

I don't need you, Chiaki tried to convince herself, trying to ignore the care. I don't need you, she sniffed. I don't need you, she thought as she brought her hand up to grab her mom's shoulder. I don't need you. She started to sob. And when her dad started rubbing her back, she lost control. But I want you both back! She then wailed and clung to her mom, crying harder than she had in years.

"We're really sorry," her dad said. "Please, Chiaki," he said, stroking her hair. "Give us one more chance. We stopped being professional gamers. Your mom's a game designer and I went into 3D animation. Please, Chiaki...we'd really like our favorite Rice Ball back."

She knew she shouldn't. She knew they could abandon her again tomorrow. But, from the bottom of her heart, Chiaki wanted her parents back more than anything. "I forgive you," she sobbed. "I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you." She continued to cry, each declaration of "I forgive you" sounding less and less coherent.

"Shhshhshh, baby. It's okay," her mother told her.

By the time Chiaki had stopped crying, Hajime happened by. "Ah, did I come at a bad time?" he asked.

Chiaki wiped her eyes. "Mom. Dad," Chiaki sniffed, walking over to Hajime and grabbing his hand. "This is my fiancé, Hajime. We're going to have a baby and we're very happy together."

"A baby?!" her mother exclaimed. "That's—"

Yosuke held up his hand, the back of it by Leiko's face. They'd talked about this. And he didn't want her emotional outburst to ruin everything. "It sounds like we've missed a lot," he said. "Look at you, all grown up. Getting married. Having a baby. Could we take you both out to lunch? You could tell us everything we've missed."

"No," Chiaki said.

Her parents were surprised by this, only for Chiaki to put on a brave smile.

"I'm going to take all of you out to lunch." It was her emotional guard. She had the money. She didn't need her parents looking out for her. She wanted to establish that.

"Chiaki," Hajime said, squeezing her hand. "I think you don't need to be so guarded. They're your parents, aren't they? Paying for lunch is the least they can do to apologize for making you cry." Hajime could see in Leiko and Yosuke's faces how terrible they felt. He knew how his parents would act and so he could sort of empathize with how they felt. Of course, he understood Chiaki's position to. And, even though he knew it might not be the best idea to overstep, if he could get Chiaki's relationship with her parents patched up even a little bit, well…that was a win for everyone.

"You sound like quite the gentleman," Leiko said.

"Well, I'm a Hinata. I might not come from a lot of money, but I'm strong, reliable, and loyal. I…I hope that's enough."

Yosuke patted him on the shoulder. "Hajime, right?"

"Yes, sir," Hajime replied.

"Well, Hajime," Yosuke said, smiling. "I think, everything you just said, is what Chiaki needs right now more than anything else."

"Dad," Chiaki said, softly. She sniffed. Even if they'd neglected her for years, they still acted the same way they did when they actually were her parents. Maybe, she thought, this can work. Maybe…maybe it won't be so bad.

After lunch, with the sun getting low, Hajime walked with Chiaki hand in hand to the train station. Her other hand rested on her tummy.

"I hope you still have an appetite," he said. "I'd like you to meet my parents. It's only fair."

"Your mom won't mind?" Chiaki asked. "Cooking for me, I mean?"

"Both my parents would love to meet you," Hajime said with a smile. "Come on."

Back to the far southeast side of the prefecture, back to that homely little split-level home. Hajime returned home for the second time since becoming an Ultimate. Hand in hand with Chiaki, he pushed open the door. "Mom, I have a surprise for you."

Shiori, in an apron, came to the front door. She took one look at Chiaki with her bulging tummy and gasped before squealing like she'd just seen a baby kitten. "Oh, look at you," she said, hugging Chiaki like a stuffed animal. She kissed her head. "The future mother of my grandchild. You are so cute!" Still hugging Chiaki, the teenager's cheek in her chest, she said to her son, "Hajime, your description did not do her justice. She is so cuuuute. I'd say I want to adopt her, but she'll be part of the family soon enough so it's fine." Chiaki got spun around with Shiori's arms around her, chin resting on Chiaki's head. Chiaki and Shiori faced Hajime.

Hajime saw the gentle, happy smile on Chiaki's face. "You have a nice mom," she said.

Hajime laughed nervously, feeling a bit uncomfortable. The sight of his mom hugging his fiancée like she was a stuffed plushie was a bit overkill in terms of cute.

As if to compound the awkward feeling, the door was pushed open a second time. "I'm home," Akihiro said, and the first thing his eyes landed on was his wife and Chiaki. "Well…that's something you don't see every day."

Hands linked with Chiaki, Shiori raised the girls arms up over her shoulders in excitement. "Aki, this is Chiaki. You remember our son telling us about his fiancée, right?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I appeared to have slipped into a parallel dimension where our son picks the perfect wife."

"Dad," Hajime said admonishingly.

His dad ruffled his hair. "I'm just messing with you, boy. So, dinner ready yet?"

"Almost," Shiori said. "Why don't you slip out of that suit jacket and it'll be ready by the time you sit down? You don't mind souffle, do you, Chiaki?"

"I'm not terribly picky," Chiaki said. "Although, do you have ketchup? For some reason I could really use some ketchup?"

Shiori laughed. "Sounds like someone's having pregnancy cravings. Oh! I know the feeling. I remember one time—"

"Mom, could we please try to keep the embarrassing stories to a minimum?" Hajime asked.

"Oh, honey, I'm afraid that's not possible. Because we're breaking the photo album out after dinner."

Hajime let out a deep sigh. Welp, there went the rest of his dignity he could lose in one evening.

Yet, in spite of the embarrassing nature of his mom's photo collection and his dad's repertoire of bad jokes, Chiaki seemed oddly comfortable. She laughed more often that night than Hajime often saw her laugh in a week. And no amount of baby pictures was going to make Hajime take away that smile and laughter tonight.

Hajime's dad insisted that the two stay the night at the house and he'd drive them to school the next day. "Just don't have sex," he told them.

"Dad!" Hajime exclaimed, having never in his life had a greater urge to smack his father, regardless of its impropriety.

Hajime and Chiaki lay down in Hajime's room together under a pair of futons pushed together. They lay face-up, hands linked. Hajime could feel the cold metal of Chiaki's engagement ring against his fingers.

"You have a nice family," she said, holding his hand tightly.

"You think? I was about ready to dig my own grave out of embarrassment," Hajime said. Chiaki laughed. "Yours are…" He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"They're not as good as yours, but I think they're going to try," Chiaki said. "Besides," she said, turning over, wiggling closer. "I don't need parents." She put her head on Hajime's chest, hearing the sound of his heartbeat. "I have you."

"Ch-Chiaki," Hajime knew he was hardly a replacement for parents.

"No, I mean it," Chiaki said, snuggling down. "Even if something terrible happened, as long as I have you," she said, making a cute snore as she drifted off, "I know…I can foo anvifing…" she then started snoring continuously as Hajime pulled the covers up over her neck, gently caressing her cheek. Chiaki purred in her sleep. "Warm."

He kissed her temple and held her close, cuddling up with her. "I love you, Chiaki."

Chiaki squirmed in her sleep. "Love you too."

As Hajime began to drift off himself, he felt Chiaki hug him tighter and the last thing he heard her say before falling asleep was, "Mine."

Hajime was sure he had said "Mine too", but he was so tired he didn't hear himself say it and the two lay there, asleep in his old bedroom knowing that, no matter what any given tomorrow would bring, they would be ready to face it, challenge it and rise above it. That was how much they loved each other. And that was what their bond meant to each other. And that, Hajime thought, as he felt himself drift off into a weightless sleep, was the greatest hope he could ever need in his entire life.

(A/N: Draconic Hero Studios would like to point out that it is not financially responsible for any tissues that had to be bought in order to get through this chapter. As I mentioned in the last chapter, I really wanted to do my best to give Chiaki's teen pregnancy the seriousness it deserves. I hope I'm doing a good job, but I'll leave that to all of you and your reviews.

With all the drama I've tossed onto the pile, I have to ask if you all want to actually see the wedding itself or if you don't mind if I skip over it in favor of moving the plot along. Literally, all my notes say is "insert wedding here" because after some research I found out that a modern Japanese wedding isn't that much different from a wedding we do over here in the states, vows and all. Oh, but don't think moving the plot along means moving away from the happy couple. We're not done with them yet. We almost are though. And then…well…there's some interesting stuff to take place before we reach the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix. Something tells me that what I'd originally planned for chapter 100 might have to be pushed back though. Oh well.

Anyway, as always, until next time, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)