Snow Wars – Part III
Wow, a third snowball fight chapter and a fourth one is on its way! The next one should see the end of all of the snowy goodness that's taking place outside right now. Pretty soon, it will be time to head back indoors for some more craziness and chocolate cheesecake. Just sit back and enjoy the fun.
Sorry that this chapter is sooooo long. I had to cut it in half. The word count was approaching 11,000 if I'd left it as one chapter!
This chapter begins where the last one left off… starting with our favourite couple and how they both deal with Drake and Harvey. It also moves into what's happening with the other groups during their snowball fights. Mokuba and Megan have a huge role in this chapter…
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Star Trek or Pepe le Pew from Looney Tunes. Just borrowing them for a little while.
On with the show…
Téa took a quick peak behind her, on the pretence of adjusting her hair, to keep Harvey in sight. Drake was slowly skulking closer and Seto wasn't far behind him. Seto would keep him occupied long enough for her to deal with Harvey. Or else she could let Harvey get closer and it could be an even two-on-two match up. Though, knowing those two boys as well as she did, they were probably going to try to ask her out again. And she'd smile politely once more and turn them down, revulsion filling her thoughts at just the idea of dating one of them. Seto Kaiba would not be impressed if they tried that. It might be worth it just to see the expression on his face. Decisions, decisions. She smiled to herself and pulled up the hood on her coat, making her all but invisible in the current snowy conditions, before she moved swiftly and silently to a new location from which to espy the goings on between her boyfriend and the wannabes. No one saw her change her position. Not even Drake, who had been so proud of his skills in finding her in the first place.
No, he didn't have time to watch her move since Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp, ice god and very jealous boyfriend all rolled into one, decided at that exact moment to intercept the potential suitor. It wasn't a polite interception either. One would not call a snowball to the middle of the back 'polite'. Seto called it payback for the ogling.
"What was that for?" Drake asked sharply, as he turned to stare at the taller teenager in the trench coat, anger in his eyes. How dare he interrupt him at this oh-so important moment! Téa was mere feet away from him, the object of his long-awaited desire, and she was going to say 'Yes' to him. He knew it beyond a shadow of a doubt. This was the year she was finally going to say 'Yes' to him and no jumped-up excuse for a high school student was going to change that. The smirk on Seto's mouth said otherwise. An involuntary shudder raced up Drake's spine as those ice-cold eyes fixed him in a deadly glower.
"That was a polite warning. If you ever look at Téa like that again, I'll make sure you rue the day your father first kissed your mother!" Seto watched Drake's lips tighten into a thin line. That had gotten his attention all right. Seto fully admitted to himself that he was the jealous type and he understood that guys would always be guys and look at Téa appreciatively. She was, after all, a gorgeous, sexy girl. His gorgeous, sexy girl. But when they looked at her as if she were nothing more than a piece of meat, that was what really got him angry. And that was the exact look that Drake had had in his eyes when he'd given her the once over at the bottom of the driveway.
Drake took aim and threw a snowball at Seto that was decidedly breaking the 'no head shot' rule that had been agreed upon by all participants earlier in the evening. That was another reason to take this pup's ego down a notch or two. Such disrespect from the younger generation. What were they teaching them in school these days? Seto stepped smoothly out of the way of the incoming snowball as it whizzed by his ear, his eyes never leaving his opponent's. It was time to teach him a lesson.
"Whatever. Who do you think you are telling me what to do anyways? You're not the boss of me!" Drake just about kicked himself as the lame line left his lips. The older teenager's smirk grew wider and a dark chuckle was carried on the wind to his ears.
"I'm not threatening you. I'm just offering you a piece of friendly… advice. You still haven't figured out who I am yet, have you. Humph. And here I thought you were a smart kid. Guess I was seriously mistaken." Seto's voice retained its confident, arrogant composure even as his bare hand held the slowly melting snowball behind his back, ready to deliver it without a second's hesitation. Each word was enunciated for the greatest edge possible and said in the most sarcastic tone he could manage. This was the voice that usually drove Wheeler nuts.
Another 'badly' aimed snowball was gracefully dodged and Seto could almost see the steam escaping from Drake's ears. He silently regarded the boy who stood eight feet away from him, letting him sweat in the cold ice of his glare. Obviously, he didn't realize that Seto had another snowball behind his back while he had nothing in hand to defend himself with. Everything was going exactly as planned. The only thing he didn't know was where Téa had stashed herself. He knew she was nearby, could almost feel her presence right next to him even though he couldn't physically see her. Hopefully, she was enjoying the show. Seto knew he was having fun with this. Poor Drake.
"I think you'd better watch who you're talking to, buddy." This guy had to have some preternatural sixth sense or something. Drake never missed anything he aimed at. That's why he was the star of the Domino City baseball team. He was the best pitcher they'd ever had. "I am Drake Macintosh, son of Drogen Macintosh. I'm assuming you know who he is, right?"
Drake didn't miss the calculated gleam in his adversary's eyes. What was his name again? Kiba, Kaba? It was on the tip of his tongue. Kaiba, that's it. As in…
"Oh, I know who he is. The owner of the second largest gaming corporation in the country. And second place is where Drogen is going to stay, if I have anything to say about it." Inside, he was scoffing in disbelief. THIS was Macintosh's brat. Drogen Macintosh was one of the few people he respected as his competition in the gaming industry. The man was fair and honest to a fault. Too bad that Drake didn't seem to take more after him. He needed some lessons at his father's knee about how to respect others, especially women. Maybe over the knee would be a better place for this upstart. Seto watched his eyes grow wide in comprehension, as he finally understood that...
… Seto Kaiba was the one standing in front of him. Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp., the largest gaming company in the entire world, let alone just this country. Drake still couldn't believe it. It had to be a lie. But now that he thought about it, he did look familiar. Very familiar. Drake tilted his head to the side and suddenly disbelief was no longer an option. It had to be him. He looked just like the picture his father had mounted on the wall of his office. Drogen regarded Kaiba as honourable competition. The two of them had shared many a business and luncheon meeting over the past couple of years. His old man was going to kill him if he ever found out about the way he'd mouthed off to this … this… kid.
Téa watched the exchange with interest. Drake was in trouble now, the womanizing fool. Maybe this would stop him from pestering Julie, too. She smiled lopsidedly to herself, butterflies flittering through her stomach, as she watched Seto advance on her next-door neighbour. But she had to admit, he was kinda hot when he was intimidating Drake into nothingness.
The colour drained from his face and he stumbled as he took another step backwards. It seemed that Seto's reputation preceded him. "You're Kaiba…" Drake couldn't even finish the sentence. He was in way over his head. He should have known who he was the second he'd said his name but he'd been too busy eyeing Téa to hear him. And he didn't have any snowballs at the ready to distract him while he ran in the other direction.
"Very good. Quick on the uptake. I'm Seto Kaiba to be exact. I take it you have heard of me?" Seto's stare bore down on the darker haired boy and he saw the sharp spike of fear in his features. The frosty fire in his eyes should have been a warning to Drake to start running. Seto Kaiba did not take prisoners under normal circumstances. His business was a cutthroat industry and he liked the edge it gave him. No, he most definitely did not take prisoners, especially during a snowball fight. It was shooter or target all the way. And Drake was painted in red and white circles.
The sharp snap of a twig nearby dragged her attention away from the two guys in front of her to the third one that was just entering earshot range. She silently moved a little closer as she noticed that Harvey had spotted the duo having their little 'conversation'. No doubt, he would join Drake's side of the argument and try to put Seto into a disadvantaged position. That wouldn't happen while she was around. She'd just wait a minute or two longer. A jealous Kaiba was fun to watch in action. Maybe those two would get the hint to back off and leave her alone as well. She hated having to say no to them all the time.
Megan turned her head around once, blonde curls streaming behind her, to regard the young man that was chasing her. The grin she was sporting grew wider yet when she saw how close he was to her. Almost time to turn the tables on him and get what she wanted. A sudden wall sprang up in front of her and the air whooshed out of her lungs as she landed, bottom first, on the snow-covered ground.
"Megan! Are you okay? What happened?" Mokuba hollered as he watched her tumble down. Redoubling his efforts, he got there just as the wall she'd run into turned around to see who had knocked into him.
"Sorry, Megan, are you okay?" Bryan asked just as Mokuba came running up to join the duo. The two boys glanced at each other before they both thrust a hand out to help the girl up.
"I'm okay," she replied as she grabbed both hands and eased herself up from her snowy seat.
"What are you doing?" Mokuba asked, his eyes focussed on Megan as she dusted the snow from her clothing.
"We're tracking Yugi. Ryan and I lost him in here a few minutes ago. Want to help us find him?" Bryan asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he answered Mokuba. Apparently, he hadn't thought that the ruckus just seconds earlier hadn't alerted Yugi to his whereabouts.
"I don't know. Yugi's really good at games…" Mokuba hesitated. He really didn't want to get too involved in what appeared to be a private battle between the three boys. He'd seen the looks pass between all three of them when they'd met at the bottom of the driveway earlier. There was more there than met the eye. Some kind of a score to settle. And Mokuba had been having a lot of fun chasing Megan…
"Well, we can at least help the twins flush him out…" Megan started as she swung her gaze to Mokuba, who still unknowingly held her hand in his. Her devastating blue eyes unleashed a swarm of butterflies in his stomach even as he turned his gaze to the snowy carpet at his feet. "C'mon, Mokuba, it'll be fun."
One more peek at her flushed cheeks and parted lips made his decision for him. "Sure, you're right, Megan. It will be fun. He's almost our size, too."
He was so cute when he was being agreeable that she almost impulsively kissed him on the cheek. In fact, the only thing that stopped her was Bryan's hiss, meant to quiet them down.
Using quick hand signals, Bryan headed further off to the left, presumably to see if Ryan had found anything yet, leaving Mokuba and Megan, still hand-in-hand, to cover the territory to the right, closer to the street. Glancing at his partner, Mokuba shrugged his shoulders and started to quietly stalk through the trees, trying to be as quiet as possible. Megan moved just as quickly and silently, reluctant to relinquish her hold on Mokuba's really warm hand.
Yami stared down from his perch in the tree right above them and sighed wistfully. Mokuba had, judging by all outward signs, fallen hard for Megan. He was listening to her and doing everything she wanted. A definite sign that he liked her. At least, vice versa was true as well, if the handholding was any indication.
Chuckling softly to himself, he let his violet eyes roam away from the happy twosome under the tree as they headed out in search of him. His quarrel was not with them. Listening intently to the night, he heard a soft scrape of boots on snow and knew that his prey was close by. Which twin it was, he wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter since they were both going down. And with the two of them separated…
'It'll be a lot easier to pick them off,' Yugi finished the thought happily. It had been his idea to hide up in the tree to escape detection for the moment. And he'd congratulated Yami on the silence with which the task had been accomplished.
'Very true, aibou. Divided, they will fall before the hail of my balls of snow.' Yami's clenched fist pumped enthusiastically into the air and the gesture almost unbalanced his precarious position on the limb.
'Yami, concentrate. We can't win the snowball fight if we fall on our faces out of this tree. The twins would be all over us in seconds,' Yugi giggled as Yami regained his footing on the branch beneath his feet.
"Let the hunt begin," Yami whispered softly and leapt lightly to the ground. Stopping in his tracks, he listened carefully for any sounds in the nearby brush that would lead him closer to his 'enemy'.
"Hey, Drake, what's going on with the beanpole? Why aren't you pelting him with snowballs til he cries like a little baby?" Harvey threw a condescending glare at Kaiba, apparently not remembering who he was. Little did he know that he was in serious danger now. Reaching down to grab a handful of snow to launch at the 'beanpole', he was stopped mid-bend by a snowball that came within a hairsbreadth of hitting his more 'sensitive' areas. The sound of the impact echoed around them and a sharp squeak of pain, quickly suppressed, followed right after.
Seto was already forming another snowball as Harvey stared up at him, his eyes wide with anger and fury. "Better be careful who you call a beanpole, pretty boy. Next time, my aim may not be quite so… off the mark." The smooth, whisky voice again had the desired effect of making Harvey really pay attention to whom he was talking. Looking over at Drake, Harvey realized quickly the danger he was in. Anyone who could make Drake that afraid had to be someone important and now that Harvey thought about it, the name Kaiba was familiar. Something to do with cards, and duelling, and Blue Eyes White Dra…
Damn. It had to be him that Téa brought over here. It couldn't just be any other high school student. No, it had to be the most important guy that went to Domino High. A guy worth billions. Well, that wasn't going to stop him tonight. There was a girl out there that was going to say 'Yes' to him and no one was going to get in his way.
Nevertheless, if he could pull Drake out of his trance, it would still be two against one. The odds would be more in their favour, even if he were a famous CEO big shot. They could take him on. It would be easy as pie. A quick poke to Drake's ribs brought him, trembling, out of his little moment of fear.
"C'mon Drake, snap out of it. It's two on one. We can take him on, even if he is Seto Kaiba, super-bigshot-smartypants!" Harvey's voice took on a bit of pleading note as he shook Drake's arm. That finished what the poke started. The life came back to his eyes and a wicked grin smeared across his mouth.
"You're right, Harvey. We can take him on. Poor bastard only has himself to rely on for his defence. Let's do it!" Drake turned towards Kaiba and noticed there was no singular look in his eye except amusement. Almost as if, he was daring them to go with through with their little plot. They hadn't seen what he had, however.
A whitish grey-coated figure was moving slowly towards him, trapping the two unknowing teenagers between them. Perfect. He couldn't have planned this better himself. She must be psychic. That smile on her face, her beautiful face, tingled across his skin from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.
So much for using Seto for target practice. She'd rather help him out and kick some teenage butt anyways. This was going to be a lot of fun. Almost as much fun as the last time she'd kicked their butts in a snowball fight. And Seto was getting excessively serious about this whole thing. A reminder that this was just a snowball fight, not some big corporate takeover, was needed. He really needed to lighten up a bit and have some fun for a change. She could always get him later. Pushing back the hood of her coat, she cleared her throat once to get everyone's attention.
"Hi, how's the battle going?" Her cheery voice was in sharp contrast to Seto's icy tone and Drake and Harvey were honestly confused as to how she'd gotten there. Why she was behind them, and smiling, was another mystery as well. What they didn't think to question was why her hands were behind her back.
"We were just having a little chat with your friend, Kaiba, over here." Drake's smile looked oily to her as he jerked his thumb in Kaiba's direction. He still didn't understand why he was so happy either but now was his chance to show off in front of Téa what a great guy he was. Surely, that would make her want to date him… What girl didn't like a show of male prowess? Men were the dominant species after all. The girls at school were always impressed with his skills. "Care to join us in combat against him?"
Harvey, judging by the knowing look in his eyes, saw the larger picture coalesce before him as Téa stepped nonchalantly closer to Kaiba. A couple more snowballs were quickly made as Seto took advantage of the distraction she provided for him. Those two yahoos were in for the surprise of their lives in about a minute.
"I don't think so. I should leave those kinds of things to you guys. After all, you're so much stronger and more capable than little old me." That tone of voice should be illegal, Seto thought to himself. It was too smooth and sarcastic for those that could discern those minor stress changes involved for true wit to happen. She was moving this along perfectly, he decided as she finally came to a stop next to him. Her sense of timing was flawless. Flicking her eyes in Harvey's direction, she saw that he was slowly backing off and getting far away from the fray that was seconds from starting. So much for Drake's back up. She'd deal with him in a minute or two. For now, she had to concentrate on the attack and get ready to cover Seto, should he need it. Drake would never shoot at her deliberately. It would ruin his chances of asking her out again. That was the only positive thing she could see in that idea, anyways.
A quick look passed between her and Seto, one filled with innuendo, promised heat and a determination to wipe the smirk right from the insolent young pup's face. A single half nod set everything in motion.
As Téa turned back towards Drake, her hands came smoothly from behind her back and whipped the two snowballs she was holding right at the target's chest. Bull's-eye! Staggering back from the double blow, he was hit with another round as Seto loosed the ones he'd made earlier, giving Téa a chance to 'reload'.
Needless to say, Drake went sprawling on his backside in the snow from the force of the blows.
What had he ever done to deserve this? He'd been played! But he should have expected it since Téa had brought Mr. CEO over as one of her friends. Why oh why had he believed her when she'd said that she'd leave the combat up to the boys? Damn. Outsmarted by a girl once more. Drake hadn't even gotten a chance to ask her out yet. Not that he really wanted to, right now, with the tall, evil-looking guy standing behind her watching him with his glacial eyes.
"I honestly thought he had more fight in him than that, Kaiba. Went down without throwing a single shot. Too bad. He's usually got such good aim." Téa turned back towards Seto and smiled winningly at him before she continued. "There is one more target out there. Want to go get him, too or is your male jealousy satisfied with getting just this one?"
"What male jealousy are you talking about?" He didn't want to let her know the whole gamut of emotions that had rolled through him when he'd encountered Drake out here. One arched eyebrow and her folded arms let him know that she knew everything. Damn, he was so busted. "Téa, it wasn't jealousy… it was… was…"
"What? Some primitive, male urge to mark me as yours? Seto, I thought the jealousy act was hot, but if you're saying that wasn't it…" Her silky tone taunted him softly and the humour in her eyes made his cheeks red once more. The things she could do to him with just her voice, let alone her hands and fingers, had him breathing hard.
"You thought that was hot? You should see me when I'm really annoyed…" His little chuckle made her groan once and roll her eyes at him.
"Set-off-the-fire-detectors-hot, I bet," she countered, turning away from Drake's sprawled form on the ground and moving closer to Seto once more. "How about we do a little more target practice? I still have too much energy to burn."
"I could find a way for you to use that energy…" There went her knees. So much heat in just those few words made her feel like melting into a puddle of goo at his feet.
"Mmm, is that a threat or a promise?" She had to get her breathing under control. Her arm entwined itself through his and they stepped further away yet from the still stunned and sprawled teenaged boy.
"I'll get you this time!" Mokuba shouted at the blonde-haired girl in front of him. The wind carried her merry laughter to him and he sped up once more in the hopes of trying to catch her and reclaim what rightfully belonged to him. Turning back once, she waved the blue mitten she held, her prize, teasingly at the younger Kaiba.
Flashback – minutes ago…
They'd tried to search for Yugi, they really had, but it was hopeless. The snowfall was too thick and the night too deep to see anything besides each other. And it was in these moments that Mokuba realized he was still holding Megan's hand from when he helped her up. But the worst part of that was that she wasn't letting go of his hand so easily.
"Megan, let go," he asked, his voice almost pleading with her. He tried to tug his hand out of her grasp but succeeded only in making her hold on tighter. Her million-watt smile had turned towards him then and he gulped at the mischief he saw in her eyes. Was that what he looked like when he was up to no good? No wonder Seto always knew when he was up to something.
"Not until you say the magic word," she teased. She watched his violet-grey eyes grow bigger and the tugs on his hand grew a little more panicked. If only he knew what she was planning, he'd know better than to do this right now. He'd be running as far and fast away from her as he could.
"Magic word? Okay, please?" Hopefully, she would relinquish control and give him back his personal space. Having her so close to him was distracting. No wonder he'd been able to get the jump on Seto yesterday if this was how Téa made him feel. He pulled on his hand once more, to no avail. She just pulled back on it.
"No, that's not my magic word and besides, I like your hand right where it is. It's nice and warm, too," she replied, her fingers squeezing his hand once more and smiling at the bright red flush that added to his cheeks.
Soon enough, though, Mokuba and Megan were caught up in a rousing game of tug-of-war. He would pull on his hand and she would pull back. It was highly amusing and entertaining to the two participants until that fateful moment occurred. The one inevitably destined to happen.
The navy blue mitten that had once been snugly attached to the hand when first put on couldn't take the pressure anymore.
It slipped off just as Mokuba gave a mighty tug to reclaim what had originally been his.
Down Mokuba went, bottom first to the snow-covered ground, leaving Megan standing with the offending mitten still clenched between her own pink-mittened fingers. After a moment of silence, both of them had burst into unabashed laughter and the chase they were currently enjoying had ensued once Mokuba had stood up and dusted himself off.
End flashback…
Megan peeked behind her, the navy blue mitten still trapped in her hand, taunting him to come and take it away from her, if he could. How easy it was to get boys to do things. All it took was a smile, a wink or a challenge and they were all over it. Now that she thought about it, her mother used the same tricks with her father. A little wink was enough to send him scurrying to get the garbage taken out. A bright smile and he would do the dishes without complaint. And Mom would challenge Dad to beat her in a race to shovel the driveway. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Boys wouldn't do anything if there weren't a reward behind it either. Mom and Dad used to disappear for a while after Dad was done whatever chore Mom had set him to do. Hmm… she'd have to ponder that idea some more.
She was good, Mokuba had to admit that. Even Seto would have been caught by now, although he suspected his older brother let him win on purpose. The challenge Megan presented intrigued him. No other girl had ever fascinated him like this or gotten him to do what she wanted, either. His breath was coming out in ragged gasps as he put on one more burst of speed to try to catch up to her. She was good, but he would prove he was better.
Megan slowed down just a bit. Just enough to let Mokuba get a little closer. A glance behind showed that he was almost on top of her already. At least he had been, she frowned, til something stopped him dead in his tracks.
That was when she heard it, too.
A high, shrill shriek that was abruptly cut off.
"Mokuba? What was that?" Megan whispered, trying hard to keep the edge of fear out of her voice as she walked back towards him.
"I don't know, Megan, but it came from over there," Mokuba replied, his index finger only shaking a little bit as he pointed towards an area off to their left. Doing some mental picturing, Megan realized that they were by Drake's house. She frowned as she thought about who could be over there. There was no one else it could be since they'd just run in to the twins as they searched for Yugi and Drake and Harvey were looking for Téa unless…
The shrill shriek came once more but this time it was followed by something that sounded suspiciously like laughter. A girl's laughter. That had to be it. It had to be Julie and those two guys she'd been eyeing at the end of the driveway. Téa's two guy friends, Joey and Trist…
She didn't even get a chance to finish that thought as Mokuba dashed in that general direction, mumbling something about finding out what was going on. Sighing softly and musing over the quick-spiritedness of the male gender, she made after him. It only took a minute or two to arrive in the general vicinity and once they'd made it out of the tree cover, they gasped at what lay before them.
The ground between Drake's house and the twins' had become a battlefield. Snowballs were flying in every direction and there seemed to be three different angles they were flying from. The laughter came once more just as Megan dodged a misdirected snowball and Mokuba threw himself to the ground to avoid another one.
"Give it up, Joey. We're never gonna get to her. She's too well covered by that fence in front of her." Tristan was almost tired of trying to talk some sense into that blonde-headed brain Joey possessed. He'd been trying for almost ten minutes to get him to agree to a final rush on her position.
"No way, Tris. She tried to take us down, 'member? Dis is what you get when you mess wit' a Wheeler," Joey stated emphatically, his voice somehow managing to be both comical and serious.
"But Joey, I'm just a defenceless girl. You really don't want to get me that badly, do you?" Julie's voice, on the other hand, oozed charm and smoothness, making Tristan eye her sideways across the yard. She really was laying it on thick and he was pretty sure that Joey would be relentless anyways. Once Joey got an idea in his head, it was hard to tug it away from him, much like a dog with a chew toy. Snickering at his own thoughts, Tristan wondered if he'd have a shot at her phone number if he joined forces with her against his blonde-headed friend and they creamed him together.
"Uh unh, dere's no way I'm believing you after dat shot I took in de butt. Dat really hurt. You are most definitely not defenceless. You're goin' down, Jules!" Joey shouted, a vain attempt at maniacal laughter following. Another snowball smacked into the fence near her arm and she retreated into the safety of her makeshift shelter. Joey hadn't had this much fun in a long time. Julie was proving to be a worthy adver… advers… ah, heck enemy. Not as good as Téa, she was a lot sneakier, but way better than Tristan ever was.
"They've got Julie trapped near Drake's backyard," Megan exclaimed softly to Mokuba as she eyed the situation from behind a tree.
"That's not a very nice thing to do. Maybe… maybe we should help her," Mokuba turned to Megan and gave her his own version of a million watt grin. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Two could play her game, Mokuba thought before different plans to rescue Julie filtered through his mind. Unfortunately, most of them wouldn't work since he didn't have an ultra-mega-semi-automatic-snowball-rifle-cannon in his back pocket.
The night should have been blown away by the brightness of the thought that just flashed through his brain. It was so easy and so awesome that he could have kicked himself for not thinking of it earlier. THIS should have been the first plan he'd thought of. And he didn't need any snowball rifle cannons to make it work, either. Turning once more to Megan, his newest about-to-be-partner-in-crime, he grinned. It was no ordinary grin, not by any stretch of the imagination. "I have an idea."
Much whispering took place in the next couple of minutes and her grin matched his in intensity and mischief once it was done. It was perfect. Those two would never know what hit them. They shook hands, an electric tingle racing through both of them at the slight contact, to seal the deal and moved off in separate directions.
Mokuba stepped out of his hiding spot, took a deep breath, and made as much noise as he could as he walked towards Joey and Tristan. His job, his only job, was to distract those two long enough for Megan to do her part of the plan. That's when everything would be turned upside down and Joey and Tristan would be running for their lives.
"Hi Joey, Tristan. What's going on?" Mokuba asked, innocence beaming from his face like a small sun. Those two would never suspect him of being a turncoat to their gender. But when a girl as cute as Megan was involved, Mokuba was willing to do anything to make her smile at him. This liking girls business was getting better and better. Maybe Seto was on the right track after all.
"Hey, Mokuba. What's goin' on you ask? Well, we got Julie pinned behind dat fence dere and we're jus' waitin' for her t' realize dat we are superior t' her. She can't get away wit' what she did to us earlier." His voice carried far on the gentle wind still blowing snow around the yard and Julie winced at his words. Joey was a regular font of information.
"You shoulda seen the shot he took in the butt earlier, too. Man, talk about hurting your pride," Tristan chimed in, grinning at the younger Kaiba. Mokuba laughed at that, just picturing what Joey's face would look like. Seto would have loved to see that.
"How did you guys get into this to begin with?" Mokuba's job was easy. Joey would talk the ear off a goat, given half a chance. Well, his chance had arrived in the form of one, innocent seeming Mokuba Kaiba. Now Megan just had to pull off her part.
"PSSSSSST, Julie!" Megan whispered as loudly as she dared. The older blonde looked over to where the sound had come from. The only thing she could see was a pink-mittened hand waving at her from the side of the house…
"Megan? What are you doing here? It's not that safe with those two guys out there pitching snowballs at me," Julie said, her voice laced with wryness. It was her mess and she had yet to figure a way out of it.
"I've come to get you out. Mokuba's out there distracting those two boys that were throwing snowballs at you. Hurry up and follow me," Megan replied, her mittened hand urging her friend to join her. There was only one problem. The spot between the fence Julie was hiding behind and where Megan was frantically waving at her was open turf, nothing to protect her should anyone spot her moving from her shelter towards freedom.
Taking a deep breath and putting all of her trust into that one black-haired, young boy, Julie crept forward slowly and prayed that neither Joey nor Tristan spotted her. She was dead meat if they caught her out in the open. No mercy or quarter given. She'd given them a run for their money earlier but now she was the one paying the piper. Geez, what was with all those sayings? Shaking her head, she moved another foot forward and froze as she heard laughter echoing around her. Sighing softly, she realized that no one had seen her yet. It had been Mokuba laughing at something that one of them said. She couldn't hear what they were saying and wouldn't want to anyways. It would just be a distraction from her current mission. Looking towards the edge of Drake's house, she saw a pink blur still waving her on. She'd already covered half the distance and nothing had gone wrong yet.
With one more deep breath, she stood a little higher and made a run for it. The snowfall and the darkness covered her get away enough that they didn't see the flash of pink from her coat. Well, no one except Mokuba who was facing the backyard. Both Joey and Tristan were very animatedly telling him about their flight from Julie to how the tables had been turned over here. And he was having to put on an interested face to keep them talking as he waited for Megan's signal.
There it was! Megan was waving his navy blue mitten in a frantic attempt to get his attention. Now for the return signal. Mokuba's mitten-less hand stretched up, straight up, into the air before reaching down to scratch the back of his head. Not the most subtle of signals but Joey and Tristan paid no attention to it as they continued on with their tale.
Julie and Megan rushed behind Drake's house and climbed back over the low fence that Megan had originally climbed to get to her. Why hadn't she thought of this before? Such an easy way out. But then again, when faced with a maelstrom of snowballs coming from every direction, it was very hard to think about escape. Now that she was free and Megan had outlined her and Mokuba's plan, she grinned. Those two would really learn that she really wasn't a defenceless girl.
Peeking around the side of the house, she saw that Mokuba was still distracting those two. Perfect. The two girls worked quickly to create an armload of ammunition before they snuck back into the trees lining Drake's yard. They'd never expect an attack from 'behind'. They thought she was pinned down and helpless. There was no way that she was going to proclaim that boys were superior to girls. Granted, she'd had to rely on a boy for assistance, but he was young so he really didn't count. And he was Megan's new friend.
Mokuba's eyes gleamed mischievously as he watched the two girls make their way, slowly and quietly, to the trees behind the three of them. It had been so easy to distract Joey and Tristan from their previous mission of pounding Julie with snowballs. All it had taken were a few questions regarding how they had originally gotten into this position. Nonchalantly, he reached down, picked up a couple handfuls of snow, and began to idly form it into snowballs. It was a good idea to be prepared for when the girls started firing.
Tristan's eyebrow quirked up at the look he saw in Mokuba's eyes. It reminded him of something, or more accurately, someone. In fact, he looked a lot like his older brother when he was just about to pull a winning strategy against Joey at Duel Monsters. Something about that look sent a spine-tingling quiver through him. A quick look at Joey and he was reasonably sure that he hadn't picked up any weird vibes from Mokuba.
As he turned for one last, confused look at the younger Kaiba, the world went white.
Mokuba, with the agility of a cat, leapt out of the way of the incoming snowballs and hurled his own at the two boys standing there. Everything had gone perfectly, he thought, as he watched the impact of several snowballs explode across Joey's legs. The force knocked him over onto his back and left Tristan as the single, standing target.
"Why, Mokuba, why?" Joey muttered, finally cluing in that he had been a traitor, sent amongst them to obfuscate Julie's escape.
"Joey, do you even have to ask?" Tristan replied. Two girls had appeared in his line of sight, what little of it he had under the storm of snowballs, and the shorter one kept winking at Mokuba. So that was why he had gone and done this. All because of a girl. He staggered back a step as a vicious duo of snowballs detonated across his thighs. Falling to his knees, arms stretched above his head and head hanging to his chest, he shouted, "Stop, we surrender!" At least Mokuba had had a good reason to do this to the two of them. All was fair in love and war.
"Was there ever any doubt of that? Who's superior now, Joey?" Julie smirked as she walked up and stood over the blonde-haired boy still sprawled on the ground. Joey could only groan. He still couldn't believe that Julie had somehow managed to outsmart him and Tristan.
Megan walked over to Mokuba, who was still on the sidelines of the battleground, and smiled winningly. "You were great."
"You weren't so bad yourself," Mokuba replied, his cheeks flushing from praise. She was so pretty when she smiled like that at him. Betraying the boys had been worth it just to see her eyes shine like that. Maybe having a girlfriend wouldn't be such a bad thing. He'd been harping on Seto for months to get one. And if having one meant that he walked on air everyday, then it was a really good thing.
No way, Joey thought, there was no way that he was going down without a fight. Tristan may have surrendered but he wasn't ready to admit defeat yet. And the smile that Julie had on her face right now, she peered down at him, hardened his resolve. In fact, she was so busy congratulating herself that she didn't notice his hands tighten around clumps of snow.
The first shot Joey sent at her hit her in the shoulder. The second one, that was the kicker. He hadn't been able to aim it very well and he had just prayed that it hit her instead of spiralling uselessly beyond her.
It hit her, all right.
Right smack dab in the middle of her chest.
Her CHEST.
Joey blanched at the look of death in her eyes before he scrambled to his feet as fast as humanly possible. Running for his life, he grabbed Tristan's still outstretched arm and yanked him to his feet. Poor Tristan hadn't even fully comprehended what had just occurred when he heard Julie hollering behind them, her words incoherent for the first time.
"Joey, what the hell did you just do to her?" Tristan asked between pants as he tried to catch up to his best friend.
"Sneak attack… hit her… in the chest…" was all Joey could relay between gasps for breath.
Oh, man. Joey had just committed the worst mistake possible during a snowball fight with a girl. One never, ever aimed for that area of the female body. Instant death by snowballs. And Joey had just dragged Tristan into the middle of it. Maybe he should gang up on him with Julie. Maybe she wouldn't hold him accountable for Joey's actions…
Mokuba and Megan watched Julie chase after the two boys and shared a chuckle. Those two were so dead.
"Thanks for not hitting me with a snowball," Mokuba said, more to break the silence of the night around them as their laughter died and even the echoes faded away.
"Of course I wouldn't hit you with a snowball. You were the mastermind behind the whole plot to free Julie from behind that fence. What kind of a repayment would that be?" Megan replied, her eyes twinkling impishly. This was the perfect opening. Now she could remind him of what he really did owe her. "Although you tried to hit me with a snowball earlier, remember?"
Mokuba was taken aback. When had he done that? Thinking back to the beginning of the night, he groaned as that particular memory surfaced. "But that was because you gave me a snow wash!"
"Remember what I said after that?" Megan's voice was smooth and charming, much like Seto's voice when he'd just trumped the other player at Duel Monsters.
"Uh, 'missed me, missed me, now ya gotta KISS… me'…" Mokuba said, his eyes widening as he realized the implications of that statement. He gulped.
"Yup, and I think I want my kiss now…" Megan smiled as Mokuba backed slowly away from her before running in the general direction that Joey and Tristan had just taken. No way, he wasn't ready for that yet. Just because he liked her didn't mean that he really wanted to kiss her…
Megan skipped along behind him, much like Pepe le Pew, determined to get her prize before the snowball fight was finished.
Whew, it's almost done. Hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.
The last part of the snowball fight should be up in a couple of days. Just have to finish the ending.
Thanks for all of the great reviews. Cheers to all who review!
Aphrael21;)