Raventhedarkgoddess: Here we go, people. One bored girl with too much time on her hands is back to update again.

Chapter Four: Retaliation

Malik sat in the corner, sulking and thinking after Serenity's open attack. Serenity herself was reading a book Mai had lent her that she'd never gotten around to, the pages soft rustling the only thing to be heard, aside from Malik's occasional soft remark, snicker, grunt, or groan when he shifted posistions in the otherwise silent lugage room.

The area in front of the veiwing montor could not have been more different.

"Leave Tea alone," Bakura said quietly to Kaiba, who was berating her in a loud voice about how she had knocked his chess set over.

"Mokuba and I have been playing that all night, you clutz! So of COURSE you would HAVE to knock it over! And why were you moving the peices around anyway? Why were you anywhere near it?" Kaiba practicly screamed at her, fixing his jacket as he moved in on her again.

"I'm sorry, but the posisitons looked much cooler the way I had them. And your stupid peices wouldn't BE on the floor if Marik hadn't POKED me," Tea shot back coldly.

Marik made no response, just laughed. Kaiba continued to rant loudly, in a way that made no sense to anyone, and Tea tried to walk away. He brought his hand down on her arm. "I'm not DONE!" He pulled, and Tea let out a little squeak of pain.

"Leave her alone, damn you." Bakura walked up to Kaiba, one hand to the Millenium Ring, the other buried in his pocket.

"Defensive, Bakura. If I didn't know you better, I would almost want to say you liked her. I mean, defending someone twice in one night? You never even defend Ryou." Kaiba's voice was vicious, almost containing a sly edge.

"I would back off if I were you..." Ryou muttered, catching his Yami's glare, but Kaiba continued to taunt. Only he, Ryou, would be able to get away with taunting Bakura, and he knew it. Ryou was needed, but Kaiba was not.

Bakura sent Kaiba sailing into a nearby wall.

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" Yugi couldn't take his friends anymore, couldnt' understand why everyone was so animal, so totally evil toward one another. "It was only a tournament! It's only a game! You're all people here!"

"Step back, Yugi." Yami led Yugi away from the fight and the group in general in hopes of calming him down. Mai was looking ashen next to Joey: She hated violence of any type, paritcuarly senseless violence. She did not object to Joey's hand on her shoulder, at least not at first.

"Please! Calm down!" Ishizu cried, catching sight of Mai and of Yami in the corner with Yugi.

"Why? Ishizu, this is entertaining." Marik's cold laugh was irritating, mocking.

"No! No! This is stupid!" Tea was near tears.

"It's all my fault," Mai whispered.

"Not your fault we're stuck here, Mai," Joey whispered back, squeezing her shoulder. Mai turned a grateful eye on him, then relaxed against him.

Mokuba and Kaiba had taken leave to their seats in front of the video camera once more. "Come here and see this," Mokuba called. The first sign of more trouble than ever.

Malik was up, standing between the suitcases. The gang's luggage was piled in a corner, and Malik stood over it, grinning. "What have we here? I wonder what sorts of things you brought..." Malik looked through the pile.

"He has no right to go through my stuff!" Kaiba hollored, standing up.

"What's the matter, rich boy? Money-shaped teddy bear in there you don't want us to see?" Joey taunted from where he sat next to Mai, who had finally pushed his hand away.

"Watch it, Wheeler!" He turned on his heel, shoving a returning Yugi and Yami to one side. "I'm going to stop him!"

"You can't," Yami said softly. "Unless you want to part with your money."

Kaiba just growled in reply and went back to his little brother. "Get out of my stuff," Serentiy squealed in a high voice.

Assorted objects began to fly. "Bet she looks sexy in those underwear," Tristan said to Duke, who nodded eagerly, both practicly drooling until Joey raised one of his fists.

"Shorts, socks, book, shirt, brush..." Each object hit Serenity in the head as Malik said it. "What's this?"

"What is that, Joey?" Tea whispered.

"Her diary."

"You wouldn't dare open that, you evil, you foul... You THING, YOU!" The soft rustle of the pages was the only answer.

"Very inimate details of your life here..." Malik taunted finally.

"You wouldn't dare read those!" Serenity's face was dangerously red.

"Wouldn't I?"

Raventhedarkgoddess: There, what do you think? Should he read it or not? Your pick, the story can go either way.