A/N: Just as a warning of sorts, this is a bit of an unusual chapter for me. First off there's barely any dialogue. Second, we have a flashback scene (as opposed to the past-perfect re-telling of an event that I usually do). Third, I worked myself up and did a load of research to cover a normal duel (well, I say 'a load'...) and then somehow got myself embroiled in something even more improbably convoluted. And fourth, I indulged myself by slipping in a paraphrase of a quote from one of my favourite TV shows of all time. 10 points to anyone who spots it ;)
Mai stepped up onto the duelling platform, her heels clicking quietly on the metal grille beneath her. She looked across to the other side of the arena but Corelli himself was still nowhere to be seen. Usually Mai would wait so that she could raise her platform at the same time as her opponent but right now she just wanted some solitude. She pressed the switch that would move the podium into position; the electrical hum sounding weirdly loud in the otherwise quiet space.
As she stood, holding the barrier, Mai thought of the entrance that had been her routine for nearly two years. The noise in this arena had been almost deafening at times; cheering spectators mixed in with the blaring of her signature duelling tune. After being dramatically hustled through the crowds by a team of security guards she would stand alone on the slowly rising platform, head down, arms lowered and at her sides, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around her up until the moment when the podium reached its zenith and a set of pyrotechnics placed around the platform would shoot out a curtain of flames. Then she would fling her arms wide, showing off the purple and gold glittering wings that had more or less come with the name Madame Butterfly.
The platform reached its zenith and there was a small jolt as it came to a stop. Mai sighed in acknowledgement of the change in her circumstances.
She looked around the familiar room from her new vantage point. The main duelling lights were on meaning that the space between the platforms was brightly illuminated whilst the surrounding seating areas were hidden in darkness. At Corelli's end of arena Mai could only just make out a group of people milling around. Occasionally she caught glimpses of colour amongst the movement: black, red, white and, of course, maroon and the odd glint of gold. In the quiet of the room their voices carried as low mumbles but from this distance, Mai couldn't make out any words, or faces or even tell if the people she was watching were men or women.
Below her, just off to the left, Murdoch sat bolt upright in his seat, constantly scanning the area around them. Mike, who had met them at the side entrance of the arena and then directed Murdoch to his seat, had disappeared again and Mai was grateful to be able to put him out of her mind for the time being.
When Mai had stated her intent to get into position on the platform, it was Mike who had escorted her with an attitude of forced joviality, making a sweeping gesture towards the podium as if she hadn't been sure which way to go.
As she had passed him he suddenly stuck out his hand and she took it only to find her arm being shaken vigorously. 'Mai,' he started, 'I guess I shouldn't say this, what with Corelli being my boss and all but, good luck. I'll be rooting for you all the way. Just remember that,' he hesitated for a moment, 'whatever happens.'
'Err, thanks, Mike,' she managed warily, extricating her hand.
He looked at her for a moment longer than was comfortable. 'Easy money, right Mai?'
The familiar phrase made her stop for a moment. Whether it was that the words reminded her of Murdoch's concern or simply the way that Mike said it, with an intensity that she didn't recognise in him, she had suddenly felt very anxious.
'Easy money,' she had replied quietly before turning her back on him.
She looked down at the console, palely lit in standby mode. The quiet of the room and the darkness of the shadows surrounding her made it feel like it could be the middle of the night rather than eight o'clock in the morning. The thought sent a wave of fatigue washing over her and she placed her hands, palm down on the counter to steady herself. It was the first time she'd given any thought to her own physical state. She'd not slept and had barely eaten in nearly 24 hours, during which time she had lost all of her money; taken a flight across mainland America and discovered that her ex-boss had, at one point wanted her dead and had more recently developed an unhealthy obsession with the Shadow Realm. And, of course, she'd had to say goodbye to Seto.
Seto. Just the thought of him made her feel slightly calmer. She looked down from the platform again to where Murdoch was sitting. Even though she had pushed Seto away he was still trying to help her. For the first time since she had left she considered that she may have made a mistake in walking away from him. Maybe he had been right after all. Maybe it was only money. And the desire to take back control? Where had that gotten her so far? To Vegas, which was where Corelli had told her to come; and now on a duelling platform, which was where Corelli wanted her to be. Far from taking control, she realised, she was being perfectly controlled. The only consolation was that she had negotiated to get her money back when she won, but even that small victory made her feel uncomfortable, especially in the light of Murdoch's comments.
As she considered her situation she felt the panic rising in her once more. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to focus on a positive memory just as she did when the nightmares threatened to overwhelm her. Keeping her breathing even and her mind calm, she lowered her head and focused. A moment later the fingers of her right hand twitched slightly as she imagined the warmth of another hand next to her own…
Seto nodded in encouragement as she rolled the three dice that would determine if they could summon another mid-level monster that would effectively finish the game in their favour. It would mean their second victory of the morning but it had already been a long drawn out game and when the dice landed to show three mismatching crests, Seto tutted irritably, assuming that they would have to wait for yet another turn before they could stop playing Devlin's god awful game.
But Mai was smiling, clearly not ready to forfeit the turn. Instead she leaned forward and, selecting the middle dice which displayed a six pointed star, she applied it to Amazoness Piper. Piper was a low level monster who had been on the board for some time and yet had not been progressed beyond three tiles. With the Magic Crest applied, the Amazonian drew out her long wooden pipe and began playing a tune. In response, a crab-like creature on the computer's side of the field started to move forward, activating a magic chest that had appeared on the field during the computer's previous round. Seto's eyebrow twitched in surprise as a shimmering bridge appeared from inside the chest stretching across the field to land at the feet of the Amazonian.
Mai glanced across at Seto, enjoying his reaction although the contents of the chest were as much a surprise to her as they were to him. She then selected a movement dice and used it to take the Amazoness Piper across the bridge and then three further steps to stand beneath the opposing tower. Using the final dice that showed two swords crossing one another, Mai instructed the Amazonian to attack. The woman stepped forward and slashed with her pipe, inflicting the fatal damage to the computer's last remaining heart point. The board froze for a long moment before the collection of monsters began dissipating in their familiar pixelated way.
Seto smacked the console in triumph. 'Ha!' he laughed. Turning to Mai once the last of the pathways had disappeared, he said admiringly: 'that was pretty impressive.'
She turned to him, a smug smile playing on her lips. 'What can I say?' she shrugged casually, 'I'm awesome.'
In Mai's experience people usually laughed off her overt arrogance. Sometimes she did feel like she was pretty good but her outward confidence was mostly an act. Seto just stared at her appraisingly, holding her gaze just long enough for her to feel her stomach starting to flutter.
'I think you might be right,' he said eventually.
Mai blinked at him in surprise, her affected nonchalance crumbling completely, leaving her staring up at him in stunned silence.
He smiled slightly at her expression and then stepped towards her. He raised his hand to brush his fingertips lightly across her cheek and then beneath her ear and round to the nape of her neck. His thumb gently pressed against her jaw bone persuading her to tilt her head up further so that her lips were now inches from his own.
Without even realising she was doing it, Mai raised herself onto tiptoes pushing herself against his body. For a long moment they just watched one another until Mai felt the fingers of his left hand twining around her own. It was such a simple and sweet gesture that Mai glanced down for a moment, breaking his gaze and allowing her thoughts to form coherently in her mind. She suddenly realised that she wanted to tell him just how she felt about him, to acknowledge that it was insane, that they barely knew each other, that her life was a mess but to state, clearly, unequivocally, that she was – that she felt –
She looked back to him and her words and sentences shattered once more into an inarticulate jumble of feelings. His lips met hers, the kiss tantalisingly gentle at first but quickly becoming more forceful and passionate. She felt his fingers tangling in her hair, he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her back hugging her to him. And still they kissed, until Mai felt lightheaded with desire for him; until her mind buzzed with longing.
At one point she opened her eyes slightly and was surprised to see him looking at her too, through half closed lids. She felt his mouth twist against hers and knew that he was smiling again. She broke away slightly.
'What?' she asked, her words sounding fuzzy to her own ears.
His breathing was laboured and his smile was rueful. 'We have to stop this,' he said eventually.
'We do?' she pulled slightly further back, as sense of overwhelming disappointment twisting her stomach.
'Not 'this',' he reassured her, kissing her lightly on the lips, 'we have to stop being in these ridiculous situations: car seats, colleagues' offices, duelling platforms-'
'I don't know, Seto,' Mai said with mock seriousness, 'I mean, if we started anything in a place that was too comfortable... who knows what could happen...'
His eyes bore into her own at the implication of her statement and they both stood for a moment frozen by the delicious possibilities that lay ahead. He leaned down towards her and Mai thought he was going to kiss her again. Instead he kissed along her jawbone and she shivered with pleasure as she felt his hot breath against her ear.
'I'd very much like to find out,' he whispered softly...
'Not keeping you awake are we?'
Mai's eyes snapped open as she was jolted abruptly from her thoughts. She raised her head and stared coldly at Corelli, now standing opposite her on his own raised platform.
'You are actually,' she replied coolly, shaking off the warmth of her memory and quickly concentrating her mind on her present situation. 'Nice of you to finally show up. Who'd have thought that you could take so long just to look like that?'
Corelli smiled indulgently, like a teacher who knows any errant behaviour will be dealt with severely at some later date. 'I'd say ladies first, Mai,' he replied coldly, 'but since it's you we're talking about...'
Mai rolled her eyes. 'Can we just get this started already?' she asked. 'I have an elsewhere to be.'
The lights on the console in front of Mai brightened. She calmly placed her deck of cards into a slot, watching impassively as they were sucked into the machine which whirred quietly as the pile was electronically shuffled before being pushed back out towards her.
She laid her fingers gently onto the top of the deck, fighting the sudden overwhelming instinct to back away from this duel. She looked across at Corelli. He was smiling and she knew, was suddenly positively certain, that she was making a mistake by duelling him; that she had already made the biggest mistake in coming here at all. But now she was here she was trapped. There was no chance that she would be able to get out of this arena, let alone Vegas, even with Murdoch's help.
For a moment she stood frozen staring at her fingers and the cards beneath them, her mind a disjointed jumble of thoughts, fears and memories.
One duel. The thought broke through the chaos. Just one duel. How hard could it be?
She took a deep breath and drew her first card.