Title: Birthday Present
Characters: Yuuki Shinobu (OC), Yuuki Masami (OC), Juudai, Yubel||Ship: Yubel x Juudai (very mild)
Genre: Family, Romance||Rated: G
Chapter: 1-1||Words: 1,500
Challenges: Diversity Writing: Yubel x Juudai: C13, K rated; GXMonth day #1 "Game on!"
Notes: It's always been my headcanon that Juudai received Yubel's card on his sixth birthday. So, here we are.
Summary: Juudai is six years old. Time to get some presents - and one particular present that will change his life for all time. Or maybe just continue one from long ago.

Juudai wriggled in his chair, trying not to get too excited. Of course, Juudai's "not too excited" tended to be other people's "already bouncing off the walls". About all he could do was not run to the window to stare out again, waiting for the slightest sign that his dad had finally gotten back home.

Yuuki Masami peered into the dining room, lips quirking at the sight of her only son doing his very best to behave himself. All of that pent-up energy would have to go somewhere, she suspected. She would count them lucky if the cake survived five minutes after Juudai saw it. He might not mean to but he hadn't meant to destroy his fifth birthday cake, either.

Shinobu called her only a few minutes earlier; thankfully Juudai had been so wrapped up in whatever game he'd been playing that he'd not noticed it. He hadn't mentioned what he'd bought for Juudai, only that it seemed the perfect gift for him. Masami looked forward to finding out herself. They'd both spent so long looking for something for him and not finding anything that would interest their son.

Juudai shouldn't be that hard to shop for. He liked almost anything and everything. He'd even shown a particular interest in dueling, starting to learn to read so he could read the cards. She hadn't had much interest in it herself; nor did her husband. But it could make for an interesting hobby in the future.

But despite having so many interests, nothing that they'd seen really seemed like the gift for him. She suspected that Shinobu had bought some cards, if nothing else. They'd agreed on that much. It was locating a card shop that was the difficult part. After the last few years and the way that Duel Monsters spread around the globe, those were getting easier to find. But one hadn't yet sprouted in their neighborhood just yet.

She ducked back into the kitchen to check on dinner. Tonight was sukiyaki; Juudai never complained about any food they set before him but sukiyaki had to be one of his favorites.

The front door opened and she glanced back again to see Shinobu entering, already removing his jacket. Juudai bounced out of his chair as soon as his father was in sight, tiny body wriggling all over.

"Dad!" He squealed. "You made it!"

"Of course I did," Shinobu smiled a little wearily as he patted his son on the head. "You're being good for your mother, aren't you?"

"Sure am!" Juudai flashed a brilliant smile and Masami chuckled.

"He's been a good boy. He hasn't gotten into any trouble at all today." Which was true. He'd stuck close to their home; which he tended to do anyway. Sometimes she wondered if the other children in the area didn't like him for some reason. There wasn't any reason they should feel like that. Juudai was like a miniature sun, bringing light and life to everyone who knew him.

But there were moments – there were always moments when Juudai struck her as different. They seemed to crop up the most often when he watched duels. Just a few days earlier they'd been out walking and he'd suddenly spied two people dueling in a park. Masami allowed him to watch, insisting that he do so quietly. For the most part he had – until midway through the duel he'd started waving to what was only empty air.

She'd asked what – or who – he waved at and the answer floored her.

"Don't you see him, Mama?" Juudai jabbed his finger at the spot he stared at. "It's the Flame Knight!"

She stared and stared and saw noting at all. Then she glanced down and held back a sigh. Oh. That was it. One of the duelists did something and summoned a monster called Killer the Flame Knight and Juudai pretended that he could see it. That was all.

That duelist ended up wining the battle, and Juudai happily squealed the whole time before she guided him home, feeling that he was a little overstimulated by it. He'd babbled for another hour or so before wandering off into the back garden to nap under a tree and have whatever dreams an excitable young boy would have.

Shinobu nodded, coming into the dining room to settle down. "Good to hear it. That means after dinner, I've got a surprise for you."

Juudai squealed, eyes going round and wide in delight. He reached for his dad's hand and squeezed tightly. "After dinner? Can't I have it now? Please?"

"After dinner." Masami assured him. "You don't want to get distracted and forget to eat, do you?"

Truth to tell, Masami doubted that Juudai would ever forget to eat in his entire life. He devoured food at a rate that she'd never seen before – not that she'd ever had any other children to see. The few other children she'd seen didn't eat quite so much. But Juudai always cleaned his plate, sometimes twice per meal.

When she returned to the workplace, she would have to ensure whoever she hired to tend to Juudai knew about his appetite. She looked forward to that; she'd always enjoyed working before she got married, and she'd done her best to keep up with the latest innovations in her field. She would be able to find work again. She hoped.

Just as she thought, Juudai settled down to eat and cleared off two full servings in record time. His eyes kept darting over to his father the whole time, until he'd finally devoured every scrap of food and devoted a whole five minutes to staring wistfully.

Shinobu chuckled, more of his good humor restored by having had dinner. He pulled a small package from his pocket and set it on the table before him. "There. What do you think?"

Juudai tackled the package, tearing it open and squealing when half a dozen card packs tumbled down, shining and bright. He started to reach for one, but Shinobu stopped him.

"Before you do that, there's one more thing." He reached into his pocket again. This time it was a single card that he set before Juudai, wrapped in a light covering of paper.

Juudai peeled the paper back and stared at the card, his eyes going upwards for a few moments, then back down. He frowned as he carefully read the word.

"Yubel."

Shinobu nodded. "I bought it just for you." He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. He glanced over at Masami instead, and she spied the worry flickering through his eyes. As Juudai started to open up the other card packs, he shifted closer to her and whispered, "The card just appeared on my desk. I'd walked away to get some papers and when I came back it was there. And I knew – it was for Juudai." He shook his head. "No one else at work got it. No one came in. It was just there."

Both of them glanced at Juudai, who had set the Yubel card on his lap as he opened the packs. Every now and then he glanced down at it and smiled, a blinding expression unlike anything Masami had ever seen on him before. Once in a while, one hand brushed down across the card ever so gently. There were even moments when he raised his head to stare at a spot next to him. It reminded her far too much of that time days earlier.

But surely it was just because of how new the card was and how young Juudai was. It would end with time.

Yubel gently ran their fingers over Juudai's sleeping face. At long last – after far too long – they'd found him again. From the moment their eyes met, Yubel could feel the great love they'd always had for him rise up in their heart. It glowed inside of Juudai's as well – they could see it whenever he looked at them.

It had been so long. He'd died and they had been alone for so very long, torn from their body, no one able to see or hear them in the mortal realm. And now their soul was bound to such a flimsy card.

They understood something of the game that involved the card, and the power that it granted unto them remained what they'd taken on for Juudai's defense. If that was how the battles of this time were to be fought, then so be it. Yubel would defend him in this as they defended him in all else.

There would be those who would attempt to separate them. There always were. But they would not succeed. Yubel wouldn't allow it.

They'd waited for thousands of years to reunite with Juudai. Now that they had, they would never separate from him again. Yubel anticipated the day he would truly remember them.

They curled one wing around him and whispered softly, "Happy birthday, my beloved Juudai."

Notes: Sukiyaki is several different ingredients, usually things like beef and vegetables, grilled together with sauce and then dipped in beaten egg before being eaten.