It hadn't taken Mokuba long to find the driver and forcibly steer the man to the front of the car. He had to get out of there and fast. Feeling the heat rising further in his cheeks he suppressed the urge to choke the driver. Surely they could go faster, it wasn't as if they were in peak hour now. Further observation through the windscreen, however, told Mokuba why. Obviously a rather severe accident had occurred and the road was now bottlenecked and backed up to the hilt. He slumped back in his seat and glowered silently the rest of the way.
Slamming the car door and throwing wide the shop door, he barely heard the clanging of the chimes as his legs carried him at rapid speed to the back where Yugi and his Grandfather sat eating an early lunch.
Yugi took in the distressed boy before him. His normally tousled hair, more wild than ever, clung to his brightened face.
"Grandpa you may want to put that drink down and finish chewing, I think Mokuba has something he'd like to share."
Solomon Mouto gave his grandson a bemused glance as he too began to assess the state of the young Kaiba.
"Is everything all right Mokuba?" Asked the old man kindly. "You seem to be in quite a rush "
Mokuba appeared unable to find the words he wanted.
"Seto…" Became the first word he could clearly formulate.
"Your brother, yes." Said Solomon gently, reaching for another half a sandwich. He battled to keep the shredded lettuce in as he signalled the boy to go on.
"In bed."
"Well we're certainly progressing, that's two words, together now." Said Solomon nodding at Yugi. "I'm quite sure that he does sleep sometimes Mokuba. What about Seto in Bed?"
He clasped the sides of the sandwich firmly to prevent the contents from continuing their escape plans, and brought the triangle up towards his mouth.
"ANZU!" Mokuba shouted this last bit out.
Solomon lowered the sandwich slightly, and puckered his brow. Trying to assimilate the words he raised the food to his mouth once more.
"What has Anzu to do with your brother sleeping?"
And there the triangle remained. Suspended in air as the old mans jaw and eyes grew as wide as saucers. Realisation had started to filter in halfway through his question, the shock too much to halt the last of the utterance.
As for Yugi, he could have been an advertisement for lifesavers with the perfectly formed 'o' his mouth gave.
"My, my, my. What have we here? Are we playing charades?" Came the breathy voice of Mai. "I'm getting strong signals from you Yugi that one of the words start with 'O'. Am I right?"
The men appeared suspended, unable to move, and therefore Mai received no answer.
"Okay, I'll take that as a no." She waved her hand before Mokuba's face; the boy was in a total trance. "Earth to Mokuba. Hello, this is Houston, do you copy."
Raising an eyebrow and looking to Yugi's grandfather for some form of assistance and normality, she was bitterly disappointed to find even he was disinclined to respond.
It seemed to take an age to happen, but there finally came an explanation through the broken speech of Mokuba uttering 'Seto, Anzu, bed.'.
Placing an arm about his shoulders, Mai caught Mokuba's gaze and held it.
"Ya know somethin' kid, we gotta work on your charade skills. Your meant to act it not say it."
The men paled considerably, while Mokuba's face flared with a fresh trace of red.
A short while later Mai stood at the front door of Kaiba mansion. She could hear Anzu yelling that she'd get it.
"Mai!" she gasped seeing the girl standing before her.
"Anzu," Mai smiled knowingly, peeking round as she followed Anzu in. "So, where's the cream?"
"Pardon?" Anzu's perplexity soon gave way to concern as she watched Mai closely. "Are you okay?"
"Well," began Mai chewing the ends of Sunglasses. "I may have woken up bored, but I gotta say goin' to the game shop, improved my day outta sight. I'm absolutely stellar now babe."
Anzu could sense a trap about to spring, but ventured forth bravely.
"Oh and why's that? Or shouldn't I ask?"
Wanting to play the situation for as long as she could, Mai quickly changed track.
"And since I had so much fun, I thought I'd share it with my favourite girl. Let's shop."
Not even waiting for an answer, Mai dragged the protesting girl through the front door.
"Mai, no money, I've got to get my handbag."
Mai frowned. "Oh all right, but be quick."
Anzu shot her glances back over her shoulder as she reentered the house. Mai called after her.
"Bring your rainy day one too."
Anzu surveyed the bags surrounding them.
"Do you really need all this stuff?" taking a sip of her coffee, she quickly put the cup down again as Mai's hand shot across the table at her.
"Let me see if you have a temperature. Of course I do." Mai gave the shocked performance worthy of a star.
To prove her point she grabbed one of the bags pulling out an item and held it before Anzu.
"An eggwhisk!" Anzu just stared at it. "You woke up this morning and said that's it I'm nothing without an eggwhisk."
Huffing slightly Mai retorted. "I like omelettes, so sue me!"
As quickly as the sulky face appeared so did the wicked twinkle and conspiratorial smile. Inclining forward Mai twitched her finger signalling Anzu to come closer.
"So tell me, how do you like your eggs?"
Anzu's face coloured as the full implication of the question seeped through. She cursed inwardly for her stupidity in not recognising Mai's game sooner.
"I take it your's and Mokuba's visit coincided."
Mai sat back folding her arms with a smirk.
Anzu sighed. "Run his mouth off did he?"
Mai tilted her head thoughtfully. "Actually I can only remember him using three words."
Panic began to rise within Anzu.
"Mai who else was there?" She implored.
"Just Yugi and his grandfather."
"Oh God!" Anzu gripped her face in her hands trying not to think how it would be when next she saw them.
Mai laughed uproariously as she enjoyed the varying degrees of Anzu's embarrassment.
"Well one thing about it, you kept my promise to Mokuba. I wonder how the song would go with the colour green instead?" She said as an aside, trying to ease her aching sides.
It was mostly rhetorical but Anzu rose to the bait.
"What song?"
"Oh nothing special really, just a little ditty they call 'The Yellow Rose of Texas'."