AN: I'm experiencing some difficulties with my wrist...boo hoo...and it bugs me when I type...poor me yes? ::sighs:: I'm not sure where I'm going with this chapter...I think I might add more background with Malka and bring out the other characters...::shrugs:: I get this feeling its not going to be so good...but its not like the previous chapters were all that great...I still need reviews. Suggestions? Pointers? Anything?! Well, except punctuation...the wrist hurts _ Send 'em through w/ a review
disclaimer: no ownership to the characters to Yu-gi-oh...I'll go cry in a corner now
====I'll Go On and On====
Chapter Three:
It was another beautiful day in the city of Domino.
[an: I was so tempted to write it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood..hehe]
Seto Kaiba walked into the jewelry store and waited for Malka Ishtar to arrive. He was fifteen minutes early for their appointment for an engagement ring shopping, which he skipped his lunch in order to squeeze in what little spare time he had to go ring shopping with her. He browsed a bit at the largest diamond outlet in Domino City until he bumped into a familiar face.
"Hey Kaiba. I'm surprise to see you here. Didn't think diamonds were your thing."
"I'm meeting someone here." He answered back with a slight irritation.
"Oh? Who might that be?" Mai questioned inquisitively.
"Haven't you heard of the saying 'curiosity killed the cat.'"
"Touchy touchy. You don't need to get so defensive."
"Why are you here?"
"Didn't you just said- forget it. I'm suppose to meet somebody here too but he's half an hour late. That jerk."
"Hey, Mai. You're a girl. What type of ring do you think a girl would like?"
"Well, it really depends on the girl and the occasion."
"Oh."
"So what's the occasion?"
"..."
"Birthday? Anniversary? Thank You? Miss You? What?"
"A uhh...thank you ring, I guess."
"How come I never received a thank you ring from you? Remember that time I tested out your game?"
"That was over three years ago and if I recalled correctly, I paid you for that."
"Oh, right." Mai replied sheepishly. "What time were you suppose to meet your friend?"
"Noon." Kaiba looked at his watch and it was a few minutes past noon and she still haven't showed up yet. He decided to give her a call to see where she was.
"Hey Yugi, is that Mokuba over there at the coffee shop?"
"Yea, that is him, Tea. MOKUBA! HEY!" Yugi started waving his arms wildly trying to get his attention.
"Look, he has a friend there too."
"Very observant, Tristan. Ohh...She's a pretty one too." Joey said as they approached Malka and Mokuba.
"Down Joey. If you continue these remarks Mai might find out about 'em." Tristan smirked evilly.
"Hey guys! You want to join us?" Mokuba welcomed cheerfully.
"Don't mind if we do." Joey said pulling a chair sitting next to Malka, who continue examining her catalogs paying no attention to the new crowd joining them. On the other side of her sat Tristan while Yugi and Tea sat at the remaining empty spots.
"So you going to introduce us, Mokuba or do we have to that ourselves?" Joey impatiently asked.
"Oh right. Everyone, this is Malka. Malka, that's Joey, Tristan, Tea, and Yugi." Mokuba introduced in a clock-wise manner.
Malka looked up and smiled politely at everyone until her eyes came in contact with Yugi's. She felt that her heart had stopped for that moment and sank. She glanced at the trinket around his neck and identified it as the Millennium Puzzle.
"Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." asked a concerned Yugi.
"I-I'm fine." She manage to stammer out. "It must be the heat." She gave a weak smile.
"Why don't we go to a cooler place than or get some shade under the tree and away from the hot sun." Tristan recommended.
"I'm fine really."
"So shorty, how come I never see you around Malka? Did ya just meet her?"
She's my big sister." Mokuba announced proudly.
"Big sister?" They said simultaneously experiencing a bit of shock.
"When did this happen?" It was Tea's turn for questions. "You never mentioned you had an older sister."
"Yesterday. Tell them about it Malka."
"Huh? I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." she shook off her trance she had on the Millennium Puzzle.
"You seem so distance. Like your mind is somewhere else. Is something bothering you?"
"I'm just fascinated by that necklace Yugi is wearing. It looks very Egyptian-ish."
"So you're familiar with Egyptian relics?"
"I know a little bit about them." She replied modestly as she rested her chin on her left hand, her eyes still glued on the puzzle.
"That's a beautiful ring you have there." Tea complimented changing the subject. "Are you engaged?" Tea asked hoping to discourage Tristan and Joey from flirting with her.
"In fact, I am engaged." she said proudly.
"I thought engagement rings are usually diamonds, not rubies." Joey thought out loud.
"This isn't my engagement ring-" her cell phone interrupted Malka and she hastily verify the number which belonged to Kaiba.
"Hello, love." There was a paused as he yelled at her on the other end and than she carried on the discussion. "I'm sorry, love. I just lost track of time with Moku-...No, don't leave yet. I'm just around the corner. I'll be there in a few min-. Hello? Hello? He hung up on me!"
"What a jerk! Was that your fiancé?" Malka just nodded to Tristan. "How can he treat you like that? If I ever meet him I'll give him a piece of me."
"I should get going and see if I can catch him still. Mokuba, why don't you stay here with your friends. I'll be back to get you."
"Okay, Sis." he agreed. Malka leaned forward and kissed the top of his head.
"Stay out of trouble." She walked instantly out of the coffee shop and disappeared around the corner.
"That reminds me, I'm late for an appointment too. I'll catch you guys later." Joey rushed in the same direction.
As soon as she was out of sight, Malka ran as fast as she could to the jewelry store she was suppose to meet Kaiba. She glanced at her watch; she was seven minutes late. She ran up the stairs and walked through the double door and collided right into him. She lost balance but coincidentally, Joey was right behind her to catch her, preventing her fall.
"Hands off her, Wheeler." Kaiba snarled.
"Calm down Kaiba. I just saved her from falling down the stairs."
"Thank you." Malka responded softly.
"I said, hands off her, Wheeler." Kaiba repeated.
"Sheesh, this is the thanks I get for saving your-?" Kaiba interrupted him and jerked Malka to him by the wrist.
"Ishtar, how does he know about us?"
"Mokuba spilled the beans. Why are you treating you sister like that? Can't you see that you're hurting her."
"SISTER?! You think I'm related to HER?!"
Joey became puzzled. "But Mokuba said that she was-"
Kaiba started chuckling in amusement. "Oh I get it now. Mokuba called her big sister. You are so easily duped."
"Am I missing something?"
"It's nothing important, Joey. And thank you. Let's go, love. You promised me ring." With Kaiba still holding her by the wrist, she slid her hand into his and pulled him back into the store.
"I don't want you associating with that mutt."
"You mean Joey? I don't waste time with trash. And I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. Even if it was only for SEVEN minutes."
"Let's just get this over with."
After spending an hour in the jewelry store, they finally found a ring they both agreed on.
"So take off that ruby ring already. Where did you get that from?"
"If your eyes weren't so blue, I'd call you the green-eyed monster," she countered jokingly.
"I thought we went over this already. I am not jealous."
"I was only kidding and if you must know, this is a family heirloom. It's the only thing that's keeping me alive." 'Literally,' she added mutely.
"Give it to me, Ishtar."
"But-"
"Listen, if we're going to go through with this, I want that ring off your finger."
Hesitantly, she slipped the ring off her finger while Kaiba smoothly replaced it with the new ring.
"Love, I told your brother that I'd get him when I'm done. We should see if he's still there." Hoping he'd forget about her ruby ring that was still in her hand, which she later placed in the pocket of her jeans.
"Alright. I'll call a limo to come pick us up."
The two walked together to the coffee shop where she left Mokuba along with his friends and they were just as she had left them but with one change. Yugi wasn't there anymore but the ancient spirit, Yami.
"Hey Seto! Hey Malka!" Mokuba happily greeted.
"Mokuba, we're going now." Kaiba simply stated. "If you want to be dropped off at the mansion, the limo will be here in a few minutes."
"Okay. But in the meantime, why don't you come here and sit down."
"I'll pass."
"Malka?"
"I'm okay."
"You don't have to stand here with me, Ishtar."
"I know."
"Here." Both Kaiba and Malka looked at Yami who was extending two water bottle to them.
"I don't take charity." Kaiba replied harshly
"You'll be dehydrated if you don't drink during this hot weather."
"I can take care of myself."
"Malka? Take one." She only smiled uneasily and shook her head in response not taking the offer. "I feel as though we've met before." Yami started.
"We just met about an hour ago. When Mokuba introduced us." She reminded grabbing the water bottle in his hand hoping he'd leave her alone.
"No...I feel like I know you from somewhere."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Look Yugi."
"Yami." he corrected.
"Yami. Don't be getting any ideas on her. If you haven't noticed, she's an engaged woman." Kaiba grabbed her left hand and flaunt the new ring in front of Yami.
"Th-that's not what I meant. I didn't mean it to come out that way but I feel like I've known you before...a long time ago."
"Ridiculous! Don't tell me it consist of that fairy tale about you being Pharaoh of Egypt so long ago."
"I'm being serious, Kaiba. Yami growled. I'm almost certain I know her very well."
All at once, a kid on skates pasted by almost hitting Malka but Yami reflexes were on alert and drew her close to him preventing her from losing her balance with the end result of Malka into his arms. Yami gazed into the familiar violet eyes.
"You have three seconds to get your hands off my fiancée." Kaiba crossly declared.
Quickly Yami let go of Malka who was trembling. 'This isn't happening to me.' She shook her head slowly. 'All I wanted was to be with him. Why is fate being so cruel to me? Why did he have to show up?' She asked herself.
"Malka!" Mokuba called out to her. His voice was full of concern for her. "Are you okay? Malka?!"
Just than, Kaiba's limo pulled forward. "Mokuba, get the rest of her stuff and let's go." Kaiba led Malka, who was softly muttering to herself into the limo. He looked at Yami and maliciously said, "I don't want you any where near her. You got that?!" Mokuba came back with the magazines and catalogs Malka was looking through earlier and entered the limo. Kaiba followed and the limo drove off leaving Yami confused with what just happened.
A/N: This went longer than I expected it to. It seems like Malka has no sense of balance huh? Always falling into somebody's arm. Blah, I don't really like this chapter...but I had to get it done right? Next chapter is going to focus on Yami as talks to Yugi about this girl he thinks he knows from the past...where's his memory when he needs it? remember to review!
note: updated/revised on 7.27