DIMENSION: MANGA (The One that Saves the Day)
Jounouchi's House
Jounouchi sat in the middle of the living room, trying to come to grip with reality. Shizuka was safely back home with Honda. She was healthy, but there was nothing that could be done this time. Meanwhile, Mai sat across from him. She brought out some cards to the coffee table between them. "I'm not in the mood, Mai. At all."
"You have one more Harpy." Mai looked at the table. "Jounouchi. I need to tell you."
"There was a clearly not from Japan guy sent to shoot up Honda's place, those human trafficker allies might still be out there, and my sister is coming to terms with never seeing again. It's really not the day to find out about this." Did she have to? Now? This is when she wanted to get a grip on it all and share the truth?
"I need to tell you. Pick up your cards and be the man I know." She took a small breath. "You didn't take your Time Wizard back last time."
"Keep the Time Wizard," Jounouchi said. "I can't concentrate, just keep my card and give me the blasted Harpy in exchange and tell me." He didn't expect her to make the trade. She'd been fighting tooth and nail against him, trying to keep the Harpies. To keep the truth. If she caved for the Time Wizard, then it was time. Whether it was the day he wanted to know or not.
Mai pulled out her last Harpy. She gave it to him. "Do you remember when we first dueled?" she asked. "I had used aromatics to guess what my cards had been. I made others think I was psychic. It threw everyone off."
"Yeah," Jounouchi said, "I sure do. Wouldn't work even two seconds anymore, everybody was using that tactic after awhile."
"I am now." Her eyes linked to his across the table. "I am having dreams."
Dreams? "What kind of dreams, Mai?"
"You're it, Jounouchi." She finally admitted it. "I didn't need the dreams to tell me that. You were the only one I'd been with. I guess it was a slow year, too much concentrating on the deck."
So. Whoah. "A little Jounouchi." He watched her pull out a nearby journal he hadn't even noticed next to her. "What's that?"
"A journal of time when it started." She opened it for him. "The first time I had the dream, was the morning I met you again. I couldn't believe it all," she admitted. "Not for two seconds. I thought it was just fake. The notes get better as time progresses. The beginning is just what I remember after the fact."
Jounouchi read about it. "A blonde haired girl in the hospital with me and Yuugi? You dreamt about the gender?"
"I." She gestured to the journal. "Every night, like clockwork. At first, I thought maybe it was nerves getting to me. It shouldn't have been, it wasn't the first time I'd been reckless."
"We'd been reckless," he corrected her. "Yeah, but I always tried to do you right." He kept reading through it. "Okay. This is getting kind of specific, Mai." The next page he opened had a sonogram in it. "Oh. Hey there. You." Jounouchi knew what it had been, but he couldn't see much in it. It was all kinds of weird shapes and blobs.
"It's a girl," Mai confirmed. "I dreamed of her name too. You say it every time I dream, holding her. It scares me so much, I just might change it. Anyhow." She looked down at her cards. "That time, with Marik. I think."
"Yeah. Maybe it gave you some insight or something." Jounouchi placed it down. "I believe you, and it's fine. It doesn't matter. Only that . . . that it's mine." Great. "So?"
"I've been putting the more exciting duels on the backburner. I probably should for a little while," Mai said. "I just couldn't keep it to myself, even though I know you've heard the psychic nonsense before. Too many times. It's just absolute cliche how many times it became used but it is the truth. I didn't want you to think any less of me."
"I never would. You went through something crazy back there with Marik." Being eaten alive in twenty four hours. The sensation of pain with those brain eating insects, and the pain she felt when she fought Marik. All of it. Jounouchi picked up the sonogram again. ///Jounouchi: I can do this. I can do better than my old man, I know I can. I can pay for the schooling. Make sure she has lots of friends. She's gonna be happy, she'll have a happy life./// "Can I come to the next appointment?" He gestured to the sonogram. "That alright?"
"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm sure Mana Kujaku would like it."
Wait. "Mana?"
"I know, it's a weird name." She picked her cards back up.
Mana. "So you like, you dreamed it all?" Jounouchi picked up the journal again and started concentrating like he was back in school and needed to cram for a test. Too freaking weird. "So, you like, uh? This was all the dream?" //Jounouchi: Oh great, she's got description?/// "Oh, well, okay. Two Yuugi's and two Anzu's. Yeah. She got uh, what? Mana, what color eyes?"
"Your interested? So you do believe me?" Mai looked like she was so relieved. "I'm so glad, Jounouchi." She put down her cards and pressed her hands together.
"Yeah." Jounouchi reached out for her hands. "I definitely do. Eye color?"
"I don't . . . it doesn't work like that," Mai said. "Truth is, I've had multiple dreams. Everything is similar, but her appearance kept changing. Most of the time she is a beautiful brunette with darker, more intense blue eyes." She smiled at him. "I guess. The hell I went through with Marik was good for something after all."
"Brunette for the hair? Really?"
"I know what you are thinking," she said. "Two blondes don't equal a brunette baby. I'm not a sciencey person, but I did look into it, and I know that it would be . . . look, I'm serious, I wasn't with anybody else!"
Oh. Oh! ///Jounouchi: Mai is terrified I won't believe that it's mine if it does end up like her dream. With brunette hair. That's why she's been holding back. Stupid science facts./// "No, yeah, no, I believe you." Jounouchi agreed. "I believe you, I don't doubt you, Mai." He nodded with certainty. "She's mine. Brunette or not." So. ///Jounouchi: Okay. So. Comfort and tend to Mai for a little while. Then um? Gonna call up Yuugi./// He tried to smile. ///Jounouchi: But, man, I am freaking out right now. I never dreamed she actually stayed away from everyone! I thought I'd have one or two to worry about and figure out. I'm a hundred percent? She's been more loyal than she ever let on. Shit.///
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Yuugi's House
Destiny stretched her paws out as she traversed the house. Her footsteps gently pranced across the wooden floor as she heard sounds from her owners. She stopped to lick her front paw near the door. She looked at the door and meowed. Her human was punctual in feeding her, but she could tell it was past her feeding time. She scratched on the door and meowed again. She was rewarded this time with her human opening the door. Her hair was a mess and she looked upset. "Mrowr."
Her human ignored her, but muttered in an argument about something to herself. She disappeared into her room. "Mrowr." Destiny waited by that door as the secondary human came out of the room.
" . . . here kitty." He walked toward the kitchen.
"Mrowr?" Would someone feed her already? She headed toward the table. She was always fed under the table while her owner ate but the second human was actually getting her food. "Mrowr."
"It's okay, good kitty," the secondary human said. "I'll get you fed, and then you can settle for a nice nap somewhere."
That person had a good idea. Napping was always a perfect pasttime. "Mrowr." He was feeding her today too. That was unusual. This human must be starting to become a permanent human of hers as well. She rubbed up on him as he brought his food down to her.
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