I'm back! I'm not dead! lol. Here's another chapter, and it's more of an "event" chapter, a scene, conversations, etc., versus her emotions and thoughts. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or anything related, and I don't own a restaurant called "Pizza Pizzazz"…if there even is one. Hope you like, and please leave any and all comments you'd like to voice!

Mai lied in bed, thinking of what else? Yugi Motou. Again he plagued her thoughts, and she couldn't think of a night when she didn't lie awake thinking of him.

She was strong, wasn't she? She could take care of herself, couldn't she? The problem was, she wanted him to take care of her. Yugi was so caring, so thoughtful, and she only wished he'd direct these attributes to her…on a better-than-friends level.

She sighed. It was dumb to dream of such a thing; it wouldn't happen. And she'd keep on pretending she thought of him only as competition…and a friend when she was in the mood.

But she was always in the mood to be his friend—she was always in the mood to be more than his friend!

She rolled over in bed, angry with herself. Every night she lie awake thinking of him, and every night she was no closer in saying he thought of her in that way.

And there was something different about him. When he dueled, it was like he was a different person. A more confident, strong figure, yet no more talented; Yugi was King of Games, and rightfully so.

She personally wished she could get a few pointers from him, but was too proud to admit it. Yugi was below her as far as anyone was concerned. She was the best woman duelist the game had ever seen, and she acted accordingly.

But still, that stronger side of Yugi made her shiver, but she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad shiver. His eyes seemed to pierce her soul, leaving her feeling embarrassed and exposed. On the dueling field this side of Yugi was powerful, almost ruthless, she might say, but he wasn't cruel.

She got the feeling that this stronger side would do anything to win—and hadn't she heard he had almost sent Seto Kaiba reeling off the roof of Maximillian Pegasus's castle, sending him to a sure death…to win?

It was unsettling in a way; the Yugi she knew would never do that. But what had made him stop? Oh, yes, Joey had told her. He had called for his attack to be stopped. Fallen to the ground in tears, she had heard.

And that's what made her sure Yugi—now matter how powerful that darker side was—would never be ruthless or cold-hearted.

With a sigh she got out of bed; she couldn't sleep right now. Stealing to her window, she wrapped her arms around herself and gazed out at the full moon. It shone effulgent rays upon the small pool below, a small one made for gardens, and trees and flowers swayed with the breeze of the night.

She was wide-awake, and it bugged her. Slipping into some clothes, she decided for a walk. Yes, it would be good for her. It was past twelve, about thirty minutes after, but she didn't care; she could take care of herself.

Her feet took her where they wished, and suddenly she was shocked to realize she was standing across the street from Yugi's house. He and his grandpa lived above the game shop, and the neon light that usually read Game was pale, the lights turned off.

She stared at the window of his room curiously; a table lamp was on, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to look inside. It was no use. She wondered what he was doing.

Probably something worthwhile. She thought to herself. With a sigh she folded her arms and hugged herself against the breeze, turning around reluctantly and disheartened, making her way back to her own residence.

The day was dark and rainy, bleak to say the least. Mai sat at "the" place to eat—for this week anyway—Pizza Pizzazz, munching on breadsticks and some Hawaiian pizza. A half-empty glass of water sat beside her plate, and she looked at it, thinking of that cliché, "is your glass half-empty or half-full?"

Well, when looking at a drinking glass with melting ice, she usually thought of it as being half-empty, so apparently she wasn't optimistic.

Picking up her glass and taking a drink, she choked when she saw Yugi Motou walk in—and by himself! She fought with the decision to hide behind the menu sitting at the next table, or to wave. She was too slow deciding. He waved himself and trotted over.

"Mai! What are you doing here?" He asked in his usual, smiling, happy way. Suddenly she realized he was the type of "the glass is half-full" person that she questioned the existence of.

"Just hanging out, Yugi. Getting a bite." She said in her usual tone, as if it was a well-known fact. He drew a corner of his lip up contemplatively.

"By yourself?" He asked like a little kid as she offered him a breadstick.

"You're here by yourself." Then she was hit with nerves when she realized maybe he wasn't here alone. Maybe Joey would trot in here at any second. Maybe he was meeting someone. He took a breadstick, biting into it, and she was anxious for him to swallow it and answer her. So much she felt like yelling.

"Well, grandpa's gone right now, and Joey couldn't come, so I thought I might as well." She leaned back in her chair, relieved, basket of breadsticks still in hand.

"Why don't you grab a seat?" She asked. "I don't mind, and then neither of us will be alone." She said it in the patented Mai Valentine tone, but she wondered if it sounded obvious. Not like Yugi would ever realize a girl was flirting with him anyway.

"Sounds great." He said with a grin, sitting down across from her. And then the image of him dueling flashed across her mind. You'd never see a grin like that on his face while he's dueling. She grinned herself at the thought of it.

"Hawaiian pizza!" He said, looking at the slice on her plate. She looked at him, confused. "I've never been able to find someone who likes it too." He explained. "Joey wonders why anyone would waste good pizza that way." He said with a grin. "He likes pepperoni. Téa only likes spinach and mushrooms, and Tristan gets double cheese." She caught herself smiling as he clocked off what kind of pizza everyone liked. He even knew what kind Seto Kaiba liked!

"Yep," He started after she raised her brows. "extra cheese with italian seasoning sprinkled on it." She giggled, and he looked up with her, eyes sparkling, teeth bared in a barely-there grin. "I expected, with Kaiba being so rich, he'd have to have something like caviar on it." Her giggled turned to a pleasant smile as she looked at him.

"You're very intuitive, aren't you, Yugi?" She said, almost knowingly. He furrowed his brows a bit, looking at her curiously. "You notice all the small things." She said. "Like, what kind of pizza everyone gets, or who says what a lot, or who wears this a lot. I'm sure Kaiba didn't tell you what kind of pizza he likes, eh?" He grinned, like he was accepting a compliment, and she could feel herself light up.

An hour later, Mai had only crumbs on her plate, and Yugi's slice of pizza was reduced to a sliver of crust, hard and cold by now. Two empty baskets—formerly filled with breadsticks—sat a bit to the side, and they were working on their forth glass of soda.

"So where's your grandpa?" She asked, taking a sip of soda through the straw she had requested. Yugi put the last bite of the last breadstick in his mouth before answering.

"He went north for a bit to see what he could get in a trade up there. It's a big game trade thing that goes on once a year, so he goes up for the week to see what he can get for the shop." He took a drink to wash the breadstick down.

"You don't like to go?" She asked, waving her hand a bit. He shook his head.

"I do, but right now I can't afford to miss school." He explained. "There's a smaller one in this city after school gets out, and Joey and I always go to it. Wanna come?" Caught of guard, she said yes before she realized.

"Sometimes I forget you're a duelist, there are a bunch of things like that we go to." He continued. "You're always welcome to come with us when we go. Tristan and Téa usually skip, so it'd be nice to have you along."

"I doubt Joey shares your frame of mind." Yugi looked at her, perplexed, and shook is head once or twice.

"Don't let anything Joey says get to you. He's all words." He smiled. "We all know that by now." She leaned back in her chair, resting an arm delicately over the back of it.

"That's one thing Joey and I have in common." She said quietly, to herself, but she knew he heard. "I doubt anyone knows I'm all talk though." She said with a smile, and a cocky tilt of the head.

"I did. I always have." He said reverently. "I'm sure everyone would if you let them." He suggested timidly. She laughed, lightening the mood, and he smiled.

"I'm sure they would. But it wouldn't be me if I let them, would it?" He had to give her that, reluctantly, and she waved the waitress over.

"Check please." She requested, and the waitress, with a white button up shirt and a red mini dashed off. She returned, curiously quickly, and Mai pulled out the cash. Handing it to her she stood and grabbed her coat.

"Better be off, Yugi." She said, slipping into her sea-blue raincoat. "Thanks for keeping me company." She added with a smile. He stood up and nodded to the waitress when she asked if he wanted his check.

"Want me to walk you home?" He asked with a smile.

"It's o—"

"I really don't mind, and it's kind of in my way." He grinned. "Well, no, but I can walk you anyway?" She nodded.

"Sure."

Stepping into the street, Mai pulled her hood over her loosely waved hair. Rain splashed on pavement, pouring buckets at a time, and her boots sploshed with each step.

Yugi was walking beside her, hands in pockets, shoulders slightly hunched, his head bent down a bit to shield his face from the rain. She noticed—curiously—he had slipped that necklace of his under his shirt.

Seldom did they see many cars on the road; few dared—or cared—to be out on such a rainy day. It was dark enough to be early evening, with that sickeningly yellow tint cast over everything in sight.

"It's been raining like this for three days." Mai said with an irritated sigh. "It better stop soon, or I'll go mad." Yugi chuckled to himself, and she looked at him quickly. "Aren't you a little rained out?" She questioned.

"Yes, I guess I am." He admitted with a smile to himself.

"You aren't, are you?" She said, Mai sarcasm coming into play. "You like rainy days?" She asked, baffled. He smiled again, irritating her; she wanted an answer.

"I think rainy days are…they're…they're nice." She stopped and looked at him, hands on hips.

"They're not 'nice'. You were going to say something else." She said, demanding the truthful answer playfully. He grinned, infuriating her more, but it had become a game.

"Yugi!" She and Yugi's attention turned a couple people across the street. They were waving.

Tristan, Téa, and Bakura she realized, her heart sinking. He smiled and waved back happily. Mai chewed a piece of gum in her mouth, squashing it between the roof of her mouth and her tongue, her eyes downcast.

"I'll see you later, I better get home." She said, looking up, putting on a happy face. "Thanks for walking me this far." She sad with a smile that was painful to hold.

"Sure, no problem, Mai." He said in his usual voice; the one that was the same no matter who he was talking to. Sincere, quiet, yet the same tone he used with Joey when they discussed a perplexing strategy for Duel Monsters.

"Bye, King of Games." She said with a teasing grin. He smiled back before crossing the street, joining his 'friends'.

Feeling like crying, feeling like someone had stomped on her heart, she started home alone, the sky darker than when Yugi was with her.

For anyone that cares, or is confuzzled, Hawaiian pizza is cheese with the toppings ham and pineapple. It's my favorite. Hope that helped someone! :)