AN: Happy Monday! I'm back with a new chapter and it's a bit longer than the previous ones. Last chapter I took the first step of what you all may have been waiting for. In this chapter I give you another breadcrumb that will lead to the reveal of Mariks and Jesara's past. :P Sorry for the cliffhanger I left you with in chapter 6, but I do LOVE cliffhangers!

I hope I didn't mess up with writing Marik, it's quite hard - I have to admit that. But I hope you like it :-) BTW: No pizza boys were harmed in this chapter!

Like every time: Please review and let me know if you liked it! And I apologise if there are any auto-correction fails! I swear, my MacBook does what it wants...

Chapter Update: Errors, Style. NEW: I added a little 1/3 lemon part to the chapter. Just to inform you that there's a little more intimate part :P

Thank you for reading and favouring the story!

Chapter VII

Bonds & Confessions

In his hands he held a pizza carton, balancing it elegantly on three of his piano thin fingers. An amused grin was plastered on his face when his lavender eyes met Jesara's staggered ones as reality hit her.

"What the…" she gasped when she took a small step backwards without loosing eye contact. "Why are y-… How did you fin-… What are you doing h-he..?" Jesara definitely didn't expect that kind of situation and it was impossible for her to finish even one short sentence. This surprise almost left her speechless. All she wanted or expected right now was the kind pizza boy from the restaurant down the street and to enjoy her meal. Wasn't this day already one of the worst in her life?

"Nice to see you too, my dear Jesara." Marik smirked when he walked straight past her and placed the hot carton on her coffee table in her living room. "Nice flat." That annoying smirk never left his gaze when his eyes examined the room. Jesara still stood by her still opened door and stared daggers at him. Her fingers were wrapped around the door handle, holding it in a tight grip - so tight that her knuckled went withe.

Jesara's body trembled, but it wasn't just fear that made her shiver uncontrollably. It was pure vexation building up inside her ribcage. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find out about my address?" She growled. How could he even dare to just walk in like he was invited and welcomed, wearing that annoying grin on his pretty boy face.

"Did you forget? I told you that we'll talk later." Marik chuckled in his typical arrogant manner while he glanced at her like he was devouring her with his lavender eyes. They scanned her carefully from head down to the toes before he spoke again. "Nice outfit, by the way."

'What…?' She raised a brow at him in surprise, it took her 2 seconds before she... 'Oh Ra! I'm wearing as good as nothing!'

Jesara cringed and immediately grabbed a sweater jacket off of her wardrobe hook to cover herself. She let out a deep grumble when she closed her door with a loud bang to make him know about how not-welcomed he was.

"And actually I think we should talk about this think-I'd-throw-myself-back-into-your-arms-like-if-nothing-ever-happened-statement of yours earlier." Marik continued smirking at her while he leant cooly against the doorframe that connected her vestibule with her living room. His golden pyramid shaped earrings jingled gently beside his jawline. He crossed his muscly arms while he waited for Jesara to respond. The way his icy lavender irises bore into her filled her with unease which caused her palms starting to sweat in anxiety.

"There's nothing to talk about, Marik. And I'd appreciate it if you leave now." Jesara's amber-olive eyes narrowed dangerously at him, while she crossed her arms in front of her chest too.

"Oh yes, there ARE a few things we need to talk about. But why don't you eat your pizza first?" Mariks tone teased her to the core. Every word that came out of his mouth had this smug undertone. She wished she was strong enough to kick his lordly smirking ass out of her flat.

"No thanks, I guess I'm not hungry anymore… thanks to you." Jesara grumbled and shot him with an angry glare. "And what disgusting things have you done to the pizza boy?"

Mariks hand grabbed something from behind his back - it was the millennium rod which he usually attached to his belt. The anubis eye on it glistered in the dim lighting of Jesara's flat when he held it up for her to see. "Don't worry, I just made him forget about the check. You're welcome."

A deep sigh left her throat. She was relieved that Marik hasn't done something worse to stranger for no reason. "Fine."

His presence filled her with unease and tension, especially after their quite intimate encounter. "I ask you once more. How did you find out where I live?"

"I controlled Wheeler's mind, you remember? What means I had access to his whole, although quite tiny, brain. He's a peabrain of a boyfriend. I expected you to have a better taste in men." His tone grew more serious although his signature smirk slowly vanished from his tanned face. She arched a brow curiously, did he try to test her with that statement?

Jesara darted a startled look at the sandy blonde in front of her while his lavender eyes still observed her with caution. He raised a brow when Jesara held back a laughter with her hand covering her mouth. "Joey? My boyfriend? I expected YOU to have better skills in reading ones mind. Well, no. Joey isn't my boyfriend, if that's what you want to know."

"I see. He has quite interesting fantasies…" Marik paused and cleared his throat before finishing the sentence. "…with you."

Jesara's face turned as red as a beetroot when his words sank in. For a moment they both stood in silence. She forgot about the fact that the millennium rod also allowed its wielder to see daydreams and fantasies of others, their brains where like open books for him. And Jesara really didn't want to know about god-knows-what Joey dreamed of her. And besides that she didn't want - from all people walking this planet - Marik to know about them either.

"Whatever… It's none of your business what's going on in Joey's mind." Jesara shook her head and tried to shake off the latest news of Joey's fantasies. "What do you want? Can we please make this short so that I can go to bed? I'm tired and not in the mood for making this discussion a never ending story." She tried her very best to act like his presence wasn't bothering her at all; to make him feel like he was immaterial to her.

"Let's talk about this little kiss of ours. Because of you I failed in defeating the Pharaoh." Marik's expression was unreadable for her and she really wished that he wouldn't bring up this particular topic since he walked through her door. Jesara pressed her lips into a thin line and held her breath for a second.

"It didn't mean anything, Marik. It was just…" Jesara sighed and tried to remain calm. "I just wanted to distract you enough to help Joey break free."

"Interesting stragedy." His said without any change of expression on his face - he just stared at her intensively and it filled her with even more unease to be observed like that.

"Mhm." Jesara murmured and tried to conceal that this conversation made her flesh crawl. The less talk about this incidence the better. The least thing she wanted him to know was that she felt something like…pleasure? "Worked out fine."

Marik remained silent for a moment before answering. His lavender eyes seemed to stare directly into her soul, why did he always have such an impact on her? The longer she stared into those icy pools the more she felt how her knees went weak.

"I missed that." He stated short and crisp, still avoiding any emotion crossing his tanned poker face. Oh how she hated it.

Jesara's eyes shot to the floor to prevent Marik to see her rosy blushed cheeks. Her light grey bangs slightly covered her face when she looked down and buried her nails into the sleeves of her sweater jacket. 'He…missed it.' His statement echoed inside of her head.

"Don't take it for too serious, Marik… I only did it to save my friends. And I didn't miss it at all." She muttered while she felt how her heart started to beat a hundred miles a minute. Slowly she lifted her head to meet his gaze again.

"I know you did. You've always been a terrible liar, my dear Jesara. Your body language tells me more than you can ever do with only words." He stated and made one calculated step towards her. The sound of his step made her cringe, tension flooded her body again.

"You wish. I didn't. If you would be so kind and leave now?" Jesara hissed with narrowed eyes.

Marik again drew closer to her and Jesara glared more daggers at him with every inch less separating them. Why couldn't he just go now? Her heartbeat echoed in her ears like hell.

"Tell whatever you want, Jesara. I could easily read your mind and find out what I already know." Now he was just about half a metre away from her, but he didn't come any closer. Jesara tensed up from his approach like a fearful cat, but she didn't took a step back or move at all. Her body felt like it was made from stone. She hated his well knowledge of human nature.

"There's only one thing I really want to tell you, Marik…" she said under her breath and glared at him with narrowed eyes. Jesara suddenly rose her right hand and swung it with all her strength to bitchslap him. Her eyes shot wide open and stared into his when she felt Marik's tight grip around her wrist; he blocked her hand without even blinking an eye.

Suddenly Marik closed every distance between them and in a matter of seconds he pinned her against the wall. His grip on her wrists was so tight that she couldn't even move just one inch. Her cheeks started to burn as she felt his body heat from the touch of their chests.

"Look, Jesara… I know I did horrible things to you, I hurt you and I broke promises I made." He spoke loud with a stern voice and his lavender eyes locked with her puzzled ones. His words sounded so… honest. "I already said it once and I'll repeat it only once more. I AM sorry, I really am. I regretted it in the minute they brought you out of the room and I never had the chance to apologise. You were gone and I thought I'll never see you again."

His tone was now close to shouting. Jesara gazed into his eyes with a shattered look. His words left her speechless and her breath got heavier by every second. Was this really happening now? His tone was rough, but yet so soft...somehow. "Actually that was the plan... to never ever see you again." Jesara mumbled.

"Couldn't you at least try to forgive me?" He spoke gently under his breath, his face just a few inches away from hers. She could sense the warmth of his breath on her skin.

Jesara swallowed hard before she found her voice to answer him. "M-Marik… I don't think it's that easy…" She still felt the tight grip of his soft hands around her wrists, which were still pinned against the wall besides her head. "B-but it's at least doing me good to hear those words…"

"I could feel that you enjoyed this kiss too." It gave her goosebumps as he whispered those words into her ear, slightly touching it with his pointed nose.

"But I didn't want to…" Jesara whispered and watery eyes. But then she gasped as she realised that she just admitted THAT she did enjoy it in some way. Why did she say that accidentally?

"I know and I'm glad that you admit that to yourself. So you're not only feeling hate for me." Again it shot a pleasurable shiver down her spine when she felt his breath on her neck. Jesara tried to bring at least a bit more distance between them. However how hard she squirmed under his grip it was to no avail. Was he right? Did she really feel something else than hate for him? No - impossible. Not after all he had put her through.

Suddenly she sensed a familiar touch on her lips. Jesara blinked twice in surprise as she realised that it were his lips that she felt on hers - again. But instead of resisting or pushing him away from her to break the kiss she slowly closed her eyes and gave in. Marik's grip on her wrists loosened as she started to kiss him back. Jesara could hear her inner voice screaming and shouting at her and still something inside of her decided to act against her sanity. As their kiss intensified he grabbed her by her waist to pull her closer to his chest.

bump - bump bump - bump - bump bump. It was all she heard when Jesara inhaled deeply from the touch of his hand on her waist, which somehow found a way underneath her oversized sweater and her tank top. His touch on her bare skin shot a shiver through her body - but it didn't feel bad, but so... delightful. It was like her whole body was on fire. With every movement of their tongues the heat built up more. There wasn't just a single trace of resistance against his hands that carefully undressed her from the sweater she wore. Again her inner voice begged her to stop him and get back to mind - but she let him pass.

Was it the devil that awoke inside of her? Whatever it was what made her doing the same with his pale lavender crop top it was stronger than her inner, still creaming voice of sanity. Once it was only her tank top that separated the bare skin of their chests she wrapped her arms around his neck like her life depended on it. It overwhelmed her senses and Jesara was sure that she'll probably regret that she gave in to him and still she acted against it.

She almost forgot how it felt, how his touch felt on her skin and lips.

But then she sensed that he was about to get rid of her tank top as his hands slowly pushed it upwards, revealing the bare skin of her stomach and little parts of her breasts. Within a split second she broke the kiss and pushed Marik away from her whose lavender irises stared at her in puzzlement. She could tell from his face that he didn't expect her to stop.

Silence.

"Stop." Jesara stated out of breath. "Enough. We shouldn't even do that. I shouldn't do that. I-It's just..." Hastily she put her sweater back on and tried to avoid looking him in the eyes.

Marik arched a brow at her; her sudden change in behaviour confused him at least a little bit after that kiss and that she didn't even try to resist. "It's just what?"

She lifted her head to look at him, her cheeks turned into a deep shade of rosy red as her eyes carefully scanned that shameless well toned piece of a chest. "It's just wrong, Marik." Jesara murmured silently and suspended his lavender crop top from the floor, then threw it back to him.

Marik's expression didn't change at her statement while he put his shirt back on. Maybe he knew more than she thought? "If you say so. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." There it was again. That little smug grin returned to his lips - even if it only lasted for a short moment.

"However." Jesara huffed and opened the door for him to leave. "It meant nothing. Just a lapse. I think you should go now, Marik. Please." Her amber-olive eyes stared at him determinedly, hoping he would leave without starting another discussion about how much she might have enjoyed their encounter. Right now she hated herself for throwing her self-control over board so easily.

"Sorry." He apologised randomly while his thumb gently stroked across her lips what again made her heart skip another beat. "Believe me or not, but I still love you and I wish I could undo my actions." A shiver shot through her whole body when his words met her ears.

"Then you have a strange way to show it…" Jesara muttered under her breath and gently shoved him a few inches away from her. "Please, leave now…"

Warmth and another indescribable feeling shot through her body when Marik softly placed a kiss on her forehead before he turned to the door to leave. "As you wish. You know where to find me."

Jesara only stared at him in puzzlement and answered with a reassuring nod. Was that something like an invitation? Marik was almost out of the door, but glanced back at her once more.

"One more thing. Don't tell Yugi and his little friends about me and who I really am. Whyever you didn't do that already." And there it was again; the unreadable poker face and his typical, stern tone.

"I won't…" she whispered before the door closed and Marik was gone. "And for Ra's sake I don't have an idea why didn't do it..." Jesara added to herself.

A heavy sigh left her throat and her hands rubbed her temples to get her thoughts straight again. Did that really happen? This definitely fucked up her mind. 'Why did you let him pass, Jess? What the hell got into you?" She asked herself in dismay.

Her glance wandered over to the pizza carton Marik placed in her coffee table beside her couch. She wasn't hungry anymore at all, but right now she really needed soul food. This day really freaked her out on so many ways and she wasn't sure what to think or feel about her latest encounter with Marik. Who knew where it would have ended when she didn't stop him just in time?

Jesara shook her head to make her thoughts go away. After eating two pieces of her now cold pizza she slumped onto her queen sized bed. Her eyes stared to the ceiling for what seemed to be an eternity, but soon fatigue overwhelmed her and she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

/ the next morning

Bright sunlight burned on her cheeks when she awoke from her sleep; Jesara stretched and cuddled herself into her fluffy bedsheets once one. It was 09:12 in the morning and it was the day the battle city finals started. If she wanted to qualify as a finalist she should get ready soon. Jesara looked up at the ceiling when last evenings events crossed her mind again. Marik's words rang through her head. Her palm gently met her forehead where he placed a kiss on just a few hours ago. Jesara let out a heavy sigh and got up from the bed to have a shower and get ready for the day.

She never was the type for having a closet of tons and tons of clothing in every existing colour on this planet. Her dressing habits were like those others knew from Mr Bean or Albert Einstein. Jesara had about 5 pairs of very similar black skinny pants, loads of tank tops and blouses in natural colours and a few black black blazers and leather jackets in different shapes, lengths and styles. It was her way to deal with fashion trends: not to worry about them. So she decided again for another version of her signature outfit and combined a mauve coloured tank top with a slim fitting leather jacket. When she finished her outfit for the day she opened the upper drawer of the commode she stored her jewellery and make up products in.

Jesara put on some mascara and a bit of chocolate coloured eyeshadow to accentuate her eyes when she checked her appearance in the mirror on top of the commode. Earrings would fit just perfectly for today, so she looked through her jewellery collection. A pair of golden earrings caught her attention, they had the shape of an Egyptian ankh and were made of real, pure gold. They've been a present from Marik a long time ago and she hasn't worn them since her runaway, but something in her refused to sell or get rid of them in other ways. And today something made her feel it was the right day to wear them again. The golden ankhs dangled gently at both sides of her face and they sparkled beautifully in the sunlight that shone through her window.

Another piece of jewellery caught her attention; it was a golden ring that was decorated with engraved hieroglyphs on it. Jesara stared at it in her hands. The last time she wore it was the day she arrived in Domino almost two years ago. It remembered her of the life she used to live before she started off new in Domino - the life she had with him. Jesara didn't want to wear it, but she also didn't want not to wear it. So she grabbed a golden necklace from the drawer and put it around her neck, the golden ring dangled on it like a pendant. Jesara also decided to hide it underneath her tank top, but she wasn't really sure why she decided to wear it anyways.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee met her nose when she got herself a cup of the tasty, deep brown liquid from the kitchen. She loved to enjoy her coffee on her balcony - it was some kind of daily ritual to start the day. Jesara thought about her plans for the day. First of all she had to win two more locator cards to enter the finals, it would be best to look for duelists in the downtown area of the city. There was something else she really wanted to do before she'll see Marik again. Jesara needed to talk about what happened to at least somebody, maybe she could find Ishizu in the museum or somewhere else. She checked her wristwatch for the time, it was already 11 am - she needed to get going.

"Hi Yugi! Meet at 2 pm at central square to watch me win the last 2 locator cards?" Jesara texted Yugi before she grabbed her duel disk, handbag and purse and left her flat. She decided to look for Ishizu first, so she headed for the subway to the museum. The song "The Promise" by another artist she loved, Andy Black, played from her EarPods while she waited for the next train in the subway station.

A loud 'DING DING' interrupted her deep thoughts, it was a text message from Yugi. "Fine! CU there!" So Jesara had enough time to find and talk to Ishizu about the latest events.

/ at Domino museum

Jesara ascended the antique staircase to the entrance of the museum. 'Ishizu should be somewhere around here…' She entered the great entry hall and looked around for Ishizu's familiar face. 'But I guess her necklace already told her that I'm here…'

Suddenly she felt the soft touch of a hand on her right shoulder and her eyes stared into Ishizu's piercing blue ones when she turned around. A slight smile crossed Jesara's face.

"My necklace told me that you're coming to see me. Should we talk somewhere more private?" Ishizu asked with her common gentle tone. Jesara answered her with a nod and followed her through long aisles to Ishizu's office.

Ishizu signalled her to sit down on one of the lounge chairs and took a seat across from her. Jesara's cheeks blushed a bit, Ishizu might have seen everything that happened yesterday through her necklace. Embarrassment filled her chest and she crossed her arms in front of it to provide herself with some comfort.

"I've seen what you did yesterday to cross my brothers plans. And my necklace showed me that your heart is confused, you don't really know what you feel, right?" Blue eyes examined her and they seemed to look straight through her soul. Ishizu always knew everything, Jesara admired her wisdom.

"I-I really don't know what I'm feeling." Jesara stuttered and eyeballed the egyptian woman with a worried glance.

"It was brave to use my brothers feelings for you as a weapon against him to save your friends. But something you tried to hide and forget came back to the surface again. You're not the only one who tried to replace love with hate… without success." Ishizu explained and placed her hand on the millennium necklace. "Jesara, there are bonds no distance or bitter experience can break. And you and my brother do have such a bond. Call it destiny, love or whatever you want. You don't want to confess to yourself that you still have feelings for my brother too; I understand why you want to hate him so badly… And that's what ties your mind up in knots."

Jesara stared at the black haired Egyptian across from her with a puzzled gaze. She knew Ishizu was right, Ishizu was ALWAYS right and sometimes she hated it so much.

"What did your necklace tell you about the future…? Is he… will he give up on his plans?" Jesara asked curiously.

"I'm not sure… My necklace shows me a few versions of the future. But I always see that our worlds fate is in great danger if we don't act now. You will help my brother to beat the darkness in his heart. But I'm sorry that I can't tell you more."

Jesara sighed and looked down to the crimson red carpet underneath her feet. "So I should make him think I care and feel for him to get him back to mind again? To betray him in some kind of way? Ishizu, you know I'm a terrible liar…"

A slight smile crossed Ishizu's face while she eyed Jesara carefully. "You don't have to lie. Be yourself, feel what you feel and… stay by his side, stay close to him. Look after him. He cares for you and your opinion. Let your heart guide you."

"I don't love him, Ishizu." Jesara said short and crisp. "But I'll try my best to help you and the Pharaoh to stop him… Odion is on our side too. But I wished I could tell my friends about everything…"

"Tell them when the time is right, but not now. If you tell them about Marik and your past he'll be out of his mind… And then we may won't have any more chance to save him from his demons." Ishizu stated in a serious tone.

"I hate to lie to the people I love the most…" Jesara sighed and stood up from the couch. She glanced over to the clock on the wall and gasped when she realised it already was one quarter to 2 o'clock. "Ishizu, I'm sorry. But I need to get going. My friends are waiting for me at domino main square. I need to win 2 more locator cards to enter the finals."

"I know. Good luck, but you will-" Ishizu said knowingly, but Jesara cut her off immediately.

"No spoilers, Ishizu!" Jesara stated, grabbed her handbag and headed for the door that led out of Ishizu's office. "I can do that on my own."

She smiled at the black haired woman with the piercing blue eyes. "We'll stay in touch."

Ishizu nodded at her in reassurance and with that Jesara left the room and sprinted out of the museum and headed into the direction of the nearest subway station.

/ at Domino main square

Jesara just made it in time and scanned the area of the main square for Yugi & the gang. There were still a lot of duels going on in the area and the place was crowded with tons of people, who watched the spectacle.

„Jess!" A familiar voice shouted behind her. It was Tea; also Yugi, Joey, his sister Serenity, Tristan and Duke Devlin accompanied her. „How are you doing?"

„Hi guys! I'm doing fine. Hope you're also doing well so far? I mean… after yesterdays events." Jesara greeted them with a gentle smile.

„Yeah, everything's good so far. But I guess Marik will try to harm us again… I bet my eye that we'll have to face him in the finals." Yugi stated and shot Jesara a worried glance.

„Don't worry, Yugi! I can't wait to kick his coward ass and give him what he deserves!" Joey proclaimed and puffed himself up like he was a smaller version of the incredible Hulk.

Tea's palm met her forehead again, but then another well known voice called them from afar.

„Hi guys!" Mai Valentine cheered when she came closer to the gang and greeted them with her signature lady-like charming smile. „How are the duels going so far?"

„Hey Mai! Fine! Joey and I did already qualify for the finals!" Yugi declared in his typical friendly manner and smiled at the blonde woman. „I guess you already qualified too?"

Mai shook her head and held up her four locator cards for the gang to see. „Not yet, I need to win two more to enter the finals. But I'm sure I'll find a perfect victim around here."

Joey's eyes swayed from Mai to Jesara before he spoke up. „Jess, you also need two more locator cards, right?"

Mai and Jesara grimaced at Joey, well aware of what he intended with that question. „You're right, Joey. But I don't think that…" Jesara nodded at the blonde, but Mai cut her off with a confident grin.

„I totally agree with you, Joey." she stated and smiled at Jesara. „Your Guardian Angel Joanne would fit perfectly into my deck of powerful fairies and amazon warriors, dear Jess."

Jesara raised a brow at her, not sure if it was a good or bad idea to duel with Mai Valentine. She knew about her tactics and that she was one of the top duelists in the Duelists Kingdom tournament. Mai Valentine was somebody no one should ever underestimate.

„So, what do you think, Jess? The winner of this duel gets two locator cards from the looser and goes straight to the finals… plus the rarest card, for sure." Mai challenged Jesara and her confident grin grew bigger and bigger.

„I guess you leave me without a choice, Mai." She answered and gave Mai a perky smile. „But I won't make it easy for you."

„I expect nothing but your best, my dear. But be prepared to loose." the blonde proclaimed and activated her duel disk. Both girls handed other their deck to one another to shuffle them, then they slid their decks into their duel disk.

„Go Jess! I know you can do that!" Joey cheered loudly and gave Jesara an overexcited, flirty smile.

„Two beautiful ladies fighting for the last place in the finals? That's gonna be the best part of the day." Duke Devlin chuckled and high-fived Tristan right beside him.

/ meanwhile at Domino harbor

Marik sat in his lounge chair on the deck of his yacht; his duel monsters cards laid spread out on the cocktail table in front of him. He eyed every card carefully and thought about every stragedy the Pharaoh used against him by now. In his hands he held one card he payed some extra attention on - it was the Winged Dragon of Ra. The finals were about to begin, so he made sure to make his deck perfectly composed to defeat the Pharaoh.

„Master Marik." A deep make voice spoke up behind him, but Marik didn't even turn around to see who dared to disturb him.

„What is it, Odion?" Marik growled without even taking one peek at his servant.

„I achieved twelve locator cards as you wished, Master Marik. Do you wish us to do something else for you before the finals start this evening?" Odion asked in an as neutral tone as possible. Since Marik lost the last duel against Yugi he needed to count on his plan B to defeat him in the finals of Kaiba's tournament.

„No. Everything will go according to the plan, Odion. You'll impersonate me and make them believe you are Marik. I already introduced myself to Yugi and his friends as a guy called Namu to win their trust. When time is right I'll reveal my true identity to them. Until then you'll act like you were me. Did I make myself clear, Odion?" Marik explained and his eyes were still glued to his egyptian god card in his hand.

„As you wish, Master Marik. Anything else before I give my deck a final check for the finals?" The bulky egyptian asked respectfully.

„There actually IS one more thing, Odion." Marik stood up from the lounge chair and turned back to face Odion. „I want you to keep an eye on Jesara. I want you to send one of my slaves to watch her until the finals start and I'm expecting an update every hour. Make sure she doesn't run away once more." Marik commanded and signaled Odion to leave now.

„Your wish is my command, Master Marik. I will se to it immediately." The olive eyed egyptian said and nodded before the turned on heel to leave Marik alone.

The sandy blonde teen took a seat in his lounge chair again and brought his attention back to his deck in front of him. His tanned hands stroked through his head when he tried his best to concentrate on his cards, but something was distracting him… again.

His glance wandered over to the spot on the deck of his yacht where Jesara kissed him yesterday to cross his plans. He wasn't possible to get the incidence out of his mind; the way her lips felt on his turned his thoughts upside down. Although she claimed that she didn't enjoy it at all and felt nothing, he knew she was lying. Jesara has never been a good liar and he knew her too well at all. Marik wondered if she may forgive him someday for what he did to her almost two years ago and if his apologize was good enough. Showing emotions or confessing a fault weren't his best talents at all - for him it was a sign of weakness to do so. Saying ‚I'm sorry' was hard enough for him.

Marik leaned back on his lounge chair and stared to the ceiling of the hangar, his hands crossed behind the back of his head. Oh what a ironical coincidence it was to find her here… as a friend of his greatest enemy. After such a long time after her runaway their paths crossed again. He wondered of it was a sign of fate? Will she return to his side again after he claimed the power of the Pharaoh to reign the world? Maybe it was a benefit for him to have Jesara as a direct connection to the Pharaoh too.

A soft smile crossed his tanned face when he closed his eyes and thought back to the kiss they shared. What will he say to her when they meet again? And how would she react after his confessions to her yesterday evening. This time he won't make the same mistake again, he'll never hurt her again. Deep inside of him he felt something he hasn't felt for years.

Devotion.

/ back at the main square

Mai managed to summon all three of her signature monsters - the Harpie sisters. She also increased their power with the magic card Cyber Shield which gave them 500 attack points on top - 1800 attack points each. On the other side of the field Jesara struggled to regain control over the duel. Mai recently destroyed her favorite monster, The Dark Valkyria by using a spell card that weakened it's attack points… She had no more monsters to protect her from another attack of Mai's Harpies and so she had only had 300 life points left.

„My turn." Jesara murmured and draw a card from her deck. 'This better be a card that gets me out of this mess.'

It was Monster Reanimation. She sighed in relief; this card was going to turn the tables for her advantage. 'Thank Ra for this one…'

„Ready to give up, Jesara? I need to be on time for the finals, so hurry up!" Mai teased from across the field, giving Jesara a confident smirk. If she only knew that she was one step away from losing the duel.

„Your date has been cancelled, Mai. Watch this!" Jesara placed her Monster Reanimation card on her duel disk and a bright light appeared in the field. „First I'll bring back my Dark Valkyria from the graveyard! But she won't be staying with us for too long."

Her monster, a dark winged fairy which was dressed with an armour made from black steel appeared in front of Jesara. (1800/1050)

„Next I'll play my spell card Cost Down! This card allows me to summon a level eight monster by just sacrificing one of my monster! Instead I drop one card from my hand to the graveyard. So I'm sending my Dark Valkyria back to the graveyard again to summon this monster: Emes the Infinity!"

A bright light enhanced the field and blinded the girls and everybody surrounding them.

„YES! That was a good one, Jess!" Joey cheered from beside the field and Jesara responded to him with a thankful smile. Within a second his face turned into the colour of a tomato.

Mai's eyes widened when a bulky warrior dressed in a golden armour and holding an enormous sword in his hands appeared on Jesara's side of the field. She wasn't expecting her to summon such a rare and powerful monster - she was almost done with her.

„Let me introduce you to Emes the Infinity. (2500/2000) With every monster he destroys his attack points will rise by 700, what makes his power almost endless. But I won't need his special effect, you only have 700 life points left, dear Mai. That means your life points will drop to zero after Emes destroys one of your Harpies!" Jesara declared and commanded her new, powerful monster to attack one of Mai's Harpies.

The golden warrior rose his enormous sword and with a loud BANG one of Mai's Harpies disappeared from the field. The blonde woman's eyes widened in shock - she lost the duel and so her chance to enter the finals vanished away.

The monsters on the field faded away and Jesara went over to Mai for a handshake. „Great duel, Mai. I almost thought I'd loose the duel." She smiled and held out her hand for Mai to shake, who hesitated to do so.

„Yeah… that was an awesome duel…" Mai murmured before her hand grabbed Jesara's. „Good job, Congratulations." She gave Jesara a forced smile and handed her two locator cards and her rarest card, the Harpie sisters.

„No, keep the card, Mai. I know how much you love this card and to be honest, your whole deck wouldn't work anymore if I take it from you." Jesara smiled at the blonde and took the two locator cards out of her hand, but didn't touch Mai's monster card.

Mai shot her a puzzled look. „Are you sure? But you won it…and deserved it as well."

She shook her head and patted her hand on Mai's shoulder. „I'm sure."

„Thank you." Mai said and gave her a thankful glance. „So then… Good luck in the finals, my dear."

„Thank you, Mai."

Jesara and the gang waved goodbye to Mai who decided to leave battle city right away, she had nothing to do here anymore.

„You did it! I'm proud of you, Jess! Now we both enter the finals! But don't think I'll make it easy for you!" Joey cheered and nudged her gently.

„Nice job, Jess! Congratulations!" Yugi complimented Jesara and gave her a thumbs up and so did the rest of the gang. „So, let's find out about the secret location of the battle city finals."

Everyone nodded at him. Yugi laid all of his six locator cards on his duel disk. Suddenly a bright light in front of them appeared and formed into a hologram of a stadium. The gang carefully eyed the hologram before a female, computer generated voice started to speak out of Yugi's duel disk.

„Congratulations. You're a confirmed finalist of Kaiba Corporation's Battle City tournament. The finals will start at 6 pm at the Kaiba Corporation stadium in Domino City today. Please make sure to arrive on time."

„Ha, great! I can't wait to teach moneybags a lesson he'll never forget!" Joey yelled.

Everyone facepalmed again. Sometimes Joey was far too confident.

The gang decided to grab something to eat before the finals started at a nearby restaurant. They still had about 2 hours left and who knew when they'll get home again. The gang was too busy with congratulating Jesara for qualifying for the finals, that they didn't recognise a man of average size dressed in a familiar deep purple cloak across the square who had watched the duel between Jesara & May carefully.

'Master Marik, as you wished I'd like to update you. I have new informations about the girl you wanted me to have an eye on.'

The cloaked man was - like every of Marik's slaves - connected to him via mind link to stay in contact with their Master at every time. By using a mind link he could command them by just thinking it. Being the wielder of the ancient millennium rod had its advantages.

'Then don't make me wait! What's the news, slave?' Mariks voice echoed in his slaves head.

'The girl named Jesara just qualified for the finals, Master Marik.' His slaved explained to his Master via their mind link.

'Perfect…'

AN: Hope you enjoyed that chapter. :-) And also that new little intimate part of it. And now: Time for a review! :*