(A/N: Thank you all so, SO much for all the reviews for last chapter. I really appreciate it. When I put my heart and soul into a chapter like that, it's nice to see you all come together and leave the kind of lengthy reviews and comments I really need to hear, even if it's brutal honesty. I don't know if I've said this, but as long as y'all are being respective in opinions I don't necessarily agree with, it's fine if you leave negative comments or even constructive criticism. Everyone in the world is different and no piece of media will have the same impact on 100% of the world.
It's also fun to watch some of you scramble to follow the bread crumb trail, but still haven't figure out the entirety of the master plan. It's like me when I played AI: Somnium Files. Speaking of which, it's good to know the reference wasn't lost on some of you XD.
Anyway, as my old business professor used to say, I'm blathering. Let's get on with the chapter)
It was early May, almost a month and a half since the school year began. And right now, over a dozen students were crowded around the nurse's office with three, and a teacher, inside it. Why?
"Chiaki, come on," Hajime said, holding one of her hands with both of his. "You can do this. Breathe and push. Breathe and push."
"Hnnnnnngh!" Chiaki grunted, trying to push out her baby.
That's why.
Chiaki had been in labor for the past eleven hours since 4am that morning. Chiaki had called Hajime repeatedly until he finally picked up his phone. Her water had broken and she was having trouble moving.
Since reaching her ninth month, Mikan had taken to sleeping in the nurse's office just for this sort of emergency and snapped awake the minute the lights came on.
"You two get started, I'll get Yukizome and some coffee," Hajime had said long before the crack of dawn.
By 10, all of their classmates had gathered to wait for the decisive moment. Episodes of pacing in the hallway, fetching handheld consoles, games and charging cables had kept Hajime busy throughout the whole ordeal.
"Hajime, seriously, take a nap," Mahiru had urged the father-to-be at one point.
"I can't take a nap when the woman I love is about to have our baby. I don't want to miss it," Hajime said.
"Jeez, you're so stubborn," Mahiru sighed.
"You're gonna take a nap though after it's born, right?" Fuyuhiko asked. "Seriously, you look about ready to collapse."
"Nothing a little bit of coffee can't substitute for," Hajime said. "At least for one day."
Nekomaru laughed. "You're gonna be one responsible dad, Hajime," he said. "I can already tell."
That conversation was an hour ago and now the real "battle" had started. Chiaki was slowly pushing the baby out. "I'd rather another shadow game than this," Chiaki groaned the head not even halfway out of her body.
"You've got this, Chiaki," Yukizome said. "Come on." She threw some fake punches. "Show that class rep fighting spirit!"
Red in the face, sweat pouring down her temples, eyes, and cheeks, Chiaki continued to push with her class huddled up in front of the door, fighting each other for the ability to see into the room, all except two.
"I've seen a few of my siblings get born," Akane said. "What's your excuse?"
Nagito held up his hands by his chest. "I shouldn't get too near the room while Chiaki's in labor. My bad luck could strike at any time."
"I'd say that's dumb, cause it is," Akane said, "But at least that's one less person that can get trampled on."
"Honestly, I am kind of worried," Nagito said, having one of his few, rare moments of normalcy. "Hajime and Chiaki have been preparing for this day for months. Even if it's not a byproduct of my luck cycle, I couldn't bear the thought of the despair they'd go through if it all goes horribly wrong." He folded his arms, staring at the floor. "Such cold, dark despair. It would be hard to come back from something like that. I believe hope can overcome anything, but something like that."
"Don't talk like that," Akane said, cracking her knuckles. "It'll be fine! Everything will be fine! Hajime and Chiaki are going to make amazing parents!"
Nagito smiled. "Yeah, I hope so."
Inside the nurse's office, Chiaki had taken to curling her toes and gulping repeatedly. With all the pain she was in, Yukizome wouldn't have to worry about needing to make her and Hajime infertile. The miracle of child birth was not worth this pain a second time.
"Come on, Chiaki," Mikan said. "You're almost there. Just a little more."
"Chiaki, the faster you get the baby out, the closer we are to teaching it how to play our favorite video games."
That was enough to give Chiaki the energy to pop the baby out of her with all her might. The cry of birth was finally heard as Mikan helped slide the baby out of Chiaki's body. It was a strong, healthy cry as Chiaki panted, finally leaning against the bed, feeling exhausted.
"You did it," Hajime said.
"Well, don't keep us all in suspense! Is it a boy or a girl?" Yukizome asked, bunching up her apron.
Um, for someone who's not the parent, you sound more excited than we are, Hajime thought.
Mikan giggled. "It's a boy." She then turned towards Hajime. "Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?"
"Uh, no, that's okay. You're the medical expert. I don't feel qualified."
"Oh come on, it's not that hard," Yukizome said.
"How would you know?" Hajime asked.
"I did a lot of reading in the months leading up to this," Yukizome said.
Somehow I get the feeling you want one. Just a hunch, Hajime thought.
Mikan and Yukizome bathed Hajime and Chiaki's son as Hajime stood next to his wife. "You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine. I'm tired, but I'm fine."
Yukizome, holding the little bundle of joy, walked over to Chiaki to pass the baby to her. "Here he is, the little bundle of joy." Chiaki took her son into her arms. "You two decide on a name?"
"It's a boy, right?" Hajime asked.
"One hundred percent certain," Yukizome replied with a smile.
"Izuru," Hajime and Chiaki said at the same time without missing a beat.
"Huh? Why?" Yukizome asked.
"We owe a lot to him," Hajime said.
"Our Izuru wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the Izuru we know," Chiaki said.
Yukizome had no idea what they were talking about, but if that's what they wanted to name their child, who was she to stop them?
"So? Is it born yet?" Hiyoko asked.
"Yup! All done!" Yukizome exclaimed. She never watched more than a dozen people pile into a room as fast as possible. "All right, one at a time! One at a TIME!" she shouted to get her class under control.
Chiaki passed Izuru off to Hajime who held his son in his arms. Izuru was quiet, eyes closed, until they suddenly opened. Hajime gasped.
"What's the matter?" Yukizome asked. "Is something wrong?"
"His eyes," Hajime said.
Yukizome waved Mikan over. She took a look as Hajime brought the baby down to chest level. His eyes were different colors. His right eye matched Hajime and his left eye matched Chiaki.
"Oh, heterochromia iridum," Mikan diagnosed. "It's rare, but don't worry, it's harmless."
"Harmless? You're sure?" Hajime asked.
"What's wrong?" Chiaki mumbled.
"Izuru has two different colored eyes," Hajime said.
Chiaki smiled. "Really? That'll help him stand out. They say unique people can do extraordinary things."
"I mean…" Hajime was surprised Chiaki was taking it so well.
"He's our son, Hajime. I'd love him even if he had gills or a tail," Chiaki said. "Don't you feel the same?"
Hajime looked down at his baby boy, his son. Innocent eyes stared back at him and Hajime could only silently agree as he reached up with one finger, trailing it from forehead to nose and then tapped little Izuru on the nose. This…is my son, he thought.
"Um…Hajime," Peko said, standing nearby.
"Oh, right, I suppose I made a promise, didn't I?"
He handed the baby to Peko. He refused to let go until Peko's arms stopped shaking. It was rare for her to hold something so tiny and fragile in her arms. She stared down at little Izuru.
"He's not crying," she said. "Look. Look, Miss Yukizome!" Peko exclaimed, tearing up. "He's not crying."
Yukizome smiled. Peko always scared away cute things so this must've been a special experience for her.
Impatiently, Hiyoko began whining, "Hey! I want a turn! I want a turn!" Peko, blushing, handed Hiyoko the baby as Hiyoko took the baby into her arms. She wanted to make fun of it, to say something mean or even semi-obnoxious. However, the longer she stared at it, and the longer it stared back at her, the less and less possible that became. Her mouth wiggled and her face flushed slowly until, without saying a word the entire time she held it, she just blushed brightly and passed off the baby to whoever was willing to take it from her.
That ended up being Mahiru. With the precarious way Hiyoko was holding the baby, Mahiru scooped up the tiny human before Hiyoko inadvertently dropped it. Young Izuru was safe and secure in Mahiru's arms.
"Wow, you look like a natural," Yukizome said with a big smile. "You'd almost think that was your baby."
Mahiru blushed. "H-hey, d-don't tease me."
"You really do look natural," Mikan said. "Even the head is at a perfect angle."
This only made Mahiru blush harder.
After that, Izuru was passed from student to student before Mikan graciously took him last and then rested him in the basket that had been prepared months in advance. Everyone was excused from the room except for Mikan and Chiaki, the former filling out detailed forms to later give to Yukizome to deliver to City Hall with Hajime so that Izuru Hinata could be officially recognized by the government.
Chiaki, meanwhile, got some well-deserved rest, laying back, feeling relieved that Izuru was born healthy and with no complications—heterochromia aside. As she tried her best to fall asleep though, Mikan had just one question for her.
"Hey, Chiaki. Do you feel any different? Being a mother, I mean?"
"Not really. I already help take care of all of you in class. How hard can a baby be?"
"How hard? Haven't you been reading all the books Miss Yukizome and I gave you?" Mikan asked, sounding worried.
"Yes, but, I mean I don't think it'll be that difficult. I'll treat it just like a boss battle or a stealth section. Can't be too difficult."
One Month Later…
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
It was 1:15am. After a night playing videogames, Chiaki was just about to fall asleep when Izuru began screaming from the other half of her dorm room. It was her turn to take care of Izuru for the night and, of course, he had to pick tonight to pull a post-midnight temper tantrum.
Why couldn't it be Hajime's turn tonight?
After leaving the nurse's office with Izuru, all Chiaki wanted to do was get back on her normal schedule while fitting Izuru into the gaps or inserting him into it—gaming, exercise, class, food, hygiene. Unfortunately, babies were not creatures of habit. Izuru frequently had interrupted Chiaki's long hours of gaming for his mommy's attention. During the day, Hajime and Yukizome were more than happy to take him off Chiaki's hands.
At night, things were a different story. Hajime and Chiaki agreed that it would be rude of them to force Yukizome to take care of Izuru unless they happened to be out of town—not that that had happened yet—and Hajime and Chiaki had set up a fair scheduling system for when each of them would let Izuru sleep in their room. Due to his job, Hajime took less days throughout the week in exchange for having more day time hours with Izuru and having more nights when he wasn't due in the office early in the morning. This suited Chiaki just fine since she was a night crawler for the most part anyway.
However, this was the fifth time that Izuru had decided that a late night wasn't going to end with her going straight to bed. Worse, Chiaki had just gotten comfortable in her own bed and was desperate to get some sleep. She thought maybe she could drown Izuru out this time, but that wasn't happening. He was far too loud. As usual, Chiaki stumbled and almost fell out of bed, tripping over her own sheets. She then walked, drooling, eyes lazing around in the darkness as she mumbled, dragging her feet to Izuru's crib, picking him up and rocking him in her arms. He got quieter, but continued to cry and carry on.
He wasn't hungry and he didn't need to be changed. Chiaki bounced him in her arms for a little bit, but this only made him laugh and noise was the last thing she wanted right now.
Go to sleep, she groaned internally. In a second, she was going to fall asleep sitting up.
Fortunately, Izuru seemed to cooperate and Chiaki was able to get him to bed. It was almost 2am when she finally was able to get back into bed. And when her alarm started going off at 8am, she cursed the morning sunshine, feeling as if she'd just laid down. Exhausted, she checked on Izuru with half-lidded eyes and then just curled up on the couch, falling asleep.
Hours later, Yukizome was rubbing her shoulder. "Chiaki. Hey, Chiaki."
"Five more minutes," Chiaki mumbled.
"If I give you any more time, you'll miss lunch."
Chiaki bolted upright, gasping. "Class!"
"Relax," Yukizome said, pushing gently on Chiaki's collarbone. "Everything's fine. Izuru didn't even stir when I came in."
Chiaki lay back on her couch. "Why is he so difficult?"
"Well, cause he's a baby," Yukizome said with a smile. Her smile faded when she could tell she was just twisting the knife further into whatever was bothering Chiaki. To that end, she scooped the brunette under her arms and flipped her over to put Chiaki's head sideways in her lap, petting her head. "Talk to me," she requested.
"Being a mom is…difficult," Chiaki said.
"No one said this was going to be easy. This is a huge responsibility you and Hajime have embarked on."
"Miss Yukizome, is it going to get easier?" Chiaki complained.
Yukizome sighed. "Being a parent isn't like playing a videogame. There are no set rules. You can't cheat and you're going to make mistakes. There are no continues, no retries, and no resets."
"Izuru's annoying," Chiaki grumbled.
Yukizome blinked, never expecting Chiaki to say that. She said nothing before Chiaki spoke again.
"He's always crying. He never lets me sleep when I want to and his sleep and feeding cycle are impossible to figure out," Chiaki said. "And babies can't play videogames. He doesn't know how to hold a controller. And his fingers are too small."
Yukizome sighed. "Why did you want to be a mom, Chiaki?"
"Well, I…" Chiaki thought about it before answering. "I was just thinking that as long as I was with Hajime, we could do anything. That we could raise our little bundle of joy and make him into a part of our lives."
"And? That sounds extremely motherly."
"But…right now all I'm doing is losing sleep, getting angry and feeling miserable," Chiaki said.
"No one ever said being a parent was glamorous," Yukizome said. "I understand your reservations about getting an abortion. And it's too late to change things now. But you have a responsibility to Izuru that you've committed to." Yukizome lifted Chiaki's head up off her lap and made for the door. She opened it and looked back at the gamer girl, laying on the couch, curled up. "As well put together as I am, even I know I can't take care of a baby yet. You know you can always talk to me about anything, Chiaki, even if you don't want to talk about it with Hajime. I'm always here to help. Remember what the book said, take advantage of your resources."
"Mmmhmm." Chiaki's response was both an acknowledgement and a dismissal.
Realizing there was nothing more she could do for the moment, Yukizome quietly left the room, and shut the door.
A few days later, Chiaki had a headset around her head, a controller in her head, and her livestreaming equipment set up and ready to go. It was 10am on a Sunday.
"All right, everyone!" Chiaki exclaimed. "Today, I'm going to be shooting for a 17-hour non-stop livestream of Death Spirit 2 for the fists only, no armor run."
Chat started pouring in. Many wished Chiaki luck and there were the usual troll comments tossed in as Chiaki sat down in her chair and started playing.
During the run, she offered commentary. "The trick to this run is to know the boss' and enemies' attack patterns before you start. Since you don't have to worry about loot, you can avoid dangerous enemies off beaten paths and focus on taking the shortest route to the bosses."
3 Hours Later…
"While I'm not attempting to speed run the game, I still don't want to be playing for more than 17 and a half hours," Chiaki commented, already on the second boss. Her fingers were like lightning. "The best way to prepare for this run is to try doing no damage runs by replaying the bosses in previous runs you've done. Don't get impatient and don't take chances," Chiaki instructed as she punched the boss in the face and killed it, playing the somber victory music.
In the background, Izuru was crying. Chat could hear it and Chiaki could sort of hear it, but she was concentrated on her game. Her chat box filled up with comments regarding the situation, but Chiaki was now squarely focused on the run, tuning most everything else out.
6 Hours later…
By now, Chiaki was well into the run, past the halfway point towards beating the game. And, again, for the third time since she started streaming, Izuru was crying. But, having tuned the rest of the world out, Chiaki couldn't hear it.
It was only when her chat log started flooding with messages at a frequent pace, coupled by an unlucky death on top of that that Chiaki bothered to look at her computer. The chat logs were littered with messages yelling at her to pay attention to her son. This was compounded by Chiaki noting that the amount of streamers she'd started with had effectively dropped by half.
Izuru!
Nine hours. Izuru had been without anyone paying attention to him for nine straight hours.
Chiaki pivoted and turned towards the crib, tripping as she stumbled towards Izuru. By this point, the infant had ceased his wailing and lay on his side, fingers curled. Chiaki wasted no time fetching him from the crib, but the baby was unresponsive.
Fearing the worst, Chiaki ran as fast as she could to the nurse's office.
Please be there. Please be there!
Chiaki almost slammed straight into Mikan, approaching the door just as Mikan was stepping out.
"Ch-Chiaki. Wh—"
"Please help Izuru!" Chiaki cried, tears streaming down her face.
"O-okay," Mikan agreed, rattled. "L-let's just go inside."
Mikan took Izuru into the back while Chiaki sat in a chair and just sobbed into her hands.
I'm a terrible mother. I did the same thing to Izuru my parents did to me…and he's not even a year old yet.
Minutes later, Hajime entered the nurse's office. He had had a question for Mikan, but whatever it was flew out of his head when he saw Chiaki crying. He assumed the worst.
"Ch-chiaki?"
"Hajime," she sobbed. "I hurt our baby. It's my fault."
Hajime hugged her and looked to Mikan who seemed to be shaking something in a vial and analyzing it in the computer.
She then approached the young parents.
"Izuru's going to be just fine," she said with a smile.
"You don't…" Chiaki hyperventilated, "You don't have to lie to make me feel better. I did something terrible," Chiaki sniffed.
"Wha…no! Really! I'm not lying!" Mikan exclaimed, feeling persecuted. She giggled nervously. "He had a dirty diaper and he was a little hungry so I used a milk bottle you put in the fridge here for emergencies. His pulse his normal. Blood pressure's fine. Temperature's normal, and saliva contains no foreign bacteria."
"B-but…but I…" Chiaki blubbered.
"What happened?" Hajime asked.
Chiaki sniffed in hard and did her best to explain.
"Chiaki, Izuru's going to be fine. I checked him thoroughly." She held up her hands, fingers laced like she was pleading. "Please believe me."
Chiaki stopped crying, but looked miserable. "I don't deserve to be a parent."
"That's not true," Hajime said firmly. "You rushed all this way in a panic because you do deserve to be a parent. If you were a bad parent, you wouldn't be belittling yourself by thinking that you were a bad one." He looked at Mikan. "Any chance this could have lasting side effects?"
Mikan shook her head. "Nope. As long as it doesn't become habit, Izuru should still grow up healthy."
"See?" Hajime asked rhetorically with a smile. "Nothing to worry about."
"Chiaki, maybe we should ask the school to contact Miaya Gekkogahara. She just graduated and opened her practice, but I'm sure she'd see you free of charge under the circumstances."
"Who's Miaya?" Hajime asked.
"Miaya Gekkogahara is…well, she was an Ultimate. Class 75," Mikan answered. "She was the Ultimate Therapist. She was really nice." She giggled. "I hear she's good friends with Chihiro Fujisaki from Class 78."
"Why does Chiaki need to see a therapist?" Hajime inquired.
"It's possible she's suffering from postpartum depression," Mikan said.
"What?" Hajime gasped. But this whole thing was her idea. He'd never once taken issue with becoming a father. He loved Izuru. Sure, being married to Chiaki while still attending school was weird, but he couldn't be happier.
"It probably couldn't hurt," Chiaki said, her smile yet to return to her face.
"Chiaki…" Hajime called her name with great concern. He sighed. "I'll look after Izuru for a bit. Stay here with Mikan, okay?"
Chiaki nodded solemnly, sniffing once.
Taking their baby, Hajime walked outside to get himself and Izuru some fresh air. When the infant woke up, Hajime poked at his forehead, laughing to himself as Izuru smiled and laughed back with his toothless smile.
Yukizome, taking a break from mowing the lawn in place of the sick groundskeeper, noticed this and approached. "Hajime, isn't today Sunday? Doesn't Chiaki normally take care of Izuru when you two aren't together?"
"Uh, there was kind of an incident," Hajime said.
One Explanation Later…
"Postpartum depression?" Yukizome gasped. Even she was shocked by the implication.
"You think it's possible?" Hajime asked.
"I'd hate it if it was the truth," Yukizome said, grabbing an arm, sighing. "There has to be something I can do to help. I know I've berated you guys a few times over having the baby, but…" she stared Hajime in the face without an ounce of levity. "The truth is, I think you guys are doing a great job. I think the struggles you're putting up and the schedule you've worked out is incredible. If Mikan says Izuru's doing fine then he's definitely all right."
"You really think so?" Hajime asked.
"You and Chiaki bravely embarked on this journey together," Yukizome said. "I'd say it's turning out well so far."
Hajime smiled. "Thank you, Miss Yukizome."
"Hey, I know you guys don't want to burden me, especially since I have to teach class, but, maybe you should let me take care of Izuru once in a while, Mikan too."
"What? Really? We thought we'd be imposing!"
"It'll be good practice for when I eventually want a baby," Yukizome said, beaming with pride. "Besides, as I've said before, you two are still kids. You deserve to act like them every now and again. Mikan and I can split the normal duties of a live-in nurse, take some of the burden off the two of you. Maybe that'll help Chiaki out if she doesn't feel so burdened."
Izuru started to cry, but not in a wailing type of way.
Yukizome panicked, coming down to his level. "Ahh! No! No! No! I didn't mean to imply mommy doesn't love you or anything," she exclaimed. It was then that a foul scent invaded her nose. "Ugh, or maybe that's for something else entirely."
Didn't Mikan just change her? Hajime thought.
A few days later, Hajime went with Chiaki to the far side of the city to have Chiaki meet with Miaya. Hajime sat patiently outside in the waiting room while Chiaki was in session. Miaya, out of courtesy to a former fellow student, was willing to let the first session be free for diagnosis.
A little over an hour after Chiaki had entered the room, she came out. The expression on her face suggested she was doing much better.
Miaya, in her wheelchair, had a rabbit mascot of some kind on a TV monitor that faced away from her chest, mounted on her wheelchair. The mascot spoke for her. It looked a little sad. "Chiaki is suffering from Postpartum depression." It changed to a happy expression. "But don't worry, I'll meet with her once a week and she'll be right as rain." The mascot hugged its stomach. "I think in a few short months of therapy will have Chiaki loving the little bundle of love that came out of her tummy."
Wha…? Hajime was confused, but he shoved his confusion aside when he saw Chiaki give a very normal smile.
"I'm going to get better, Hajime," Chiaki told him. "I don't want Izuru to suffer. I want to be a good mom for him." She gave a chipper smile. "That's why I wanted to have him after all."
Hajime smiled and hugged his wife. She hugged him back. Neither one said anything. They both knew what the other was thinking. Each one was thinking that everything was going to be okay.
One month later…
Yugi sat at his usual lunch table with most of the Terrific Ten already present. The only two missing were—
"Helloooooooooo!" Junko proclaimed, entering the room about as subtly as a bus crashing through a wall.
"Hey, Junko," Yugi said. He looked at her sister and nodded to her. "Mukuro."
Mukuro bowed slightly back in polite acknowledgement to greet Yugi, but said nothing.
"You look awfully excited, Junko," Hina said. "What's up?"
Junko took her seat and slid it against Yugi's in the same motion, bumping her back into his arm as she stretched out a little. "I just got off the phone with my agency and, like, they want to do a photo shoot in America. Is that, like, awesome?"
"Where'd that accent come from?" Hina mused aloud to herself.
"Oh, wow! That sounds so exciting, Junko!" Sayaka exclaimed.
Mukuro bowed to Makoto. "I'll be away for a week. I am Junko's bodyguard."
"Oh. Have fun then," Makoto said to her, surprised by the announcement.
Mukuro looked at Sayaka.
"Have fun on your trip," Sayaka said wit a smile. She closed her eyes. "I promise your friendship with Makoto won't be ruined by the time you get back."
"I sincerely hope not. And that goes for you too. It would be such a shame for Makoto to lose such a precious friend," Mukuro said, forcing a smile and closing her eyes much the same.
Yugi and Sakura could see the invisible lightning arcing between the lidded gazes of Sayaka and Mukuro.
It might be best if I ensure there will be no bloodshed this time next week, the martial artist thought.
"I hope you have fun, Junko," Yugi said.
"What's all this me stuff?" She held up three tickets. "You're coming too."
"What?" Yugi gasped.
"Yuh-huh, my agency was pret-ty clear that I bring a male model with me and I picked you," she said as she poked Yugi in the chest with both her index fingers.
"Me?!" Yugi exclaimed, surprised.
"Yup! Yup!" Junko slung an arm around Yugi, curling it around him tightly. "We're going to America for a whoooole week. It'll be just you and me during one week of summer vacation. Doesn't that sound super special awesome?"
Yugi blushed. "You know that…does sound fun."
"H-hey! What about the rest of us?" Toko snapped.
"Oh, I'm like sure you can just like hole up in your room or whatever and palm yourself to your erotic fiction."
"Hey!" Toko exclaimed.
"All things considered, that's not exactly an unhealthy option. Fortunately, I have something called a life," Celeste said. "Enjoy your solitude, Miss Fukawa."
"Sh-shut up you fake aristocrat!" Toko growled. "No one asked you."
Celeste only gave a upper crust, taunting laugh in response.
As not all of Yugi's things were in his dorm room at school, he had to return home to pack for the trip while it was still daylight hours.
Yami, in his astral form, sat on Yugi's desk, watching him go. While Yugi was fervently packing, Junko came into Yami's line of sight. "Knock, knock!" she exclaimed jubilantly, knocking on the door.
"Oh, hey, Junko," Yugi said. "What are you doing here?" After a few seconds, he then panicked. "Wait, what are you doing here?! This is my house! My room!" He frantically attempted to shut the door, resulting in getting an unintentional palm full of chest.
Yami winced waiting for the scream, but the result was instead Junko moaning. "Oh, Yugi, you're so naughty."
"N-no. Th-that was an accident!" Yugi exclaimed, pulling back his hand. Before he could then further shove Junko out the door, she twirled into his room, putting her butt to the desk. Oh, if Yami had a physical form from where he was sitting right now. "Seriously, Junko, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked.
"Oh, so like I totally forgot about a big important detail," Junko said.
"Um, sorry, Junko. I don't mean to interrupt."
"Like, what's up?" Junko asked.
"Could you stop talking like that? It's just…strange."
"Like, okay," Junko said and dropped the valley girl accent, clearing her throat, talking normally. "So, like, here's the sitch. The theme for this photo shoot is Ancient Egypt and while I've got a bunch of neat accessories, I was looking for something…authentic."
Yami immediately did not like where this conversation was going.
"Do you think I could borrow one the Millennium Necklace?" Junko asked.
"What? No! That's dangerous!" Yugi exclaimed.
Yami smiled. Good on Yugi.
"Aw, come on. Don't make me beg for it. I'm really good at begging," Junko said, laughing in self-amusement. "Pretty please? I promise I'll only wear it just so they can take photos."
"Well…" Before Yugi could contemplate this further, Yami forcibly took control. Yugi then noticed where Junko's butt was in proximity to his pants and climbed backwards onto the desk like a crab, putting his hands between his legs and bringing his legs together.
"Junko, you have no idea what you're asking," Yami told her.
"Aw, come on, Pharaoh, don't be such a stick in the mud," Junko said, still smiling. "You'll be there with me. You and Yugi will protect me, right?"
"Junko," Yami said in a warning tone.
"Come on, Ishizu got taken out by Makoto and she didn't go super destroy the world crazy."
"It's just..."
Flashbacks to his duel with Junko flooded Yami's mind. He couldn't bear to go through that again. Junko could see the anguish all over his face. It brought her no shortage of joy.
I've got three options, I could turn on the water works, I could beg, or I can resort to blackmail. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.
After mere seconds of processing the options and the roads they went down, Junko put the backs of her hands under her eyes and started sniffing. "You don't," she sniffed, "want to help me? You don't care if I get in trouble because I can't fulfill my career obligations."
"Junko that's not what I—"
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!" Junko sobbed, acting very convincingly despite the fact that all of her tears were on cue.
Unable to deal with this, Yami swapped minds with Yugi again. The young boy pat Junko along the back of her shoulders. "Junko, you can borrow the Millennium Necklace, but please, if you feel unwell for any reason, just tell me okay?"
Junko gave Yugi a big hug. "Oh, Yugi! You're the best!" She then gave him a firm pat on the back. "Well then, I gotta finish packing too. Don't be late for the flight. Kisses!" She then blew Yugi a kiss with an audible "Mwah!" and closed the door to his room.
"Junko is very…"
"Excitable?" Yugi asked, trying to finish Yami's sentence.
"I was going to say unpredictable, but that works too."
With his bags packed, Yugi opted to head back to Hope's Peak's campus before it got dark. However, as he set outside into the sunset lit city, he ran across who else, but his childhood friend Téa Gardner.
"Oh! Hey, Yugi! How have you been?"
Yugi smiled cheerfully at the sight of Téa. "I've been good Téa, how are you?"
"Well, I'm just great. Feeling fantastic."
She's up to something, Yugi thought. Téa was often very bad at hiding things.
"So, I was doing some thinking and I thought it'd be great if we all went to the beach the first week of summer. Miho got permission from Sayaka to use her summer home. Tristan doesn't have any work to do for the school and Joey can bring Serenity. Even Bakura said he'd come. It'll be just like old times."
"That sounds great, Téa!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Yes! I knew you'd be excited!" Téa beamed.
Yami tapped Yugi on the shoulder and cleared his throat. This immediately reminded Yugi of his obligation.
Yugi frowned. "Oh. Wait. I just remembered. I can't make it. I'm sorry, Téa
"Yeah, I do! Wait…why…what's the matter?" Téa asked, apprehensive.
Yugi frowned more. "I'm so sorry, Téa. I already promised Junko I would go away with her this week. I leave for America on Monday and I'll be gone all week."
"Wait, even the weekend?" Téa asked. The gears clicked and Téa realized an even bigger problem. "Wait, just the TWO of the you?!"
"N-no! Of course not just the two of us. Mukuro will be there obviously. It's for her job. She's doing a photo shoot. She asked me to come along."
"I mean…you can still cancel…right?" Téa asked.
"I'm sorry, Téa," Yugi apologized. "But, I can't. I already told Junko I'd go with her and she already bought my ticket. We can hang out this weekend."
Téa groaned.
"What's the matter?"
"I can't this weekend. Miho talked to Sayaka and she got me a role as a backup dancer for a big stage performance. This could be the start of my career, Yugi."
"Oh, wow. That's…I mean, I'm happy for you, but…" Yugi was trying to find a balance between disappointment of not getting to spend more time with Téa and joy at her getting a chance to begin her career.
"Yugi…" Téa started to say, "I…" She put one hand on her heart and reached towards him, stopping halfway.
"What is it?" Yugi asked.
The two stared at each other, wind blowing gently across the air. In the sunset, Téa found the courage to take more steps forward and placed her hand on Yugi's shoulder. In a few moments after that, she brought Yugi into her intimate space, binding him tightly to her. It was less a hug and more a literal representation of her fear of letting him go.
"Have fun on your trip," Téa said, and although she was trying to be supportive, she swallowed and choked back a tear. It really felt like Yugi was slipping away from her.
Yugi brought up an arm and pat the back of her shoulder. "You have fun this weekend too, Téa. And tell the gang I wish them all the best."
"Yeah," Téa said, silently shedding more tears under the sunset. "I'll do that."
There was then a dead silence between the two.
"Um, Téa," Yugi said.
"Hmm?"
"Not that we aren't close, but, um…"
"Oh, right," Téa said, letting go and taking a few steps back. "Sorry." She'd managed to clear away the tears before he saw. Thank god for sunset shadows too. She turned away from Yugi, hands behind her back, one hand grabbing the other wrist. "Hey," she said, tilting her head towards the sky. "Do you think…Junko is prettier than me?"
"What do you mea—?"
"Just answer the question, Yugi!" Téa shouted in anguish.
For once in his life, Yugi decided to remember that he had a firm pair of Kuribohs in his pants. He balled a fist, stared straight ahead and said resolutely, "I don't think she's prettier than you, Téa."
Téa turned around, almost as if the turn was in slow motion. Her face showed nothing, but pure shock. "You…don't?"
Yugi smiled. "I think you're both equally beautiful. I like you both a lot. You're both dear friends to me."
Téa thought she was going to cry again. Right. Of course he'd say that. This is Yugi I'm talking to after all. She barely managed to avoid letting out a joyless, hollow laugh.
"Téa, what's wrong?" Yugi reached for her hand, but Téa backed up.
"I'm going to go," Téa said and turned to leave.
"Téa, wait!" Yugi exclaimed, reaching out for her, but the brunette was sprinting down the street and the glare from the sunset, plus Yugi's lack of stamina and speed made it difficult to chase after her.
"Yugi, are you sure about this trip?" Yami asked.
"I know what you mean. Téa looks like she's going through a rough time. But, we already made a promise to Junko and…well, you know how seriously we take promises."
Yami nodded. "Our word is our bond."
Yugi nodded back to him. "Right." He sighed. Téa. What's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?
By the time Téa got home, she was a wreck. Her knees were shaking at she was letting out little sobs as she slumped against the door. She then put her head between her knees and just cried a little. It was bad enough that Yugi was seeing Junko every day, but now he had a whole week with her.
What am I going to do? Téa wondered. And though she thought about it until dusk, she had no answer.
(A/N: I wanted to make this chapter longer, but it was starting to get too long when I started typing out other scenes.
I have my reasons for including the drama that crops up in this chapter and I promise not to drag it out beyond its welcome like Alexis being evil by joining the society of light in Yu-gi-oh GX—an unwelcome plot twist to be sure.
I would at least like you all to comment/review, please and thank you. More reviews means a happier Draconic Hero and a happier Draconic Hero means faster chapters. As said before, even if it's constructive criticism, as long as you're not leaving hateful, spiteful reviews, keep the comments flowing. I only improve as a writer by learning from my mistakes.
Chapter 99 is on its way. I'd say its over 75% complete and should be up this weekend. But, until then, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)