This took longer than I predicted, but Minuet is back and we're on the last stretch of the story! I had to move into a new place and settling everything took a long time! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 35: A speck of happiness

The galloping leaves a trail of sand behind Edo's mount, his eyes looking around sharply, a bunch of trees, spotting a rocky formation nearby, he darts towards it, pulling the leash of the animal and petting it, dropping off.

Behind it, he found Ryo sitting atop a smaller rock, Rie sat beside him, her hair making a curtain on the sides of her face, a lowered head, Ryo's hand stationed on her back, his eyes blinking to the newcomer.

"Did you see anything?"

"Yeah, a mansion, not far from here."

"A whole mansion?" his tone is a tad alarmed, in disbelief. "Empty?"

"Conveniently so, probably abandoned by whoever was fleeing the war, it seemed well maintained, so I can bet they left not long ago…"

"Met any troops on the way?"

"No, for some reason our monster encounters have dropped, I wonder why?" putting a hand to his chin, he sighs. "But this region seems far enough that they haven't come here yet…"

"How long?"

"An hour with the mount, though, in our current state," he glances over at the girl who can't even lift her head. "I think we should go slowly."

It's not only her, both him and Ryo have those deep lines under their eyes, their clothes all dusted and dirty from the traveling around for relentless, harsh days, not to say some tears here and there while they rode through some trees, being slapped by branches. On top of being tired, Rie is sickly.

"Do you think we can set up there, scout the surroundings?"

Ryo stands up, his hand coming around her shoulder, helping her up as he looks at Edo.

"Yeah, we should."

Rie gets a hold on his hand, her face still feverish, her gaze lost onto the trails of footsteps on the ground, swept away by the wind making clouds of dust.

Climbing his own mount, Ryo helps Rie up, she sits at the front. Pulling the hood over her head, he starts the journey, her body wiggling as he whips the leash onto the animal.

Through the forest, the landscape is the same, the wreckages of an old village on the way, an empty spot, the green of the leaves and the murky sky were the only scene as they galloped.

The fact there aren't other people nearby tells them all the tales they could ask for, besides the lack of other duelists and even of those duel monsters who belong to the enemy's army.

For the most part, the trip is silent, but that too isn't a good sign as the contents of wars and duels would be noisy and hectic, while this utter calmness implies people are either dead or away from these lands.

At last, amidst the woods, they find a large three-story mansion whose ceiling was triangular, made of red tiles, just as described by Edo, its walls free from the vines creeping at the entrance, a large door with a circular golden handle hanging onto the mouth of a golden lion-shaped head.

"Really?" Ryo stops his mount, taking a peek around. "You couldn't go more movie-alike with a mansion in the woods than this…"

"It's just an old-style building."

As they drop off form the mount, a cold wind blows, Rie walks on her own, at sluggish steps. The interior is bigger than the outside let on, many empty rooms on both the lower and upper floors. It has usable light, they conclude after flipping a switch, and also usable water as it ran out the tap at the sink of the kitchen in the lower floor.

They exchange glances, exploring the rooms in the long corridors which mostly consist of empty beds, some of them dusted and covered in rags, other rooms were more well kept. At the kitchen, there's a small eating table, besides some bathrooms, vacant storage rooms and even a piano, there's a large and fancy dining room with a table worthy of a king, whoever lived here had to be wealthy, a pity it's all wasted.

The area around the mansion doesn't consist only of woods, there's a large fenced backyard; to the left of it, inside its breadth there's a small hot spring, also fenced and enclosed in its own space by wooden stakes and a shabby, cracked wooden door.

"Now, I didn't expect that, in this world, this is like a five star hotel," Edo whistled.

"Look, there's also a well," Ryo pointed at the right.

White bricks formed the top of the circular structure, a mechanism with a bucket attached hung from the wooden pole and structure arching over the opening of the well.

"Seems like we found our base to perch on," Edo nodded in admiration. "I wonder what drove the residents away…"

Back into the mansion, they braved the upmost floor: paired with a couple rooms, there's by far the largest room of the mansion, a church of sorts, lines of benches stacked on each side and an altar all the way across from the door.

"I'm taking this place," Ryo declared, giving no leeway for negotiation.

"Fine by me, but the lowest floor is mine, then," he shrugged off. "The lady is free to be wherever she wants, though."

"You heard him, Rie."

She jolted at their stares, smiling wryly, so out of energy they exchanged a glance, with concerned brows. Ryo's eyes squinted sharply as he gazed at the girl, Edo tapped his forehead in a troubled fashion.

"I'll take another look on the surroundings, and prepare a room for myself. We should first rest, then talk, what do you say?"

"Sounds good to me."

He left so seamlessly they didn't even hear the door closing. She was startled at the thuds of steps drawing closer.

"We have some time now, Rie, is there something you'd like to do?"

Tugging her shirt closer, bending her neck down, she smelled it, wrinkling her nose, turning around and closing her hands with her thumbs sticking out, moving it up and down in front of her torso.

"Bath."

He gaped amusedly, with an "Oh".

At the backyard,

Rie's clothes were dropped off haphazardly on the moist soil with moss growing at some parts, she sat inside the small pool of hot water that could easily fit five or six people in, the water level was high enough to cover up a bit above the starting line of her neck. The steam coming out fogged her vicinity, but it still provided a great night sight.

The walls made of wooden stakes left no peeping holes, and they were too talk and spiky to be jumped over, whoever planned this knew how to keep their privacy. She flinched when the wooden door creaked open, using both arms to shield her torso while sinking more into the pool.

"It's just me," Ryo said with a faint smile. "I brought some towels."

He scoffed at the fact he was holding clean bed sheets rather than actual towels, hanging them over the small wooden bench outside the pool.

"May I join?"

Blushing automatically at his boldness, she nodded shyly, her hair flinging down, floating at the surface of the water. It didn't take long until she heard the sound of his clothes shuffling, tossed and plopped somewhere near hers, the water was agitated as he entered the pool, placing his duel disk at disposal on the very edge of it.

"If anything happens. I can quickly grab it with my hand."

Not taking the embarrassment any longer, she whirled around, the water rippling with a swash as she questioned, gesturing letter by letter:

"Edo?"

"Don't worry, he's not as tactless as to barge in at any moment, the kid is more considerate than you think," he joked only half-way, his tone indicating he did trust that statement. "Besides, we agreed to do turns, he'll have his rest after he comes back."

Her shoulders relaxed as she sighed in deep relief, but she turned around again, he raised a brow, for some reason, Rie's been avoiding looking into his face the whole way.

He slouched, supporting his back against the pebble borders of the hot spring, the water barely tickled his chest line, but it was just enough to wrap his tired muscles in warmth.

If he did anything to incur her ire, he has no idea what it was this time, he thought while looking up to the sky, watching the steam clouds fly up, disappearing into the night.

"It's been a while we didn't stop to rest like this," he initiated, rolling the wet tips of her hair around his finger, twiddling with it. "It's been such a rush and constant battles, but we need to settle down and plan our next moves too. Also, your health doesn't seem the greatest lately…"

Her eyes squeezed in guilt, for she knows why she's been sick, yet she wouldn't disclose it to him. Albeit it wasn't his fault or did nothing wrong, she couldn't come to tell him, not in this place.

"I hope you'll feel better after cleaning yourself," he tapped her shoulders, speaking closer to her ear, leaning on, his chest brushing against her skin underwater. "I find this place rather refreshing," with gentle moves, he combed the strands of her hair with gentle moves, and proficiently so as to not leave any knots.

A faint, but peaceful smile sprouted on his lips, even at dire moments like this, he found her company comforting, that's why he wanted to do his best to take care of her here too. Closing his eyes, he leaned onwards, enveloping her in an embrace, his torso mantling her whole back as his arms came over her figure, his chin hovering over her shoulder.

"We'll get out of this hole as soon as possible, Rie… Don't be sad."

His body was pushed away when she finally shifted around, face-to-face with him, her expression ridden with affliction, a flickering glint in her eyes. The emotions welling inside her imploded, she suddenly brought him close, wrapping her arms around his silhouette tightly, her forehead nesting onto his shoulder.

Her nails almost sunk into his nape as she curled her hands, pressing herself more against him, her body shook a bit, not from the cold shock of temperature between outside air and the warm waters, but anxiety.

"Rie… I know we haven't spent much time together like this, but once this is over, I promise," he corresponded to that embrace tenderly, caressing her head, delivering a peck to her cheek, increasing the heat on her face. "I'll take a good break from the pro-leagues and we can spend as much time together as we want."

Glancing at him, her head slowly broke apart from his body as her eyes perked up with hopes.

"I'm serious," he assured, stroking her face with a delicate touch.

She was in a daze for a moment, ensnared by his eyes, but when he planted a kiss on her forehead, she flinched, her figure shriveling. She reciprocated him, smooching his shoulder bone, then bouncing backwards.

"I think I've had enough of the waters, I feel much better now," he stood up, water cascading down his body and splashing back into the fountain. "Someone has to keep a watch for anything suspicious," he declared, wrapping himself in a cloth and drying out his body.

Rie's eyes wavered then, she refused to look into his eyes for long, turning away.

Whatever is bothering her isn't settled yet.

He huffed while dressing up, as he bent down and stretched to take his coat that was stacked over her clothes, he grabbed her skirt along, dropping it after realizing the mistake, but something fell off her pockets, a medicine bottle.

Rie's mind had drifted so far she paid no attention to him at all, he gawked in awe, picking up that bottle, casting a narrowed glance over his shoulder, analyzing it.

Is she taking antidepressants again?

His mouth curved down, he remembered what happened the last time she had medicines prescribed and he thought that she'd never want to see pills again ever in her life, but this…

They're just vitamins?

The label was half ripped and faded on some parts, the bottle seems to have gone through as much of a journey as she did. His eyes widened as he read more oscillating widely, noticing the small figure drawn there of a woman with a bump on her belly, his hand unwittingly clutching around the object, his palm swallowing it, gulping hoarsely.

Those aren't common vitamins, are they?

He left before she noticed anything was happening, unaware of his sentience about the subject.

That same night,

On the first floor…

Rie slammed the door of the church open noisily, her gaze roaming everywhere, stopping by the path ahead. Ryo sat at the first bench, in front of the altar, there, instead of religious symbols, a scroll was hung, one with Cyber End portrayed in it.

She's been desperately searching for it, that bottle, where could it have fallen? She was certain she had it before. Pursing her lips, she looked around at the pace she walked, to the benches, the ground underneath it, then, she looked behind the altar, tilting herself on both sides, as she rushed past him, his earnest, echoing voice stopped her on her tracks:

"Are you searching for this, Rie?"

Pulling out the medicine bottle from his pocket, he stretched his arms to show it from the side, her face filling in dread, her feet skidding back as she swallowed dryly.

His bangs swung when he turned his narrowed, indignant gaze at her, asking in a collected tone. "Is this what you've been searching for the past hour?"

Her shoes crackled at some grainy rocks on the ground, she approached very slowly, sitting down, her hands flattening her tights as she twiddled with her fingers above them, her head lowered.

"Can you explain this to me?" he slapped the bottle onto the bench, between them, urging in an exigent tone.

Sending a glance at him, her face paler than ever, her eyes had such a vague, terrified stare, for how long has she been fearing, postponing this moment? He shifted on his seat, to the side, scowling.

"Vitamins for pregnancy, really?" he swiped his temples with fingers, cooling himself off. "How long?"

Her mouth opened wide, trembling at the prospect of that talk, but she could not avoid it anymore, she moved on her seat too, to have a more intimate conversation, looking into his face.

Raising her hands, she held an open palm, then lifted the other three fingers. He gasped at the numbers, but she shook her head in denial as she corrected herself, opening both palms wide.

"Ten weeks… Three months?!" he assessed so quickly she was flabbergasted. "This long?!" exhaling in exasperation and nervousness blended in, his heart was stirred.

We have been for two weeks already, is this why she mistook the count?

"And when did you intend to tell me? Surely not when your belly is bulging out?"

The last sentence was more a desperate attempt of his to save the trust he had that she'd include him in such important matters, a tornado of emotions ravaging his thoughts and emotions, savagely throwing it around, all over the place.

I can't believe it… me? A father?

There was this encompassing panic growing in his eyes, an internal scream piercing his insides, his heartbeat at a thousand as he imagined that sight of Rie holding a baby in her arms, beaming with alacrity, the prospect was so enthralling, but so unbelievable too.

"Before. Here." she gestured to his previous question, snapping him out of his stun.

He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, confused, until a shard of memory resurfaced into his mind.

"Don't tell me that was… Back when I asked you to move in with me and you said you had something to tell me too?"

She nodded abashed, her eyes tearing so much he could see them glimmering from the sides, she contained some sniffles. He averted his gaze, clutching his knees with both hands.

His eyes faltered aplenty, brimming with expectations. His kid? He'd never thought of how that would be, but it doesn't sound bad. An ill timing for sure, however has he ever gotten the "right" timing for anything in his life? It wasn't the timing that mattered in the end, it was always… How the situation turned out to be and despite all the hardships, can he say he didn't live a happy life with Rie?

He cherished all those recollections, of her smile and of the time they spent together.

"Since when did you know it?" his frustration dwindled.

"Month."

"Since a month ago?! Wait, that's even around the time of your duel with Edo, have you known since then?"

Her firm, but dispirited nod was enough of an answer. To think she was feeling unwell due to a pregnancy and not a sickness.

"And it never crossed your head to tell me about it before the duel academy?"

"Wait. Perfect. Time." she explained, her hands quivered at each sign, it was difficult for him to watch. "Perfect. Time. Never."

She's been chasing the perfect opportunity, worrying about how Ryo would react, what he'd think and how this would impact his health. He was the same, always trying to reach perfection in a sense, and he hid the truth from her about his heart condition for a long time.

"Rie, why did you keep it from me like a secret?" he stood up, coming in front of her, his fists clenched in a ball as he looked down to match her gaze's height, she bit her lips distressed.

It was a rhetorical question, it was never about whether she trusted him or not, given the situation, that they could die at any moment if they lose a duel or for not overcoming the adversities of the terrain in this world, plus there are his health issues. He understands it all too well.

Why would she pile up such a revelation in his mind when he's dealing with so many problems at once? She was frightened it would strain his heart and probably she had her own fears regarding the fact she'd become a mother too.

Rie never had a normal family to begin with, how would she go about raising her own? She had so many problems in the past too, and he can't fathom how hard it must've been coming to this dark, murky world all alone, in this condition…

"I know what you are thinking," he squatted down a bit, siding his hand onto her cheek, his brows twirling up with compassion. "But this isn't a problem, Rie. I would never think of having a kid with you as a taboo, it won't ruin the fact that this is good news, not even when we are here, in this world."

Her lips unglued her hands both coating his, a weight lifted off her mind, just at that one sentence, tears poured down. Much to her surprise, his cloak flapped when he sat closer, by her side, enveloping her in an embrace. Her fingers clamped his overcoat as she cried in his chest, he caressed her head again, a soothing touch.

"There's no such thing as a perfect time in life, Rie," his gaze trailed off at one of the benches. "But haven't we always tried our best? Of course I'm not leaving you alone in this."

Reeling her head back, she wiped her tears with a few moves of her arm.

"I would never…"

He sent back those words down his throat, pulling her into another hug. Closing her eyes restfully, her hands clung to him, the mood of the room attenuating as the tension dispelled.

"I want to do this with you, but for that, I need you to be strong too, and tell me if there's anything I can help you with," holding her by the arms, in a solemn tone, he asked. "Will you do that for me?"

Affirming with a sway of her head, she sought strength in his gaze, there was something serene about his posture, an affectionate glisten in his orbs as though he was again burning her face into his memory.

"Do you know the gender yet?"

She wobbled her hands, denying a tad flustered, he crossed his arms, a pinch of dismay leaking into his sigh.

"I guess it's too early" a tiny smile flashed on his lips. "But I'm looking forward to finding all this out with you, when we come back to our world."

Even at moments like this, Ryo still tried to reassure her, ashamed of herself for even doubting whether telling all this to him or not was a good decision, she took his hand, holding it kindly, brushing her finger onto his, spreading her warmth to him.

"How do you feel about this, Rie?"

"Scared."

Gliding her hands up her face, she messed her bangs a tad, fidgeting, no wonder she was a pile of nerves recently, but she chose to keep it from him for that time.

"It's fine even if you are afraid, I don't think anyone isn't at first," he caressed the top of her head. "But I believe you're more than fit to love someone and help them to become a good person."

Rie was befuddled, repeating that sentence in her mind. His face melded into a smile as he yanked her close, showering her with kisses on her nape, face and finishing with a smooch to her lips. She flushed at the sudden outburst of love, Ryo was so euphoric about it that her insides became all fuzzy.

He pressed his lips against her the last time, letting out a happy moan. "I'd spend the whole night here with you, but I think you've had enough for the day, you should sleep."

To that she answered with an embrace, snuggling onto his chest even more than before, he let out a heartfelt chuckle, his chest puffing up and moving her head along.

His lips couldn't stay still, that smile kept coming back to his face, a new emotion swelling inside his chest, rising a turmoil, a cozy feeling that awakened this will inside him, to do even better for her and take extra care of her too. It's unlike him to be so sappy, but he couldn't help himself and bask in some happiness for the moment being.

"I'm glad you're here with me, Rie," he gazed at her belly affectionately, retconning. "You both, I mean."

A new horde of thoughts intruded his mind, like how he never told his family about Rie and now, suddenly there's a baby involved. Has he ever introduced her as his girlfriend to Shou? No, she's more than his girlfriend now, she agreed to move in with him, that makes her much more than that.

Fubuki would tease him to death. What about Judai and the others? What would they think? And what about the media? He doesn't want them sniffing out that he's having a child so early, it could be truly annoying if they'd pounce at it and not let him enjoy this moment without news about him every week.

He cupped his mouth as blood seethed inside him, he can't wrap his head around it yet, but as an adult, isn't his job to advance in life while dealing with all circumstances?

Ever since before he came to this world, he's been pondering about death and how it would be to not exist. What would happen to Rie? How would she feel about it? What about his family or friends? But right now, as he observed this girl mantled under his arms, thinking of the life she's carrying inside her, all those thoughts became so unappealing.

He cannot imagine a world in which he'd leave Rie alone, by herself with his kid. Instead, he wanted to think about how he'd live, what he'd do after they're out of this hell hole, his career, how it'd be living together with Rie and… How would having a new member in the family change all that? Would this child take after him or after her? And was she thinking the same too? There were so many questions to be asked.

A couple hours later,

Ryo slowly closed the door, casting a last glance at Rie, covered under the old blankets of the house, sleeping on the second floor, in one of the many bedrooms. He closed the door without a sound. His shoulders tensed at the footsteps drawing closer.

"Did our princess sleep?"

"Yeah," he replied so zestless, Edo had to raise a brow.

"Do you want to stay up for now or should I?"

Ryo's eyes flickered so briefly, Edo wondered if he saw an illusion. Something's been different about him ever since he came back, but he can't quite put his finger on it.

"I can't sleep."

"This again? Fine," he grumbled. "I found some tea leaves in the storage room, would you like some tea?"

Gaping a bit surprised at the invitation, Ryo stood there awkwardly. The scene changes to both of them sitting across from each other, at the small dining table for the servants, is what they concluded after a bit of discussion. The cups of tea in front of each of them were steaming hot, Ryo stared idly at his reflection on the slightly brown water in there.

"On your exploration, did you find anything interesting?"

His question came as a surprise, as both of them have been sitting around for about ten minutes before he even said a word, Edo took that as a sign none of them is sleeping today, giving his summary:

"I've met some soldiers. Two of them to be exact, low-level. Nothing else worth mentioning."

"Were they from the same army as before?"

"Possibly, but they were talking about someone called 'Haou', a 'supreme' king."

"A king, huh?" he pondered with a hand to his chin. "This world does have medieval aspects, so I'm not too shocked. But that means they're dabbing into this territory to conquer it now… Was there anything else?"

"Yes, it's the most important part, and this worries me… They've taunted me, saying my D-Heroes are no match to the Evil Heroes of their king."

"Evil Heroes?" his eyes squinted distrustfully. "Never heard of it before. Did you know about those?"

"So you haven't heard about them either," he sighed, disappointed, folding his arms while lightly kicking the tip of his boots against the feet of the table. "I was hoping you would have, since this seems like something you'd find underground."

"I'm not partaking in the underground duels anymore," he admitted nonchalantly. "Besides, you're the master Hero user here, there's no way you wouldn't be aware of it, right?"

"You're right, but… I had hopes at least someone would know it…"

"Who do you suppose this king is? To be waging war… And trying to conquer this whole world. Is he an outsider from another dimension like the other humans we met, or is he… A duel monster?"

"I don't know, but I don't like how he has this 'new' card type. And I dislike even more the concept of Heroes being evil…"

"Evil Heroes… I wonder how they'd fare against your D-Heroes."

"My fingers are itching to duel him too, but as it is, we haven't even found out the identity of this mysterious king and we don't have much information to go by."

"Were those soldiers nearby?"

"A bit far from here, but close enough for discomfort."

"Were they patrolling the borders of this region or were they coming directly into it?"

"I believe they were scouting this area."

"If you've killed them, it's possible they'll send more to investigate what happened, we should be able to gather more info by then…"

"Making the right questions, huh? Actually, this is great, we should leave some trails leading here, keep the lights of the mansion on, use it as bait, they oughta come and check it," he crafted the plan masterfully, in a second.

"Sounds like a fine plan to me."

His orbs sharpened determined. "I don't know who this king is, but he's not getting away with it."

Ryo shared the stark determination to get to the bottom of the issues revolving around this world. This spark of life that blew into him upon finding about his child, it hardened his will to live and return to their home. However, there's an inkling, ominous feeling churning in his stomach.

Haou… Who are you?