Winning Without Gods (A Yu-Gi-Oh Fanfiction)DONE!

Chapter 9: Awkward Romantic Breakfast

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, give me the blasted Harpy 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 dreamed 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."