Soloshipping (Mai x Rishid)

Contrary to popular belief, Mai Kujaku was not the type of woman that had significant others. Sure, she liked to flaunt her sex appeal – but then, most of her opponents were male, and so it was simply another strategy to distract them. But for the most part, Mai hated men, and that didn't seem likely to change for a while. There might be a few exceptions, but for now, Mai was more than happy living life solo.

The same seemed to be true of the tall, hooded man that the others called Marik. He was an enigmatic figure. With his dark, tattooed face, mostly shaved head, and dark clothing, he was like something that had stepped out of a sultry romance or vampire movie. He was dark, certainly not unattractive, and the silent, brooding type. Mai practically hated him on sight.

That wasn't something that was about to change when she came across him on her way to the blimp's main foyer. This was her first time seeing him up close, and she was somewhat startled at just how tall he was. Yugi had told her that he was the leader of some international crime organization. More like a cult, if his tattoos had anything to say about it.

He gave her only a passing glance with his deep-set eyes at her curt nod and 'hello', and continued on his way without a word. If there was one thing Mai didn't like, it was being dismissed off hand. Especially by a man.

"Hey," she said, turning around and folding her arms. "That was pretty rude, don't you think? Not even a hello? Or a nod to acknowledge that I was addressing you?"

He paused for a half a moment, but did not turn around.

"Just because we're opponents doesn't mean you can't be civil," Mai said.

He still didn't answer.

"Hello, Earth to whoever you are," Mai said. "I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"

Finally, he turned around. His eyes met hers, a deep, dark silence that shocked Mai and nearly made her take a step back. She had never seen such immeasurable, implacable depths in anyone's eyes. They were completely unreadable, like twin pools of cave water – who knew how deep those underground lakes could go, perhaps even to the center of the Earth.

"I apologize," he said with a soft, unassuming voice. "My mind was on other things. I am...not very good at socializing. I apologize."

And with a polite nod in her direction, he turned and walked away.

Mai's feet froze to the ground for a long moment. A man like that...she didn't think there were words to describe the depths that man was concealing. Anything could have been hidden in those eyes. Anything.

But despite Yugi's warnings, she didn't think...that anything that bad could be found in a man with a voice as soft as that.

A/N: If I wasn't such a Polarshipper, this could be a cute pairing. :3 I feel like I could go somewhere with this, but I have neither the time nor the patience to begin even any more ideas for projects. Next is Softshipping (Shizuka x Ryo).