Disclaimer: I know nothing, I have nothing. I am scum beneath creator of Yu-gi-oh's shoes.

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I stood from the balcony, watching down onto the duel below. Leaning forward over the railing, I could just see Mai's cards. Another Harpy Lady. Good. This would be over soon, and I could congratulate her on her second soul. She's make quota soon enough, and then she wouldn't be just an apprentice. She'd be one of us, full-fledged. Master Dartz was right. She was one touched by the Oreichalkos all right.

Wheeler, the runt, was rambling again. Something about friendship. Like I cared. The Doma were all I needed. All that she needed.

I remembered the night that she had arrived at the temple. I was supposed to be off with Raphael, but I had hidden to see what Master Dartz was up to with this girl. Maybe she was more than that. She had looked older.

"I see you've come. I was expecting you."

"Expecting me? How?"

"They all come to me, in the end. You never want to go back, either."

"But...I don't understand!"

"I can see it all in your eyes."

"I...I loved him. I loved him and faced that place for him, and he was willing to trash his own soul for me, but...no hug, no kiss, barely a good-bye! Maybe I pushed him away. Maybe it was my fault. But I loved him, and now...all that's left is pain. I...don't want to feel that anymore."

She collapsed onto the stone, crying desolately. My heart went out to her. I wanted to know who it was, to beat the bloody bastard. She was too beautiful to cry like that. But Master Dartz wouldn't ask. I almost wanted to hurt him then. He was feeding off her pain. Drinking it in. But he was the master. It wasn't my place.

"Are you ready to be one of us? To never feel this pain again?"

My heart was beating rapidly. One of us? If only!

A nod of a head.

"Yes, anything!"

The burning touch of the Oreichalkos stone. And then – I saw that pain was gone. Master Dartz did not turn around, but called out:

"Well, Valon, ready to meet the newest member of the Doma?"

I stepped out of the shadows fearfully, disguising my face to seem tough and suave. Would he be angry? But no. He was smirking as he presented her.

Her eyes were somehow colder, uninhibited – just like I felt. Strong. Immortal. After the touch of the stone, that was how it always was. You were invincible.

"Meet Mai Valentine."

I snapped out of my reverie as Raphael muttered in my ear, "It doesn't matter whether she wins or loses now. We'll still have another soul for the quota."

I turned to him incredulously, staring into his eyes. Had they always been so unfeeling?

"She's one of us. You can't just leave her!"

"Watch me. This is a sealed duel, Valon. She's not getting out unless he does."

"Then that runt better lose. He's such a hack, I bet she'll have him cleaned up in five minutes tops."

It was more to reassure myself. He wasn't the runner-up at Duelist Kingdom and Battle City finalist for nothing. But then again, she wasn't either.

She'd told me about how she'd gone through tournaments faster than some people went through socks after Battle City. But those tournaments were easy. Chumps fighting chumps for a few five-star monsters. Stupid.

"I did it to prove something to myself. I...I can't remember what now."

I didn't push her. It was obvious this was something buried by the Oreichalkos stone. It had buried things for me too. Not that I remembered, either. And I didn't want to.

"That idiotic bloke, squirming like a worm in a hole," I sniggered. "Probably can't play another hand to save his life."

I hated him. I knew, deep down, that this was what the stone had buried. That she had loved him, and he had thrown her away like she was worthless.

Worthless? She was priceless.

The duel dragged on. Thankfully, it looked like Wheeler was barely holding his own. A play here, a close scrape there. And Raphael didn't say anything more.

But slowly, as Wheeler began to eat away her life points, she began to shake. To fade. The stone was wearing off somehow. Or maybe her resolve was weakening.

"I can save us both, Mai! C'mon, just, lemme help ya...Ya mean so much to me, Mai..." his annoyingly waspish voice, with silly accent said, almost pleadingly. I almost had to admit – he sounded like he cared. Really.

"Good acting skills, you bloody tosser," I muttered under my breath. "Not going to help you win this duel, though."

"I – I'm not going to lose! I can't lose, because losing means it's all coming back. And it's not coming back – " she said, drawing another card and strengthening her shaking limbs. "Not so long as there is breath in my body."

"But, Mai...We was friends, Mai..."

"We were never friends, you bastard! We were never anything! You are my enemy! So prepare to lose your soul!"

But the next card wasn't helping. And then –

"I don't need you! I can win! I...I can't lose...Or else..."

I barely heard her last words through the tears, through her whispers.

"That's it!" I said finally, angry.

"You're not going to interfere, Valon. Master Dartz needs a soul. He'll take yours if he doesn't get one from this duel."

"Like I give a damn." I was already climbing over the railing. There was only one way to stop this duel before she got hurt. I had to get her out of there.

I flung myself over the edge, and I knew that I was flying.

There was a collective gasp from below, and I knew it was probably an impressive picture – a British biker in Doma armor, diving flat-faced down into a duel that stole souls. But I had to do it. So long as I was here – it wouldn't have her.

"I unseal this duel by the stone of Oreichalkos!"

The ring began to burn, sizzle, and then in a bright haze of green-blue light and gray, heavy smoke, exploded. I hit the ground, hard, my head spinning and clouded with an aching pain. But I heard her body thud against the opposite wall. Crawling through the smoke, I felt around for her duel disk, deck, her garter – anything that would show me where she was.

There! She herself, passed out cold, a nasty cut forming on her head. Blood was seeping through to her blonde hairline, but it was her skin that terrified me. It was ice, like a river stream, devoid of any warmth. Desperately, I gathered her to me, holding her for warmth. She was too cold. Her body was sagging, and I felt sure she was dead. I pressed my face into her hair, brushing her lips with mine.

"So you blew our chances of getting the soul so you could play the hero and save some girl?"

I was sick of this posing bastard. He didn't understand what I felt; how could he! Maybe the stone had taken too much from him. Too much from both of them. But he wasn't going to insult her again!

"She's not just some girl," I snapped angrily, supporting her limp head with a gently cradling hand. I glared into his eyes, daring him to take her.

Yes, just as I thought. His eyes were too blue. Too cold. Too frozen.

As I looked into his face, I suddenly realized the smoke had cleared. The runt was trying to get up; his little friends were cooing over him like mother hens.

Pathetic.

"Mai," he said, stumbling forward on mincing knees, reaching out a hand. "I was gonna save us both, you an' me..."

"Save it," I yelled. "She doesn't need you. We're all she needs."

"Say what?!" yelped the runt, trying in vain to stand. "I'll – "

"Hey, guys, the bars are going up! We're free!"

I felt Raphael's eyes on me. Time to go. And what a lovely distraction. We'd be able to make it to the bikes parked out back before they even blinked.

I stood, ignoring the screaming pain in my tendon where I had hit the tiling too hard. I'd have to deal with it. Supporting Mai in my arms, I turned and followed Raphael's billowing figure out back. He sent me a warning look as I loaded her onto my bike behind me, fastening her to the seat and winding her arms around my back.

As the engines revved, he said, "You may not have to deal with me just now, but you'll have to deal with Master Dartz soon enough."

I gritted my teeth and adjusted her against my back. I would face him if he tried to take her. Like I said...

She's not just some girl.

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A/N: I wrote this immediately after seeing the episode in which this takes place, and my first thought was: 'OMG THEY FINALLY ADMIT TO A HETSHIP!' Because although Joey, Tea, Tristan, Serenity, Yugi, etc, all skirt around romance, Valon was the only one to really express love for Mai. To the point where he would virtually risk his soul for her. Now I know I should be all 'rah-rah-go-Joey' but I think Mai/Valon pairings are just great. Sort of like Tea/Yami Bakura. Dark, unworkable, but if things had been different - well, you know. So this is what I think actually did happen, only slightly embellished, during 'My Freaky Valentine' episodes 152 and 153. Anyway...this is a one-shot, might do a few more of these to fill in what actually did happen, if that makes any sense whatsoever...Ja ne!