A/N: There's two pieces of news before continuing on; 1) there's going to be a sequel to this story and 2) I updated the fic status thing on my profile so whenever you're confused on how many more chapters for this story then check there.

Chapter 13: Off to Battle City

I feel sort of lonely. Rishid-san is a kind and caring person but he's not my age neither is he a girl. I'm still uncomfortable around Malik-sama especially when he tries to practice kiss with me. How am I supposed to kiss him when I already have a boyfriend? Then again, that is the whole plan; to make my boyfriend jealous so he would give up whatever valuable thing that he has to Malik-sama. That's probably why Rishid-san looked so guilty around me because he knew of the plan to use me. My boyfriend, Seto Kaiba, I don't remember anything about him. The only thing that's closest to him is this ring. Amaya let silver ring catch one of the sun's rays. I don't care if Malik-sama does use me; as long as I get to go my boyfriend and then he'll tell me everything about myself.

She put her right hand over her heart, closed her eyes and started to think more about the future. For some reason, as soon as her thoughts drifted to Malik, her heart raced faster than usual. Lately, she had been closer to him so they could practice to look like a 'real couple.' The toughest parts of the practice were having to kiss. Whenever he would lean into her face, she would back away or turn away so that he would end up kissing the side of her face. She found out from Rishid that she would be Malik's first kiss if she'd let him. Surprisingly, Malik didn't yell or try to force her to kiss him. He didn't bring up the fact that she did promise him to do whatever he says. He would just walk away and give a slight wave in the air; meaning that it was all right.

Maybe because it's his first kiss, he doesn't mind that I wouldn't comply. Although, I wonder how long it'll be before he becomes impatient.

At Akimoto Residence

"I can't stand it anymore! My only daughter is missing out somewhere and nobody has any real news of her whereabouts! I miss seeing the smile on my little girl's face!" Mrs. Akimoto, Amaya's mother, cried. She was clutching the photo album full of Amaya's baby pictures. Her tears landed on the plastic covering of each photo album. Mr. Akimoto, in an attempt, to calm his wife down put his hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, dear. I'm sure that surely somebody would be kind enough to share Amaya's whereabouts with us," he said, soothingly. He smiled a reassuring smile but on the inside, he was just as worried as his wife was. He wondered how she was doing and if she was well-fed and well taken care of. If only my boss hadn't taken an interest in her, then none of this would've happen. Amaya would be coming home at this time instead of being lost somewhere. He looked away so his wife couldn't catch him crying.

Amaya, Daddy's sorry for all this. I hope you are okay. Your mom, everybody else and I are worried about you. We didn't even get to celebrate your 14th birthday.

Almost to Battle City

Another week has passed; Malik was in a bad mood after the Pharaoh defeated one of his Ghouls, the Silent One. He stopped the practicing sessions with Amaya, to her relief. Although, she was still worried about him since he wouldn't come out of his room, not even for any mealtime. Sometimes Rishid sent Amaya to give Malik his meals. Whenever she enters his room, he would order her to put the food on the table; his back would always be turned on her. She never saw his face during the week. She wondered whether or not, he was eating frequently.

"Rishid-san, can I carry the food to Malik-sama again?" Amaya asked.

Rishid smiled and handed the tray of koshari to her, without a word. She accepted the food and walked down the hallway to Malik's room. Balancing the food on one hand, she brought a fist up to knock on the door. Usually, he would just say "Enter" but this time, he actually opened the door. She was surprised when she saw his eyes looking back at her. The old habit of hanging her head down came back as she said;" Here's your dinner, Malik-sama." Both of her hands supported the bottom of the tray of food, she expected him to take it and slam the door. Instead, she felt his hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her into the room. He got the tray from her and supported the bottom of it with his hand.

"I want you to eat with me like a pretend date. We have to make our 'relationship' as realistic as possible. I want to see your boyfriend's face boil red with jealousy," he said, pointing to a chair opposite his. She sat down as soon as he let go of her wrist. Amaya looked across the table so she could make eye contact with Malik. He said to make it realistic so she'll try her best. She couldn't bring herself to smile though. She was supposed to be on a pretend date yet she looked like she was about to face the death penalty.

"Now let's start," he said after settling himself in his chair. Both of Amaya's hands were on the table, close to the plate of food. One of Malik's hands looked like it was going to get a fork but one of his fingers slowly touched Amaya's hand. A chilly sensation went up and down her spine. She pulled her hand back but he had a tight grip on her other hand. He smirked when he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks. To amuse himself even further, he pulled her hard enough so that her body jerked forward and stayed in that position. She whimpered slightly as Malik's face came closer to hers; his hold on her wrist tightened. She couldn't escape if she wanted to.

"Wait, I'm not rea-" Amaya said but was cut off by his lips. She could've kicked him, she could've bitten his lip, she could've done anything else to stop him from furthering the kiss but she didn't. She just closed her eyes and no longer felt lonely anymore. I'm sorry...A tear ran down her cheek as they deepened the kiss. Eventually, his arms were around her waist, which pulled her closer.

It is exactly twelve o'clock; Amaya looked at the beautiful scenery of the sun waking up for the day. She breathed in the fresh air and thought about how sad it was to depart from Rishid and Malik. Today was the day that they're finally going to be arriving at Battle City. She knew of everything that she had to do; it was simple yet hard at the same time. How is my boyfriend going to be like? I'm getting so nervous just thinking about finally meeting him then I can go back to my real home. I'll get to see my parents again and my friends. I'll have to thank Rishid-san and Malik-sama...Malik-sama...She sighed, looking up at all the white clouds in the sky. Some of them seemed to be the shape of a heart, a winged cupid with an arrow and bows and two doves flying together. She shook her head and defiantly told herself. It's stupid to think about him this way, he's only going to use you and forget about you. Just forget about him.

"Amaya!" Rishid called from the lower deck. Automatically, Amaya plastered a false smile on her face. Her conscience is right; it is foolish to think about him at all. She didn't want Rishid to know that she might have feelings for Malik so she'll just show him this mask. One of her fingers brushed her prized ring and she also felt happy. She's finally going to meet the guy, who gave her this ring! I hope he won't forget me or already has another girlfriend. "Amaya!" he called again.

"Ah, yes, Rishid-san!" Amaya said, running to wherever he was.

She peered into Rishid's room; he was sitting on his bed and stood up as soon as she entered. He put on a gentle face and said,"This is it. This means you're going to go home soon." Amaya smiled and rammed into him, briefly hugging him and repeatedly saying,"Thank you!"

"If it weren't for you, then...Ah! I'm just so grateful, Rishid-san! I'm also...a bit scared because what if...he forgot about me?" Amaya said.

"I'm confident that he won't forget about any detail of you. You're a very special girl, who should be deeply rooted into everybody, who comes across you. He wouldn't forget about you if he put out a large cash award just for information on your whereabouts."

"I don't deserve any of those compliments but if you say so, then it must be right," said Amaya. She tried to keep her sadness deeply rooted into the bottom of her heart. Truthfully, she didn't know what's bothering her. Maybe it was because of the overwhelming happiness of finally going home or maybe it was the sad feeling of knowing that she'll see Malik again. He said she's pretty...

Because he didn't eat much for four days, he fainted right in the middle of their kiss yesterday. Amaya carried him to his bed so that he could rest; before she could get out of the room, he grabbed her arm with a weak grip and whispered,"Did you know that you're so pretty?" Amaya thought that he said that because he was delirious or that he mistook her for another girl.

"Where's Malik-sama?" Amaya asked.

"It's a possibility that he's still sleeping. We're going to be boarding in about twenty minutes, go wake him up," he said.

"What!" Amaya exclaimed, which got Rishid off-guard. He noticed that Amaya's face was turning red looking like she was catching another cold. She regained her posture when she felt Rishid's confused gaze upon her. If I act like this everytime he mentions Malik-sama, he's going to think something's up. So Amaya just smiled slightly, nodded and proceeded to go to his room. She twiddled her fingers nervously as she knocked on Malik's door. There was no reply. Slowly, she opened the door. A lump could be seen under Malik's blanket.

She walked over to the bed, thinking that he was still slumbering. Her hand slowly took the covers off his body but it was only some pillows! What's this? Amaya's hand felt something hard and cold; she reached her hand further into the blanket. She took out the staff with the strange eye symbol that Malik always held. This was the first time that she knew that it wasn't with him. Out of curiosity, she touched one of the tip of the ax-like staff with her finger.

"What are you doing?" Malik's voice from behind her, surprised Amaya so she jerked forward and her finger was pressed into the sharp end. Blood spilled from the open injury on her finger; Malik took the Sennen rod from her. He had a look of pure anger. Amaya knew immediately that she was in trouble. She had never been told by Rishid to never touch it but she must've known that it was important. She tried to say something so that he wouldn't become angry with her but nothing came out, except broken sentences. He put two fingers to her lips to keep her from continuing.

"I'm not going to get angry this time because I know that I never told you not to touch it. However, this is a warning and if I catch you even brushing against it, you'll receive something worse than a warning," he said dangerously. She nodded to indicate that she understood what he said. "Wait," he said when she was about to say something else.

She watched in silence as he picked up her hand with the injured finger and put it to his mouth. He licked the blood from the finger with his tongue; Amaya made a shocked face. This wasn't going to make her life any easier. "Now isn't that better?" he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

"No-no, it isn't. What's better for you is to eat a full breakfast for dueling energy," she said, smiling. She moved her head away and slowly walked back, forgetting that there was a bed behind her; she tripped and fell into it. Oh, crap! Why do I have a klutzy moment when I'm trying to make a graceful exit? Malik chuckled at her embarrassed expression. He stuck his hand out and pulled her up after her own hand accepted his. "I meant what I said yesterday," he whispered in her ear. She whipped around to look at him but he was already walking out of the room.

Malik-sama, do you know how much you're hurting me with all these games? I guess you don't care that you're playing around with my feelings. Amaya trudged out of the room with another one of her false smiles. Hopefully, her false smile will turn into a real one when she meets her real boyfriend. Maybe his kiss would be better and more comforting, indicating that he truly does care for her and not just using her. All her hopes were the only thing that was making her go on.

"At least I'll have a few things to look forward to like girl clothes that'll fit me, my family greeting me and telling them about Ai-chan. Also, the father of the baby is probably my boyfriend," she said to herself as she walked down the board to land. Rishid was right by her side and Malik was getting ready to ride on his motorcycle. They were all preparing to go to Battle City along with other Ghouls. Amaya felt a tap on her side; she looked up at Rishid, who was smiling down at her. He extended a closed fist and opened it to reveal a flower hairpin.

"What a pretty hairpin!" Amaya said, noticing the way that it had shown in the sunlight. It looks like it was made from a smooth seashell. It was in the shape of a graceful flower.

"This is a present from me to you," Rishid said, smiling. "You're like a precious daughter to me. I feel like I have to protect you from the bad things in the world." Amaya couldn't take the kind words anymore. Thankfully, Malik, who beckoned for her to sit behind him on the motorcycle, saved her.

"Arigatou, Rishid-san," she said, gently taking the hairpin from him. She bowed before him and handed him three letters that was written the night before. "I don't have anything special to give you but my gratitude is expressed in those three letters. Please read them once we can't see each other anymore." She gave him a real smile before walking over to Malik and sat behind him. Once she wrapped her arms securely around his waist, Malik stepped on the pedal and rode off.

A/N: Finally they're off to Battle City. Of course, Rishid and Amaya will see each other again until the end of this story. Sorry if it seemed like the final good-bye between them both. I just couldn't think of anything else. Alot of stuff happened in this chapter between Amaya and Malik. Got any comments or questions about that? Or maybe you want to ask about the sequel.

Rose-DragonfireWell, usually, angsty stories are supposed to be tragic or have some sadness in it.

Josephine Jekyl: As far as I can tell, yes, Hoshi is dead. Although, I didn't intend to bring him back in the first place but it was better than Amaya fainting or something. You're close on Malik's plan. What he wants to do is to make her seem like his girlfriend, he doesn't intend for her to actually have feelings for him. Of course, he will rub it in Kaiba's face. I'm glad that that was a wait-worthy chapter.

CRAZYABOUTANIME: Did take me a while to finally put some Malik action in there, huh? Enjoy the future chapters.

Cataracta: That's a good guess but no, that really was Hoshi swimming after her. Even in near death, he'll still try to stalk Amaya. lol

­