. . . = Yugi's thoughts
~ . . . ~ = Yami's thoughts
Téa called Yugi's house. She was still hoping to see Yugi and apologize for the park incident, and hopefully win back the heart of his other personality.
"I'm sorry," Grampa said on the other line. "Yugi left early this morning."
"He did?! Where did he go?"
"I believe I heard him mumbling to himself about finding a duel, and then he just took off," Grampa explained.
Téa hung up without saying goodbye.
* * *
Joey's stomach growled. "I've seen enough movies, and people always do such stupid stuff with their three wishes from them lamps," he said to himself. "Well, not me!" He turned the ugly stick upside-down and said, "I wish for some grub . . . I wish for some grub . . . I wish -" He stopped. "Wait a second, I'm thinkin' too small!"
The doorbell rang.
* * *
Mai had been driving for a while, but suddenly felt very sick to her stomach, and the closest place that she felt was clean enough for her to be sick at was Téa's house, which she almost passed.
Téa was sitting on her doorsteps, drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick. "Duel?" she said quietly to herself. "Where could he be going?" Her thoughts were interrupted by screeching tires. She noticed Mai's greenish tone and quickly ushered her into the restroom.
A few minutes later, Mai emerged, looking very embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," Mai said, walking up to Téa. "I haven't been myself this morning."
"Oh, that's okay," Téa said. "I'm not feeling much like myself, either." She caught the smell of Mai's clothing. "What have you been up to? Your clothes smell like alcohol!"
Mai, who finally felt better enough to think straight, suddenly looked shocked. "I really don't think I should tell you."
* * *
Joey opened the door, leaving the weird stick on his bed. It was the pizza guy.
"All right! Grub!" Joey exclaimed as he paid him. He took the warm, comforting box back into his room and began to eat. The ugly wooden thing caught his eye again. "Man, I just totally wasted one of my wishes! Well, I'll make up for it this time."
He looked on his dresser, where he saw a framed picture of his mother, father, and himself and his sister Serenity as kids.
"I wish we could still be that happy family . . ." Joey said quietly, picking up the stick. "It's time, monster wooden thingy!" He turned it upside-down and said, "I wish that my mother and father got back together" three times.
His telephone rang.
* * *
~We're here.~
Yugi felt nervous. But we can always turn back . . .
Yami walked towards the door, and found a weird box on the left side of the door.
~What's this?~
Hold down the button and talk into it.
Yami pushed the button and said, "Seto Kaiba, I challenge you to a duel!"
No, no! Yugi tried to correct him.
A voice from the box said, "Who on Earth is this? Do you have an appointment?"
"My name is Yugi Moto, and I wish to challenge Seto Kaiba to a duel."
"Hold on, please," the voice said.
I sure hope that you know what you are doing.
~Of course I do. Dueling is what I do best.~
* * *
"Why can't you tell me?" Téa inquired. "I thought you said that us females have to stick together."
Mai lowered her head. "I guess you're right." She and Téa sat on the couch. "You see, after the lottery drawing when a little accident cost me the jackpot, I completely lost control of myself."
Téa nodded. "I can understand that," she said, thinking of her own losses.
"So I got into my car, and I was completely irrational, driving around for a few hours, only stopping once for gas. I kept thinking in my head that if I could not be rich on my own, why not get some help?" She paused. "Anyway, the next thing I know, I'm driving up to Kaiba's mansion, where the moneybags himself was outside, staring off."
"You went to Kaiba?!" Téa cried. Just then, she realized where Yugi had to be. Kaiba's mansion! Where else could he look for a duel this early?
Mai nodded and continued her story.
----Flashback----
"What are you doing here?" Kaiba asked defensively.
"I - I'm sorry," said Mai, confusedly.
He looked Mai in the eye. "Don't you know why you've come?" He paused. "I've never really gotten to know you before. Is your name Mai?"
She nodded. "Mai Valentine."
"Hmm," said Kaiba. A chill went through the air. "Maybe you should get indoors."
Mai was inwardly happy to have access to the Kaiba mansion. She went in, and Kaiba shut the door behind them. She sat on a couch, mystified by the beauty of the place.
"Pretty nice, huh?" Kaiba boasted. Mai didn't say a word. "What's the matter? Why don't you say something?"
Mai came back to life a little because of the luxurious atmosphere. "Thank you so much for allowing me to come inside, Kaiba."
Kaiba took off his trench coat. "You can call me Seto," he said, sitting down next to her.
Mai was a little freaked, but she didn't move. She tried to make small talk. "So how are things at Kaiba Corp.?"
Kaiba had a straight face, which to most would count as a smile. "Quite well, thank you. And how are things with you?"
Since the lottery was the only thing on her mind, she blurted out the story to him.
Kaiba laughed. "You don't need that! Who needs to rely on ping-pong balls and a chump like Tristan to make your life a little more fancy?"
Mai looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, maybe you can come by here more often and enjoy what my mansion has to offer." He looked away. "It can get awfully lonely here." He looked back at her. "So what do you think of that?"
Mai smiled weakly, for once thinking about a little more than money. "I'd like at a lot."
Kaiba looked at the clock and yawned. "I have to get going now. You can stay for a while if you like." He paged someone, instructing to treat Mai as a guest.
----End of Flashback----
"And I did," Mai said, "although I sort of got carried away with the drinks."
Téa looked dazed, still thinking about Yugi's other half.
"After that, I really can't remember anything. The dizzy feeling stopped after coming here," Mai explained.
Just then, Téa got an idea and brightened. "How about we go see how Kaiba is right now?"
Mai looked at Téa weirdly. "Really?"
"Sure! I'll even come with you!"
They both got into Mai's car and drove off.
* * *
Kaiba had just barely gotten dressed and was straightening his collar in the mirror.
"Master Kaiba." Kaiba was being paged. "Your nemesis, Yugi Moto, has come to challenge you to a duel."
"No way!" Kaiba rasped. "Send him in."
* * *
The door of the mansion opened. "Please have a seat. Master Kaiba will be out with the Duel Disks shortly for your duel," the voice from the box said.
"No Duel Disk!" Yami blurted without thinking.
"Right. I will tell Master Kaiba that you wish to duel in an arena."
Yami walked in and sat down. He was assailed by the smell of pungent perfume.
There's still time to change your mind.
But Yami didn't respond. Instead, he took out his deck and leafed through it.
* * *
"Hello?" Joey asked, picking up the receiver. "Mom? Yeah, Dad's home. I'll get him." He was excited, since his mom has NEVER called his dad since the divorce.
After what seemed like a long while, Joey's dad walked into the living room, where Joey was waiting, gnawing on pizza.
"Pack your bags, son," he said. "We're moving in with Serenity and your mother. She loves me again! And I love her!"
Joey's pupils went to the center of his eyes. "Moving?!"
His dad nodded proudly. "Yes. First thing tomorrow, after I quit my job and take care of everything. If we get out by tomorrow, we won't have to pay next month's rent. Yes, this is the way it should be, Joseph. I'm going to make some calls to get everything ready."
Without saying anything, Joey went to his room, leaving half of the pizza behind. He only had less than a day to say goodbye to his friends. "Was this really the right thing?" he asked himself. He wanted to call Yugi with the news, but his father was using the phone. Instead, he picked up the wooden stick and went for a walk.
He went to Yugi's house, but nobody was there.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where he is," said Grampa.
Joey knew that he didn't have much time, seeing that he had to pack his stuff. "Can I use your phone?"
"Sure," Grampa replied.
Joey called Téa, but she wasn't home. He also called Tristan, but he didn't pick up (He was in a horrendously deep sleep.).
He left the Game Shop and began to walked aimlessly around Domino City. "I might never see this place again," he said quietly to himself, swinging the stick back and forth.
"What have you got there?" a voice asked. It was Bakura.
"Oh, I don't know," Joey responded. "I've got some bad news." He told Bakura about moving away. "And I can't seem to get in touch with anyone."
A car horn came from behind them. It was Joey's father. "Come on, son. No time to chat. The arrangements have been made, so it's time to get packing!" He opened the passenger door for his son.
"I - I've got to go," Joey said, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked down at the stick. "Uh - here. When you see Yugi, could you please give it to him, as a goodbye present? It's all that I have with me right now, but it's pretty special. It grants wishes." He handed it to Bakura. "Maybe too well," he added, under his breath.
"I will." Bakura nodded.
"Tell the others goodbye for me," Joey was even sadder.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Bakura inquired.
"Right now, I'm so confused . . . I don't know which I want more - my family happy again, or my friends."
Joey got into the car, and it drove away.
Bakura looked down sadly, and his gaze met that of one of the monsters on Joey's gift to Yugi.
(To be continued.)
Téa called Yugi's house. She was still hoping to see Yugi and apologize for the park incident, and hopefully win back the heart of his other personality.
"I'm sorry," Grampa said on the other line. "Yugi left early this morning."
"He did?! Where did he go?"
"I believe I heard him mumbling to himself about finding a duel, and then he just took off," Grampa explained.
Téa hung up without saying goodbye.
* * *
Joey's stomach growled. "I've seen enough movies, and people always do such stupid stuff with their three wishes from them lamps," he said to himself. "Well, not me!" He turned the ugly stick upside-down and said, "I wish for some grub . . . I wish for some grub . . . I wish -" He stopped. "Wait a second, I'm thinkin' too small!"
The doorbell rang.
* * *
Mai had been driving for a while, but suddenly felt very sick to her stomach, and the closest place that she felt was clean enough for her to be sick at was Téa's house, which she almost passed.
Téa was sitting on her doorsteps, drawing pictures in the dirt with a stick. "Duel?" she said quietly to herself. "Where could he be going?" Her thoughts were interrupted by screeching tires. She noticed Mai's greenish tone and quickly ushered her into the restroom.
A few minutes later, Mai emerged, looking very embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," Mai said, walking up to Téa. "I haven't been myself this morning."
"Oh, that's okay," Téa said. "I'm not feeling much like myself, either." She caught the smell of Mai's clothing. "What have you been up to? Your clothes smell like alcohol!"
Mai, who finally felt better enough to think straight, suddenly looked shocked. "I really don't think I should tell you."
* * *
Joey opened the door, leaving the weird stick on his bed. It was the pizza guy.
"All right! Grub!" Joey exclaimed as he paid him. He took the warm, comforting box back into his room and began to eat. The ugly wooden thing caught his eye again. "Man, I just totally wasted one of my wishes! Well, I'll make up for it this time."
He looked on his dresser, where he saw a framed picture of his mother, father, and himself and his sister Serenity as kids.
"I wish we could still be that happy family . . ." Joey said quietly, picking up the stick. "It's time, monster wooden thingy!" He turned it upside-down and said, "I wish that my mother and father got back together" three times.
His telephone rang.
* * *
~We're here.~
Yugi felt nervous. But we can always turn back . . .
Yami walked towards the door, and found a weird box on the left side of the door.
~What's this?~
Hold down the button and talk into it.
Yami pushed the button and said, "Seto Kaiba, I challenge you to a duel!"
No, no! Yugi tried to correct him.
A voice from the box said, "Who on Earth is this? Do you have an appointment?"
"My name is Yugi Moto, and I wish to challenge Seto Kaiba to a duel."
"Hold on, please," the voice said.
I sure hope that you know what you are doing.
~Of course I do. Dueling is what I do best.~
* * *
"Why can't you tell me?" Téa inquired. "I thought you said that us females have to stick together."
Mai lowered her head. "I guess you're right." She and Téa sat on the couch. "You see, after the lottery drawing when a little accident cost me the jackpot, I completely lost control of myself."
Téa nodded. "I can understand that," she said, thinking of her own losses.
"So I got into my car, and I was completely irrational, driving around for a few hours, only stopping once for gas. I kept thinking in my head that if I could not be rich on my own, why not get some help?" She paused. "Anyway, the next thing I know, I'm driving up to Kaiba's mansion, where the moneybags himself was outside, staring off."
"You went to Kaiba?!" Téa cried. Just then, she realized where Yugi had to be. Kaiba's mansion! Where else could he look for a duel this early?
Mai nodded and continued her story.
----Flashback----
"What are you doing here?" Kaiba asked defensively.
"I - I'm sorry," said Mai, confusedly.
He looked Mai in the eye. "Don't you know why you've come?" He paused. "I've never really gotten to know you before. Is your name Mai?"
She nodded. "Mai Valentine."
"Hmm," said Kaiba. A chill went through the air. "Maybe you should get indoors."
Mai was inwardly happy to have access to the Kaiba mansion. She went in, and Kaiba shut the door behind them. She sat on a couch, mystified by the beauty of the place.
"Pretty nice, huh?" Kaiba boasted. Mai didn't say a word. "What's the matter? Why don't you say something?"
Mai came back to life a little because of the luxurious atmosphere. "Thank you so much for allowing me to come inside, Kaiba."
Kaiba took off his trench coat. "You can call me Seto," he said, sitting down next to her.
Mai was a little freaked, but she didn't move. She tried to make small talk. "So how are things at Kaiba Corp.?"
Kaiba had a straight face, which to most would count as a smile. "Quite well, thank you. And how are things with you?"
Since the lottery was the only thing on her mind, she blurted out the story to him.
Kaiba laughed. "You don't need that! Who needs to rely on ping-pong balls and a chump like Tristan to make your life a little more fancy?"
Mai looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, maybe you can come by here more often and enjoy what my mansion has to offer." He looked away. "It can get awfully lonely here." He looked back at her. "So what do you think of that?"
Mai smiled weakly, for once thinking about a little more than money. "I'd like at a lot."
Kaiba looked at the clock and yawned. "I have to get going now. You can stay for a while if you like." He paged someone, instructing to treat Mai as a guest.
----End of Flashback----
"And I did," Mai said, "although I sort of got carried away with the drinks."
Téa looked dazed, still thinking about Yugi's other half.
"After that, I really can't remember anything. The dizzy feeling stopped after coming here," Mai explained.
Just then, Téa got an idea and brightened. "How about we go see how Kaiba is right now?"
Mai looked at Téa weirdly. "Really?"
"Sure! I'll even come with you!"
They both got into Mai's car and drove off.
* * *
Kaiba had just barely gotten dressed and was straightening his collar in the mirror.
"Master Kaiba." Kaiba was being paged. "Your nemesis, Yugi Moto, has come to challenge you to a duel."
"No way!" Kaiba rasped. "Send him in."
* * *
The door of the mansion opened. "Please have a seat. Master Kaiba will be out with the Duel Disks shortly for your duel," the voice from the box said.
"No Duel Disk!" Yami blurted without thinking.
"Right. I will tell Master Kaiba that you wish to duel in an arena."
Yami walked in and sat down. He was assailed by the smell of pungent perfume.
There's still time to change your mind.
But Yami didn't respond. Instead, he took out his deck and leafed through it.
* * *
"Hello?" Joey asked, picking up the receiver. "Mom? Yeah, Dad's home. I'll get him." He was excited, since his mom has NEVER called his dad since the divorce.
After what seemed like a long while, Joey's dad walked into the living room, where Joey was waiting, gnawing on pizza.
"Pack your bags, son," he said. "We're moving in with Serenity and your mother. She loves me again! And I love her!"
Joey's pupils went to the center of his eyes. "Moving?!"
His dad nodded proudly. "Yes. First thing tomorrow, after I quit my job and take care of everything. If we get out by tomorrow, we won't have to pay next month's rent. Yes, this is the way it should be, Joseph. I'm going to make some calls to get everything ready."
Without saying anything, Joey went to his room, leaving half of the pizza behind. He only had less than a day to say goodbye to his friends. "Was this really the right thing?" he asked himself. He wanted to call Yugi with the news, but his father was using the phone. Instead, he picked up the wooden stick and went for a walk.
He went to Yugi's house, but nobody was there.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where he is," said Grampa.
Joey knew that he didn't have much time, seeing that he had to pack his stuff. "Can I use your phone?"
"Sure," Grampa replied.
Joey called Téa, but she wasn't home. He also called Tristan, but he didn't pick up (He was in a horrendously deep sleep.).
He left the Game Shop and began to walked aimlessly around Domino City. "I might never see this place again," he said quietly to himself, swinging the stick back and forth.
"What have you got there?" a voice asked. It was Bakura.
"Oh, I don't know," Joey responded. "I've got some bad news." He told Bakura about moving away. "And I can't seem to get in touch with anyone."
A car horn came from behind them. It was Joey's father. "Come on, son. No time to chat. The arrangements have been made, so it's time to get packing!" He opened the passenger door for his son.
"I - I've got to go," Joey said, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked down at the stick. "Uh - here. When you see Yugi, could you please give it to him, as a goodbye present? It's all that I have with me right now, but it's pretty special. It grants wishes." He handed it to Bakura. "Maybe too well," he added, under his breath.
"I will." Bakura nodded.
"Tell the others goodbye for me," Joey was even sadder.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Bakura inquired.
"Right now, I'm so confused . . . I don't know which I want more - my family happy again, or my friends."
Joey got into the car, and it drove away.
Bakura looked down sadly, and his gaze met that of one of the monsters on Joey's gift to Yugi.
(To be continued.)