A/N: FF is such a wonderful place! Now I can send you a response to your reviews thanks to a new feature added by the higher-ups. Ain't technology wonderful? Oh, just a warning, a major plot development occurs in this very chapter. No, it doesn't involve our two lovebirds kissing. Enjoy!

Warning: This chapter opens with profanity-laced tirade from one of the soccer coaches. If you don't like reading/seeing such language in fanfics, scroll down until you see the words "boys,we've gotta believe" Please? Thank you.

Angry People

Chapter 15

With the score tied at halftime, the two coaches took opposite approaches to motivating their players to play their best. In the MacAuthur locker room, the mood was far from upbeat...

"One more point and I'm getting the fuck outta here...if you can't cover Van Gardener, if you are just gonna let him walk right by you uncontested to the damn goal, I'm getting the fuck outta here and you punks are gonna run until you can't eat supper...LOOK AT ME! I'm tired of this shit! I'm sick and fucking tired of losing state championships! I'm sick and fucking tired of losing ot that rag-tag band of nobodys! I'm not here to fuck around this weekend...you may be, but i'm not! If I don't see more hustle out of you punks you won't believe the next motherfuckin' day! I'll run your little asses into the ground! I-I'll fuckin' run ya till you can't tell your ass from a hole in the ground! I had to sit around without a state championship for a whole fucking year, and you WON'T fucking put me in that position again...or you'll Goddamn pay for it like you can't fuckin' believe...so get your heads outta your asses!

In what seemed like night and day, Domino's soccer coach took on a more reserved approach.

"Boys...we've gotta believe. Somebody asked me at a dinner last week what Domino High School meant to me. First, it's academics. Second...family, people who care. Not people that care when you're black or white, rich or poor, when you're a winner or a loser, but they really, truthfullycare. I told you when we started our playoff run in Sacramento that when the school burned down in 1987, the only mistake that Principal Zane said they made was they didn't build the damn thing big enough. In 2003, they said we would never win again.We were alot like Jaden over there...we wanted to win, but didn't necessarily know how. In 2004,we got like Chaz over there,we wanted to win and knew how to win. Then...this year,we took on Val's personalilty...we wanted to win, knew how to win...but didn't always exhibit it. But that's all in the past now. I just want you to remember this...inside of you men there is a spirit, just like the Domino players who came before you, and just like those who will come after you. That spirit tells you to fight. You have to listen to that spirit, and fight for it, and you've gotta believe in it."

When the teams were prepairing to take the field for the second half...the rains came. A powerful downpour that washed over the stadium and left small puddles of water on the playing field. This storm would not only affect the players, but the fans in the stands as well. One of those fans was happy that she didn't wear a white shirt, like some of her less fourtunate female counterparts (need I say why?). Tea held a small umbrella over her already-soaked head, hoping to keep herself at least somewhat dry. Marik was standing next to her, grumbling about his "stolen" umbrella to himself. What the hell was her problem? She took his stuff without even asking, like they were some kind of...nope. No way! They absolutely, positively, SO weren't a couple. Right? I mean, they had hardly even known each other a few weeks! That sort of whirlwind romance only happens in those crappy Romantic comedies and stupid fanfictions on the internet. Seriously...if somebody wrote of those things about his school, he would be with Tea, Yugi would probably be with Mai, and who knows what they would do with somebody like Joey! He looked over to the players' entrance into the stadium and saw both teams coming back onto the field. They were going to try to play in this monsoon? Nobody's going to be able to score on that field! It was soggier than a corn flake that had been sitting in milk for three days!

Joey, meanwhile had decided to give up on his plan...at least for now. Yugi was being smothered by a girl named Rebecca, and his two horndog friends were nearly fighting each other just to hold his sister's popcorn so it wouldn't get soggy due to the rain. He wished he could go ahead and get this date set up for his buddy...hell, he had a date to set up too! He and Mai teased each other constantly about who they would show up with, but both of them knew in their heart of hearts that all Joey had to do was ask. That wasn't what had Joey concerned. He wanted to know if she was going to agree to his After-party plans...

Meanwhile, in downtown Domino City...

Ishizu played with her stir fry as she and Kaiba looked away from one another. They both knew what they were here to discuss, and both of them agreed to meet here to discuss it. Why were they so silent?

"Ishizu?"

Thank God, he finally breaks the ice."Yes?"

Kaiba hesitated for a moment, then regained his steel-like composure. "Have you come to a decision?"

Ishizu nodded her head. "Yes, I have. I've thought about what you said to me the other day, and I've taken into consideration what would be best for Marik. I've tried to make life here work for us, mostly for his sake, and it seems that whatever I've done to try to make things better has only made things worse."

Kaiba remained silent as she continued.

"I'll accept your offer, effective the end of this school year so Marik can finish up his junior year."

She turned her head away from him as she finished, seemingly disgusted by her own actions. Kaiba remained emotionless.

"A wise decision...I'll draw up the papers. I am curious, though, what changed your mind?"

Ishizu rose to her feet, a sad, defeated expression on her face. "I'd rather not say. Now, if you will excuse me..."

Ishizu strolled out oftherestaurant with a calm resolution that defied her inner turmoil. Why did she accept Kaiba's offer? Was it really to give Marik a fresh start...or was it to run away from her own inner turmoil?

Back at the stadium...

We are less than five minutes from overtime in this 0-0 struggle between two rivals that are less than three miles apart! Domino has failed to generate any meaningful scoring chances since Van Gardener was ejected after a brawl at the end of the first half, and MacAuthur has struggled the entire match to solve this defensive puzzle put before them...Per high school rules, there will be no "stoppage time" in this match, when we hit the 90-minute mark we will head straight for the extra period...Domino, trying to get one more shot on goal before the end of regulation...

Tea and Marik looked down on the field as the players ran, tripped and sled on the muddy, water-soaked field. She thanked God that she had kept the ticket she was planning to give to Marik in her purse, but still had no idea of how to give it to him without the moment feeling ackward to the both of them.

Kilpatrick on the pass to Yuki, JadenYuki, the freshman driving towards the goal, challenging Luske. He cranks up, takes a shot...SCOOOORRRRREEEEEE! Jaden Yuki, just stepped on the collective face of the the MacAuthur faithful with a hobnail boot and broke their nose! The Wildcats get on the board first with less than two minutes to play!

As she saw the potential championship-winning goal score land in the net, she grabbed Marik in what seemed to be a fit of hysteria and hugged onto him tightly. This put Marik in an odd situation. Yes, he was happy that their team had scored. No, he didn't mind Tea hugging him...well, sort of. He didn't mind her showing her emotions and all, it's just that this random action of Tea's was starting to have a profound affect on Marik's...lower regions. When Tea finally felt something on her thigh (and she realized that it definitely WASN'T a pen), she pulled away quickly, her face flushed with a mix of surprise, embarassment, and a little bit of anger. Marik could only manage a sheepish grin when she looked at him, her blue eyes glazed with confusion.

"Um...sorry about that..." He managed to get out as he fiddled around with his rain-soaked hair, hoping he didn't get the same sort of treatment that he heard Joey had gotten for similar incidents in the past.

"It's okay...I did get a little carried away." Tea gave out a nervous giggle. "Look on the bright side, at least I know you're not gay!"

Marik laughed too, then frowned when he realized he found something in that statement he didn't necessarily like. "What! People think I'm-"

Tea said something along the lines of "It was a joke" but was muffled under an intense roar from the crowd around them. The game was over and the Domino team had ran onto the field in joy (Tea's younger brother full in the throng). Tea looked down the row to see Joey, Tristan, and Duke trading high-fives while Yugi and Serenity applauded the team's effort.

As they heard the slow, soothing sounds of the school Alma Mater being sung, the Domino High School students held hands and began to sway from side to side, as did the players on the field, who faced them.

Boy, is there going to be some property destroyed tonight or what! Domino wins this 1-0 classic over thier arch-nemesis to claim their sixth state championship in boys' soccer. For MacAuthur, its a trip home empty-handed. Thanks for listening to today's game folks, Good Night and drive home safely.

Ishtar Household

Ishizu was at her workdesk, writing in her personal journal. The ink wasn't the only thing she was using to cover the pages of this book: it was covered with her tears as well. Her entries weren't as frequent as in the past, but none of them were as painful as the one she was writing tonight.

Dear Journal:

I did it...I sold it all to Kaiba. Kaiba asked me to night what changed my mind, what made me decide to give up on most of the dreams I setfor myself. I couldn't give him the answer that I truly felt:I just can't take this anymore! I haven't been able to sleep since "it" happened, and whenever I dodoze offI have nightmares that are just too painful for me to write about here. I say that I'm doing this for Marik, for HIS future, for HIS sake, but it doesn't feel like I even thought about him. How will he react to leaving here? It appears that he FINALLY has started to make friends here...and one special friend in particular. Could he forgive me for moving us away from those he cares about? I feel so much shame, so much anger, and most of it is directed at myself. I feel that if I were a little stronger, if I were a better person, maybe Marik would not have suffered as much as he has. Kaiba is going to have the papers delivered to me tomorrow, and all I have to do is sign them to make it all official. A part of me feels like dirt for doing it, another part feels that I'm looking out for what's best for my dear brother, and another part of me feels like a little child, as if I'm running away from everything that has happened. I pray that I've made the right decision, not just for myself, but for Marik.

Yours Truly:

Ishizu Ishtar

Ishizu closed her journal and tucked it back into her secret hiding place for it as she heard her brother enter through the front door. She could hear some laughter as he stepped inside, and heard a voice that she recognized as Tea's telling him that she would see him tomorrow. She assumed that he hada smile on his face, but wondered if that smile would still be there after she gives him news that would change both of their lives- for better or worse.

Well? What do you all think? Is Ishizu going to go through with it after all? Find out next time!

BDB...out.