Ryuuzaki lowered his glass to the table silently, eyeing the wine as it gently fell against one side of the glass before washing back again. A tiny, red tide, crashing like a miniature ocean…

Ocean.

"So, how long have you been working for Doma?" He asked, not looking up from the table. His gaze simple swept across to the plate in front of him, the Steak warm and thick.

"Not so long," Mai replied, "I'd really only become a fully-fledged member right before you and Haga signed up."

Ryuuzaki murmured. A noncommittal noise. Something just to show that he was listening as he started to saw into the meat on his plate, his forehead creasing as he struggled to find something to talk about. His mind conjured nothing.

No, that wasn't strictly true. His mind could conjure up plenty of images. Bed sheets, crashing waves, feeble, sickly moonlight and how she had looked underneath it. A million memories of sight and sound, smell and taste, touch… Yes… He remembered the touching very well…

"And just what was it that brought you two to Dartz's door?" She asked, taking up her own wine, seemingly oblivious to the maelstrom of images playing out through the young man's mind.

"Well, you know us…" Ryuuzaki gave a nervous laugh that went on for a little too long, frantically hacking into the side of his steak. "Any rumour of mysterious powers and ultimate power and we'll-"

"Be there to take advantage?"

Ryuuzaki stopped sawing, if just for a second or two. He slowly raised the pink meat to his mouth and took a bite, like it was the most enthralling and important act he'd ever made in his life.

"There's something on your mind, and you're not talking about it." Mai sounded smug, like she'd just caught onto an opponent's strategy.

"So?" Ryuuzaki mumbled through a mouthful of steak.

"What do you mean so? You're not speaking your mind, you won't look up from your plate, and you're wearing a suit. Do you not see how that's all manner of weird? You're not acting like Dinosaur Ryuuzaki."

"What do you want from me?" Even as he said it, he mentally cursed the whininess of his tone.

"Well, either throw on an ugly hat or tell me what's on your mind. Either way works for me."

Ryuuzaki sighed and put his knife and fork down, pondering on how best to start. He started to look up, gaze crossing the table, to Mai's meal, up her body. He sped past her chest, knowing too well at this stage not to fall into that particular trap. The dress she had picked out for the evening was incredibly modest by her usual standards. Hell, it was downright subtle. And she had the gall to say that he was acting strangely?

Finally, he looked her in the eye.

"I think you threw that game back on the ferry."

"Oh you have got to be joking. You're still fixated on that damn bet we had?" She rolled her eyes before shaking her head in pity.

"Hey, you wanted to know what was on my mind. I think you lost that game on purpose on the way to Duellist Kingdom."

"And why the hell would I do that?"

"Because you needed a room for the night."

"If I remember correctly, I would have gotten the room even if I'd won."

"Yeah, but-" Ryuuzaki stopped himself.

"But what?"

"You know what I'm driving at here."

"No, I really don't lizard boy. Why don't you spell it out for me?"

"Fine." He was only vaguely aware of how loud he was talking by this stage, "You lost the duel on purpose because you knew that way you'd end up sharing the room with me. You weren't interested in getting a place to sleep. You were interested in me."

Mai said nothing. For a brief moment, Ryuuzaki thought he'd gotten her right where he wanted her. He'd hit the nail dead on, confronted her about that night from so many years ago and forced her to admit it, to say the words he'd been wanting to hear for so long.

Then her eyebrow arched, mocking, sarcastic. Mai sighed and stood up, shaking her head. As she walked out of the restaurant, Ryuuzaki was left only with the lightest dusting of her laughter, amused at how much of a fool he had made of himself.

Minutes ticked away in the restaurant, and his grip on the handle of the steak knife tightened. He could feel pairs of eyes from all over the room on him, a score of hushed conversations and mocking giggles.

"I'm Dinosaur Ryuuzaki pal," He announced to the occupant of the nearest table, a shy looking man by himself who had made the unfortunate mistake of making eye contact with the enraged young man. "I'm the former world champion of Duel Monsters, so I'm pretty used to being stared at. But right now you have one of two choices to make. You either ask me for my autograph, or you look down at your table and you don't raise your head for as long as I'm here. You got it?"

The other man's head snapped downwards so fast he most likely gave himself a minor injury. Ryuuzaki sneered and slammed the blade of his knife down into the steak, relishing in the spray of juices across his plate.

"Your loss." He muttered, reaching into his jacket as he got up from his table. He pulled on the red cap and marched out of the restaurant, wondering whether he'd have paid even if the conversation with Mai had gone well.

Unlikely.