AnimeKiwi369: Okay, so this didn't get as much attention as I hoped. But it's understandable. It is kind of melancholy, since the first chapter preceded Akiza's leaving in "Psychic Connections". And some people may not like non-next-generation OCs. Or prefer their own. Oh, well. I hope that whoever is reading this is enjoying it.

Thank you to: DGMSilverAirHead and PDS for reviewing.

Anyways, here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy whoever's reading. :)

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or its characters. I just own the story line and my OCs, who are only Anny and Dove in this one.

Through Bird's Eyes

Chapter 2

Dove couldn't believe it. Akiza, her best friend, had left. She had just got up in the middle of the night and left Yusei and their daughter, Anny, who was only a year old. The psychic had had a duel the day she left and during the final attack, her powers had started running rampant. She hadn't intentionally used her powers, but they still hurt her opponent. She had looked so scared after the duel. Her baby had also been scared, but silent. The psychic's husband had been the only one able to calm her down.

But the burgundy-haired woman was too afraid of her powers running wild again and hurting someone she cared about. So she left. She had left all of them and left a void in each of their lives. Especially for her husband and child. And for the bird-named woman as well. The blonde still couldn't believe it. Her powers had never run rampant since her days as The Black Rose. It didn't make any sense. Why would her powers just decide to go wild now when she was the happiest she'd ever been?

The green-eyed woman had taken what her friend said all those months ago to heart about being a second mother to the baby of the two Signers. She'd spent a lot of her free time helping the female Signer when she was having trouble with the baby and the cobalt-eyed man wasn't available. The baby had come to be very comfortable with the blonde. And for now, the blond was satisfied acting as a second mother to the brown-eyed baby.

She had also decided to talk to her boyfriend about her desire to be a mother. Crow had been surprised at how much she wanted to be a mother and said he wanted to have a family with her and only her. But he had also told her he would rather be married when they had a family, and that he wasn't sure he was ready to take that big of a step even though he loved her with everything.

She had told him she understood and that she wasn't going to leave him, knowing he'd be ready when she was. She wasn't completely sure if she was ready for marriage either. He had also told her, however, that he wasn't going to stop loving her and promised to try and get them on the way to marriage when he could. That he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her even if they weren't married. She agreed.

They had also decided to curb their physical relationship for a while. That way they could stay with each other, and they didn't have to worry about possibly getting pregnant. Because they had both agreed that even if they wanted to be parents, becoming them out of wedlock wasn't the best idea. They probably wouldn't enjoy it as much since they would be concerned with getting married. Since they had decided to put away their sex life all those months ago, they had actually felt closer and had been happier.

Dove snapped out of her thoughts as she pulled into the driveway of the Fudo residence. Since Akiza left a few days ago, no one had really seen hide or hair of Yusei. He had called to let the others know she left and that he wasn't going to be available for a while. He had said he needed to quell his emotions before returning back to work. No one had seen him since. And the blonde was concerned for him and Anny.

She got out of the car and headed up to the steps and lightly knocked on the door. She waited for several minutes without a response. The blonde put a hand on the doorknob and twisted it, finding it unlocked. She opened the front door a little, peaking inside. It was dark in the house, but she could hear the baby crying upstairs. The green-eyed woman quietly slipped into the house, shutting the door, beginning to head up the stairs.

"Anny, please stop crying," she heard Yusei beg as she reached the top of the stairs. The blonde had never heard him use that tone of voice before, "Daddy's here. Please, Anny."

She stopped in front of the Signer's bedroom door. Anny was crying hard. The bird-named woman heard another sound from inside the bedroom from the cobalt-eyed man. He was choking back sobs as he tried comforting his baby girl. It really sounded like he was struggling. Dove took a deep breath and tapped on the door of the bedroom before cracking it open. She looked inside.

"Yusei?" She asked, but didn't get a response. She opened the door a little more, "It's me, Dove. I came to check up on you." She still didn't get a response from him and opened the door all the way, looking inside.

"Dove," he whispered, looking at her.

The blonde looked over him and to the baby, who was still crying, but now crying quietly. Yusei was a mess. An absolute mess. His hair was disheveled and his sleep shirt and boxers rumpled. He wasn't even dressed. There were dark circles under his eyes and worry in them; he didn't look like he'd slept in a while either. The green-eyed woman also noticed that there were some tear stains that were dried on his cheeks. There was a thin layer of stubble on his face as well, indicating he hadn't showered or shaved in a couple of days. There was something else he was clutching in his left hand as well. He held baby Anny, who was obviously a wreck; she still had tear coming from her eyes.

Then she noticed the red wine bottle on the bedside table. It was a little more than half empty. She noticed that the room smelled a little like the wine; not much, but it still made her stomach turn.

"Yusei?" She asked in surprise, "Have you been drinking?"

He glanced at the bottle, collapsing on the bed. He put the baby on the bed and put his head in his hands, "I know it was a bad idea, but I couldn't help it."

"Have you been drinking wine this entire time?"

He shook his head, "I tried to last night. But it just started giving me a headache after a couple of hours. And I had to take care of Anny. It just made me sick knowing I couldn't take care of Anny if I was drunk, and I just couldn't stomach any more wine. So I stopped before I got drunk. I couldn't. Not if I wanted to take care of Anny," He gave a hollow laugh. "What kind of father am I? Trying to get drunk to forget and try to take care of a child? I must be the worst father in the world. I can't even take care of myself."

The blonde looked sympathetically at him as she went and sat on the bed next to him. She put her arm around him, "No, Yusei, you're not."

"I just feel so lost. I don't understand why she left," he said, repressing a sob. "I could have helped her."

She rubbed his arm, ignoring the extremely small tinge of wine on his breath, "I don't understand it either, Yusei. But you have to be strong."

He looked at her, "I know. But I'm not sure I can do this by myself. I was able to keep from drinking too much, yes, but that was because I had to think of Anny."

"That's the first step," she told him, squeezing his upper arm. "And you won't be doing this by yourself, Yusei." He looked over at her, "Because you have me. Yusei, Akiza was my best friend. Her leaving really hurts, I know. But all of us—me, Crow, Jack, Bruno, the twins, everyone—we're here for you. And I'll help as much I possibly can with Anny."

"Dove…" he trailed off.

She smiled gently at him, "Besides, you and I both know that Akiza only left to protect us. Especially you and Anny."

He sighed, unclenching his left hand, revealing his wife's locket, "I know, Dove. She loved me and Anny more than anything and hated seeing either of us hurt. Even when Anny was colicky, she hated seeing her like that. I just wish I could have been able to convince her otherwise."

She squeezed his arm again, "All of us know, Yusei. But you just have to raise Anny with all the love you can and hope that Akiza comes back someday. Raise Anny like you and Akiza planned to." She smiled at him softly again, "Sound like a plan?"

He nodded slowly. He grabbed his daughter and put her in his lap, putting his forehead against hers, a tear escaping his eye, "Anny, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to be good father to you these last couple of days. I promise I'm going to love and raise with everything I have."

The baby had stopped whimpering and cooed a little as if understanding. The dark-haired man hugged her tightly against his chest, placing a kiss on her forehead. Dove smiled at them; she did miss her best friend. But she still had to live like her friend would have wanted her to. And have her husband and daughter live the same way as well. The blonde stood up and took the baby from him.

"Yusei," she said, "I'm going to help you until you feel you're back to normal, okay?"

He nodded, "Thank you."

"Let's start by getting you in the shower," she ordered. "I'll take care of Anny for a few hours while you clean up and get in a nap. You look exhausted," she looked at the baby. "Anny does, too."

"I don't think either of us has slept for three days," he commented, getting up. "She just wouldn't stop crying. And she just didn't want to eat. I finally got her to eat something last night, though. After I stopped drinking."

"All right," the green-eyed woman replied. "I'll wash and change and feed Anny while you shower. Then the both of you are going to take a nap while I clean up the house for you. After you wake up, I'll make you something to eat, Yusei. That sound all right?"

He nodded, "Thank you, Dove."

She smiled, "No problem, Yusei."

The blonde grabbed a fresh set of clothes for the baby as the Signer headed into the bathroom. She went into the bathroom of Anny's eventual bedroom and grabbed the baby soap before going down to the kitchen. She filled up the sink as she pulled off the baby's clothing. The green-eyed woman placed the infant in the water, briefly remembering when she had helped Akiza wash the baby just a couple months ago. The baby whimpered again, catching her attention. She looked at the dark-haired baby.

"I'll be here for you, Anny," she told her, drying her teary eyes. "I know I can't replace her, but I'll be a surrogate mother to you." She shook her head, "No. I can't exactly be that. I'll be your aunt." The blonde smiled, rubbing the baby's cheek, "Just call me Aunty Dove."

A Few Hours Later

Dove silently closed the door to Yusei's bedroom as she finished placing a basket of clean laundry at the foot of the bed. The dark-haired man was fast asleep on top of the bed after having taken a shower. His daughter was lying on top of his chest, also fast asleep. After washing, changing, and dressing, she took a brief break from the baby, setting her in a sling-like carrier, and went up to the bedroom. She had quickly changed the bed sheets, cleared the wine bottle from the room, and lit a few scented candles to get rid of the faint smell of alcohol. It was working well.

Afterwards she had gone back down the stairs and fed the baby, who was anxious as she was moved around. After finishing with the baby, who was being cooperative with eating and wasn't being messy, the blonde had taken her back upstairs to settle her down for a nap. The Signer had been finishing up his shower. He was still exhausted though.

So the bird-named woman had decided to help him out some more. She had gathered up the laundry that had to be done and taken it out of the room. The blonde had let the cobalt-eyed duelist sleep while she took care of the laundry, dusting, dishes, and general cleaning. She'd also gotten the mail and sorted out and paid bills. She had called Crow a while ago and asked him to stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things after he got off work. The green-eyed woman had also told him the state his friend was in when she found him.

She had then told him to bring it the groceries to the Fudo residence, so the bird-named couple could make something for Yusei to eat when he woke up. She answered the door as the ginger-haired man knocked rather loudly. She pulled him in, taking one of the grocery bags, leading him into the kitchen.

"He was in pretty bad shape, huh?" The gray-eyed Signer asked as they set the grocery bags on the counter in the kitchen.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I wish we had come to check on him earlier."

He sighed as well, "Yeah, me too. It was a mistake for all of us to ignore the hurt he was experiencing. We should have come by after he called."

She smiled sadly, "We should have. We can make up for it now. I say that we get everyone together tomorrow to show him we're all here for him."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," he agreed. "Just like the idea to make him dinner and spending the evening with him."

"I thought so," she smiled.

Crow placed his hands on her waist, pulling her to him, and kissed her lips briefly. He pulled away with a light smile, "Let's get that dinner ready for Yusei."

Another Couple of Hours Later

Yusei stirred in his sleep, slowly waking up. There was a small weight on his chest, but he knew it wasn't Akiza. He let his eyes open gradually, letting them adjust to the darkness of the room. He looked up at the weight on his chest and let himself smile a little. The Signer lifted his hand and gently rubbed Anny's back in circles, carefully waking the baby in the process. He carefully held her to his chest as he sat up. She smiled up at him as he cradled her in his arms. She looked like she had gotten the rest she needed. He placed a light kiss on her forehead as she nuzzled his chest.

"Hey, Anny," he told her softly.

He looked over at the clock, finding it past six in the evening. Dove had come by around ten that day. After she had taken his daughter downstairs, he'd gone into the bathroom to clean himself up from his mess of a self. He'd showered, shaved the stubble off his face, put on clean clothes, and washed out the taste and hopefully the smell of alcohol from his breath. He'd almost trimmed his hair, but didn't think he could do it as well as his wife use to.

But he looked like his normal self and felt more hopeful than he had that morning. Especially after the sleep he'd just gotten. Crow's girlfriend had really helped.

The cobalt-eyed duelist slowly swung his legs over the bed and stood up. He looked at his baby girl and smiled softly at her, "You hungry, Anny?"

She made one of her baby sounds, answering his question.

"Let's get you something to eat, then," he told her, walking from the bedroom down the stairs.

The lights in the house were on and there was a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Was Dove still there? That would be really nice if she had. Wait, she had said she was going to make him something to eat when he got up. He went into the kitchen, seeing both the blonde woman and ginger-haired Signer. Both looked over at him as he stood in the kitchen doorway.

"You're looking much better, Yusei," the green-eyed woman commented. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," he told her. "Thanks to you."

"It's good to see ya, buddy," Crow said. "Hope you're hungry."

"Starving," he replied, "but you guys didn't have to go to this much trouble."

"We really don't mind, Yusei," the blonde responded.

"We wanted to do this, Yus," the ginger added. "We're here for you."

"You guys…" the dark-haired man trailed off. "Thank you so much."

"It's not problem," the couple told him in unison.

"I think what we made is just what you need," his childhood friend commented. He came over to him and bent down slightly to look eye level with the baby. He grinned, "And I'm sure this little gal is hungry, too. What do ya say, little bird? What your Uncle Crow to feed you?"

The baby blinked and turned into her father, "W…an…t…. P…a…pa."

Yusei blinked as he looked down at her, "Anny?"

She made a baby sound as she looked up, "Pa…pa…"

He smiled softly and hugged her lightly, "That's right." He looked at his friends, who were also smiling softly at the baby, "I should feed her. Sorry about that, Crow."

The said man shrugged, "She's your kid." He grinned, "Besides, I'll get plenty of other chances to feed her for ya. Just promise me that."

The dark-haired man nodded, "Sure."

Later that Night

Anny slept soundly in her father's arms as it neared nine that night. Crow and Dove had stayed and had dinner with them and helped to clean up dishes. They had told him they had set up for the others to get together to show the dark-haired Signer that they were there for him. The couple was getting ready to leave, though. The baby didn't stir as he walked with his friends to the door.

"I really appreciate you guys coming over here," he told them again.

"I was no problem, Yusei," Crow insisted. "You're our friend."

The dark-haired man turned to the blonde woman, "I'm really glad you came today. You really helped me out." He stepped towards her and embraced her, careful of his daughter, "Thank you, Dove. For everything you've done."

She smiled and returned the gesture, "You're welcome, Yusei. I'm here for you if you need anything."

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied as the two pulled away from the embrace. "It's getting late. You two should head home."

"All right, Yus," the ginger told him. "But don't hesitate to call us or the others for anything, okay?"

"Okay, Crow," he reassured. "'Night guys."

"'Night, Yusei," the bird-named couple said simultaneously as they left.

The cobalt-eyed man waved to his friends as the ginger got on his runner and the blonde got into her car and they pulled away, heading back to their apartment. He closed the door and looked back down to his daughter. She was still sleeping soundly in his arms. He lightly kissed her forehead before heading up the stairs. He set her down in her crib gently, pulling the covers around her.

Yusei rubbed her head and kissed it again, "I love you, Anny." He looked over at his wife's locket sitting on the bedside table, "I still love you, Akiza."

AnimeKiwi369: I thought it would be a good idea to show how bad a state Yusei was in after Akiza left. He may be tough, but even he'd be a mess after his wife left. So that made this chapter very melancholy. :(

The next chapter will also be like the rest of the story. Nothing really looks up until the last chapter sadly. :(

But things do get better! :)

Anyway, please be kind and please review! I'll try to update this soon for those of you who are reading. :)