Chapter 9

In the end she hadn't been able to face Yugi, but perhaps that was for the best and, after a painful heart to heart with her mother, both she and Téa had agreed this too was also for the best. But now she stood staring up at the face of the friendly looking clinic, she wasn't so sure. A huge part of her wished she'd allowed her mother to come with her rather than just coming by afterwards to pick her up, because she was too afraid to go in on her own.

'You alright love?' A husky voice asked from behind her making her start.

Turning, she saw a tall, dark haired guy, watching her intently.

'I've been better.'

'Well if you're thinking of going in there,' he indicated to the clinic behind her, 'I think I can understand,' he pulled a cigarette out of the box in his pocket and lit it. 'So you from round here?'

'Yeah,' she nodded.

'Got a boyfriend,' he smirked.

'Yeah,' she gave a half laugh, 'but I think you already knew that.'

'True,' he grinned, 'but it still doesn't hurt to ask,' he took a drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled. 'So what's your name?'

'Téa.'

'Nice name, kind of like tea, but with an accent. So, does your boyfriend know you're here?'

'No.'

'Does he know about your…?'

'No.'

'So you what, plan to get rid of it without telling him?'

'It's for the best,' she smiled sadly.

'Is that so,' he pressed his lips together. 'Any reason?'

'I'm too young. We both are. Neither of us are ready for this and I just know... I know he'll... I mean, he's a nice guy and everything but... Well we haven't been together that long and...'

'I understand,' he held a hand up to silence her. 'So, what do you say you let me take care of it for you?'

'What...?'

Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, pain erupted throughout her body originating from the back of her neck. Black dots quickly appeared in her vision and within minutes everything fell into darkness.


'Any luck?'

Mokuba shook his head and Tristan gave an almost depressed sigh. The three of them had been searching for over two hours now and not one of them had caught so much as a glimpse of Piper. It felt wrong. Everything about the situation felt wrong and he couldn't stand it. Piper was an evil he needed to eradicate from Kaiba's life and the second she turned up again that's exactly what he would do.

'I hate her Mokuba,' he gritted his teeth, 'I really, really hate her. She's done a lot of crap over the last six months and I have finally lost my patience with her. I will not allow her to keep existing if this is how she treats Seto.'

'Don't you think you're overreacting just a little Tristan,' Mokuba pulled a face, 'I mean, it's not like she hasn't run off like this before.'

Tristan glared at him, shook his head and said nothing. What could he say? There was no way he could explain to Mokuba how and why his dislike for her had tipped over into hatred. Not because he wouldn't understand, but there was just no way he wanted Mokuba to know. Even the thought of it made his whole being cringe with disgust.

'What should we do?' Serenity broke the tense silence. 'Keep looking or…?'

'We'll go home and wait,' Mokuba sighed, 'she'll come back eventually; she has to.'

'And when she does...' Tristan gritted his teeth, 'when she does I will kill her.'


With their energy well and truly spent, the four of them just sat there staring at nothing, wondering what to do next. Mai sighed heavily, her mournful gaze focused blankly on the floor below her. She wanted someone to speak or move or do something, but she didn't want to be the one to do it. As the time slowly drifted away around them, the quiet sound of music reached Mai's ears. It took her a few seconds to realise the sorrowful melody originated from nearby.

'Ce ce ce may, ce may, ce a-a-a. Ce ce ce may, ce may ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a. Ce a-a-a.'

As the sad notes of the simple a cappella tune grew more confident, Mai's eyes stared questioningly around the room. To her surprise the musicians turned out to be Catilin, Ahna and Korin, each girl harmonising in natural syncopation with the other two. The meaningless words they sang melted together beautifully, with their voices taking on an almost string instrument like quality. This was Zent, the Silkoneon and Odraian equivalent to choir music, and Mai had only ever heard it once before; at her wedding, less than three months ago.

Of course the tunes she heard then were of a more jovial nature to the one being sung now, but the beauty hadn't been lost. Taking a deep, jagged breath in, she closed her eyes and allowed their sorrowful music wash over her. This was what they needed. This did for them what no words ever could. It brought them together on a level which superseded their grief. It was cleansing. It was the combined notes of their tears. As if each drop which had rolled its way down their cheeks, had weaved themselves into this haunting melody.

A sad smile slid across her lips as she twisted the gold band on her left index finger. In a community where she was an outsider, Nayta had made her feel welcomed. She was a true friend and it was hard to believe she was really gone.

The singing stopped and Mai opened her eyes again.

'That was beautiful,' her voice was dry and slightly mute.

'Zent always is,' a small smile flittered across Catilin's lips, 'because Zent is the essence of music and comes from a depth of human spirit that no one can really control.'

'Oh don't be so romantic about it,' Ahna shook her head. 'People are always too romantic about Zent, when there's no need to be.'

'I think there's need to be,' Mai lowered her gaze.

There were a few moments of silence, before Ahna slowly rose to her feet.

'Think the guys are doing much better than us?'

'If I know Covo half as well as I think I do, he'll be hurting a lot worse than he'll ever admit,' Korin gave a dull half laugh. 'He likes to be the strong one.'

'I know,' Ahna's face filled with a small smile, 'he likes to protect people, rather than let people protect him.'

'I think that's true of all our guys,' Mai sniffed.

'I need Jay,' Catilin's voice was so small Mai couldn't be totally sure she'd spoken.

'What did you say?' Korin frowned at her.

'Nothing,' she shook her head, 'I didn't say anything.'

'Do you think we should join them now?' Mai turned her gaze towards the door. 'I mean, I…' she fell silent.

'I think we all know what you mean Mai,' Ahna gave a slight laugh. 'And yeah, I think we should join them now.'