The wheels of a plane jet touch down on the black pavement below, smoke emitting from them as it comes to a halt at its designated gate. Yugi is the first to emerge from the gate and into the airport, taking a different approach to their run ins with the paparazzi. Maybe, just maybe, if he were to pass them by first, they won't bombard him with questions and leave it for his brother instead.
Atem comes out shortly, his eyes focused on his phone. He sends a text to Mana to let her know that he has landed safely and that they're on their way to the hotel before going to their interview. Yugi turns his head slightly, smirking when he sees that Atem is distracted in his phone. Then he looks ahead to the paparazzi and reporters that are waiting for them outside of the airport, just before the limo that is parked there for them.
'Here goes nothing,' he thinks to himself, quickly approaching the automatic sliding glass doors. He takes one step out into the open. Then two. Three and four. 'It's working! It's really wo—' The paparazzi and reporters that once stood on opposite sides of each other to make for a clean pathway to the limo, suddenly begin to close in on Yugi to his dismay.
'No! But he's—" He takes one last look at Atem who slips on his earbuds to block out any outside commotion. 'Noooo!' He screams in his head, feeling swept away by what seems to be tons of workers holding cameras, notepads and microphones, all asking him question at once.
With his eyes staring forward, Atem walks to the limo with ease and gets in. He closes his eyes, letting the music overtake his mind for just a moment, taking a deep inhale before exhaling. He feels the seat move and he looks over to see Yugi who has dived in, motioning the driver to go. He takes one earbud out. "What's wrong with you?"
Yugi cuts his eyes at him.
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"Hey Téa, it's about to start right now!" Mana yells as she sits on the couch holding onto her tablet. Since both of their husbands are out of the country, they decided to make things a little easier by having a sleepover at Mana's house. Plus it gives Atem somewhat of a peace of mind having someone else there with Mana.
Téa plops down next to Mana, wearing her pjs and she watches the live stream of the interview along with her. Yugi and Atem sit next to each other across from the male host who wears a white t-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers.
"This'll be interesting since Atem actually has to answer questions," Mana says with an amused look on her face. Even from his calm expression, she can tell he doesn't want to be there and with every passing question, she can practically feel his irritation through the screen.
"At least it will give Yugi a little break," Téa chuckles. "But he's definitely not out of the woods."
"We're going to do a fun game here. On the screen, we'll play a few short clips from various duel matches. These clips are considered 'fails' and you are gonna critique where they went wrong," the host says and the studio audience claps enthusiastically.
Atem and Yugi perk up a little, showing more interest when the clips show across the screen. Finally, something that doesn't involve answering a ton of questions. It seems the audience is getting a kick out of Yugi's funny but constructive criticism and Atem's dry sense of humor, but helpful advice.
"Those duel disks have really become somewhat of a fashion statement, I'd say!" the host exclaims, sporting one on his arm and showing it to the camera. "You can purchase your own at…"
"I bet they're glad that's over with," Téa says after a half hour goes by and the live broadcast ends. "It's crazy that it's morning there and evening here."
"Yeah the time difference is massive," Mana agrees. She grunts lightly when she feels a pinch in her lower back. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath.
"You okay?"
She nods. "Y-Yeah. Just some back contractions. Nothing a bath and some sleep won't fix," she assures her concerned friend.
"Okay. Well if you need anything, I'm here. Good night."
"Night!"
Atem climbs into the limo and breathes a heavy sigh. Yugi jumps inside, holding his chest as he breathes heavily. The paparazzi can be so ruthless. It seems their popularity is just as huge as it is back home.
"I don't understand why Kaiba couldn't schedule the interview and the signing in the same day," Atem complains, scrolling through his phone.
"Not sure. But hey, at least we'll get to explore a little bit while we're here!" Yugi says, trying to remain positive.
"Any other time would have been fine."
"Try not to worry," Yugi says, knowing that the only thing on his mind right now is Mana. "From what you told me, Mana didn't seem concerned at all."
"When is she ever?" Atem points out. He taps her name to initiate a video chat and it rings a few times. Yugi looks over his shoulder, waiting for her to pick up finally. After a pause, the video finally shows up, revealing Mana's partially covered body as she sits in the tub. Yugi turns a bright red, immediately shielding his eyes as he scoots over. Luckily the bubbles were up to just below her armpit. Atem side eyes Yugi who waves his arms and hands frantically.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know?!" he exclaims. "Thought she would be near Téa!"
"Hey there Atem!" Mana greets happily and his eyes return to the screen.
"Winding down for bed I assume," he says and she nods.
"I'm having some slight back contractions, so I decided to take a nice bath before I turn it in for the night." She notices that his face grows concerned and she grits her teeth anxiously. Maybe she shouldn't have brought that up.
"I shouldn't have left."
"I'm fine, promise! They're super mild!" She tries to say that as convincingly as possible to alleviate any of his worries. But she isn't sure that her attempts are working.
"After this signing tomorrow morning, I'm going straight to the airport and coming home," he tells her.
"That's fine. But please don't worry! I'm fine!" she reiterates with a smile. "I'm about to get out and go to bed. Love you!" She winks and blows a kiss before grinning and laughing, trying to act as 'normal' as possible so that he doesn't suspect that anything is wrong.
"Now you're just overdoing it," he says, dimming his eyes. "Love you too." The video ends and he drops his phone to his lap.
"That didn't help you at all, did it?" Yugi asks.
"Nope."
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The following morning in America, Atem and Yugi sit at a long table at a convention. There is a large backdrop behind them has a large "KC" on it and a picture of Kaiba wearing the duel disk in a dramatic fashion. Atem manages to put on a straight face and a smile when each fan comes up to him, asking them to sign something of theirs. But in the back of his mind, he can't wait to board the plane to go home. He keeps telling himself that there is a good chance that Mana is sleeping right now. It is currently night time where she is at.
Mana grabs a couple of bags of her favorite chips off the shelf, walking up to the counter at a nearby convenience store. Even though she is way past the nausea stage in her pregnancy, she still has a strong craving for the salty snack. Her phone rings and she places it up to her ear while multitasking and paying for her things.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT ALONE?!" Téa yells into her ear, causing Mana to flinch from the loud tone of her voice.
"Aw come on Téa. I tried waking you up but you're such a heavy sleeper," Mana whines. "I'm headed back now."
"YOU'D BETTER BE!"
Mana hangs up her phone. "Sheesh." Her ear is still ringing from Téa's loud voice a few moments ago. But she knows Téa is right. It's late and it's best that she gets home soon. Her cravings were just too strong that she couldn't resist. She leaves the convenience store and begins to walk down the sidewalk carrying her bag of goodies. It has never bothered her before that she is alone, but she finds herself slowly regretting her decision to leave the house alone at night. If something were to go down right now, she would be helpless.
She sighs. "Stay positive, Mana," she says to herself. She looks up to the orange colored lights that guide her down the path. At least the sidewalk isn't too dark, she thinks to herself. Her gaze slowly sets back to the path in front of her and she stops abruptly. A white light shines at a further distance and she squints her eyes. As the light becomes brighter, she hears a slow galloping noise and her heart drops.
"Don't tell me…"
A neigh echoes through the empty streets and the galloping sound becomes faster and faster until she can make out the source. Valkyrie Brunhilde. Her sword is held high, preparing to swipe down. Without thinking, Mana whips out her wand to intercept the swipe and she grits her teeth, trying to hold the maiden's sword back. There is a cracking noise and Mana looks at her wand in horror.
"Oh no…" The sword manages to swipe all the way down, breaking her wand in half and she quickly moves back in time to avoid the sharp sword. She feels a twinge in her lower abdomen and places a hand on that same area. "That did it."
The maiden lets out a battle cry, about to attack once more. "DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" A large blast blows the Valkyrie away and Mana gasps. Could it be?
"Atem?" she calls out before shortly coming to a realization that his voice sounds different. At that moment, a red Dark Magician swoops by and stands protectively in front of her. She looks over her shoulder to see Arcana walking up to her and she sighs in relief.
"What are you doing out here?" he asks.
Mana turns her head back to the Valkyrie who turns into a ball of light, about to make her regular escape. "Arcana, have your Dark Magician follow that light!"
Arcana looks at her questionably for a brief moment before nodding. "Go Dark Magician!" he commands and the Dark Magician obeys.
"I'm right behind you," she tells Arcana who runs forward.
Arcana and his Dark Magician follow closely behind the beam of light for two blocks until it abruptly turns a corner into an alleyway. Arcana sees a dark figure standing in front of a brick wall and they place their hand a metal ladder leading to the roof. As they attempt to escape, Arcana outstretches his hand, causing an aura to appear around the attacker, freezing them in place.
"You won't escape," Arcana says, cautiously walking up to the dark figure whose face is hidden by the darkness. As he gets closer, he notices long pink locs of hair, a burgundy colored suit and a rose logo on the left side of their chest. He gasps lightly. "So it is you…"
Another neigh sounds through the air to his surprise and he whips around just in time to use his magic to block Valkyrie Dritte from attacking. "When did he summon another…?" He quickly looks over his shoulder, seeing the stranger already halfway up the ladder. But because he is occupied with shielding himself from the second maiden's attack, he cannot stop him and soon, they have escaped for good. Once they are no longer in sight, the maiden disappears in a ball of light, following the trail of its master.
Mana finally comes around the corner, panting and leaning on the nearby brick wall. "What did I miss?"
"Well it looks like your suspicions were correct," Arcana says. His Dark Magician bows before disappearing.
"You mean…?"
"Yes. That was Ziegfried and his maidens," he tells her. "I saw him with my own eyes."
Mana slams her fist into her palm. "But we still have no proof." She sucks her teeth in frustration. Yet another day has gone by where Arcana is able to get away with his shenanigans. She is getting tired of his random appearances and clearly he is after her and the others for trying to expose him for who he really is.
"You need to come up with a plan," Arcana says with his arms folded. "Otherwise, this is going to continue."
"What, you mean like a setup?" Mana asks before tapping her finger on her chin. "I'll come up with something I'm sure. Do you mind being on standby?"
"It's no problem with me," Arcana replies with a shrug and she grins mischievously.
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"WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU?!" Téa screams at the top of her lungs with her arms clenched tightly at her sides. Mana eagerly takes out the bag of chips she just bought and starts stuffing her face as Téa continues to scold her for being out so late and alone at that. "I WAS WORRIED SICK!"
"Okay, mom," Mana grumbles with food in her mouth.
Téa takes a deep breath to regain her composure. "No but seriously, what took you so long?" She looks over to the plastic bag that hangs on Mana's arm and notices two pieces of her wand sitting side by side. "What happened to your wand?! Don't tell me you got in some sort of trouble?!"
"It just kind of happened Téa, but I'm alright," she assures her. "Luckily Arcana was there to help and he walked me home."
"What exactly happened?"
"Ziegfried."
Téa's eyes go big. "He's at it again?"
"Yeah and quite frankly, I'm sick of it. But I have a plan. I just need to talk it over with Atem and Kaiba first…" She cringes, feeling a contraction shoot through her lower abdomen. This one is more intense than the ones she's felt in the past, causing her to place a hand on the wall to keep her balance.
"Another contraction?" Téa asks.
"Yeah…that one nearly took my breath away just now. I'm gonna go lay down."
"I think that would be best."
Mana slowly makes her way up the stairs with one hand holding onto her stomach and the other hand gripping the rail. When she finally reaches the top, her phone rings and she sighs, knowing it is Atem wanting to video chat. She manages to put on a straight face before answering. The screen shows him looking off into another direction as he appears to be walking through a busy airport.
"Hey!" she greets, bringing his attention to the phone. "What's up?"
"Just letting you know that I'm about to board the plane now," he tells her over the sound of the various conversations and mumblings of the countless people around him. "Should be there by the time you wake up hopefully."
"Oh that's great," Mana sighs.
"How are things on your end?"
"Peachy!" she blurts out. She decides to wait to tell him about her run in with Ziegfried.
Atem raises an eyebrow. He can see sweat beginning to form on her forehead and she isn't walking upright. "Are you alright?"
"Oh yes! Everything is…" She blows out some air, stopping at the doorway of their bedroom as another contraction hits. It is at this moment that she realizes that laying on the bed isn't going to cut it. "I'm gonna take a bath."
"Mana…" Immediately the worst comes to mind. Something is wrong. Is she having those contractions now? Is it time? Panic slowly begins to set in. He's thousands of miles away and there's no possible way that he can get there any faster.
"Atem?" she says, noticing that he has become silent and his face looks a little pale.
"Are you in labor?"
"I don't think so," she replies.
"How close are the contra—"
She lets out a loud groan with her eyes shut. "Not quite five minutes yet, so we're in the clear!" she exclaims, trying to remain optimistic.
"I knew shouldn't have left."
"Just have a safe flight, okay? This could be a false alarm, ya know?" She walks into the bathroom and turns on the bath water. "I feel better already knowing how amazing this water is gonna feel."
Atem feels completely helpless. There is absolutely nothing he can do except board the plane and hope that she doesn't have the baby yet. The last thing he wants to do is be there for her and miss such a life changing moment. He walks through the gate alongside Yugi until they finally board and sit down in their seats.
He takes a long deep sigh to keep himself calm. "If things progress quickly, then have Téa take you to the hospital at once."
"Of course. Try not to worry okay? Have a safe flight and I'll see you when you get here."
She hangs up the phone, undressing and slowly lowering herself in the tub. She breathes a sigh of relief and begins to focus on her breathing. Since the contractions aren't close enough yet, there is no need to go to the hospital. At this point, the only thing she needs to do is monitor herself.
Looking down to her stomach, she gives it a light poke. "You stay put, your hear me? Wait just a little bit longer."
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Another chapter done. Is it a false alarm, or is the big day here? Leave a review!