Smile
Part Two
by Lethe
Chapter Thirteen: And We Won't Fear
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^__^ Wow! I got a chapter done! ::grins::
There are approximately thirteen chapters left before this fanfic ends. Just so ya know.
But it won't end until then! So stay happy!
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Jonouchi rolled over in bed for the hundredth time that night. Why?! Why couldn't he get to sleep?! It felt like he had tried everything in the past hour – counting sheep (made him hungry), drinking warm milk (made him hungry), and changing his position on the bed, which didn't make him hungry, but wasn't helpful, either.
He buried his face in his pillow. …Can't breathe! He curled into a ball. Stomachache. He hit himself upside the head with a book. Headache.
Argh.
Maybe if I just stop trying to sleep, it'll come. Yeah.
The party had been fun. The cake had been good. And the chips, and the cool little hot dog things that Anzu tried to make in the shape of octopi. Octopuses? Nah. Yugi had looked so happy, too.
Jonouchi groaned as he remembered what had happened later.
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"All riiiight!" cheered Jonouchi, pumping his fist up and down. Kaiba's expression had become one of utter shock. His eyebrow twitched.
"No way!" said Anzu and Mai simultaneously.
"Great job, Jou!" said Yugi. "You really have gotten better…!"
Jonouchi laughed. Kaiba blinked.
"Wait a moment…" said Kaiba slowly. He examined Jonouchi's cards. "Jou…"
"Uh, yeah?" said Jonouchi.
"You did your math wrong," pointed Kaiba. "I still have fifty life points left."
"What?!" said Jonouchi. He stared at their cards. "Darn it!"
Kaiba's face split into a smirk. "And it's my turn."
In five seconds flat, Kaiba had summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, used a handy Magic card to obliterate all of Jonouchi's monsters on the field, and wiped out the rest of his Life Points.
Jonouchi's jaw dropped.
"Well, that was fun," said Mai to the stunned Jou, standing and stretching – which was enough to snap his attention back, as well as cause Honda's and Yugi's eyes to glaze over somewhat – and taking her purse. "But I had really better head off."
"Bye, Mai!" said Yugi cheerily, echoed by a not-so-cheery Anzu.
"I'll, uh… walk you to your car," offered Jonouchi.
"Thanks." Mai nodded. "Hurry up then."
-
"Here we are," said Jonouchi, closing the car door in a gentlemanly sort of way.
Mai started her engine and looked over the window at Jonouchi. "You know, Jonouchi…" she began.
"Yeah?"
"I think I like you."
"Thanks," laughed Jonouchi. "I like you too. Have a safe ride home, okay?"
Mai shook her head. "No. You don't get it."
"What don't I get?"
"I like you."
Jonouchi's eyes widened as Mai watched him, waiting for a response. "Mai… I…"
"You…?"
"I'm sorry, Mai," he said. "I, uh, I've got a…"
"Oh," said Mai. She sighed. "Mind if I ask who?"
He laughed nervously. "Um… Kaiba."
"You're…"
"Yeah," said Jonouchi. "So don't think it's your fault or anything. You're a really great person."
"Thanks," said Mai. "Wow. Wow," she repeated. "So, I'll… see you around, then."
"Right," said Jonouchi awkwardly. He waved as she backed out of the driveway, and turned to go back inside.
They both knew that they wouldn't see each other again for a long time.
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Mai Kujaku woke up in the middle of the night. Her sheets were tangled around her, and she vaguely recalled having a dream. She couldn't remember what it had been about.
Why am I crying?