Chapter 18

"The Shadow Game"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!" Tristan cried, stepping forward.

"Don't move!!" Keith barked at the Japanese boy, "One more step and I'll blow her brains out!!"

Tristan growled and clenched his fists, but Yugi put a hand on his arm, "I wouldn't try it, Tristan – look at his eyes! I've never seen Keith like this before."

Tsuki whimpered and Tea hugged her close, not able to take her eyes away from the scene.

Mai, for her part, was terrified almost beyond rational thought. How could she have been so stupid?? She'd walked right into this. She deserved to get shot…she should have known Keith couldn't be trusted. She felt Keith's ragged breath on her ear and blinked back petrified tears. She couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Yugi felt the puzzle start glowing. Yami was coming! He would know what to do!

Keith began to bark out orders, "Ok, first I want all of you to hand over you decks and the items you've collected! Then-"

There was a rush of wind behind the crazed American, causing him to look back. Joey had landed mere inches from Keith's back. Obviously, he had been watching from the rooftop of the store on Keith's side. With a quick thrust of his leg, Joey hit Bandit Keith in the back of the leg, causing him to fall to his knees. Joey grabbed the hand with the gun and wrestled it away from him, sending it bouncing several feet away.

During the struggle, Mai was flung roughly to the ground, skidding across the dirt. She picked herself up and scrambled enough out of the way to get back on her feet. She was breathing hard and her sweating. Her palms were stinging, and she didn't doubt that they were bleeding from cuts made by her fall. But she wasn't concerned with herself at all. Joey had come to her rescue…again.

Keith, now more furious than before, stood back up and punched Joey dead in the face, the full force of a healthy (physically, mind you) 22-year old male in the hit. The Japanese boy was sent sprawling away, nose bleeding thickly.

Tea let out a small cry and Tsuki buried her face in the older girl's stomach, not bearing to watch.

Joey picked himself up of the street, wiping away the blood that was trickling down into his mouth. He felt a hand on his shoulder, looked up, and saw Yami gazing back at him, "Let me handle this from here." Tristan had retrieved the gun before Keith could and pointed the loaded firearm at the American.

Yami Yugi pointed his finger at the older, taller man, "Bandit Keith! That's two times now that you've tried to hurt me and my friends! I cannot let your crimes go unpunished! For trespassing in the souls of all my friends, I challenge you to a Shadow Game!"

* * *

All seven beings were now up on the roof where Joey had leaped off of. Joey (nose still bleeding at a nasty rate) was protectively standing in front of Mai and hadn't spoken a word to her. Tristan was six feet away from Keith, who was standing calmly in the center of the roof. Tea was standing anxiously behind Tristan, and still holding Tsuki close to her.

Yami walked over to where Joey had been hiding, "As you can see, Keith, when Joey leapt from here, he knocked over this board of wood," The great pharaoh pointed at where a thin wooden board stretched from their rooftop to the next, "The rules of this game will be as follows. Whichever person can successfully walk across the board will be declared victor."

The madman chuckled, "Is that it? No other rules?"

Yami returned the quiet laughter, "In the case that we both walk the board successfully, you will be declared the winner. If I lose to you Keith, not only will I likely have several broken bones from the fall into the garbage dumpster down there (filled with glass shards from the glass work shop below us), but my life will be yours to take. However, if you lose then you will play a Penalty Game!" he turned to look directly at Tsuki. He would have liked her to help him with the magical part of this game, but he didn't want to embarrass her. The ruler looked right at Bandit Keith, his Millennium Puzzle glowing brightly, "Game start!"

Bandit Keith snorted, "Fine. You first."

Undaunted, the soul of the Puzzle took one step onto the board. Only one who was pure of soul and mind would be able to cross the board. He had used his Millennium Puzzle to change the vision of Keith and him, so when he took that first step onto the board it widened to take up the entire space between roofs. His eyes glazed over as this new view took over and began to walk easily across the board.

Keith, seizing the moment, rushed forward to the board, "HA HA HA HA! He said anything else goes, so in an instant I'll win this game without having to walk an inch on that stupid piece of wood!"

"Hey! What do you think you're doin'?" Tristan demanded, his grip tightening on the gun he was still holding.

Keith didn't answer, he just picked up a stray rock and smashed the end of the wood, breaking off a small piece and causing it to fall off of their end.

"YAMI!!" Tea cried. Beside her, Tsuki's backpack began glowing. In an instant, it was Dedi who stood in her place. Tea stepped back, startled, as Dedi sprinted forward, crying her husband's name.

Suddenly (as the board was falling outside) the view changed. Now Yami had to climb a set of stairs to complete his journey. Time slowed for him (whom was both pure of soul and mind) and he finished his way across.

Dedi stopped just short of the ledge of the roof, watching in slight amazement. Yami never ceased to amaze her. His magic wasn't nearly what it had been all those eons ago, but it was certainly still a force to be reckoned with.

Yami's eyes refocused and he stared across at Keith, but not before noticing that this end of the board had snagged on an outstretched pole that held several wires. He adjusted the board so that both ends were once again touching the ledges off the roofs (just barely now).

Bandit Keith couldn't believe his eyes. How had that little brat managed to walk up the board without falling off? It was impossible! His thoughts were interrupted by 'Yugi's' voice from the other side, "It's your turn Keith! Can you accomplish what was so simple for me? If you do, my fate will rest in your hands. If not, yours is in mine. Forfeit will also result in a loss for you, so choose carefully!"

Keith cursed loudly, "Dammit! Anything that you can do will be a cinch for me!" He boldly walked over to the skinny board of wood and placed one foot on it. As if on cue, his one eye went black and unable to see, while the other had blurred vision. The board began to wobble and shake. Keith let out a yell of surprise.

Yami watched intently, thinking to himself. Keith! Your soulless body cuts your vision in half for this game and your unstable mind makes your task all the more impossible. Will you step down and surrender, or will you fall to your death in the attempt?

Keith couldn't bring himself to take another step. This must be a trick of some sort! He took his foot off and fell backwards, shocked to see that the board looked normal once again.

Yami walked back across the board, as easily as it had been the first time. Standing over the loser of his first Shadow Game in a long time, Yami delivered his punishment, "Bandit Keith, as the loser of this game you must play a penalty game! Surrender all of your items to Mai, or your mind will be banished to the Shadow Realm!"

Keith stood up and began to back away nervously, "What do you mean? You're crazy!"

Tristan, to help back up Yugi's threat, let loose a shot that rang out and echoed off of the nearest buildings. The bullet went straight up into the air and disappeared from view. The teen looked shocked at his own daring.

Keith got the message, "Alright already! I'm goin'!" He threw off his golden chain and it (with all three items still attached) landed at Mai's feet. With that he leaped off of the roof as Joey had done and took off, getting lost in the crowded market place.

Joey (now with a red streak of blood that marked the front of his face) watched him leave, calling out to the American, "And don't come back now, ya hear!"

"Yami!" Dedi breathed, embracing him tightly, "That was wonderful!"

Yami blushed deeply, patting her awkwardly. "Darling, perhaps we should let the hosts take control again?"

She nodded and the two of them faded away, leaving Yugi standing there, locked in Tsuki's tight hug.

Tea wiped the sweat off her brow and glanced over at Tristan. He was staring at the gun, his hands shaking. "Hey," she said, putting a hand on his arm, "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" he said, unconvincingly, "I'm fine."

"That was really brave you know," she said.

Tristan felt himself go scarlet, "Really? No…not as brave as Yami was…"

"Maybe not – but it was a different kind of bravery," she insisted, tightening her grip on his arm, "I was impressed."

"…Yeah?" he asked.

As an answer, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him quickly on the cheek. Wide-eyed and not knowing at all what to do next, he just grinned sheepishly at her. She smiled, "Yeah. Now how 'bout we get off this roof?"

Before Tristan could answer, Yugi and Tsuki came up beside them. "I'm all for that," Yugi said, "Besides, I think Joey and Mai need a little time alone…"

"Right…" Tristan said, and the four of them headed into the building down the stairs.

Even after they were gone Joey didn't turn his gaze away from the street below. Mai bent down to pick up the items and hooked them to her chain gingerly. She looked down at her hands, and was relieved to see the bleeding wasn't that bad. But she should've been thankful that scratch-up hands were all she'd gotten out of the ordeal. She could've been much worse off if it hadn't been for Joey. She'd probably be dead.

"Joey…" she said at last, turning towards him.

He said nothing, and kept his back to her.

"I owe you a big apology…" she said softly, "That's twice you've saved my life now…and I've been nothing but a bitch this whole time…"

Joey turned slightly, and was surprised to see small tears welling in her eyes. She was twisting her cloak in her hands, and a red stain was starting to spread on the cloth. "Don't do that!" he said, taking hold of her hands and pulling them away from the cloak, "You'll just make it worse."

"Sorry…" she said quickly, and then their eyes locked. After a moment, she added, "…for everything."

He dropped her hands, surprised at his own daring, "Forget it. It was nothing…" Joey sniffed, just now realizing that his face under his nose was glossy and damp as fresh trickles of red blood dripped out of his nose, from where Keith had probably cracked it. He sniffled slightly; there was nothing he could do without looking like a total moron to clean it.

"Oh, you're a mess. Let me help you with that," she said, pulling her sleeve over her hand and reaching to wipe away some of the blood. When he backed away slightly, she said, "It's fine – this thing's dirty beyond help anyway." She cleaned off his face as best she could, trying to be careful not to hurt him.

He waited patiently for her to finish then sniffed again, "Uh… thanks." It was at this time that he noticed the others had left, "Hey, where'd everybody go?"

She glanced around as well, "I dunno…I guess they headed back down already." The wind swirled around them and she pulled her hair over her shoulder, stroking it absent-mindedly, her hands now numb beyond the stinging. "It's just…you and me…" She felt the slightest bit of color rise in her cheeks and she turned her eyes to the floor, wanting to kick herself, and hoping he hadn't noticed.

Alone…which dream was this? "Yup…" Joey sat down on the ledge of the roof, where he had watched the duel scant minutes before.

"Guess so," she said, sitting down beside him, enjoying the warm breeze on her face.

There was a long moment of silence, neither one of them daring to look at the other. Then Mai took a deep breath and said, "I…I want to thank you, Joey…You didn't have to do what you did…"

"Yeah, I know. I thought I had the guts to make good on my threat, but I guess I'm just a sucker for a damsel in distress, ya know?" Joey knew that that sounded sexist and patiently waited to get smacked upside the head and probably tumbling off of the ledge one story to the ground.

But Mai only said, "I'm not used to being the 'damsel in distress'. But being rescued every once in a while isn't so bad." She laid a hand down on what she'd thought would be the ledge, but instead it came down on Joey's hand. She didn't move it away, though she felt a small shiver run up her arm. "I'm glad you came back…"

Joey was slightly surprised at her touch and moaned inwardly. He really was a coward after all. He could dream all he wanted, but he was too scared to actually do anything. This was the reason that the toughest teen in Domino High had never even been on a date, "Your welcome. And thanks for not giving up. I watched the rest of your duel ya know." He lifted his other hand and pointed to a corner. It seemed to be several stairs going down to nowhere, because what would have been the door was sealed up tight, "From right over there. No one could see me. Or maybe no one bothered ta notice…"

"I wish I had noticed," Mai said, "Then maybe I could've won a little sooner." She grinned at him, but inside she was a wreck. What am I doing? Why am I hesitating? I've never been so nervous around a man before…god, I don't want to hurt him. Maybe that's why I'm so reluctant to let this go any further…

"Heh heh… If you had won any sooner, I don't know if I would have had the courage to jump down and save you. I was working up to just the jumping down part, but I guess it was the adrenaline that took over when that creep pulled a gun…" Joey, as a typical guy, did not see past the thin veil that Mai had to mask herself. I wish I could be as relaxed as she is… I don't think I'll ever be at a point where I can hang out with a member of the opposite sex and be so calm…

"My hero…" Mai said quietly, and then leaned forward quickly, pressing her lips to his. Joey's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, he was so shocked. Both of their minds were racing at the same time.

Oh my LORD!! Joey thought, There's no way this is really happening…I'm gonna wake up any minute now…right? But even in his dreams it had never been this good.

What have I done? Mai thought, Is he really ready for this…does he have any idea what he's getting into, getting involved with me? You know, I don't think I've ever kissed a younger man before…is this his first??

She broke away from him after a minute. "Sorry!" she said hurriedly, "I shouldn't have done that."

The taste of her still fresh on his lips and his hormones practically taking him over, Joey leaned forward to kiss her again. She put a hand up to stop him, "Wait…" she said, glancing down at the street below them, "Where did you say you couldn't be seen?"

* * *

"They sure have been up there a long time," Yugi mused as he, Tristan, Tea and Tsuki sat under the shade of a café canopy, waiting for Mai and Joey.

Tristan checked his watch, "It's only been ten minutes. Five more and then I'll go and break up whatever their doing."

Tea flushed, her mind leaping immediately to the worst of things that Joey and Mai could be doing. And with Mai, she wouldn't be surprised. All this time, she'd seen new sides of Mai, and she'd even learned to tolerate the older woman, but it didn't mean she trusted her anymore than before. She cast a wary glance at the roof, where the two were no longer visible, and her cheeks burned as her mind conjured a vivid image of just what Tristan might have to break up.

She turned her head away quickly, wishing she could pound the image out of her brain without calling attention to herself. As substitute, she put her head in her hands and tried to look calm and even a little bored. She felt eyes on her and caught Tristan staring.

The brown-haired boy turned away hurriedly at being caught, and Tea knew he must have been picturing the same thing she had…but with a different couple. Was he really fantasizing about that after one kiss on the cheek?? What had she done it for anyway, if not to turn his horny-teenage brain to thoughts like that?

She'd just been trying the comfort him…right? She licked her lips absentmindedly; his skin had been soft under them, with just a hint of that beard he insisted was coming in. She smiled to herself – it hadn't been that bad. Maybe someday he'd work up the nerve to kiss her back.

Across the café table, Yugi cast a nervous glance at Tsuki. She was sipping from the water bottle she kept in her backpack, and little beads of sweat marked her face. He could understand that – it was sweltering, evening the shade. He wiped his own perspiring face with the sleeve of his cloak, and wondered if Tsuki had grown so fond of him because of the attachment her spirit had to his.

Then he wondered if it was destined to be mutual. He admitted that Tsuki was cute, but she was three years younger than he was. Was he allowed to like someone that young? Tristan had said she'd start "developing" in a few years, and judging by what the spirit of the scale looked like, little Tsuki would be developing quite a bit. Surprised at his semi-perverted thoughts, Yugi turned away, blushing.

Tsuki noticed and suppressed a giggle. Yugi was so cute, so shy. She couldn't quite remember why she'd been hugging him before – she'd kind of blacked out. It was a little like a dream, but she was sure he'd done something very brave to make the man with the gun go away.

Silently, she wondered why no one ever said anything about her dizzy spells. She'd had them ever since she'd come to have the Scale. She remembered that when Yugi had been dueling yesterday, he seemed like another person. There had been some talk of his Puzzle. She wondered briefly if, when she passed out, she became a different person. Like Yugi did. She wanted to ask him, but didn't know how she could bring it up. So she resolved to store the question in the back of her mind and wait for a better time.

It was then that they heard voices calling them. They each turned and saw Mai and Joey emerging from the doorway of the building across the street, on whose roof they'd been. Joey's bloody nose had subsided and there was only a bit of dried blood left on his face. He was grinning like his usual self. Mai was smiling too, but a more subdued, satisfied smile.

"Did you all miss us?" she asked casually as the pair reached the table.

"Took you long enough," Tristan snapped, "What do you think you were doin' up there??"

Joey blushed, and Mai shrugged. "We had a lot to talk about," she said.

"Talk…right…" Tea said skeptically.

"That's right," Mai said, "Now, I don't know about the rest of you – but I'm all for heading back to the hotel. Even I don't need this much sun."

"Fine with me," Tsuki said, standing up.

The other three followed suit and Yugi said glumly, "I'd really been hoping to find Kaiba before the day was over."

"We don't have to call it quits entirely," Mai said, "I'm sure he'll be out and about in amidst Al Karnak's swingin' nightlife after dinner."

Yugi nodded, "A night duel wouldn't be so bad," he agreed, "At least it won't be so hot."

They all agreed and headed out through the streets back to their hotel. Tristan hung back and pulled Joey back with him, whispering, "So…?"

"So what?" Joey asked, blushing even more.

"What happened…?" Tristan pried.

"Nothin'…" Joey answered unconvincingly.

"How much nothin'?" Tristan said slyly.

"A whole lotta nothin'…" Joey muttered, pressing his forefingers together timidly.

"Yeah?" Tristan said, intrigued, "How far'd you get?"

"Not so loud!" Joey hissed, "I'll tell ya later, okay?"

Tristan nodded, and slipped his hands into his pockets, content with that for now. He'd drag all the juicy details out of his best friend later.

Further along, Mai could feel Tea's disapproving glare as if it were an extra sun beating down on her. But she didn't really care. Let the younger girl think what she wanted to – she wouldn't get a word out of Mai. She smiled slightly. It had only been kissing – as if she would've sunk so low as to do anything more out in the open. But it was fun to watch Tea's visible mix of emotions: condemnation, jealousy, and a number of others.

Her thoughts shifted from Tea completely and floated back to the roof. Only kissing – but what kissing! There was something about an inexperienced man than made it all the more enjoyable. He had been clumsy at first, not sure where to put his hands or how long to wait before breathing. But she'd eased him into it, starting simply and only giving him a bit of tongue right before declaring it time to rejoin the group.

She shook her head. She'd used the tactics before, to leave men hungry for more. But something was different about this time. This time she was the one that hadn't wanted it to end. Something about Joey just felt right to her. She couldn't explain it, no matter how hard she tried. For the moment though, she was happy to not worry about it.