9. Frustrations

Joey drummed his fingers impatiently on the table as Pegasus blathered on about the upcoming division finals and the tournament quarter-finals that would follow and determine who would be offered contracts as professional duelists for Industrial Illusions, yadda yadda ya. Normally Joey would pay close attention to anything Pegasus said, not because the guy was interesting—he was sort of a scary fruitcake, in Joey's opinion—but merely because Pegasus was often up to his single eyeball in shady dealings and it was in the best interest of Joey and his friends to figure out what he was up to. For the second time three days, however, Pegasus's words washed over him, unable to penetrate past the one thing that was on his mind: Mai Valentine.

She was here, in this very room, three tables over from where he sat with Yugi, Rebecca, and Mako Tsunami (Duke had lost in the third round to Zigfried von Schroeder and was not with them). Dressed more casually than the other night in a dark purple jacket over a white tank top and skin-tight purple jeans tucked into knee-high black boots, she looked more like he remembered her, long blonde hair loose and flowing over her shoulders. She was talking animatedly with Alrik Cronhielm and Leon and Zigfried von Schroeder as if she didn't have a care in the world, but Joey noticed she was very aware of his presence in the room, if only because she quite deliberately avoided even so much as glancing his way.

Dragging his eyes off her, Joey shoveled a forkful of peach cobbler into his mouth and looked up toward Pegasus, but still couldn't focus on what he was saying. He glanced at Yugi, who looked as bored as he felt and quite possibly twice as miserable. He wasn't sure what that was about, but he'd make a point of finding out—after he had a chance to talk with Mai, that is.

Finally Pegasus stopped talking and there was a smattering of polite applause. Joey clapped along with everyone else while leaning over to Yugi and whispering, "Uh, what's next?" hoping his friend had been listening better.

"Pegasus is doing a drawing to determine the order of the duels on Wednesday," Yugi informed him blandly.

Joey frowned. "You okay?"

Yugi nodded unconvincingly.

A man Joey recognized as Pegasus' right-hand man in Duelist Kingdom, a humorless toady named Croquet, brought Pegasus a bingo-style tumbler. It was opaque so they couldn't see what was inside. Pegasus turned the crankshaft a few times and Joey could hear what sounded like marbles rolling around inside.

"Oooh, the suspense!" Pegasus cooed, and Joey rolled his eyes. Finally Pegasus reached in and pulled out a small green ball. "And the first duel of the division finalists will be the Green Division!" he announced as if he'd just given birth to a healthy nine pound baby boy.

Another smattering of applause and Pegasus repeated the process until all eight balls had been drawn. Next came Red, then Orange, White, Violet, Yellow, Blue, and Black. So Joey's duel would be second to last and Yugi's would follow.

"And now everyone, group picture!" Pegasus sang out. "Come on, gather 'round. I want a picture with my sixteen division semi-finalists!"

There was sort of a collective groan, but a group picture sounded good to Joey. It meant Mai would have to stand within a few feet of him. Surely he could catch her afterwards and talk to her. The sound of chairs scraping back echoed across the Acropolis Club as people got up and made their way over to the small stage where Pegasus waited.

The sixteen duelists grouped around their host by their divisions: Yugi and Alrik from the Black Division, Kaiba and an Argentinean named Raul Pérez from the White Division, German Zigfried von Schroeder and American Christine Aileas from the Red Division, Zigfried's brother Leon and American Lawrence Andrews from the Orange Division, Rebecca and Kenan Bagatui of Kenya from the Yellow Division, Mokuba and a Frenchman named Jacques Rousseau from the Green Division, Joey and Mako from the Blue Division, and finally Mai and yet another American named Renée Carole from the Violet Division. A photographer cracked cheesy jokes and tried to get them to smile as he took several pictures. Finally he was finished and Pegasus released them with a jovial wish of a relaxing day off tomorrow and good luck in the Division Finals on Wednesday.

As soon as they were excused, Mai went directly for the door, but Joey was at her side in an instant. "Hey Mai, can we talk?"

She stopped and looked at him for the first time since fleeing from the ballroom Saturday night. Her body was somewhat rigid and her expression unreadable. "I really don't think there's anything else to say, do you?"

"You don't—" Joey began, a flush of anger washing over him. "You disappear off the face of the earth for almost three years, then pop up without any warning, say what you have to say and then disappear again without letting me get in a single word and now you decide there isn't anything else to say? I don't think so. I think you owe me a chance to respond."

She sighed. "What's the point, Wheeler? You think you can tell me anything I haven't already told myself? I know what I did was unforgivable. I don't need you driving the point home. I can't do anything else to make up for what I did, so let's just call it done. You go your way and I'll go mine."

She turned to leave again, but Joey grabbed her arm. "Nothing doing, Mai. I've got some things I want to say to you and you're gonna listen."

Her eyes hardened. "Let me go," she said, an unmistakable note of warning in her voice.

"All I want is five minutes. You owe me that much."

"What I owed you was an apology and you got one. Now let me go."

"Is there a problem here?" A purser appeared next to them, his voice authoritative. Mai seemed to know him; she immediately smiled at him and went into what Joey thought of as her "routine."

"No problem, Evan," she said, dripping honey to the purser. "Just the usual bravado between competitors."

He was not convinced. "I think you should let go of the lady's arm," he advised Joey.

"We're just having a conversation here," Joey shot back, but he released Mai's arm.

"Yes, but it was getting boring," Mai drawled, taking the purser arm. "Buy a girl a drink, Evan?"

"Mai—" Joey pleaded, but she ignored him while the purser shot him a warning look.

"I think the lady would prefer to be left alone."

"Fine!" Joey barked. He turned on his heel and almost ran right into Yugi. "Come on, Yuge, let's get the hell outta here."

The two friends made their way back to their suite, where Joey wrenched open the door as if he were trying to pull it off its hinges, stomped in, and slammed it shut behind them. "Women!" he shouted. "Who needs them?" He took off his jacket and flung it across the room. "Who the hell does she think she is anyway? She screws me over and now I'm the jerk? I don't think so!" He kicked over a wastepaper basket by the desk in the corner. "I just wanted to talk. To tell her I don't care what happened three years ago. But can she listen for five seconds? No. She's too busy running off at the mouth. Well screw it. If she doesn't need me then I sure as hell don't need her!" He pounded his fist into the wall; the same fist, he belatedly realized, that he'd hurt punching the bulkhead on the deck two nights earlier. "OWWWWWWW!" he roared, shaking his hand out again. Angrily he put his injured knuckles to his mouth and sucked on them. Over the back of his hand he saw Yugi standing patiently in the corner, waiting out his tirade.

"You finished?" Yugi asked, unruffled.

"Yeah," Joey said at last. "I seriously need to just wake up and get over this girl already."

Yugi didn't say anything.

Joey shook out his hand again and looked around the otherwise empty suite. "Hey, where is everyone?"

"Well, Rebecca made friends with those two American girls who are only a couple years older than her. Christine and Renée, I think their names were. They went to go see the movie in the ship's theater."

"What, no Mokuba?"

Yugi shook his head. "Maybe Kaiba decided Mokuba was spending too much time slumming with the commoners," he deadpanned.

Joey smiled in spite of himself. "Probably. And the others?"

Yugi indicated a piece of the ship's stationery taped to the inside of the door behind him. "According to this note, they all went to see some singer in the ballroom. You wanna go?"

Joey shook his head. "Not really. You?"

"No." Yugi folded his arms. "You know what we need? Grab your jacket and your duel disk. We're gonna go up and find some empty space on the top deck and duel, you and me."

Joey cocked his head. "Getting worried about the competition?"

"Of course," Yugi grinned. "You are Japanese National Champion and I haven't seen you duel in two years. Come on."

Joey nodded. "You're on."

"Let me just leave a note for Duke to make sure Rebecca gets in okay," Yugi said, grabbing a pen and scrawling something on the paper still taped to the door.

"You know," Joey told him as they headed out the door, "a proper big brother would go to the movie with her just to make sure the boys stay away."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "No, that would be a paranoid, obsessive-compulsive big brother."

"And your point is?"

Yugi chuckled. "I think I'll let Duke beat the boys off. That's more in line with his personality than mine. Besides, so far it's only Mokuba, and I like him."

"Yugi, Yugi, Yugi," Joey clucked his tongue. "Big Brother Lesson Number One. All guys are scum. Every last one of them. Trust no one."

"Joey, your world is a scary place," Yugi replied, shaking his head as he stepped into the elevator.

"Hey, wait a minute, I'm not done yet!" Joey called out as he stepped into the elevator after him.

"That's it, I'm done."

Joey folded up his duel disk and took a swig from a bottle of water that had been resting at his feet. He found a lounge chair on the side of the deck and sat down, tired but content. No matter what else was going on, a good duel—or a good three duels, as the case may be—could always soothe him and make his problems seem more manageable.

Yugi sat down in the lounge chair beside him, also drinking from a bottle of water. "That was a great duel, Joey. You really have improved since high school."

"Not enough to beat you," Joey observed. "But I will, just you wait," he finished, cocking a finger at his friend.

"What are you talking about? You've beaten me before."

Joey narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, in really casual pickup games without duel disks or anything. Strap on a duel disk and you become… well, you know what you become. And I'm still not convinced you haven't let me win a few."

Yugi clutched his chest in mock pain. "You insult my honor as a duelist! If I hadn't just beaten you two times—"

"Three times," Joey corrected.

"Fine, three times—then I'd be forced to challenge you to a duel to defend my honor!"

"Totally unnecessary; you got enough honor for the both of us and you know it," Joey chuckled. "So hey, what time is it anyway?"

"Almost one o'clock," Yugi replied, consulting his watch.

Joey's eyes widened in surprise. "You've gotta be kidding me! We couldn'ta been up here that long! It was still light out when we started!"

"It was about nine o'clock," Yugi told him. "Remember the days are really long this far north. By the time we get to the glaciers it won't get dark until around ten or so."

"Trippy," Joey replied. He pulled his jacket tighter around him. "It's cold out here, too. I hadn't noticed when we were dueling."

"Yeah, I get really hot when I duel. The cold feels good right now." Yugi looked at his friend. "You feeling better now?"

Joey cocked his head back and forth. "Yeah, I guess. Thanks, pal, dueling was definitely the ticket."

"I'm really sorry about… you know," Yugi said awkwardly. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Nah, not really. Not much to say, is there?" He sighed. "That's not the only thing that's bugging me, though, to be honest."

"No? What else?"

"You know that fancy job offer Pegasus has for the top four duelists?"

"Yeah," Yugi answered. "I'm still trying to figure out his angle on that one."

"I don't know if I particularly care if he has an angle. You know Yuge, I'm not a smart guy. I don't have a lot going for me, but this, dueling, this I can do. I'm actually good at it."

"Well, I wouldn't say you don't have a lot going for you, but yeah, you are good at dueling," Yugi agreed. "You've come a long way since Grandpa started training you."

"Yeah, I was a dumb schmuck who didn't know a trap from a spell card," Joey grinned. "But anyway, I really liked the sound of that job offer. Can you see me, dueling for a living? Living in some fancy penthouse, riding in fancy cars. Where else would a guy like me get a chance like that?"

Yugi frowned. "I think you're selling yourself short. You're more than just a good duelist, Joey. But anyway, what difference does it make? I think you totally have a shot at the top four and one of those jobs if that's what you really want."

"Oh, I know," Joey replied. "But even if I make it, I have to turn it down."

Yugi looked at him in surprise. "Why?"

"Serenity." Joey looked out across the deck into the cold night sky. "I read up on the pay and the perks and all that, and, well, it's high on perks but low on pay. I'd be living the good life, but I wouldn't be making enough cash to pay for Serenity's tuition, especially since she wouldn't get the university employee rate if I quit my job at the student union to come to San Francisco."

"That doesn't make sense, Joey. You're saying you'd make less money working for Pegasus than Grandpa?"

"If you include the money and the tuition cut from the university job and take away the penthouse and other stuff from Pegasus's thing, then yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

"Are you sure there isn't some other way? She could get a loan or a scholarship or something, couldn't she?"

Joey shrugged. "Maybe. But..." Joey hesitated. He didn't like to talk about his family situation, but Yugi was his best friend. Grinding his teeth, he admitted, "The truth is, the money is just a part of it. I knew before I even started looking into it that it was a pipe dream as long as she wants to go to school in Domino. There's no way I could leave her alone in that city. Not as long as he lives there."

Yugi looked confused a moment, then his eyes lit up with understanding. "Your dad?"

"Yeah. Things between my parents really fell apart after she was born so he likes to think she's to blame for him being such a pathetic loser. I can just see him running into her on his way home from the bar." Joey shuddered. "Ma had a cow when Serenity said she wanted to go to school in Domino and I wasn't crazy about it myself except for how nice it would be to be together with her again, but I figured as long as I was there, she'd be okay. He's mostly stayed away from me since I've moved into your grandpa's. Hell, if he doesn't have to feed me, more money for booze, right? And I don't think he even knows Serenity's in Domino, but I ain't taking no chances." He looked at his friend. "I gotta tell you, Yuge, you'll never know how grateful I am to Gramps. First taking me in, and now Serenity? I would be really nervous, her living in the dorms, even if we could afford it."

Yugi looked a little stricken. "Joey, I had no idea it was that bad."

Uncomfortable with Yugi's concern, Joey tried to brush it off with a wave of his hand. "Nah, don't worry about it. You know me, I'm just overprotective when it comes to Serenity."

Yugi nodded but didn't look entirely convinced.

"Anyway, between the money and my dad, I can't leave Domino while Serenity's in school, so the Industrial Illusions gig is out for me."

"That really stinks, Joey. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." He took in a deep breath. "Oh well, I like working for Gramps. I owe it to him after all he's done for me."

"That's not true, Joey. Grandpa invited you to live there for himself, not you. He adores you. Just don't tell him I told you," Yugi winked.

Joey grinned. "Your secret's safe with me. Oh and speaking of, don't tell Serenity, okay? She'd flip out if she knew I was giving up something I wanted to do for her, and it may not seem like it, but that girl can be scary when she's pissed."

"Okay, Joey. I won't say anything to her."

"Thanks."

They were silent a moment, enjoying the cold air and the thousands of stars that were clustered in the clear sky. After a moment, Joey noticed Yugi's expression lose some of its tranquility and grow troubled. It was only then that he remembered his friend had looked pretty miserable almost every time they'd seen each other today. He gave himself a mental kick for being absorbed in his own problems and not bothering to ask Yugi what was going on with him. Actually, Joey had a pretty good guess.

"So Yuge," he said, his voice carefully nonchalant, "what's the deal with you and Téa?"

Yugi's face, already pink from the cold air, turned deep red. "What? What about me and Téa?"

Bingo. Time to kick this thing in the right direction. "Oh come on, Yugi, I'm your best friend. I've kept my mouth shut for five years, but I could die of old age waiting for you to make a move. I know you like her, you know you like her, everyone in the known universe except maybe Téa herself knows you like her, so just do something about it already."

He'd expected Yugi to react with more denials or get embarrassed or flustered, but although his cheeks did continue to burn bright red, his expression grew even more miserable. "Joey, be honest with me. Is she seeing someone?"

Joey almost fell out of his chair. "What? No! She isn't seeing anyone, what on earth would give you that idea?"

"There's no one in New York? She didn't meet someone the last couple of months or get back together with that one guy she was seeing just before I left Cairo? I really need to know the truth."

"What, I'm gonna lie to you? I'm telling you, she's not seeing anyone."

"Maybe she didn't tell you guys either?"

Joey thought of all the e-mails from Téa just before the trip asking if he'd heard from Yugi. She'd been practically obsessed. The idea that she could be dating someone else, seriously and without telling any of them, was completely incongruous with her behavior over the past couple weeks. Hell, it didn't fit with her behavior over the past few months, ever since Yugi had been out of touch. "Yuge, what is this about? 'Cause I'm pretty sure she'd tell us if she was dating someone. She's never kept it secret before."

Yugi drew up his knees and rested his chin on them, his arms wrapped around his legs. "Then it must be me. But I don't get it." He looked at Joey, his eyes sad. "What could I possibly have done that would make it so awful for her if I moved to New York?"

Joey's jaw dropped. "The who and the what now?" He shook his head to try and make sense of that. "Hold on there and back up a step. Who's moving where?"

Yugi shook his head with a rueful smile. "Sorry, guess I skipped that part. Long story short, Egypt was bad the last six months. Really bad. We were all miserable, and not just because we were out of touch so long, so I'm not going back to Cairo for my master's. Professor Hawkins thinks I should study in America at one of two universities he's worked with, UC Berkeley or Columbia. Berkeley's in the San Francisco area and Columbia's in New York."

"And you're going to the one in New York?"

"I haven't decided yet, although judging by Téa's reaction, I should stay far, far away from New York. She completely flipped out when I told her last night."

And suddenly the light came on in Joey's head. "Wait a second. You told her last night that you might be going to school in New York?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Oh man," Joey whistled. "Now I get it. She must've had kittens when you told her. I'm surprised she didn't spontaneously combust and set the whole ship on fire."

Yugi growled in frustration. "Okay, now exactly what is so horrible about my being in the same city as Téa?" he shouted. "She acted like I'm stalking her or something! We're supposed to be friends! If that's all she wants, fine, but does that make it the worst thing in the world to be in the same city with me?"

Joey cocked his head. "She didn't tell you?

"She didn't tell me anything," Yugi seethed. "That's the whole problem!"

"Oh man, you two totally need to talk."

"I'VE BEEN TRYING BUT SHE'S BEEN AVOIDING ME ALL DAY!" Yugi ranted. "I want to know what I did, why is she mad at me?"

"Whoa, calm down buddy," Joey placated, his hands up. "I really doubt she's mad at you, okay? If I know Téa, she's mad at herself. You just got caught in the fallout."

"You are making no sense! Why would she be mad at herself just because I said I might be coming to New York?"

"Because in August she's moving back to Domino."

Yugi's mouth hung slack for a moment. "She's what?"

"She's moving back to Japan. She's leaving when her contract is up in August."

Now it was Yugi's turn to shake his head in bewilderment. "Okay, now I'm really confused. She wants to live in America and she wants to dance. Moving back to Domino kinda seems contrary to those two goals, don't you think?"

"You know she's been saying for months that she's not totally happy dancing," Joey said, "even before you left Cairo she was saying that. She says it's not fun anymore now that it's her job, and she wants to do something more with her life, so she's quitting to go back to school. And it's totally your fault, you realize."

"Okay, I'm the one who's just hearing about this for the first time right this second. How is it my fault?"

Joey smiled. "Yuge, you have know idea how knowing you has changed all our lives. The things we did in high school… who gets to do the things we've done? Who gets to play a game for more than just a prize but for stuff that really matters, like helping people and saving their lives and their souls?" He shook his head. "After all we've done, it's hard just living regular lives. We made a difference, Yuge, and nothing we've done since graduation has been like that. Well, Tristan, maybe, being an MP and all. But me and Téa?" He shrugged. "I don't know. Our old dreams just don't seem as important as they used to. I think she's just looking for some way to make a difference."

Yugi looked stunned. "Joey, how can you say you don't make a difference? You're putting your sister through college, and giving up something you really want for yourself to do it. That is nothing short of heroic."

Joey rolled his eyes. "Give me a break."

"I'm serious! And Téa… you don't think her dancing makes a difference? People think entertainment is just fluff, but it isn't. It lifts your spirit and makes you soar. You've seen her dance. Tell me it doesn't matter."

"I'm not disagreeing with you there, but the point is, it isn't what she wants to do anymore. She wants to go back to school. She's starting at Domino University in October. I think she was talking about maybe teaching or something."

Yugi thought about this a moment. "You know, I can see that. She'd be an awesome teacher. But still, she could do all that in America. Why is she suddenly moving back to Japan?"

Joey sighed. "Well, she says it's too expensive in New York and that she's better off living at home to save money, stuff like that. But if you wanna know the truth, I think she's just lonely. She misses the gang and if she can't have us all back together again, at least she can be with me and Serenity in Japan."

Yugi considered this as well. "Okay, fine. She wants to quit dancing and go back to Japan to be with you and Serenity. What does any of this have to do with me maybe going to New York? She'd still be going to school and she'd still be with you guys. Why did she freak out then?"

Joey slapped his forehead. "Yugi, you are my best friend, so don't take this the wrong way, but you have got to be the dumbest guy on the face of the planet."

"Well, how could I possibly take that the wrong way?" Yugi grumbled.

"I mean it. How can a guy who can see a competitor's Duel Monster strategy fifteen moves before it happens not see what is obvious right in front of his face?"

"Then would you care to explain it to me?"

Joey wagged his head like a teacher frustrated with a particularly dull student. "You don't seriously think Serenity and I were her first choice, do you?"

"What are you saying?"

"Come on," Joey groaned, "you can't honestly have no idea that she's got a thing for you!"

For a moment, this news seemed to elate him, but then he shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Before, maybe, I guess, but I think that might've just been a crush she got over. And everything was all confused then. Maybe it wasn't even really about me at all, but about him." He looked at his lap, his face downcast. "Anyway, it's been a long time and she's dated other people and everything."

"Oh yeah, like three other people and the longest one lasted, what, a month at most?" Joey snorted. "Yuge, I'm telling you, ever since you left on that dig, she's been… different. Almost, I don't know, lost without you. When we were all back in Domino at Christmas and New Year's—me, her, and Tristan, and Serenity, too—it was obvious how much she missed you. I mean, we all missed you—it just didn't feel right, the three of us together without you—but she wasn't missing you like a friend. She was so sad. I thought she was gonna cry when she came over to your grandpa's place and saw all my stuff in your old room. And then, for the last few weeks leading up to this trip, all any of us heard from her was 'Has anyone heard from Yugi? When is Yugi getting back to Cairo? Is Yugi still coming to San Francisco? Can you just check your e-mail one thousand more times to see if you got anything from Yugi?' I swear, if she had sent one more e-mail asking about you, I was going to reach through the internet and strangle her with my bare hands. Believe me when I say, Yuge, she's got it bad for you.

"And I do mean you," he added, putting his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I don't think she's confused about who you are, okay? If anything, she's got a better handle on it than anyone. And if all that weren't reason enough for her to freak over finding out you'd be in New York after she leaves, I think she's been having second thoughts about leaving America, especially since getting to San Francisco, which she doesn't hate like she does New York. But it's too late to renew her visas and she already registered for school in Domino and everything, so she's kind of stuck. Then you come along and tell her basically that she could have had it all if only she'd stayed. Yeah, I'm thinking that freaked her out pretty much."

Yugi chewed on this for a while. "I need to talk to her."

"You think?"

"Okay, I get it, it's long overdue."

"You think?" Joey repeated.

"You made your point!"

Joey stretched and got up from the lounge chair. "Unfortunately, it's almost one thirty in the morning, so it'll probably have to wait until tomorrow. But promise me you'll talk to her tomorrow."

"I'm not the one who's been avoiding her," Yugi complained, getting up as well.

"I think she'll talk to you. She probably just needed a day to cool down. You know how she gets." He yawned. "Okay then, let's get some sleep."

Yugi exhaled slowly, a cloud of breath visible in the cold night air. "No, you go ahead. I'm not really tired. I think I'm gonna walk around a bit and think."

"Okay," Joey said. "Just don't stay up so late you oversleep tomorrow and let her get off the ship before you wake up."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "It'd be just my luck."

Joey clapped his friend on the shoulders. "It'll all work out when you talk to her, you'll see."

"I hope you're right. Thanks Joey."

"Hey, what are friends for?"

Giving Yugi one last squeeze on his shoulders, Joey left him on the deck and headed down toward their suite. It was dark in their room and Duke and Tristan were both already asleep. Tristan was snoring and Duke was muttering something in his sleep—not about Serenity, thankfully. As quietly as he could, Joey took off his duel disk and left it on the nightstand, stripped down to his shorts and t-shirt, and got into the bed he and Yugi were sharing.

Joey rolled over and tried to sleep, but Mai immediately came to the forefront of his thoughts. After three duels and a long talk about someone else's girl troubles, he thought he'd managed to put her out of his mind, at least temporarily, but he couldn't stop his brain from replaying the disastrous non-conversation with her after dinner. After only fifteen minutes, he gave up on sleep completely, got up, and went out into the suite's living room. He considered watching some of the shipboard satellite TV, but when he turned it on, he could only get static on all of the channels.

What he needed was to burn off some steam anyway. If he were at home, he'd probably go outside and shoot some hoops. Actually, playing a little basketball sounded really good right now, and the ship's gym did have a court.

He slipped back into the dark bedroom and put his jeans and socks back on. Back in the living room, he stuffed his feet into his sneakers, grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. If basketball couldn't get Mai off his mind, at least he'd have a little exercise to show for it.

Mai sat down on a bench in the ship's weight room and wiped her neck with a towel, exhausted from her kickboxing workout. After her third straight night of the Shadow Realm nightmare, she wasn't getting much sleep, but at least she was getting a good workout.

And then there was that whole mess of having to go to that dinner and seeing Joey. Why wouldn't he leave her alone? Did he really need to tell her how awful she'd been? Couldn't he see she already knew it? And of course there was Gopher Evan, whom she had now used three times to escape Joey, and that wasn't even counting last night when Evan had shown up at her suite wondering why she hadn't had dinner with everyone else in the main dining hall. Three was her personal limit before she leveled with a guy and told him she wasn't interested. She'd intended to come clean with him after they'd gotten out of the Acropolis Club earlier, but he'd cut her off, telling her he was on duty all night and had to go. "You should just stay in your stateroom tonight and get some sleep," he'd advised her, with just enough parent-like concern to thoroughly annoy her. "You look like you could use it."

If only it were that simple. She really did need to go back there now and try again to get some sleep; it was just about two o'clock in the morning. Luckily, she so far hadn't had the dream more than once a night, so between that and her fatigue from going an hour one-on-one with a punching bag, she probably would be able to finally get some sleep. Besides, tomorrow was a day off from dueling so she could sleep in. It wasn't like she was all that excited about playing tourist in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Gathering her towel and the bottled sports drink she'd brought with her, she headed out of the weight room, past the gymnasium and toward the elevators. As she passed the gym, she heard the sounds of a basketball bouncing against the backboard and sneakers squeaking on the floor. Apparently someone besides her liked late-night workouts. Her eye caught the denim jacket draped on the bench outside the door, and she froze. She recognized that jacket. Joey.

Immediately she chided herself for making a big deal of it. So Joey was in there playing basketball. He wouldn't even see her walk by, so who cared? Certainly she didn't. Except… she had to admit, she couldn't imagine Joey Wheeler playing basketball. He wasn't all that athletic. A scrappy fighter and an adequate duelist, yes, but basketball?

Who cares? she told herself firmly. But curiosity won out. Hating herself for it, she snuck up to the door of the gymnasium and peeked into the window.

It was definitely Joey and she was right; he really reeked at basketball. But there was something vulnerable about him as dribbled the ball and missed shot after shot. He looked like she felt, like someone trying to exorcise their demons. Or more accurately, exercise their demons.

She found herself wondering what was on his mind that would bring him to the basketball court at two o'clock in the morning. Did it have anything to do with her? Was he that angry with her after so long or was it something else?

She shook her head. Not your problem, Mai. Whatever was going on in his head, it wasn't her concern. He's the past. Move on.

Sighing, she did move on, past the gym and to the elevators. Hopefully this little almost-run-in wouldn't undo everything her workout had accomplished. She really needed the sleep tonight.