V.E.: Well, I I will probably update Mummy Reborn next week.

This idea I once wondered whether I should make this a side chapter in BEC. It strikes me as a better idea to have this as a separate one shot.

I just hope to get this done.


Mahad had to wonder how on earth did he get into this situation.

Ishizu Ishtar, the person he had been crushing on since high school and was too scared to ask out, was now on the other side of the table looking through her menu. Her green dress seemed to fit her incredible well, simple yet elegant. The Millennium Necklace glimmered gold and was the only jewelry she had on tonight.

He was both thrilled and terrified.

It was somewhat sad that his sister had to be the one to get him a date. He was going to strangle her when this was all over.

At the very least, she had very good taste in restaurants(though he had to wonder where she got the reservations). The Four Seasons was elegant to say the least, dark toned walls with dim lighting. The tables were pure black covered with white tablecloths. Small white candles lit up the center of the two's table. The music was classical piano, giving a very romantic appeal.

The waiter, a blonde woman in a ponytail came over with her pad. She wore black pants, a black vest, and a long sleeved white shirt.

"Can I get you anything to start?"

Ishizu looked up from her menu and glanced at Mahad.

"I think I know what I want. How about you?"

Mahad nodded then turned to the waitress.

"Alright. I'll have some water to start and then I'll have the sirloin, medium rare."

Mahad then handed over his menu which the waitress took. Then she turned to Ishizu.

"And you maam?"

Ishizu handed over the menu after glancing at it once more.

"I'll have the Chardonnay and the Cesar salad with the light vinaigrette dressing."

The waitress nodded and left the couple alone once more.

Mahad smiled slightly.

"Still a vegetarian I see."

Ishizu returned the smile.

"Yes I am. Mana says you stay away from alcohol. I guess that's true."

Mahad grimaced.

"Yeah. Let's just say, I had an experience in college that made me swear off alcohol."

Ishizu looked at Mahad confused.

"I expect that kind of a story out of Marik, not you."

Mahad nodded as the drinks arrived. The waitress quickly disappeared as she noticed the two were in conversation.

"How are your brothers doing anyway?"

Ishizu shrugged as she took a sip of the white wine.

"Odion is fine. Marik, on the other hand…."

"Born trouble maker?"

"I have no idea where he gets it from. What about Mana and your parents?"

Mahad took a deep breath before continuing.

"Well Mana is still pranking me to embarrassment."

Ishizu chuckled slightly.

"Like that time you caught on fire during that duel monsters tournament."

Mahad sighed as he shook his head.

"I still can't believe she has pictures of that. How did she get camera at those times? And my mom and Mana are on the same page for once."

"How so?"

"Their exact words are: 'Go out! Have fun! Get a girlfriend!' Although my mother also says 'I want grandchildren!' Honestly, it's scary to see them agreeing with each other. So how's the store?"

Ishizu winced slightly.

"Things could be better."

Mahad understood immediately.

"How bad is it?"

"Bad enough that I have to accept design commissions for Regina."

Mahad grimaced.

"After all I've heard about her, I'm surprised no one hasn't stabbed her in the back yet. But it's too bad that's all you're doing with your fashion talents. Speaking of which, I'm not going to get an angry lecture from my mother about letting Mana wearing something inappropriate, am I?"

Ishizu grimaced.

"Well, from your mother's point of view…"

Mahad deadpanned.

"I'm screwed, aren't I?"

"Yes you are. So how's work for you?"

Mahad waved his hand, as if banishing the topic.

"Don't ask me that."

"Why not?"

Mahad gave a strained smile.

"Because then I'm going to spend the whole night talking about it. And this is the most I've ever gotten to talk to you, in I don't know how long we've known each other."

Ishizu smiled, remembering exactly.

"Sophomore year of high school."

Mahad shook his head slightly.

"Man, things have changed since then. I still remember Mr. Yoshimori introducing you in homeroom. You were so calm compared to the kids who transferred in."

Ishizu smiled as she recalled something else.

"I remember that. I also remember a boy I sat next to during World History who always knew the answer to just about any question. And who also stuttered whenever I tried to talk to him."

Mahad laughed slightly, remembering his blunder.

"Hey it was a very awkward time of my life, Ms. Perfect. I had no idea how to talk to girls back then, matter of fact I still don't."

Ishizu's eyebrows arched questioningly.

"Ms. Perfect?"

Mahad nodded.

"I can't recall a time you never lost your cool, you always knew the answers, and never lost a race on field day."

Ishizu laughed slightly.

"That's not true. Or have you forgotten Home Economics?"

Mahad blanked for a moment before laughing.

"Oh yeah. I still can't believe they had to call the fire department."

Ishizu grimaced.

"I know. After that, I was officially banned from the home kitchen by Odion. In case I repeated what happened at school."

"Did your cooking skills improve while I went to college and therefore don't know about?"

Ishizu managed a half shrug.

"Sort of, but Odion still watches me like a hawk when I try to and Marik always pokes it first. Though come to think of it, if it weren't for my bad cooking skills we wouldn't have become friends."

Mahad shook his head fondly.

"I remember. I had forgotten my binder and I saw you trying to chop up some onions, rather badly by the way."

Ishizu nodded.

"And then you came over. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Mahad shrugged.

"I don't remember that. You looked like you always did."

"I thought I was alone and you just showed up out of nowhere. It was the first time you had ever really talked to me. And your first words were; 'Step away from that knife before you hurt yourself! You're doing it wrong!' You took the knife from my hands and then chopped it up perfectly."

Mahad gave a pleading puppy dog look.

"You had cuts on your hands, remember? And then I had to get out the first aid kit."

"I remember, I remember. You were the only guy that got straight A's in Cooking. Question, how did you learn to cook anyway?"

Mahad smiled, reliving a very nice memory.

"You know my dad's a chef right? When I was in seventh grade, my dad was going out of town for a couple of days. About a month before that actually happened, he woke me up on a Saturday and told me I was going to get a crash course in cooking."

"Why did he do that?"

"Because it was either I learned how to cook or I would eat my mom's food. And since Mana inherited my mother's cooking skills, you should have a good idea what her skills are like."

Ishizu grimaced as she remembered the cookies Mana made for her once. They were hard as rocks and sent Marik in for a trip to the dentist(to which her brother complained that all the girls he knew couldn't cook).

Mahad then continued with the conversation.

"Anyway after that, I was in charge of helping dad get ready for dinner. He said it would be good for my bachelor years; 'No girl can resist a man who can cook.' When I told him I wanted to go to Egypt one day, the next morning he started to teach me how to make Egyptian food. 'If you're going to go there, than you need to know what the food is going to be like.' ."

Ishizu's eyes lit up in understanding.

"So that's how you knew how to make Koshary and Om Ali!"

"Yeah. I still remembered when Marik decided to taste my Koshary when I came over to your house. It was like I was at a duelist tournament and I had the Three Egyptian God cards in my deck!"

Ishizu then chuckled uneasily as she remembered that after Mahad had left the house, her younger brother had jokingly given her permission to date Mahad.

So long as he cooks this for me every day!

Mahad chuckled, his voice became softer.

"Oh man, I had such a huge crush on you back then."

Ishizu stuttered on the wine she had just about to sip. She put it down.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this?"

Mahad grimaced as he realized he said all this out loud. For a moment, he seemed like he wasn't going to say anything. Finally, he broke the silence.

"I can't count the many times I wanted to ask you out, but failed. Like I said, I'm not exactly the best with girls."

Plus, I can hardly say Odion intimidates me. That'd be saying I still like her.

You do still like her you moron.

Mahad nervously muffled his hair, having said his piece.

It might have been an awkward silence for the rest of the night, but it was at that time the food arrived. So the two dug into their dinner, nervous and taking great pains not to look at each other.

Finally, the dinner was over and the bill was paid. As the two walked out of the restaurant, Mahad decided to break the silence.

"So do you need a ride? It's no problem."

Ishizu nodded.

"Thank you, I would love one."

Mahad suddenly felt his inner voice(much like Mana's) urging him on to what he also wanted to ask.

"Um, I know this isn't exactly ideal, heck this is really awkward, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab coffee tomorrow? I mean, if…"

Ishizu smiled, stopping Mahad's stutter. Her hand somehow slipped into his own

"I'd love to."

Mahad reminded himself to thank Mana and at the same time cursed himself that she was right.


V.E.: Again, I feel this could be better. Then again, it is readable so that's good.

Note: Koshary and Om Ali are Egyptian dishes. Koshary is Marik's favorite food and Om Ali is Ishizu's favorite. I thought it might be a good idea to throw that in.

I don't know why, but I see Ishizu as a bad cook just as much as I see Mai being a bad driver. I guess it's good to give characters some real flaws. That way, they don't turn into Mary Sues.

All I know is a guy that can cook certainly appeals to me(if you hand't guessed I'm a girl by now, I question your intelligence).

Please Review.