(I would like to thank everyone for their reviews. I'm gladly appreciating it, seeing this is one of my most popular stories [next to All The Things She Said]. I'm sorry for the last two chapters containing flashbacks, especially in Mai/Shadi's part. Though I would like to point out that this chapter is quite graphic/detailed. If it's too much detailed for you, either skip it or go to the end of the flashback. You've been warned)

P.S I do not own the lyrics or the song to Britney Spears' "Toxic" (the one Mai is singing). For fun (and if you want) play the song while reading the story.

More Than Words:

            "Shadi, you're pulling my leg." Marik sneered. "The girl in the picture is obviously the two timing Anzu Mazaki, am I right?"

            All of a sudden, Shadi slapped Marik right in the face. "Marik, get a hold of yourself. Anzu was never near Yami today. Besides, she was with me the whole day."

            "What if these photos were taken yesterday or the other day?" Marik showed Shadi one of the pictures. "How could you possibly know it was taken today?"

            Shadi just stood there, staring at the floor in silence.

            Marik chuckled, mumbling something as his rod began to glow. "I thought you wouldn't answer that Shadi." He turned his attention towards his escort. "Anzu my dear, it's been nice knowing you. Maybe when I have some sense, I'll bring you back from the darkness."

            But before the millennium rod did its task, Marik felt his mind scramble. His eyes began to turn dull and lifeless before he collapsed onto the floor landing right on top of Anzu.

            Shadi stood over the two, the millennium key in his hand. "Get some rest and meditate Marik." He bent down, picking up Anzu's body.

(-)

            Three Hours Later…

            Anzu's eyes slowly opened, finding herself in her room. She could easily tell by the unusual patterns the lines made on the ceiling.

            "Anzu…" she felt a hand on her forehead. Shadi stood over her, the millennium key dangling around his neck. "Are you all right?"

            "What happened?" she slowly sat up on the bed seeing Yugi, Yami and Shadi surrounding her bedside.

            "How much do you remember?" Shadi bandaged her forehead where Marik had struck her with his millennium rod.

            "All I remember is Marik finding out about my love for Yami."

            Yugi suddenly stood up. "A-hah! I knew it! I knew Marik was going to find out."

            "Yugi please." Shadi took a step back. "Come with me. Let's talk somewhere else while Yami talks to her alone."

(-)

            Meanwhile, Marik was sitting up on his bed, having awoken form the trance Shadi placed him in. Serenity was in his room serving him tea.

            "Sir," Serenity's eyes kept to her task. "Are you feeling all right?"

            "Depends on what you refer as okay." Marik stood up to his feet.

            "Where are you going?" Serenity looked up at him. "Shadi insisted that I would be sure that you get some rest."

            "Screw him." He growled, shifting his gaze towards Serenity. He then made his way out of the room.

(-)

            Shadi and Yugi sat in the kitchen eating bread that Shadi baked hours earlier.

            "This isn't right Shadi!" Yugi tossed the crust of bread to the wall. "This isn't right at all and you know it!"

            Shadi gave Yugi a confusing look. He tilted his head to the side as if Yugi was the strangest thing he had ever seen. But then again, who wouldn't be when one's hair is multi-colored?

            As Shadi spoke, his voice seemed in a dream like state. "What is not right Yugi?"

            And at that point, Yugi's fury welled up. He stood up and pounded his fist on the table as hard as he could. Taking Shadi by the shoulders, he started to shake him. "Wake up you ass! How long do you plan to keep up with this charade, huh?" his eyes bored into his fiercely. "How could you just sit idly by and watch an innocent girl beaten to a point beyond recognition? Are you willing to wait until Anzu's mind is sent to the Shadow Realm to fess up?!?" Yugi then released his hold. "You, me and Bakura know very damn well that Serenity's motive behind making Anzu's life a living hell is so she could get Marik back."

            "It is true. Serenity and Marik used to love one another but that was years ago and the reason it had ended was that she became too possessive, too demanding." Shadi sipped on his wine."

            "So why does she still have her job?" Yugi sat on the table. "Shouldn't Marik send her mind to the Shadow Realm?"

            "He had all the reason to." Shadi calmly wiped his lips with a napkin. "However, we had very little service back then. After all, it was just me, Serenity, Ishizu and Mai. Ishizu was Marik's escort, Mai was a servant in training, and Serenity was both the housekeeper and chef. It would have been difficult to find replacements."

            "Child molester." Yugi muttered.

            "Don't be silly Yugi," Shadi chuckled. "This happened three years ago. If it happened when Serenity was a child, Ra forbid, he would have been sacrificed. But now that we have all aged, things are not always as easy."

            "Give me a good reason why you are sparing Serenity from the one thing she truly deserves?"

            "I'm not sparing her. More of simply keeping my end of the bargain."

            Yugi felt an electric jolt shoot up his body. "You…you made a deal with Jezebel?" his voice shook.

            "I'm not sure if you can call it a deal Yugi. But I guess you're old enough to listen. However, what I will tell you must never leave this room nor your lips shall speak it."

            "All right, fine." Yugi crossed his arms over his chest.

            "See, Serenity blackmailed me. About three months ago, maybe a week or two after Anzu had arrived, both Mai and myself had the night off. We decided to go to the a bar in the northern region where Ishizu is currently working."

            "I thought Ishizu was Kaiba's escort."

            "True, yes. But Kaiba owns that bar. Let's just say Ishizu is the sort of multi-task escort. Anyway, after watching Ishizu, both of us had a couple of drinks. That's when the problem started."

            "Your problem is that you're acting like Marik." Yugi scowled. "You've been pimping. Why having the sudden urge to visit Ishizu ever so often?"

            "Certainly none of your business." Shadi took the water pitcher and filled Yugi's glass. "Well, the problem was that Mai kept drinking more than I ever would." He took out his millennium key. "I believe the images would be proven more effective than words. Though I do warn you…"

            Not wasting any time, Yugi took the key and turned it on Shadi's forehead.

(-)

Three Months Ago…

            "Joey," Shadi raised his two fingers in the air. "Another glass of red wine."

            Joey took out a bottle of red wine and filled Shadi's glass. He then eyed Mai. "Anything for you miss?"

            Mai's head rested on the counter, slowly looking up at Joey. Laughing, her lips curled into a grin. "Another lemon tequila will be fine."

            Joey arched an eyebrow at Mai, then shifted his gaze towards Shadi. "How many drinks did she have? I haven't been keeping count."

            "Just give the lady her drink." Shadi tossed Joey two gold coins.

            The bartender's face etched with worry. "Are you sure? I mean, don't you think she's had enough?"

            Shadi tossed another gold coin, keeping his eye on Joey.

            "Are you serious?" Joey shook his head with amazement and wonder. "I mean, you don't know what this tequila can do to her. Getting more than three glasses in one night…"

            "I'm a paying customer am I?" Shadi eyed Joey as if he were ready to kill him if he did not comply. "Fill her glass."

            "You're nuts, you know that?" Joey snatched Mai's glass, filling it with tequila. "Marik finds out and it's your ass."

            "I doubt he would care about his own daughter." Shadi muttered, sipping his wine.

            "What was that?" Joey looked down at Shadi, passing Mai another glass of tequila.

            "Nothing." He looked down at Mai, watching her as she downed her tequila. She was going a bit too overboard all right. Although it was his second glass of red wine, it was Mai's fifth glass of tequila. Overall, he didn't seem too worried about her.

            Suddenly, Ishizu approached the two sitting on the stool next to Mai. "Ra, I need a break. Exotic dancing may be fine and dandy but having to do it for two hours straight is not my idea of fun." She rested her head on her hand. "And I have to perform again in five minutes. I tell you Shadi, Marik may be ruthless but Kaiba's a pain in the ass!"

            "Would you prefer having pain or someone being a pain?" Shadi chuckled.

            Ishizu pouted. "That is none of your business.

            Mai started to laugh childishly. "Hey Ishizu, maybe I could take over for you."

            "Really?" Ishizu's eyes lighted up.

            "Mai no." Shadi placed his hand on Mai's shoulder. "You drank too much tequila." He then turned to Ishizu. "Forgive her, she's not thinking straight."

            "You don't say." Ishizu then looked around, her eyes widened. "Hey! Where is she? Where's Mai?"

            "What the?" Shadi looked around. Mai just simply disappeared. He whirled his head towards Joey. "Where is she?"

            "Don't know." Suddenly, music blared from the speakers.

            "If Mai went on stage to take my place," Ishizu downed her water. "I'm in trouble."

            "So she sings and makes a fool of her drunken self." Shadi crossed his arms over his chest. "Big deal."

            "Wait a minute, wait a minute." Ishizu shook her head. "What exactly was Mai drinking and how much?"

            "Five glasses of lemon tequila." Shadi replied.

            "Uh oh."

            "What's 'uh oh'?" Shadi gave Ishizu a confused look.

            "If you drink more than two glasses of that stuff, it warps your mind. I mean completely. The chances of being the bit of yourself are slim." All of a sudden, the sounds of men hooting and cheering grabbed her attention. Turning around, her eyes widened as she saw Mai on stage. "Houston," she slapped her forehead. "We have a problem." There was Mai, standing there, the music continued to pound.

            "I assume that's your number?" Shadi watched on.

            Ishizu nodded. "Sadly yes."

            Mai grabbed onto the pole, pressing her body onto it. Her eyes seductively gazed at the crowd, her lips parted as she were ready to sing. "Baby can't you see, I'm calling," she pointed a finger at Joey. "A guy like you should wear a warning…"

            "Leave me out of this." Joey's voice tensed, filling glasses full of wine for his other customers.

            "It's dangerous," Mai pressed her back on to the metal pole, her legs wrapping around it, slowly lowering herself to the floor. "I'm fallin'."

            Meanwhile, Kaiba and Tristan were sitting on what appeared to be an inside balcony, watching this intriguing incident taking place. "Who is that young maiden?" Kaiba smirked.

            "I have no idea Sir Kaiba." Tristan watched on. "That sure is not Ishizu. Shall I escort her out?"

            Kaiba held out his hand, signaling Tristan to stop. "No." his lips curled into a smirk. "I recognize her now. She works for Marik in the south. This should be interesting indeed."

            "There's no escape. I can't wait," Mai made her way down the stage. She made her way towards Duke, who sat in the front. Sitting on his lap, she tilted his head back. "I need a hit. Baby give me it." She released her finger, leaning towards his ear, singing in a sultry voice. "You're dangerous, I'm lovin' it." Mai then pushed Duke down, causing him to land on his back. This sent the others in the tavern and Kaiba laughing hysterically.

            Mai proceeded back onto the stage, her hands running over her body. Her voice became richer. "Too high, can't come down. Losing my head, spinning round and round." She then swung her body around the pole. "Do you feel me now?"

            "Shadi," Ishizu whispered under her breath. "I worry of her now, a lot."

            "You're not the only one." Shadi muttered.

            Meanwhile, Mai ran her fingernail across her lip. "With a taste of your lips I'm on a ride," she then made her way down the stage and to the bar. She took a seat on Shadi's lap, one hand caressing his face while her legs wrapped around his waist. "You're toxic, I'm slipping under…" she then got off of him and sat on the counter, her legs spread out wide, removing her house clothes (which was much more of a simple white dress) revealing a white tube top and very short black pants.

            How in Anubis' name did she get those? Shadi wondered. Suddenly, it hit him. She must've snuck into Ishizu's old closet. Who knows?

            "With a taste of poison paradise," she crossed her leg over the other. Her hand reached out and began to slowly unwrap Shadi's turban. "I'm addicted to you. Don't you know that you're toxic."

            But Shadi quickly held his turban in place, lightly pushing Mai's hand away.

            Mai's eyes continued to lock onto his. "And I love what you do. Don't you know that you're toxic." She then stood up on the counter.

            "I swear Shadi," Ishizu took a glance at Marik's advisor. "Use your millennium key to stop her or Marik's going to nail the both of you."

            "Any man, even myself, would be much powerless in dealing with her state of mind. But I can see where this is heading."

            "Suppose if they publish this in the papers? It's not often you see this kind of thing happening. Suppose if Kaiba decides to hire Mai as his new showgirl."

            To this, Shadi grinned. "Jealous?"

            "That's not it! You know he treats his maids as slaves and if Marik finds out about Marik's dirty dancing…"

            But Shadi remained silent as he watched on. But unlike the other men in the bar, he appeared to be less intimidated. "Almost sounds like the real thing."

            Mai then went on her knees, pulling Joey close to her. "It's getting late," while one hand held onto Joey, the other ran up and down his stomach. "To give you up." She then jumped onto the floor, pressing Joey onto the counter. His back arched for he was still standing up. Mai then sat on his stomach, her fingers running through his hair, leaning forward, her lips inches from his. "I took a sip, from my devil cup…"

            "Kaiba!" Joey looked at his boss helplessly. "Get this chick off of me!"

            "Nonsense." Kaiba grinned. "This just keeps getting better.

            Mai continued singing, her hands pinning Joey's arms down. "Slowly, it's taking over me."

            Ishizu shook her head. "What's Marik going to say about this?"

            "He won't say anything," Shadi kept his gaze on Mai. "Mainly because he won't know."

            Mai then released her hold on Joey and stood on the counter, dancing erotically. "Too high, can't calm down. It's in the air and it's all around." She then kicked Ishizu down onto the floor. "Can you feel me now?"

            Groaning, Ishizu rubbed her head, struggling to climb back to her seat. Mai's entertainment continued for at least two minutes as she continued dancing and seducing other men. Mai was indeed light-headed and it seemed as what she desired all those years ago started to seep out of her system. Ishizu's eyes shifted towards Shadi, wondering what he was thinking. He didn't appear to be lusting or drooling over Mai like how most of the guys in the bar are.

            How in Ra's name can he hold back even if he loved her? Ishizu wondered. Even if he drank more than a glass of wine.

            Mai jumped off the counter, wrapping her arms around Shadi's neck from behind, singing the last verse to the song, her head resting on his shoulder. "Intoxicate me now…with your lovin' now…I think I'm ready now…"

            "I think I'm ready now." Shadi repeated her words. To this, Ishizu wondered whether Shadi was singing it or not. He stood up and made his way towards the doorway, beckoning her to follow.

            Mai slurred the last words, following Shadi. "Intoxicate me now…with your lovin' now…I'm ready now."

(-)

            Shadi wrapped Mai's arm around his shoulder as the two staggered outside, making their way towards the carriage. Once they reached there, he signaled for the horse to go.

            All was silent on the way home. The sky was at it's darkest and in its starless night. As soon as they have reached the stables is when the silence had finally surpassed. Locking his eyes towards Mai, Shadi finally spoke. "Mai, although I would have to say that was perhaps the most humiliating night I had to endure, well…" he felt her fingers trailing on his shoulder. In reply, his hand grabbed hers, looking down on her with those hypnotic eyes.

            "Get some sleep Mai." Shadi's voice laced in the air. "I'm sure Marik won't notice the hangover by next morning."

            But Mai didn't listen as she pressed her body onto his, kissing him lazily. Something inside Shadi snapped. He usually had the ability to resist seduction in any form. Tonight, however, was different. The air, or perhaps her scent, became too intoxicating for him to battle.

            At an instant, he decided to give her what she wanted, needed. He unlaced her top, tossing it outside. Both of their clothes were disappearing at an alarming rate. Shadi returned the kiss, deepening it, inserting his tongue inside her mouth. His hands pushed her down onto the floor, his body pressing Mai down.

            Just when Mai thought she couldn't breathe anymore. Shadi released her lips and kissed down her neck.

(-)

            "Okay, okay." Yugi gave Shadi a ridiculous look. "So you mean to say that Serenity knew about Mai getting drunk, seducing men about twice as old as she and you two got it on in the stables? How's that going to make Marik ticked?"

            "There's more." Shadi leaned over, whispering something in Yugi's ear.

            Yugi's eyes widened with shock, staring at Shadi as if he were a ghost. "No! You're kidding, right? Then that would mean Marik…" he clamped his hand over his mouth. "Oh Gods, I can't believe it. Why couldn't one of you guys said something, or at least anything? Maybe Mai's life could have been saved!"

            "We intended to keep it a secret." Shadi replied. "Neither of us wanted to imagine what Marik would do if he found out." He sat back down on the chair. "I had planned to resign my position as an advisor and let Rishid take over just as soon as it was over. But I guess it's too late."

(-)

            Marik stood in the hallway, sulking. Emotions continued to run him over like wild horses in a stampede. But other than that, there was no doubt that he was in a foul mood.

            In truth, he did not know what to believe. One look at the photos that Serenity found caused insides to dissect.

            You have to stop!! Shadi's voice crawled inside the pharaoh's head. Those photos are fake!!

            Before Marik could take a second look at the photo, a dark voice called out.

            "I see the problems of pharaoh are intimidating you, no?" he smirked.

            Marik didn't need to look up at who was talking to him. "Stay out of this Bakura."

            Bakura smirked, stepping out of the darkness. 'Instead of being mad at Anzu, why don't you look into who tried to kill her because she certainly is not the type to drown herself."

            "What do you suggest?" Marik slowly looked up at him.

            "I suggest the fun loving Court will settle it once and for all. Ra, I miss those days. That way, after you find out the madman that's been trying to kill Anzu, you can deal with her ongoing affair between her and Yami."

            "Not a bad idea." Marik grinned.

            "Good." Bakura wrapped one arm around Marik's shoulder. "You and I need a little talk about a certain someone."

(-)

            "I don't know how could he have found out Yami." Anzu's voice shook and quivered with fear. "Someone must have told him!"

            "I don't know either." Yami whispered. "I can't believe he did this to you." He ran a finger over the bandage. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

            "It's not your fault Yami." Anzu looked up at him.

            "You know damn well it is!" Yami clenched his fist. "I should have been there when he struck you." He paused for a moment. "Could he have been watching us this morning?"

            "This morning?" Anzu was confused. "Yami, I was out of town with Shadi all day. It's only now we are talking to each other."

            At first, Yami was puzzled. Then it dawned on him, his eyes widened with shock, clamping his hand over his mouth, realizing what happened. "Oh my God."

            "What?" Anzu was concerned. "Yami, what is it?"

            Yami stood up from the bed, a terrified look on his face. "Oh god. Dear god…" he then quickly left her room. All the while, he could hear Anzu calling for him but he didn't respond.

            Not after what he found out on his own.

(-)

So what was Shadi's secret that only he, Yugi, Serenity, and Mai knows? Who is Bakura talking about with Marik? What did Yami find out? Why am I asking so many questions? LOL. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Once again, sorry for a lame chapter, flashbacks, and Mai turning into a whore thanks to the tequila. What did you guys think though? Till then…

To Be Continued