Introduction

Yusei Fudo. A person with the uncanny ability to bring people together. It is said that it only takes one person to change the world, but those kinds of people are one in a million. This is why the devil wanted to add the soul of Yusei Fudo to his collection. First he unleashed the damned soul of Damian the bad, a demonic turbo duelist with the power of Exodia at his command. To save his friends from an eternity of damnation that they didn't deserve, Yusei faced Damian in a deadly duel on Hell's Highway and barely got out alive. The devil was about to claim Yusei's soul anyway, but then the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael intervened, saying that God wouldn't allow the boy's soul to be taken. Yusei was returned to our world with no recollection of having been in Hell, and was quickly rushed to the hospital by his friends. The next day he and Akiza confessed their true feelings for each other.

Two years later Yusei and Akiza were and engaged and made arrangements to be married. Knowing that such a bond of love would shield Yusei from his influence forever, the devil sent his minion, the demon lord Drakonadon. But Drakonadon could not return to the world of men unless the five fragments of his medallion of power, which had millennia ago been scattered across the Earth, were brought together. Drakonadon dispatched his dragon servants to retrieve the fragments, one of which had accidentally been picked up by Leo, who attempted to destroy it. In order to protect it, Drakonadon had the medallion fragment bond itself to Leo's body. While Yusei and the other signers fought against Drakonadon's minions, Leo battled the demon that was trying to take over his body. When Drakonadon regained his earthly body he engaged Yusei in a deadly duel with the fiercest monster he had ever seen, Aggemoah the Destroyer. During the duel Jack had been mortally wounded by falling debris, only to be miraculously healed by someone whom Yusei and friends still have a hard time believing who he had to be. Despite the impossible odds Yusei was able to come out on top. Drakonadon was forced to return to Hell empty handed, Yusei and Akiza could now be married in peace, and Leo had been given a unique gift by the man who saved Jack, what appeared to be nothing more than an ornate piece of wood with Leo's name on it, or is it?

"I really hate this mark."

Yusei Fudo was referring to the mark on his cheek. It made him very distinctive even when wearing a disguise, so he needed a jacket with a collar big enough to hide that portion of his face. Why was he wearing a disguise in the first place? He didn't want to draw attention to himself or what he was doing. A few months ago he and Akiza were married, and the headline of the day was, "Black Rose and Shooting Star." So now he and Akiza were trying to keep what they were doing a secret…. for as long as possible.

"Luckily this is probably the one place in the city where those vultures aren't looking for me."

Yusei had come alone to public library looking for information that would help him with his next big opponent. He was about to face something scarier than dark signers, damned souls back from the grave, dragons, or demon lords… he was facing the concept of parenthood.

Not long ago Akiza told Yusei that she wanted a baby, not just to fulfill her own parents' wishes for grandchildren, but because she wanted a child of her own. Yusei wasn't sure he was ready to be a father, he never even knew his own parents, he was also raised in an orphanage and spent most of his life on the streets, but Martha had told him before he got married that a man had to put his wife before himself, so Yusei agreed that they would try. For awhile he had been worried that someone had recognized him when he went in disguise to purchase some home pregnancy tests, but so far the only things that had made the news was that some esteemed scientist had been murdered, and that there had been a break-in at the impound center.

"Now let's see here… This looks like a good one."

Yusei sat down with a book titled, "The Principles of Fatherhood." He also took out a small notepad to jot things down.

"Love: A father must give of himself."

Yusei had put his life on the line, among other things, for his friends on more than one occasion. This wouldn't be a problem.

"Nurture: Children must learn from their parents, and parents must oversee their children when raising them. Discipline: Some people think it simply means punishing their children when they do something bad, but it really means teach and prepare. Commitment and responsibility?"

Yusei felt his wedding ring underneath his glove. Commitment wasn't going to be an issue. And when it came to responsibility, he had the fate of the world on his shoulders before.

"Closeness: Fathers must bond with their kids. And Consistency: Parents must establish a routine of being with their children, having time together as a family."

Before Yusei read anymore he could feel his phone vibrating.

"Oh my gosh! She's ready to do the test! I better hurry home!"

Yusei left the library and went somewhere he could change out of his disguise. He didn't need it if he was just going home. When he was done he went outside and pulled out a remote from his jacket. He had reprogrammed his runner's auto-pilot so that it could come and pick him up by itself if he ever needed it to. It arrived in about five minutes.

"Better not be late." he thought as he drove his runner through the city streets "I know what she's like when she's angry."

As a wedding present, Akiza's parents had bought them a reasonably priced penthouse apartment in a nice neighborhood. Yusei always took his runner with him to the top floor because he didn't like leaving it in the complex's parking garage if there was the slightest chance it could get vandalized or stolen. After it was locked safely inside his own garage he went in to join Akiza.

"Hi honey, I'm home."

"Yusei, get in here quick!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

Yusei knew the drill. If the thing changed color, then Akiza had a little Yusei or a little Akiza inside of her. For some reason Akiza seemed to be hesitating.

"It's okay… the third time's the charm." he said.

They waited a whole five minutes, but nothing happened.

"Of course I could be wrong." he thought.

"Why? Why isn't it working?" she asked as tears started to form in her eyes.

Yusei knew how much Akiza wanted a child. A few weeks ago they had gone to the doctor to see what the problem was, but they said there was nothing wrong with her. Obviously they just weren't doing something right. At first Yusei thought Akiza would hesitate before the idea of starting a family because of her own bad experiences. But eventually he could tell that she was determined not to repeat the mistakes of her parents. If she could work past her own experiences, then surely Yusei could make due even though he didn't know much about being a father.

"It's okay." he said giving her hug "We'll get it eventually. We'll try again tonight."

There was always something about Yusei that just made Akiza feel better. It was one of the reasons she married him.

"Yes… We'll try again."

(To be continued)

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"3rd time's the charm, or not" illustration