Return of the Wild Gang Chapter 13
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO
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"Stay away from me!" cried Mai. Hirutani had her cornered in an alley.
"C'mon, Babe, I won't hurt you or force you. I just won't let you go until you agree to!" it was drizzling rain and Hirutani knew that they were in an abandoned neighborhood- no residents, no cops.
"No," said Mai. She stated it plain and straightforward. Anything Hirutani did now could get him arrested. Not that he cared, he only had one thing on his mind. He moved in. Mai tried to punch him but he grabbed her wrist. Then he grabbed the other one and forced her arms back against the wall.
"I'll be gentle, Babe. I know you're weak. After all, you're a girl." Mai snapped. No one made derogatory comments about being female in her presence, let alone to her face.
"How dare you!" she spat. She tried to kick him but he moved. He was an expert street-fighter and had taught himself to dodge critical attacks quite easily.
"Nice try, Girlie," he whispered. Mai got an idea; she had always used her ability to seduce men to her advantage.
"Okay Hon', just be gentle," she said. Hirutani fell for it and loosened his grip on her wrists.
"Ah, now it's consensual?" Mai nodded and he let go of her. She came up close to him.
"Yeah, let's go back to my place, I'm sure the cops are gone."
"Better yet, let's go to my car."
"You know what I love about you, Hirutani?" she asked.
"What?"
"You're an idiot." She kicked him in the gnads and ran for her life.
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Meanwhile, the gang had gotten into Duke's 50s convertible and was rushing to find Mai. Tristan was on his motorcycle so if they needed to chase Hirutani down a narrow street they could. Duke drove while Serenity sat in the front seat. Duke let her have shotgun because he liked her. Yami, Joey and Tea sat together in the back.
"Hey, what's that?" shouted Serenity. She pointed to a shadow of two figures on the alley brick wall.
"Looks like a fight," said Yami.
"Tristan, you cut 'em off around the corner, I'll come in from the front!" called Duke.
"Word up, Dude!" came Tristan's muffled voice from inside his biker's helmet. "Hey! You! Stop!" he called. Hirutani turned around and was immediately blinded by the light from Tristan's motorcycle. "Let Mai go now or I'll ride this bike of mine all up and down you're body!" he threatened. He would never do such a think of course, he just needed to scare Hirutani.
"Tristan!" Mai screamed. Hirutani clasped one of his hands around her mouth and the other around her body to keep her arms from flailing about.
"Nobody move! I'm gonna take this girl and no one's gonna stop me!" he shouted. Duke was still driving around the corner to close in on Hirutani in the alley. "Look, she obviously wants it! Look at the way this skank dresses!"
"Mai doesn't belong to anybody!" shouted Tea. She and Serenity jumped out of the car and stared Hirutani down.
"You think just because she's a girl you can do whatever you want to her?"
"You think it's okay just because no one says it's not?" said Serenity.
"Hey, this is none of your business!" yelled Hirutani. He moved his arm up to Mai's neck and everybody stopped in their tracks. "Nobody move or I'll snap her neck!" Mai's eyes widened. "I MEAN IT!"
"You don't have the guts, you sleaze!" said Duke.
"Yeah! If you were a real man you wouldn't rape Mai!" yelled Serenity.
"Shut up!" he hissed.
"Mai!" shouted Joey when he saw the danger she was in.
"Stay back, Joey! We'll handle this!" called Tea. "So Hirutani, you think just because Mai's a girl it's okay for you to rape her?"
"Shut up!" Serenity slinked into the shadowy part of the alley. No one could see her.
"You think we women are just objects for you to use to satisfy yourself?" Tea continued.
"SHUT UP!" yelled Hirutani.
"NOW!" shouted Tea. All of a sudden, Serenity bolted out of the shadows like a wolf, and knocked Hirutani down so that he let go of Mai. Mai herself was surprised by the punch little Serenity packed. Tristan drove up closer to Hirutani, as did Duke.
"Hirutani," Joey started. "you can either give yourself up, or let us beat you down."
"Man, she dumped you! Let me have her now!" growled Hirutani.
"Hey! First of all, she didn't dump him!" said Tea. "Second of all, even if she had it wouldn't automatically make her "up for grabs!" She's not a piece of property, and especially if she says "no" you'd better not touch her!" Mai smiled. Tea was not only standing up for her, but for women's rights all together.
"We'll let you go if you promise to leave now and never come back," said Tristan, revving the motor of his bike.
"We'll call da cops if we see you around here again!" snarled Joey. Hirutani hesitated, and finally surrendered.
"Okay, okay, fine. Don't turn me in I got a long record." He ran past the group of friends and leaped over Duke's car. He left an ugly dent and a footprint on the hood, but after that he bolted.
"Hey!" yelled Duke. "Aw, she's never had a scratch on her since the day I got her," he moaned as he inspected the damage.
"Ahem!" grunted Serenity. "You think of your possession as a 'she?'"
"No, Serenity, it's not like that…" he looked around. Joey was helping Mai up from the ground. Her wrist was bleeding. "You're right. This car is not a woman and women aren't objects for us men to toy with." Serenity gave
Duke a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Good call, Serenity. We women aren't objects for men to possess!" said Tea.
"Let's go home," said Yugi- he'd reverted from Yami. Tristan rode his bike home, Serenity sat in the middle-front-seat of Duke's car, with Yugi in shotgun. Joey, Mai and Tea all sat in the back.
The gang went back to Mai's apartment. The police were still investigating, but she explained everything to them and they left.
Still traumatized from her experience, Mai said she didn't want to be alone that night and asked everyone to spend the night. After calling and checking with parents, they all had a big slumber party. They made popcorn, Duke rented some movies, they played cards and Duel Monsters…a good time was had by all.
Later that night, after everyone had dozed off, Joey poured his heart out.
"Mai?" he whispered.
"Yeah?" she stirred in his arms.
"Um, I know it probably means nothing to you, but I really am sorry for…everything. I'll understand if you don't want to marry me, but I just want you to know that…I don't think I'll ever meet anyone as perfect as you. You're the only one for me Mai, even if I'm not the one for you. And…I love you."
"Well," Mai began. "I'm not wild about the stolen ring, the smuggled drugs, the gun or the attempted rape on Hirutani's part…" Joey cringed in guilt and hung his head. "but I do love you. And if I can love you even when you screw things up this badly, I know I'll be able to love you for years to come." Joey smiled.
"Mai?"
"Shh," she put a finger to his lips. "you'll wake everybody up!" They decided to continue their conversation in the kitchen.
"So…will you still marry me?"
"No." Joey's smile immediately disappeared. "Not yet. Lot's of couples get married young and they end up divorced. I just don't want either of us to be tied down, you know?"
"Yeah, I get what you're saying. We should wait a while," said Joey.
"But that doesn't mean we have to stop seeing each other," said Mai.
"And it's probably best if we don't live together. That's a benefit that comes with marriage," said Joey.
"So does that mean you're going to get a job and live at your old place?" asked Mai.
"Hey!" hissed Tristan. "You guys shut up, some of us are trying to sleep here!" Joey and Mai gulped. Mai went and slept in her own bed and Joey curled up among his friends. Using Tristan's chest as a pillow, he drifted off into a calm and dreamy slumber.
Pretty soon, in mid-August, before Yugi and company went to college they had to go to court. The cops had managed to track Hirutani down as well as the rest of his gang and bring them to justice. The charges that were pressed against Hirutani were many. In fact, there were several different cases to sort out. First, the smuggled drugs.
"Aw man, I'm totally in for it," Joey mumbled to himself. Mai patted his shoulder.
"Just tell the truth and you'll be fine," she coaxed.
"All rise," said the prosecutor. The judge came in and called order.
"Read the charges," she said.
"Mister Joseph Wheeler, you are accused of smuggling, purchasing and selling illegal substances from and to this man and his gang. How do you plead?" asked the prosecutor.
"Not guilty," said Joey. "I may have brought a couple of 'mystery envelopes' to and from Hirutani, but I had no idea what was in them. Never crossed me mind. I was desperate- needed the money."
"So you were getting paid to transport drugs, existence of which you were unaware?"
"Um, yes."
"Thank you, Mr. Wheeler. Mr. Hirutani, please come to the stand." Hirutani did as he was told.
"Were you the supplier of money and drugs to Joey Wheeler after he took the envelopes?"
"No."
The trial went on for two days but the verdict was undecided. There was no evidence and no proof, and no one knew it was Bandit Keith on the other end so no one was found guilty or not.
The next day Mai pressed charges against Hirutani for attempted rape. Luckily for her, there were plenty of eyewitnesses.
"Miss Mai Valentine, you stand this courtroom to accuse Mr. Hirutani of raping you," said the prosecutor.
"Not exactly," said Mai. "he never managed to accomplish anything. He kissed me against my will, pushed me against walls and refused to restrain himself when I said "no."" Hirutani bit his lip and glared at Mai with small, hate-filled eyes. But Mai didn't flinch- she just glared right back.
"Were there any eyewitnesses?" asked the judge. Joey stood up.
"I was there."
"Me, too," said Tristan.
"Same here," said Tea as she and Yugi stood up. Duke held Serenity's hand and they both stood up.
"Six eyewitnesses? And you all testify?"
"Yes. Hirutani grabbed Mai's arms and forced her against a brick wall. Look at that scab on her arm- he did that!" said Joey, pointing to Mai who was showing the courtroom her wound. The jury gasped and looked at Mai.
After a while, the jury voted and the judge came out to read the verdict.
"All rise for the verdict," she said.
"You're all dead," whispered Hirutani. Joey put an arm around Mai and basically told her not to worry.
"This is an intolerable act; rape that is. I will show no injustice to the victim, whether the defendant actually succeeded or not. Since there is no physical evidence except that scab on Miss Valentine's wrist, just six eyewitnesses…I have found the defendant…"
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END OF CHAPTER 13
A cliffhanger…ain't I a stinker?