Lu: Well, I bet you all thought I was dead, huh? Well, I suppose this is it.
Yami Lu: What do you mean?
Lu: Well, after this chapter I am doing a complete revision of the fic. I have already melded the first three chapters into one, so yeah... completely revising the whole fic. If you need a list of what I'm changing, check the first revised chapter. Which will be up soon. So yeah... I'm not going to do review replies this chapter, but I will do it after everything is revised. OK, after the revision is done, it may take some time for the chapters to fill up again. There will still be chapters up that will be old ones, so when I get back to 28 chapters, then it'll be perfect. Agreed?
Yami Lu: Agreed. Here's the next chapter of the New Tournament!
As the gang exited the pod room, Yami sighed in relief. He had been worried about Tea all the time in the virtual world, and had been immensely happy when he found her safe and sound in the pod room. In fact, he had been so overjoyed that he had flung his arms around her, holding her tightly. Once he had realised what he was doing, he pulled away quickly, clearing his throat loudly. Now, the gang stood outside, and Yami was carefully avoiding Tea's eyes.
"It's seven o'clock. Shall we get some dinner?" suggested Yugi, quickly glancing at his digital watch.
"Yeah!" chanted Tristan and Joey. Led by Joey, the gang soon found their way to the same cafe that they had had breakfast in that morning. They settled down in the booth, already thinking about the meal ahead. All except Yami, that is. He had somehow ended up next to Tea, and she was sitting too close for comfort, so that everyone could fit in the same booth.
By the time everyone had decided what they wanted to eat, the cafe was buzzing with families and couples. Some of the other duellists were also seated nearby, including Mako Tsunami, Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood.
"Hey Raptor, will we see ya at da finals?" asked Joey, leaning back over his seat. Rex nodded and gave him the thumbs up, grinning like a madman.
"And you, Mako?" queried Mai, following Joey's example and twisting back to face him. Mako also nodded, smiling broadly.
"What about you two?" questioned Mako. He was wearing a blue shirt, his usual ripped shorts and headband, and there wasn't a fishing tool in sight.
"You betta believe it!" answered Joey. The couple turned back to the rest of the gang. "Looks like we've got company in the finals, huh, Yami?"
"Yeah..." replied Yami. However, neither his reply nor his mind was really fully on the topic. Tea's knee was touching his own, and he found it incredibly distracting. He gulped slightly, and tried to ignore the tingly feeling running up and down his leg. His brain finally processed what Joey had said, and opened his mouth to reply properly, but the conversation had already moved on. He sighed, and stared at his plate.
"Yami, are you OK?" asked a kind voice. He didn't look up, for he knew who that soothing voice belonged to. A soft hand enclosed his, gently holding it. He suddenly felt like the heat had been turned up considerably, and he felt short of breath. The voice called his name again, sounding concerned.
"Just... just a little tired..." he lied. Tea put a finger under his chin and forced him to look up. He flushed more than he already was, and Ra knows what shade of red that was. Tea looked worried, deep, sea blue eyes filled with concern and sympathy. Yami could feel himself getting captured by them, drowning in them...
Fortunately, the food arrived at that moment, allowing Yami to pull away and recover. He was breathing heavily, but Tea seemed sufficiently distracted by the food, so he was safe for the moment. He stared at his hamburger, accompanied with fries and tomato ketchup, but he was sure that the empty feeling in his stomach had nothing to do with being hungry.
"So Kaiba, that's six people for the finals. Do you know who else is in them?" asked Yugi, breaking through Yami's train of thought. Seto pondered this carefully, and then swallowed his mouthful of burger.
"I can't imagine that Ishizu and Marik will put up with not getting through. So I'd put money on them being the last two finalists," he finished, and continued eating his burger. Yami pondered this. True, Ishizu may not put up with it, but Marik worked for Ishizu, and if Ishizu wanted someone else to accompany her in the finals, then someone else would accompany her in the finals. Also, Marik could not necessarily get control of Malik's body again. Yami voiced his opinion, and after some thought, everyone agreed.
"Well, who do you think might come instead of Marik?" asked Yugi. No one could answer that question. Anyone they knew was suspect to suspicion, because Ishizu had kept hidden right under their noses all that time. As everyone finished their food, Yami began to have a feeling of growing dread.
"Yami dude, are ya feelin' OK? Ya look a little outta it..." stated Joey. Tea turned to him, concerned. Yami could feel his face turning red again, as everyone's gaze turned to him.
"I'm fine," he assured them, although he was not absolutely sure himself. Joey shrugged, and turned back to his food. The rest of the gang followed suit, with the exception of Yugi and Tea, who still looked worried.
"Yami, are you sure you're OK? You really don't look it..." sent Yugi. It became clear to them at that point that their mind link even had empathy. Yugi could sense that Yami wasn't feeling well, at least not in mind. He could feel Yami's embarrassment and the fact that he was anxious.
"Really? 'Cause I don't really feel it either... I'm just so worried... What if Tea doesn't like me back? I couldn't bear to be with her again," replied Yami bitterly. Yami could sense Yugi's wave of sympathy.
"Trust me Yami, just tell her. You'll feel better, and you never know how she'll react." Tea seemed to realise that they were talking, and turned back to the rest of the conversation to give them some privacy, although not before giving Yami's hand a gentle squeeze. Yami blushed at this.
Soon, everyone had finished their food, and Kaiba had put the whole thing on his credit card, claiming that everyone in the tournament ate for free, and what was a couple more dollars to pay for the non-duellists?
"C'mon, let's go back to the hotel. Maybe we can play a game or something, I dunno," suggested Ryou. Nobody had any problems with that, so they left the cafe, while more people hastily took their table.
-
"I can't believe you girls talked us into this," grumbled Joey, alas the gang sat down in a circle. They were in the girls bedroom, and the girls had spent the last half hour persuading the guys to play Truth or Dare with them.
"C'mon Joey, it'll be fun!" assured Mai soothingly, seating herself next to Joey. She stroked his hair a little, and he relaxed immediately. Mai had discovered that Joey liked to be comforted by physical means rather than verbal reassurance, so she often hugged him or stroked his hair as a way of getting him to relax.
"Well, let's get this game started!" said Tea cheerfully. They all settled down comfortably. A short but heated argument followed, because nobody was eager to go first. This was settled soon by the short straw method, of which Ryou picked the short straw.
"You first Ryou! Truth or Dare?" asked Serenity. Ryou pondered for a moment.
"Truth," he answered finally.
"OK. Is there anyone in this room who you like? As in, more than a friend?" she asked. Ryou blushed heavily, but replied negatively.
"OK, Joey, truth or dare?" asked Ryou.
"Dare!" replied Joey at once. He was very secluded about his thoughts, and often hated truth. Therefore, whenever he was forced to play Truth or Dare, he chose dare.
"OK... I dare you... to... umm..." Ryou faltered. He couldn't think of anything. He was much better at asking truths.
"SHARE A BED WITH MAI TONIGHT!" burst in Tea excitedly. Both Joey's and Mai's faces turned bright red, but Joey nodded uncertainly.
"Nothing's gonna happen though..." he said defiantly. Everyone other than the couple rolled their eyes. "Tea, truth or dare?"
"Truth," she replied cautiously. Joey knew what he wanted to ask, but would it be too cruel to make her admit in front of him?
"OK... same question that Seren asked Ryou," said Joey, settling for a compromise. Tea's face went pale and then heated up all in the space of a second. By the time her face had finished changing colour, it was the colour of a cherry.
'Damn you Joey! How am I meant to answer this without him figuring it out?'
"Umm... you see... err..." she stammered, and coughed slightly as she finished, "...yes..." Every guy in the room turned to stare at her, wondering if it was them, except Yugi, Joey and Tristan, who all glanced at each other and smiled.
"Mai, truth or dare?" asked Tea quickly and loudly, to distract the rest of the room from her increasingly reddening face.
"Truth," answered Mai.
"OK... Do you honestly, really, life-partner-forever love Joey?" asked Tea. She knew it was lame, but there wasn't that much to ask Mai. Mai would almost certainly twist something that she didn't want to answer, so she may as well ask something that Mai would be willing to answer. Mai glanced at Joey, smiling.
"Yes," she replied immediately, squeezing Joey's hand. "Kaiba, truth or dare?"
"Me?" asked Kaiba, jerking out of a near-trance he had been in. "Oh... truth."
"Do you really love Serenity?" she asked, knowing exactly what question Joey would thank her for later. He thought about it for a moment. Was it really love he was feeling, or just lust? He looked at Serenity, and took a deep breath.
"I do believe I do," he said quietly. Serenity's face immediately broke into a huge grin, and Joey looked relieved.
"OK, Yami, truth or dare?" asked Kaiba.
"Dare." Kaiba thought about what he could get Yami to do. Get him to purposely lose a duel? No, that would take the pride out of any duellist.
"Tell him to kiss Tea," hissed a voice in his ear. He twisted around to see Yugi sitting on his knees behind him. Yugi winked. Kaiba shrugged and nodded.
"OK, Yami, kiss Tea," said Kaiba boredly. He had not wanted to play the game in the first place, but Serenity had managed to convince him. At this request, Yami turned bright red, and looked nervously at Tea, who had also returned to her previous colour. He nodded slowly, and moved closer to Tea. Tea was starting to tremble. When Yami had come to the seat next to Tea, he faced her, and took a deep breath.
"Tea, before we do this dare, can I speak to you in private for a moment?" asked Yami. Tea looked even more nervous than he did. Yami stood up, and held out his hand, which Tea grasped as he pulled her up. They retreated to a corner.
"What is it, Yami?" asked Tea, dreading and anticipating the answer at the same time.
"Well, Tea, you see... well, I thought before this dare that I should tell you something. Something I've wanted to tell you for ages. " Yami's voice faltered, but he regathered his courage and continued on. "The thing is Tea... I'm-"
"Time's up guys!" yelled Duke from the circle. Tea left Yami at once, making her way back to the game without looking at Yami. Yami stood there a moment longer, his carefully built-up courage shattered and his ego torn into pieces. He followed behind, pale as a ghost, looking lost and confused.
"Yami, what's the matter?" sent Yugi concernedly.
"I was about to tell her, aibou! I finally had built up the courage to tell her, and now it's gone," he replied bitterly. Yugi sent a wave of sympathy, but their conversation was interrupted by Joey, who insisted that Yami do his dare. Yami took one deep breath, and looked straight at Tea. His eyes flicked from her deep brown eyes to her red lips, and back to her eyes. He leaned in, his eyes closing, and -
"BIG BROTHER!" shouted a small voice. Yami had already nearly met Tea's lips, but she turned abruptly and Yami was presented with her cheek, which his lips met full-on before he had a chance to stop himself. He drew back quickly, and Tea turned to him, face burning. Fortunately, the rest of the gang had been provided a sufficient distraction in the form of Mokuba, who was currently telling Kaiba off for staying up this late when there was a tournament to participate in tomorrow.
"Sorry..." apologized Yami in a small voice.
"No... it's fine..." said Tea quietly. Neither of them said a word as Mokuba dragged Kaiba away, or as the rest of the group decided that Mokuba was right, and it was best to try and get some sleep.
"Remember, you and Mai have got to share a bed tonight," Tristan reminded Joey. Joey's face immediately turned red again, as did Mai's.
"Where?" he asked shortly.
"Try one of the rooms up the hall, I'm sure they're not all full," replied Tristan, waving his hand in a 'I-don't-care' fashion. Joey took Mai's hand and dragged her outside, trying to keep his blush under control.
"'Night everyone," said Mai, rolling her eyes as she was pulled out the door.
"Well, time to hit the sheets," yawned Tristan. "'Night y'all."
"'Night!" chorused the rest of the group, except the silent Yami and Tea.
"Goodnight Yami," said Tea in a whisper, her face as red as an over-ripe tomato. Yami blushed as well, before bidding her goodnight. But before Yami left the room, Tea pulled him back and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Yami felt even more heat rise up to his cheeks, and rushed quickly out of the room, clutching his cheek.
-
"I don't know what they expect us to do," raved Joey, pacing around the small bedroom. Mai was sitting calmly on the bed, unpacking her suitcase. Joey's suitcase was tossed carelessly on the bed, his clothes thrown all over the floor. He was already in his pyjamas, having got changed moments before in the ensuite.
"Joey, it doesn't matter what they expect us to do. Let's just try and make the most of it," reasoned Mai, taking her (surprisingly) lavender pyjamas and entering the ensuite. She closed the door, but left it open a fraction, not enough so that Joey could perv on her, but enough so that she could still conduct a conversation with him.
"Well... should I sleep on the floor?" suggested Joey. Mai snorted, and emerged wearing her pyjamas. She placed her other clothes back in her suitcase, and took out her toothbrush.
"Why do you say that? We're not going to let this dare get the best of us, are we Joey?" she asked slyly. Joey glared at her, but didn't reply. Mai rolled her eyes again, and brushed her teeth in the ensuite. Joey soon followed her, and after a time they were finally ready for bed. Joey sat on one side of the bed while Mai sat on the other.
"'Spose we better get some sleep..." said Joey grumpily. He pulled back the covers and slipped into the bed. Mai jumped in next to him, and snuggled up comfortably into Joey's chest. Joey's bad mood evaporated as he put his arms around her and held her close.
"G'night Joey," whispered Mai, already half-asleep. Joey kissed her forehead gently in reply, and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Lu: Well, that's the last new chapter from me for a while. Hope you liked it! OK, JOEYxMAI FANS LOOK HERE! Now that I've got your attention, (VOTE FOR BART! J/k, soz) I'm adding in a proper JoeyxMai getting together scene when I revise that part of the story, so you might like to go and find that once it's up. It wasn't fair on y'all only hearing it from Tristan's point of view. Remember, PRESS DA BLUE BUTTON THAT SAYS GO, and give me a nice little (or big) review.