Author's Notes: I'm back again, and YES I did take quite a long time It is impossible for me to maintain a strict, regular update schedule. I'll only update when I can. I apologize for the wait, but please note that unless I expressly say that my story is being discontinued, pay no mind to how swiftly I update my stories. Thank you to the following for reviewing: SerenityMeowth, Cheese, Darkhope, YiMu, Jieli, Setosbabygirl, and anonymous. Thank you for reading, please review and enjoy.

Undermining The Establishment

Chapter Two: Hello City

"I'll have the salad."

Yugi Motou rolled his eyes at the young man before him. This was the second time this week that his friend had ordered a salad. Joey Wheeler never ordered salad. He hated the stuff. "It's nothing but rabbit food. Only geeks and people with weight problems would eat that shit." He'd opine in his usual callous way. Today, it seemed salad was Joey's favorite meal. He picked through the yellowed cabbage, and stabbed at the roma tomatoes as if they had committed a grave offense against him. Yugi placed his menu down, wondering how and when his friend had become so readable. Sometimes Yugi missed the aloofness that made his best friend so charming. Taking a gulp of his beer, Yugi scanned the nearly empty diner. Aside from eating healthy salads, Joey hated depressing hole-in-the-walls like this dump. The dreary atmosphere coupled with the boring elevator music made the restaurant a terrible place to dine.

"Alright, spill it. Joey what's wrong?"

Joey looked up from the salad that had suddenly been turned into chopped goo. Yugi grimaced at the sight of the formerly decent looking salad. His dinner companion had turned the food into something that looked worse than wheatgrass mixed with kelp. Yugi quelled the churn in his stomach with another swig of beer. Why did he, the nicest and pleasant of all Joey's friends get sent on a dummy mission to a crummy noodle shop with a friend who was obviously depressed about something? When was it that he became so soft, and willing to help a guy who normally was so distracted by a hot piece of tail that he could care less which friend had accompanied him where?

"What would make you think that anything is wrong?"

Yugi rolled his eyes at the pathetic attempt to appear undisturbed. Joey was the kind of person that wore his heart on his sleeve. Whether he wanted to or not, somehow the blonde was as readable as a book. When Joseph Wheeler was angry about something everyone around him would know. He usually wore his heart on his sleeve in that way. Yugi hated to see any of his friends upset, especially his best friend, but they were twenty six years old and he had neither the time nor patience to coddle a grown man that was behaving like a child.

"Joey, we have been in this lousy shit hole for half an hour. You ordered a salad, and we all know how much you hate salad. You have yet to say what the hell is on your mind, and I do have to be back at work in thirty minutes so can you please tell me what in the fuck is going on!"

Yugi snapped, wishing that his friend would say whatever it was that was bothering him. He blushed slightly at the attention he received with his loud outburst. Yugi was a nice guy but he had never been one for heart to heart things. Sure, with his unassuming, kind disposition he would seem like a pansy to the outside observer, but he could only stand so much sentimental bullshit. All of his truly emotional moments were saved for Tea, and even she occasionally grew tired of his plethora of feelings at time. These types of conversations were best saved for Bakura, a person who was in touch with his "inner sensitive guy".

Of all the males in their motley crew, he was the most understanding, reasonable, and mild mannered person he had ever had the pleasure of knowing. However, Bakura was unavailable at the moment so whatever bomb Joey was about to drop would only be heard by Yugi. He couldn't help but feel unnerved by his best friend's behavior. The guy was obviously dismayed by something.

"Can't a guy go out with his best friend and have a few beers?"

Yugi's sour look silenced Joey's weak attempt at evading his questions. Sighing, he flung his napkin on the table and leaned back in the cheap plastic chair. He motioned for a waiter to get the check, not bothering to look Yugi in the eyes. He fumbled with his watch sullenly, ignoring the strange tick developing in his shorter friend's eye. Yugi leaned over swiftly, preparing to physically knock some sense into the man, but the barely audible words that fell from Joey's lips kept him temporarily at bay.

"Mai is back in town."

Yugi felt sobered, if only for a moment at that declaration. Mai Valentine's return could only mean bad news for Joey. The two had never gotten along, let alone been able to keep themselves from doing something short of physical violence. Of course, Mai was always the one to slap and punch Joey. But since he was a gentleman after all he kept his hands to himself. Still, this news was not all good. Mai Valentine plus Joey Wheeler equaled doom. An angry explosion was all but guaranteed for those two as well as anyone that stupidly associated with the hotheads. Yugi could feel a migraine coming, simply by recalling the infamous arguments those two managed to get into.

"How is she then?"

Joey shrugged his shoulders indifferently at Yugi's question. What the hell did Joey care anyway? It wasn't as if he had kept track of the banshee that masqueraded as a human being. When Mai had left Japan he bid farewell to her stupid mind games, and the poison that was generally known as her personality. Sure Mai was sexy now, but it was in a total I-know-I'm-evil-and-I'll-fuck-around-with-your-heart-regardless-because-I'm-a-heartless-bitch kind of way.

"Florida did her body good, but she is still a mean bitch through and through."

Joey admitted, begrudgingly. He didn't want to think about her, and it bothered him to even hear her name uttered from his lips. He had brought her up in the first place, and he did drag Yugi to the crummy diner to seek advice from his friend. He wanted to smoke again, to feel that delicious nicotine rush enter his lungs violently, pushing past his trachea and down into his bronchial tubes. He needed a release that was almost as good as sex, but was less bothersome afterwards. Sure, smoking was bad for him, but that never stopped him before. A small smirk adorned his face as he thought of the very sexually descriptive thought. He had done lots of things that were bad for him. One such thing was folly was making the mistake of falling in love with that harpy. Her blunt assessment of his career choice was an insult to his intelligence, and his abilities as a chemical engineer. The only thing she did was invent new computer languages as a software programmer. At least his field offered power and advancement, while hers simply kept her as a corporate cog, which was nothing more than a glorified computer geek.

"The good news is that you probably won't see her again. The bad news is that you can't run and hide like a scared little bitch. Suck it up, lift up your dress; grab your balls and fucking deal with it! So you two hated each other in high school, big deal. She left and you stayed. Now that she is back you don't have to pick up where you left off. She doesn't run in the same social circle as we do and even if she does, none of us are going to force you two together."

Joey shot Yugi a no-shit-Sherlock glare, but stopped when his visual assault clashed with Yugi's withering frown. Why couldn't she have stayed in Florida? Japan wasn't going anywhere, and she could have enjoyed that hotspot longer as opposed to returning to a place she vowed never to step foot near again. He remembered well the day she cursed Japan, himself and anything associated to life she once had here. Apparently the Americans had brought something out in her—perhaps stubbornness, or even worse yet foolishness disguised as courage.

"So what if our paths don't cross. We have mutual friends. I was here first, so she'll have to be the one to leave. I refused to be phased out by that chick. Don't you get it! Finally, I walked away… I gave up on those things that hurt me. I didn't know who or what I was back then. When she left, things slowly began to pull back together. I'm where I'm supposed to be."

Yugi leaned back, watching his lifelong friend closely. Something else was troubling him. While Mai was a major part of his concern, something deeper was lurking. Yugi had a feeling he wouldn't find out until Joey was ready. Yes, there was a darker force at work here, laced with a farce of nonchalance. No, there must have been a secret perhaps, or some unknown catalyst that was driving his insane behavior. Either way, Yugi aimed to get to the bottom of this nonsense. Joey was acting like a petulant child, and Mai's behavior apparently wasn't even better. If those two pinheads couldn't get their shit together, then everyone else would suffer.

"What is this really about? You're never so serious unless something is really eating at you. We both know that it's not really Mai that's bothering you. You might as well tell me, or I'll get Kaiba and Adrianna in here grillin' your ass."

"She's come back because she hates me because I didn't want her when she was still stuffing Ho-Ho's down her throat. Now that she's back, I think that she is trying to get back at me for embarrassing her in highschool."

Joey slammed down his beer mug, unhappy with his summation. What exactly was so hard to understand? He and Mai had once been at the very least, cordial to one another. So they had fought a lot, big deal—no the real problems had arisen when he learned that she had wanted revenge. Sure she's been a little chubby, had bad acne, and a terrible case of helmet hair. So he picked on her, so what? Wasn't that standard fare at any normal high school? The social hierarchy was painfully clear. She was just like those kids that brought their childhood tormentors on TV to gloat about how cool or how beautiful they were now.

When asked did they ever regret their torment, the bully would almost always say no. Who remembered one in a thousand people that were looked down upon in high school? He had made fun of a lot of people, and she was no different. How in the hell was he to have known that she once liked him? Who wouldn't? He was a fucking god in high school, a regular Japanese James Dean. Why would any guy choose the ugliest horse, when he could have his pick of the fillies? Mai wanted vengeance for his crass behavior, and he could understand that as well but that didn't mean two wrongs made a right.

"Are you bullshitting me? You really need to get off that high horse of yours. No woman, no matter how scorned she is would globetrot around the world because of your sorry ass. Did it ever occur to you that maybe she's ready to come home? I really don't see how this affects you anyway—you'll probably never see her again."

"So you say…"

Yugi, annoyed by his friend's antics had had enough. He had not come to some shit hole diner to hear Joey bitch and moan about a nonexistent problem. Anyone with a brain could see that those two still felt something for the other. Whether it was hate or the reawakening of something more had yet to be determined. His cell phone rang, and Yugi thanked Buddha for the much needed interruption. He didn't have time to hear a grown man's whining.

"Motou speaking."

Joey sipped more of his beer, agitated that their conversation had been halted. Of all the people who would understand his situation, he figured that Yugi would at least be the most sympathetic. Instead, he abruptly called their meeting short and returned to whatever menial task his editor had him working on now. Such was the life of a photojournalist. He bid his friend goodbye and picked up the tab, his mind deep in thought. Maybe a walk in Yoshiro Park would do him some good. The fresh air usually helped when he was stuck on a particularly grueling assignment at the university.

In that same park, Tea Gardner and her friend Mai were jogging in the park enjoying one another's company. It was a beautiful spring day, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Once Mai had become reacquainted with the city and her new job, she invited her friend for a day of exercise and shopping. Tea agreed and they both chatted happily about the things happening in their lives. Mai had just finished telling the story of her meeting with Joey and Bakura at the mall.

"I can't believe that jerk."

Tea asked, wheezing as she ran around the swing set with Mai. Mai nodded huffing as they turned another corner. Her legs could feel that painful, slow burn—the kind that made you wish your legs would fall off just to avoid the pain. As much as she wanted to punk out and get the hell out of there, she knew that being in pristine health was important. Besides, beauty is pain, if nothing else. They slowly turned their run into a lighter run, eventually collapsing on one of the park's benches. Mai cursed herself for having worn sweatpants instead of the more breathable spandex. She was definitely risking tendonitis on this particular jog.

"That's what he said Tea. Anyway, can we stop now! My legs are killing me!"

Mai whined, ignoring the giggles erupting from her exercise partner. They sat in silence for awhile, merely enjoying each other's company. As the companionable silence washed over them, Mai was reminded of the happier times that she had spent with her old friend. Of course, whenever she thought about the "old days" she thought about Joey, which only made her more upset. She took a swig from her water bottle, gulping down the delicious life sustaining liquid. Mai had forgotten how tough the landscape was around here.

"If you can't survive these runs, I wonder if you'll make it to the gym with me every week."

Tea mused, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Mai poked her side, smirking as Tea giggled once more. Being with Tea always made whatever bullshit she was going through at the time seem so meaningless. Perhaps her friend just had that magical effect on people. Their midday jogs would have been much more fun if they knew other girls. She had heard a little bit about the new girl Isis, that Kaiba was seeing, but she was also intrigued by Adrianna. Any woman that managed to tie those two down surely had to be someone special.

"I can't help it. Florida is generally flat. I had forgotten how hilly Japan was! My feet are going to have bunions on top of bunions!"

Tea pulled a face, rubbing her water bottle over her forehead. They decided to call it quits for the day so that Mai's body could familiarize itself with a tough exercise regimen once more. Looking at her friend through peripheral vision, Tea could see that meeting with Joey had obviously rattled her more than she let on. She sighed softly, already knowing that feelings Mai claimed had died down were resurfacing yet again.

"Joey's an asshole, we both know that. He also has a good heart. If he bothers you so much why don't you just stay away from him? It's not that hard you know. Besides, isn't it time that you forgive him already? Sure he broke your heart with his constant taunting, but haven't you had your revenge? Why wait until we're all older and wiser to dish out more? Hasn't he suffered enough? Haven't you both?"

Mai couldn't believe the words that were coming from Tea's mouth. How could she even think those things? Joey had bullied her since she was in junior high. He even did so when she was in high school, so finally when she graduated and took the scholarship to FAMU, he wanted to apologize and say that he had "always loved her"! What kind of nonsense was that? Joey was and would always be a womanizing sexist jerk. Just because she called him a liar and said that she didn't believe him didn't mean that Mai had her revenge. She was older now, wiser too. There was more than one way to burn someone.

The only good things that ever came out of pining for Joey were the knowledge that she couldn't get any lower. No one had ever made her feel as ugly, unwanted, and hated as he did. She'd tried her hardest to change herself, to be something that he could be proud of. Looking back, she felt like a fool having ever tried. Tea was right about one thing though. She couldn't very well have revenge now. They were too old to hold petty grudges. Maybe she should just start all over instead.

"Listen, I've got some errands to run. You don't mind me taking off a bit early do you Mai?"

"Oh that's too bad. We'll get together again soon okay. Call me later tonight okay?"

Mai bid her friend farewell, calmly enjoying the environment around her. Surprisingly, Mai had missed Domino and its quirky residents. She missed the summer concerts in the park, and the winter jazz festivals. Had she really cursed the city that she had grown up in? All of her bitter diatribes about Joey and anything that reminded her of him seemed so foreign now. Looking back, she felt kind of silly holding an entire city responsible for her unhappiness. She could really be a fool sometimes.

"Hello city, you've found an enemy in me."

Mai smirked aloud, repeating the words she'd said on her first day back in Domino.

"What did Domino ever do to you, Mai?"

That voice, both taunting and charming made her insides quiver. Mai turned to face Joey, gesturing for him to join her on the park bench.

"Nothing much, except for being the center of a very traumatizing time in my life."

"Still not over that, huh?"

"Shouldn't you be at work now?"

"Shouldn't you?"

They stared at one another, unsure of how to behave. Mai abruptly stood, massaging her neck gently.

"I haven't had lunch yet. Want to join me?"

Joey didn't know if he should be shocked, flattered, suspicious or all of the above. He did already have lunch with Yugi, (lousy as it was) but maybe now he could get insight into the new Mai. Maybe his initial impression of her was wrong. It couldn't hurt to be nice to her now, could it? He nodded, offering his arm to her. He couldn't help but grin at Mai's quirked eyebrow.

"Contrary to popular belief, I can be a gentleman."

"We'll soon see Joey, we'll soon see."

Footnotes: Aiyah! Another chapter bagged. Let me know what you all thought in your reviews. Also, be on the lookout for another chapter of Zephyr Wings. Thanks to everyone that read… Peace!