Author's Notes: Sorry for the long twelve-day wait! I was in Orlando,
Florida, and then Atlanta, Georgia to stay with some friends and no I'm
finally back home with my computer! Happy New Year everybody! Chappie Four
is up, and in this chapter, Jou finally meets Mai! Enjoy!
* * *
CHAPTER FOUR
GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER
"You mean I have to teach a numbskull the ways of the palace to regain her stupid memory?" Mai asked, checking her perfectly painted violet nails.
"Mai, be quiet. Anzu, by a few guards, was told to be seducing them, playing innocent with evil schemes, being able to knock them down and hurt them, but she seems so bubbly and innocent now. It might be memory loss. We need you to recover that, have her take us as friends, so that she can reveal the truth to us." Seto scolded.
"Kaiba, be careful." Mai looked up with deep purple eyes.
"Why?" Seto asked. Mai had always treated him as a friend, a caring friend, but he knew she liked blondes. She liked handsome blondes with a sense of humor.
"You sound like you have a thing for this girl. Be careful. If she's as "wonderful," Mai rolled her eyes, "as you say she is, then the Pharaoh will be looking for her as well."
"I do not." Seto protested.
"Kaiba?"
"Yeah?"
"Shuttup and listen to me." Mai laughed, and headed towards the city, disguised in a gray cloak.
~Isis, Malik, Jou, and Honda in the City~
"I'm thirsty." Jou complained. "And hungry." He nodded his head vigorously.
Isis let out a cry of stress. "You're always hungry and thirsty, Jounouchi Katsuya! But, for Anzu, here are five coins from Anzu." Isis handed it to Jou, and he headed by himself towards a shop.
Jou headed by himself towards the shop, and when he entered, he caught sight of the loveliest girl he had ever seen besides Anzu herself. She was blonde-haired and violet-eyed. Her long lashes fluttered, her golden hair standing out next to her dull gray cloak.
She was having a drink, but was also talking to the bartender. "I have a drink to sell to you. From the Pharaoh. You can make tons of gold and rubies from it." Jou distracted the bartender by first ordering food and drink. Mai caught sight of Jou. He was blond, meeting her standards, but was he funny? She decided to check him out. "I promise you it. Here.take a drink, on me." Mai gave Jou a drink.
Jou was startled by the young blonde beauty, but did as he was told. He glanced at the fizzy brown-black mixture with bubbles in it (A/N: It's Coke!). "Fizzy.pleasant.. and sugary. It's so bubbly." Mai grinned evilly. In a few minutes, he'd be bouncing off the walls.
"Now for my experiment." Mai walked around to the bar, and took the drink from Jou. Jou watched carefully, furrowing his brows. Mai smirked back devilishly. She then added a mixture of light yellow food coloring, salt and pepper, vinegar, and cream to the drink. "Try this."
"Is that nontoxic?" Jou asked, slightly puzzled.
Mai leaned forward. "Of course it's edible. Drink it." She pushed the glass towards him.
The bartender leaned in as well, and Mai pulled away. Jou took a deep swig of the mixture, and as quickly as it entered his mouth, he shot the drink back out - oh yes, right on the bartender's face. The bartender growled, pawing the drink off his face, the pepper stinging his eyes. Jou didn't gasp or do anything; he just blew up in laughter. He rolled onto the floor with Mai, both laughing their heads out.
The bartender kicked the two out. "Ow!" Mai had landed on top of Jou, and Jou groaned.
"OW!" He yelped, and Mai looked down to see herself on Jou.
She blushed. "Sorry."
Jou ignored it. "I want my money back!" He yelled, waving his arms vigorously.
"My name is Mai Valentine." Mai's voice was low, and almost a deep growl, and Jou turned to look at her. She was indeed very pretty, but he wanted someone just as crazy and funny as himself.
"Jou," He gave her a silly peace sign.
"Where are you from?" She asked, standing up and straightening her violet skirt under her dusty gray cloak. She flung the cloak off because it was sandy and dusty.
"Back there." Jou nodded his head towards two secluded cottages together - Isis and Malik, Honda and himself. "What about you?" He asked.
Mai blushed a bit. After all, even though she felt really attracted to him, he was a lowly commoner.and she was, well, Lady Mai Valentine. She couldn't be Mai Valentine. The 'Lady' haunted her wherever she went.
"Someplace you wouldn't know of." She lied swiftly.
"Oh." Jou didn't mind. People all over Egypt were soft and mysterious. "Want to go and sneak into the palace and put skunk scent in the fountain?" Jou asked brightly, waving a bottle of potion.
Mai took a glance at him, but recovered quickly. "Sure! Just let me put my cloak back on."
"Good idea. Since we're both blondes, it'll be easier for us to disguise ourselves." Jou tossed Mai a sandy-colored cloak. "Let's go." He whispered.
~Anzu and Seto~
"Hi, Anzu." Anzu looked up to see Seto Kaiba. She saw his deep sapphire eyes and his chocolate-colored hair hanging down over his eyes.
"Hi, Seto." She replied cheerfully, holding a pink blossom between her hands. "I've made arrangements for us to go down to a really beautiful part of Egypt that is warm and sandy by the ocean, not the Nile. Yami and Ryou will accompany us."
"Okay." Anzu replied, as a butterfly flew onto her outstretched finger.
~Jou and Mai~
"Shush!"
"What?"
"Your freaking purple boots are making too much noise!" Jou hissed. He usually was able to play pranks swiftly and quickly, even with Isis, but Mai's heavy boots made clunky noises.
"Sorry." Mai shuddered.
"Take your boots off." Jou demanded.
"What?"
"Take 'em off. It'll be a lot easier." Jou replied.
"Excuse me, but those boots cost at least fifty gold coins -" Jou yanking a boot off cut off Mai.
"We'll get it back on the way out." He proposed, his face only inches away from Mai's.
Mai, stunned, since no one had ever treated her that way, snapped back casually, "Fine."
Jou pulled away, and took her hand, leading her through the branches that guarded the stone castle walls. They snuck into the castle walls, and Jou and Mai reached the fountain, where the dumped the liquid in and quickly ran away.
"I had fun today." Mai giggled. "I have to go now. 'Bye." Mai left in her own direction, but Jou followed her, grabbing Isis and Honda along.
"Who is she?" Isis hissed.
"A fabulous, gorgeous girl." Jou replied, stopping for a second and sighing dreamily.
"Shut up, Jounouchi Katsuya! Why did you drag us along?" Isis bonked Jou's head.
"To meet Mai." Jou answered sheepishly. They followed Mai, making sure to stay at least 15 feet away from her.
They followed her to where eventually led to the palace, where she removed her cloak and a guard said, "Lady Mai," bowed, kneeled, and let her in.
'Lady Mai!' Jou thought, shocked, they snuck in while the guard was still kneeling.
"You're friends with a lady, Jou? Since when?" Isis asked, struck.
"Since now." Jou replied. "I was friends with a Mai, not a Lady."
"Let's go check her out." Honda suggested.
"Okay." Jou and Isis agreed in unison.
~Anzu, Seto, Yami, and Ryou~
"It's beautiful!" Anzu cried, looking at the orange-red glow of the sun as it set below the valley. "How'd you find such a place?"
"While taking a break from the war." Yami replied stiffly. He still didn't trust the girl. Who knew who she was? Nobody did, and that was the problem.
"Take this." Anzu told Yami. He looked at her, and Seto stiffened. Nobody told the Pharaoh what to do. Yami took the thick rope from her, grasping it firmly. Anzu, kicking off the heels that Tilla had prepared her with, climbed up onto a tree, which the other three boys gasped at - no girl they knew climbed trees - and took one of the knot to tie around a tree branch.
"What are you doing?" Ryou demanded.
"Having fun." Anzu spat back. She then warned the three to change into wetsuits (Author's Notes: Do they have swimsuits in Egypt?).
The four parted. Anzu put on a slick bodysuit outlining her figure and the boys stared on. "What's next?" Yami asked.
"You take the rope and swing." Anzu demonstrated by grabbing the rope, leaping onto it, and twirling into the water hole. She got two high priests and the Pharaoh of Egypt soaking wet. Their shirts got wet, revealing the muscles and chests on the wet white shirts (Author's Notes: * fainting *).
Anzu stifled a giggle in the water. "What are you laughing at?" Seto demanded, running a hand through his wet brown hair.
Yami sent a glare at Anzu, tore off his shirt, and jumped into the water to attack Anzu. Seto and Ryou soon followed.
~Jou, Honda, and Isis~
"I swear to Ra that if this isn't worth it, I'm beating you up, Jounouchi Katsuya." Isis grunted, as she crawled through the dirty ground filled with rats and grit.
"Stop complaining, will you, Isis? I need to get the dirt on Mai." They followed Mai through the corridors of the castle until they reached her dressing room.
"Hmm.a letter from the Pharaoh, Seto, and Ryou." Mai fingered the neatly written letter on her vanity table. Isis gasped at the mention of "Ryou."
"Shuttup, Isis!" Jou shushed her.
"We have left for the water hole in Tekamah with Anzu. She still has not regained her memory. See you there in a few hours. Signed, the Pharaoh and His Priests." Mai read out loud.
"Memory loss! Water hole?" Isis lunged forward, causing Mai to see Jou, Honda, and Isis.
"Jou! What're you doing here? Do you realize that you could be executed for being here?" Mai then took a glance at Isis and Honda. "And they are."
"Isis and Honda. My very good friends. Honda, my best friend, and Isis. We've been friends just about forever."
"That's wonderful." Mai replied, irritated that the spotlight wasn't on her. "Anyways, I have to go and meet up with some silly girl that lost her memory."
"Can we come?" Honda asked meekly.
"What will I tell the Pharaoh and his two high priests?" Mai asked, flipping her long hair.
"I'm Lord Katsuya, and that Honda is my cousin and Isis his wife." Jou suggested brightly.
"Lie to the Pharaoh? Are you crazy?"
"Maybe." Jou responded, shrugging.
"It's worth a shot. Besides, it'll be fun testing out your acting skills, Lord Katsuya." Mai curtsied.
"Wait a second.I refuse to be Honda's wife." Isis cried out. "Honda's my friend.not my husband."
"You'll be his sister then." Mai arranged, and then they left for the water hole of Tekamah.
* * *
Author's Notes: The boys are horsing around with Anzu, Jou has met Mai and they have learned that Anzu has lost her memory - sheesh! A lot for one chappie! Here are the standings for the votes:
Anzu/Yami: 22 Anzu/Seto: 7 Isis/Honda: 1 Isis/Ryou: 2
You can still vote until the later chappies, since the tug-o-war between Anzu for Yami and Seto isn't decided till the very end, because even I don't know who she's going to end up with, YOU decide. But for Isis, I'm going to introduce Miho now and have an Isis/Ryou pairing. R+R please, and thanks for all the great reviews!
* * *
CHAPTER FOUR
GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER
"You mean I have to teach a numbskull the ways of the palace to regain her stupid memory?" Mai asked, checking her perfectly painted violet nails.
"Mai, be quiet. Anzu, by a few guards, was told to be seducing them, playing innocent with evil schemes, being able to knock them down and hurt them, but she seems so bubbly and innocent now. It might be memory loss. We need you to recover that, have her take us as friends, so that she can reveal the truth to us." Seto scolded.
"Kaiba, be careful." Mai looked up with deep purple eyes.
"Why?" Seto asked. Mai had always treated him as a friend, a caring friend, but he knew she liked blondes. She liked handsome blondes with a sense of humor.
"You sound like you have a thing for this girl. Be careful. If she's as "wonderful," Mai rolled her eyes, "as you say she is, then the Pharaoh will be looking for her as well."
"I do not." Seto protested.
"Kaiba?"
"Yeah?"
"Shuttup and listen to me." Mai laughed, and headed towards the city, disguised in a gray cloak.
~Isis, Malik, Jou, and Honda in the City~
"I'm thirsty." Jou complained. "And hungry." He nodded his head vigorously.
Isis let out a cry of stress. "You're always hungry and thirsty, Jounouchi Katsuya! But, for Anzu, here are five coins from Anzu." Isis handed it to Jou, and he headed by himself towards a shop.
Jou headed by himself towards the shop, and when he entered, he caught sight of the loveliest girl he had ever seen besides Anzu herself. She was blonde-haired and violet-eyed. Her long lashes fluttered, her golden hair standing out next to her dull gray cloak.
She was having a drink, but was also talking to the bartender. "I have a drink to sell to you. From the Pharaoh. You can make tons of gold and rubies from it." Jou distracted the bartender by first ordering food and drink. Mai caught sight of Jou. He was blond, meeting her standards, but was he funny? She decided to check him out. "I promise you it. Here.take a drink, on me." Mai gave Jou a drink.
Jou was startled by the young blonde beauty, but did as he was told. He glanced at the fizzy brown-black mixture with bubbles in it (A/N: It's Coke!). "Fizzy.pleasant.. and sugary. It's so bubbly." Mai grinned evilly. In a few minutes, he'd be bouncing off the walls.
"Now for my experiment." Mai walked around to the bar, and took the drink from Jou. Jou watched carefully, furrowing his brows. Mai smirked back devilishly. She then added a mixture of light yellow food coloring, salt and pepper, vinegar, and cream to the drink. "Try this."
"Is that nontoxic?" Jou asked, slightly puzzled.
Mai leaned forward. "Of course it's edible. Drink it." She pushed the glass towards him.
The bartender leaned in as well, and Mai pulled away. Jou took a deep swig of the mixture, and as quickly as it entered his mouth, he shot the drink back out - oh yes, right on the bartender's face. The bartender growled, pawing the drink off his face, the pepper stinging his eyes. Jou didn't gasp or do anything; he just blew up in laughter. He rolled onto the floor with Mai, both laughing their heads out.
The bartender kicked the two out. "Ow!" Mai had landed on top of Jou, and Jou groaned.
"OW!" He yelped, and Mai looked down to see herself on Jou.
She blushed. "Sorry."
Jou ignored it. "I want my money back!" He yelled, waving his arms vigorously.
"My name is Mai Valentine." Mai's voice was low, and almost a deep growl, and Jou turned to look at her. She was indeed very pretty, but he wanted someone just as crazy and funny as himself.
"Jou," He gave her a silly peace sign.
"Where are you from?" She asked, standing up and straightening her violet skirt under her dusty gray cloak. She flung the cloak off because it was sandy and dusty.
"Back there." Jou nodded his head towards two secluded cottages together - Isis and Malik, Honda and himself. "What about you?" He asked.
Mai blushed a bit. After all, even though she felt really attracted to him, he was a lowly commoner.and she was, well, Lady Mai Valentine. She couldn't be Mai Valentine. The 'Lady' haunted her wherever she went.
"Someplace you wouldn't know of." She lied swiftly.
"Oh." Jou didn't mind. People all over Egypt were soft and mysterious. "Want to go and sneak into the palace and put skunk scent in the fountain?" Jou asked brightly, waving a bottle of potion.
Mai took a glance at him, but recovered quickly. "Sure! Just let me put my cloak back on."
"Good idea. Since we're both blondes, it'll be easier for us to disguise ourselves." Jou tossed Mai a sandy-colored cloak. "Let's go." He whispered.
~Anzu and Seto~
"Hi, Anzu." Anzu looked up to see Seto Kaiba. She saw his deep sapphire eyes and his chocolate-colored hair hanging down over his eyes.
"Hi, Seto." She replied cheerfully, holding a pink blossom between her hands. "I've made arrangements for us to go down to a really beautiful part of Egypt that is warm and sandy by the ocean, not the Nile. Yami and Ryou will accompany us."
"Okay." Anzu replied, as a butterfly flew onto her outstretched finger.
~Jou and Mai~
"Shush!"
"What?"
"Your freaking purple boots are making too much noise!" Jou hissed. He usually was able to play pranks swiftly and quickly, even with Isis, but Mai's heavy boots made clunky noises.
"Sorry." Mai shuddered.
"Take your boots off." Jou demanded.
"What?"
"Take 'em off. It'll be a lot easier." Jou replied.
"Excuse me, but those boots cost at least fifty gold coins -" Jou yanking a boot off cut off Mai.
"We'll get it back on the way out." He proposed, his face only inches away from Mai's.
Mai, stunned, since no one had ever treated her that way, snapped back casually, "Fine."
Jou pulled away, and took her hand, leading her through the branches that guarded the stone castle walls. They snuck into the castle walls, and Jou and Mai reached the fountain, where the dumped the liquid in and quickly ran away.
"I had fun today." Mai giggled. "I have to go now. 'Bye." Mai left in her own direction, but Jou followed her, grabbing Isis and Honda along.
"Who is she?" Isis hissed.
"A fabulous, gorgeous girl." Jou replied, stopping for a second and sighing dreamily.
"Shut up, Jounouchi Katsuya! Why did you drag us along?" Isis bonked Jou's head.
"To meet Mai." Jou answered sheepishly. They followed Mai, making sure to stay at least 15 feet away from her.
They followed her to where eventually led to the palace, where she removed her cloak and a guard said, "Lady Mai," bowed, kneeled, and let her in.
'Lady Mai!' Jou thought, shocked, they snuck in while the guard was still kneeling.
"You're friends with a lady, Jou? Since when?" Isis asked, struck.
"Since now." Jou replied. "I was friends with a Mai, not a Lady."
"Let's go check her out." Honda suggested.
"Okay." Jou and Isis agreed in unison.
~Anzu, Seto, Yami, and Ryou~
"It's beautiful!" Anzu cried, looking at the orange-red glow of the sun as it set below the valley. "How'd you find such a place?"
"While taking a break from the war." Yami replied stiffly. He still didn't trust the girl. Who knew who she was? Nobody did, and that was the problem.
"Take this." Anzu told Yami. He looked at her, and Seto stiffened. Nobody told the Pharaoh what to do. Yami took the thick rope from her, grasping it firmly. Anzu, kicking off the heels that Tilla had prepared her with, climbed up onto a tree, which the other three boys gasped at - no girl they knew climbed trees - and took one of the knot to tie around a tree branch.
"What are you doing?" Ryou demanded.
"Having fun." Anzu spat back. She then warned the three to change into wetsuits (Author's Notes: Do they have swimsuits in Egypt?).
The four parted. Anzu put on a slick bodysuit outlining her figure and the boys stared on. "What's next?" Yami asked.
"You take the rope and swing." Anzu demonstrated by grabbing the rope, leaping onto it, and twirling into the water hole. She got two high priests and the Pharaoh of Egypt soaking wet. Their shirts got wet, revealing the muscles and chests on the wet white shirts (Author's Notes: * fainting *).
Anzu stifled a giggle in the water. "What are you laughing at?" Seto demanded, running a hand through his wet brown hair.
Yami sent a glare at Anzu, tore off his shirt, and jumped into the water to attack Anzu. Seto and Ryou soon followed.
~Jou, Honda, and Isis~
"I swear to Ra that if this isn't worth it, I'm beating you up, Jounouchi Katsuya." Isis grunted, as she crawled through the dirty ground filled with rats and grit.
"Stop complaining, will you, Isis? I need to get the dirt on Mai." They followed Mai through the corridors of the castle until they reached her dressing room.
"Hmm.a letter from the Pharaoh, Seto, and Ryou." Mai fingered the neatly written letter on her vanity table. Isis gasped at the mention of "Ryou."
"Shuttup, Isis!" Jou shushed her.
"We have left for the water hole in Tekamah with Anzu. She still has not regained her memory. See you there in a few hours. Signed, the Pharaoh and His Priests." Mai read out loud.
"Memory loss! Water hole?" Isis lunged forward, causing Mai to see Jou, Honda, and Isis.
"Jou! What're you doing here? Do you realize that you could be executed for being here?" Mai then took a glance at Isis and Honda. "And they are."
"Isis and Honda. My very good friends. Honda, my best friend, and Isis. We've been friends just about forever."
"That's wonderful." Mai replied, irritated that the spotlight wasn't on her. "Anyways, I have to go and meet up with some silly girl that lost her memory."
"Can we come?" Honda asked meekly.
"What will I tell the Pharaoh and his two high priests?" Mai asked, flipping her long hair.
"I'm Lord Katsuya, and that Honda is my cousin and Isis his wife." Jou suggested brightly.
"Lie to the Pharaoh? Are you crazy?"
"Maybe." Jou responded, shrugging.
"It's worth a shot. Besides, it'll be fun testing out your acting skills, Lord Katsuya." Mai curtsied.
"Wait a second.I refuse to be Honda's wife." Isis cried out. "Honda's my friend.not my husband."
"You'll be his sister then." Mai arranged, and then they left for the water hole of Tekamah.
* * *
Author's Notes: The boys are horsing around with Anzu, Jou has met Mai and they have learned that Anzu has lost her memory - sheesh! A lot for one chappie! Here are the standings for the votes:
Anzu/Yami: 22 Anzu/Seto: 7 Isis/Honda: 1 Isis/Ryou: 2
You can still vote until the later chappies, since the tug-o-war between Anzu for Yami and Seto isn't decided till the very end, because even I don't know who she's going to end up with, YOU decide. But for Isis, I'm going to introduce Miho now and have an Isis/Ryou pairing. R+R please, and thanks for all the great reviews!