NOTE: Standings:
TEA:
Seto: 22 or 23
Yugi: 1
Noa: 0
SERENITY:
Mokuba: 12 or 13
Tristan: 0
Remember: the guys are "dropping like flies." BE SURE TO GET YOUR VOTES IN (if you haven't already voted).
Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! nor do I own the almost direct quote from the sitcom Hogan's Heroes that is used in here ("I know nothing: I see nothing!" – Sgt. Schultz).
Chapter 11: Love Talks and a Yami's Thoughts
July 8
Ryou sat in the dining room, stirring his grits. Yes, even though he was from England, he had found a particular liking for the bland substance (of course, he mixed butter and salt in them as well).
"Hey, Ryou!" a sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see the other early-bird of the morning: Tea.
"Morning!" he smiled back. Tea sat down next to him. They were used to having breakfast together, alone. Nobody else was ever up.
"So…what's up? Anything new?" Tea inquired.
"No, nothing really," Ryou replied.
"You know…Bakura's been really quiet lately. Did you keep him back home or something?" Tea suddenly asked.
"…No actually," Ryou looked slightly guilty, "I had to bring him. He would have appeared anyway, had I not brought him along. But yes, he's been quite behaved. I had a few talks with him…though I still don't think he's taking me seriously. However, there's not much mischief he can cause here. For all of us, it's all been fun and games all of the time: no duels in which he can snap up a soul or something," Ryou scrunched up his nose at the thought.
"Oh, well that's good!" Tea smiled.
"Well, yes…on the contrary though, he is beginning to get irritable...and threatening in his lack of mischief. So…I allowed him to be able to pull a few harmless pranks. That should at least keep him under control, so that I can take over as I please," Ryou reddened, guilty from letting his yami do such a thing.
"Pranks? Really? Awesome! At least…if they're harmless…like you said…and not directed towards me," Tea laughed.
"Oh, no! I told him to stay away from you women. I said he can go after the guys. They'll just think it was each other or something," Ryou's mouth quirked into a smile.
"That they will!" Tea laughed, "So…has he created any yet?"
"…I don't know. I'm sure he has though. Probably put them up while I'm asleep…for then, I can't ell whether he takes over or not," Ryou frowned.
"Ah, I'm sorry," Tea put a hand on his. Ryou smiled at her.
Tea suddenly thought up something else. It was in the genre of something that had had much talk recently….
"Hey Ryou, can I ask you something?"
"Yes. What?"
"Well…I was just wondering…. I known it's not my place to ask…but have you ever considered getting a girlfriend?"
Ryou choked on the milk he was drinking, "Excuse me?" he reddened, "tell me you're not trying to imply something!"
"No, no!" Tea blushed, waving her hands, "No! I was just saying…you look lonely a lot…and with all this…talk…you know," she lowered her voice, "with Joey and Mai…and Serenity and her fiascos…if you had anybody on the mind. Just a question. You don't have to answer if you don't want to…I guess I just got a little curious," Tea looked down at her lap shamefully.
"Not at all!" Ryou replied. Although it was true that the British were brought up to respect others privacy, he understood that Tea cared about his welfare, and had been brought up in two totally different societies from that of the British. Usually, he would take such a question offensively, but he could live with it. It was only Tea after all. She could be trusted.
"Actually…" he looked down at the stirred grits again. Tea looked up, waiting. "I…have sort of had my eye on someone for a little while…" he blushed a bit.
"Well, that's great! You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to. Knowing you at least are thinking helps put my mind at ease," Tea sighed.
"Oh, but I want to!" Ryou suddenly blurted out. He stopped. It wasn't that his little feeling was for Tea or anything. He just…never got the chance to talk with someone about these things. He certainly couldn't share anything with Bakura (though the freak already knew, because the two's spirits were fused, they knew each other's thoughts), because the spirit would just laugh (as he had already done). But Tea….
"I mean…. I guess I do need to talk it out with someone. And…what do you mean, by, it 'put your mind at ease?'"
"Oh…well. You ought to know me by now, Ryou. I care about people-"
"Yes, I am aware of that."
"And well, I've had a lot of time to think lately. I mean: I'm trying to hook up Joey and Mai, because EVERYONE wants to see those too stubborn people get together, and finally confess to one another…"
"I see…"
"And then there's the fact that Kaiba's been moping around lately, so I loaned him my laptop," she accidentally blurted.
Ryou spewed the milk again, "You what?"
"What? Oh! Whoops…guess I wasn't supposed to say that…" Tea looked away.
"Ah, it's fine. It just took me by surprise, that's all. I mean, I never really thought you would truly try to help Kaiba," Ryou took a napkin,"Just don't let Joey, Mokuba or Noa know."
"Believe me, I won't," Tea laughed. Then she remembered, "So…you wanted to talk?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Ryou looked away.
"Well, what first?"
"Hmm…I'm not really sure, I suppose. I guess I would have to ask about…stages of love, of suppose," his blush deepened. He wasn't exactly comfortable talking about this: but he wanted answers.
"Stages?" Tea sat up.
"Yes…" he looked at her, "I suppose it's my turn to ask…a personal question." Heck: this went against all of his morals and upbringing.
"Ask away!" Tea smiled, glad to be of help.
"…Have you…ever…been…in love…I guess?" Ryou stuttered.
"…Yes."
Ryou's head popped up, "What?"
"I said, yes, I have," she answered simply, still smiling.
"Ah," Ryou nodded. He hadn't expected such a quick and simply, non-stuttering answer.
"Well, I won't press on any further on that subject. I just needed to see if you had enough knowledge to help me," Ryou said.
"I get it," Tea smiled again. So Ryou asked his questions. Tea answered. At least, for a good fifteen minutes. Then, it was Tea's turn again.
"So…I'm starting to get curious again…. If you'll allow me to ask…who is this girl of yours?" she inquired, setting her head on her upright, laced hands.
"Ah…" Ryou scratched the back of his head, "Umm…."
"Here. Give me clues. I'll try to guess. I usually do this a lot with people," Tea said.
"So…you've helped others with this sort of problem?" Ryou interrogated.
"Yeah," Tea nodded. "So, clue me in."
"You know her."
"Again with the broadness?" Tea sighed, remembering her and Serenity's guessing game.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing! Same thing happened with another person," Tea chuckled slightly. "Carry on."
"She's just a bit older than me…all of us."
"Okay…." Tea was starting to get an idea, but she still needed more information….
"…Black hair…tanned skin…blue eyes…" Ryou recited everything he had memorized about her.
"Egyptian?" Tea smirked.
Ryou reddened, "You know then?"
"Ishizu, right?"
"Right on the ticket."
"I should have known," Tea laughed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryou looked at her incredulously.
Suddenly their conversation was broken by whispering voices out in the front hall. Tea motioned for Ryou to quietly stand and come with her. They tiptoes towards the opening of the dining room and peered out.
"Ow, you idiot! You stepped on my foot!" a feminine voice whispered.
"Sorry!"
"Keep it quiet! You wanna wake the others?"
"No!"
"Shut it!"
"Hey Mai; Duke. You get Yugi's car back?" Tea whispered loudly from the doorway. The two jumped in sudden fright and looked around. They sighed when they saw it was only Tea and Ryou.
"Well yeah!" Duke whispered back to her loudly.
"Good!" Tea nodded.
"Well, right now, I'm going back to bed! Five-thirty is WAY too early!" Mai yawned and walked up the stairs.
"Same here," Duke replied. He followed Mai up.
"I still can't believe those two can get up so early and still be awake the rest of the day," Mai sighed to Duke.
"Amen," he said, in consent.
"SERENITY! OPEN UP!" Joey pounded on his sister's door, "IF YOU'RE IN THERE, OPEN UP!"
"JOEY! SHUT THE CRAP UP!" Serenity suddenly opened the door and yelled in his face.
"YOU TWO!" about seven other voices yelled, unanimously, "SHUT THE CRAP UP!" With that, Duke, Tristan, Mai, Yugi, Mokuba, Noa and Seto slammed their doors shut, and went back to bed.
"What do you want now, Joey?" Serenity inquired her brother.
After Joey had woken up (at about 9:00), he immediately remembered that he hadn't seen his sister come home last night. That's when he rushed into action.
"I was seeing if you were alright, sis!" Joey replied. He felt her forehead. Normal temperature…. He took her wrist and felt her pulse. Normal beat.
Serenity sighed. She mouthed his next words exactly.
"Are you feeling sick?" Joey asked, and Serenity mimicked.
"No!" Serenity shot back. "Joey, I'm fine. Now can I just go back to sleep?"
"…" Joey looked over her for a minute. She looked fine, "...I guess." Not a second later, the door slammed shut in his face.
Yugi circled around his silver convertible, inspecting it like a vulture. He kept talking to himself, and humming inaudible things. Duke and Serenity stood, slightly nervous, in front of it, as he inspected. The others (save the Kaibas) were standing behind the two, also waiting.
"Hmm…" Yugi stopped and peered at some places of the car. He rapped on the hood lightly, and ran his finger across the car. Finally, he approached Duke.
"Seems to be in fine condition. You did a very nice job of keeping it in touch. Thanks," Yugi smiled.
Duke smiled, "No problem."
"Yeah…and thanks for getting the paint retouched. I don't know what you did to the car, but thanks for getting it repaired! It needed new paint anyway…."
"WHAT?" Duke cried out. "BUT HOW DID YOU KNOW? I COULDN'T EVEN TELL THAT THE CAR HAD, HAD ANY SCRATCHES BEFORE!" Duke waved his arms around.
"Oh…so you got it a little scratched up…. I see…" Yugi looked at him to the car. Duke suddenly covered his mouth.
"Well, actually, it was sort of difficult to tell that the car had been messed with, but…I just get that feeling. Oh well. At least you took the responsibility to fix it. Thanks!" and with that, Yugi paid no more mind to his car the rest of the day.
Seto sighed, his eyes closed, as he lay on the couch downstairs, devastatingly bored. There was absolutely nothing to do….
"What are you up to?" a face suddenly appeared over the top of the couch. Seto opened his eyes, and looked up at Tea.
His eyes narrowed, "What's it look like?"
"…That you're bored out of your wits."
"Oh, we are smart today."
Tea frowned, "Very funny, Mr. Wise Guy."
"Oh, so now I'm Mr. Wise Guy, huh? Not "Moneybags," or anything else that mutt calls me, that you also tend to use?"
"You know what I mean," Tea sighed.
"I might…then again, I might not," Seto smirked.
"Gosh…this bored spell you're in is making you more annoying than usual. I think I'm actually starting to miss your other self," Tea mumbled. But Seto still caught the words. He raised an eyebrow in amusement.
Tea rolled her eyes, "Go back to your old ways." She slammed something black onto his stomach. Seto gave a small oomph, and winced, not having expected it. "Have fun," she said, before standing straight and walking away.
Seto looked at what lay upon his middle. He gave the tiniest of smiles. Tea had been true to her word. There was her laptop.
Mai dragged Serenity into her room, and shut the door. Serenity looked back at the female, slightly confused.
"Uh…what's up, Mai?"
Mai sat on her bed, and mentioned for Serenity to do the same, "Alright: I didn't get to hear anything last night. Tell me: how did it go?" she smiled.
"Oh…the little dinner…outing…date thing," she looked away, "It was…fine."
"Well? What happened? Details, girl!"
"Well…we had dinner…."
"Yes…" Mai pressed on.
"Um…Duke started…I think…feeling the effects of that wine he drank-"
"He got drunk!" Mai's face lit up slightly. Serenity looked at her as if she was nuts. Mai clamed down, "Ah…anyway, what happened?"
"And…he started edging near me…" she blushed slightly.
"Tell me you didn't kiss," Mai waited for a second, practically jumping up and down on the bed.
"…Alright…we didn't kiss," Serenity replied.
Mai face scrunched up, "Whoa, there, girl. I think you've got me wrong. You're supposed to say, "Okay, I WON'T tell you." But here…you said you didn't-"
"And that's exactly what happened! We didn't kiss! Sure, he may have tried to kiss me, but I didn't let him…and then I sort of told him I didn't feel the same way he felt…and then …I guess I sort of rejected him…and yeah," Serenity ended lamely.
"YOU WHAT?" Mai took it really hard, "SERENITY! You're not supposed to reject him!" she exclaimed in a partially whiny voice, "Girl! It's that time where you need to really start thinking about your love-life, and getting to know boys better. Come on!" Mai smacked her forehead, "It was a perfect opportunity!"
"Mai!" Serenity defended, "Duke just wasn't for me! I think I might have my sights on someone else!" Mai was about to press further into this matter, except for the fact that Serenity continued, and was about to lead them onto a whole other topic. "Look! Who are you to be talking? Sure, you've had a good armload of boyfriends, but you always break-up in the end! Some form of love! And anyway: you haven't even told Joey hat you think of him yet. What kind of example are you trying to set-" Mai suddenly interrupted.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" she waved her hands in front of Serenity's face, "Who in the bloody pits of heck told you that I like your brother in that way? Who have you been talking too, Serenity? Have you been talking to Tea? Because she's not exactly to person to be talking to! For some odd reason, she is in the romance gig this summer and has these fanciful, bloody ideas running through her head-"
"Tea's ALWAYS in the "romance gig," so you call it. Heck, that's like…the only genre she writes her stories in!" Serenity supplied. She then became slightly thoughtful. "Have you ever read any of her stories? I mean, I've only read one, but it was really good! Kinda funny too! She portrayed Kaiba as this one vampire character, and she reenacted him really humorously-"
"I don't give a dang how she used or portrayed Kaiba in any way shape or form in any stupid story of hers! That's just what we need: a blood-sucking Kaiba on the loose-" Mai suddenly stopped. Something was forming in her head. Something she never, in a million years, thought would form. "Serenity…you said you've read her stories?"
"Yes…" Serenity didn't like the look Mai had on her face. It was that look of concocting a must "dangerous" plan….
"Tell me, Serenity…did she have anyone else she seemed to…"portray" in these stories of hers?"
"Well, let's see…. There was Kaiba of course: that much was obvious. She seemed to have put herself in there…."
"In the same story?"
"Yeah…. She's got like…three going on, but, yeah, in the same story," Serenity replied. Thins was not looking good.
"Any other people?"
"…Not that I can think of…" Serenity looked back through her memories.
"Tell me, dear girl…what exactly was this story like? Was there any relation whatsoever to the Tea-like character and the Kaiba-like character?"
"Relation? How so…?" Serenity looked hesitant.
"Oh, you know: brother/sister…vampire/vampire….whatever," Mai waved a hand.
"Well…no, not really…. Seemed sort of like antagonist versus protagonist, but…."
"But what?" Mai was practically in Serenity's face looking for an answer.
"Well…the fic IS a romance…and it seemed to be starting to hint at it-"
"Between those two?"
"…Yes," Serenity squeaked out.
"HA!" Mai sat up straight.
"What? I don't get it-" Serenity started.
"Girl don't you see? You can tell a LOT about an author from what he/she writes. What this tells me…" she dropped her voice to a whisper, "is that Tea is-"
Serenity filled in the rest of the words, "Falling…for Kaiba?"
Mai sat back and smiled, "Bingo."
"But…no! That can't be!" Serenity looked around the room, "She HATES him! Absolutely HATES HIM! Haven't you heard their arguments? They're lucky they don't kill each other! And…and…she just…there's no way! She just likes writing about bad guys falling in love with the good guys and…and…all she could think about was getting Kaiba's personality for an evil vampire freak! The idea is preposterous! Absolutely insane! You are SO mixed up in the head-" Mai suddenly put a hand to Serenity's mouth and covered it.
Serenity looked at her indignantly, but Mai nodded towards the door. Serenity looked over. Under the door, in the small crack, she saw the shadow of two feet standing there…seemingly eavesdropping….
Mai put a finger up to her lips and took her hand off the younger girl's mouth. She tip-toed across the room, and reached for the door handle.
Faster than Serenity had ever seen Mai work before, she swished open the door, and grabbed the eavesdropped by the collar, pulling them inside, before they could run off, as they were about to do.
"Well lookie who we have here…" Mai smirked and shut the door. Serenity's eyes widened. Now THERE was someone she had never expected….
Joey plopped down next to Yugi on a bench on the patio, "Argh! Where ARE they?"
"Who?"
"Mai and My sista!"
"Oh…guess they're still inside," Yugi replied.
"Gosh…why won't they get der butts out here? It's no fun witout dem here!"
Yugi looked up at him, amused, "Really now? No fun without Mai…what a surprise."
Joey blinked, "I…I uh…didn't mean it like dat…."
"Sure, Joey, sure. You've only said a thousand times in your sleep, and I quote, "Be mine, Mai Valentine.""
"I DO…DID…NOT!" Joey stood up, heatedly.
"Uh huh…" Yugi looked out over the beach.
"Aw, shut up, Yug," Joey slumped back down. "And who are you ta talk? You haven't even told Tea anyting-"
"Well…no...but at least I've hinted at it!" Yugi replied, indignantly.
"But it ain't da same!" Joey wagged a finger at him. "You really ought ta tell her, ya know. She won't be here forevea. Even in my eyes, she's quite a catch, and soonea or latea, someone's gonna come along and snatch her away right before ya eyes," Joey philosophized.
"Wow Joey…that was great! Awesome speech! Very reassuring too. Thanks!" Yugi smiled.
"Really? REALLY? Cool!" Joey stood up and punch the air. "You still oughta tell her. Or else you're gonna have one maja (major) problem-"
"Oh come on, you already gave your speech…" Yugi pouted. "So we both have love problems: no big deal. Everybody has them: Mai had them, as we know (Joey cringed at the mention of Mai's past loves, and Yugi grinned at this outwardly sign)…Duke and Tristan have their problems-"
"Wit who?" Joey scowled at him.
"Take one heck of a guess. I'll get you a brownie if you guess right," Yugi smirked.
Joey held up a finger, "Dey have a problem getting' ta…ta.." Joey let his finger fall, "…I have no idea," his head dropped down to meet his chest.
Yugi rolled his eyes. It was probably best that he stayed, not knowing.
"Anyway…I'm pretty sure Tea's had something going on…though she's never outright told me…and Serenity had her problem a little bit ago-"
"SHE WHAT!" Joey stood up again.
"Huh? What? Did I say that?" Yugi sweat-dropped and pointed to himself, "I meant…I meant…Ryou had his problem a little while ago…. I was just thinking about something concerning Serenity at the moment: that's all. Swapped my names," Yugi laughed nervously.
"Dat's what I taut you said," Joey sat back down.
"Yeah…anyway, see? We're not alone-"
"Why you saying 'we?' I NEVEA said dat I liked Mai!" Joey retorted.
"Come on, it's written all over your face," Yugi replied.
"Wha'? WHO WROTE IT THERE?" Joey suddenly put his hands on his face and started feeling it (as if that would help anyway).
"Golly, Joey, I was being facetious!" Yugi pulled Joey's hands down.
"Fa-what? Oh, not you too! First Tea and her 'fraternize'-n…and now you an' your fa…fa…cetious-ness…ness…oh neveamind!" Joey clutched his head in his hands, and pulled on his hair.
"Joey…how did you ever get through English class?" Yugi suddenly asked.
"I put the burden of helpin' me study on Tea every night 'efore a quiz or test, and tried acin' those. Dey counted a lot, ya know. Oderwise, I nevea really did anyting else," Joey confessed.
"Oh gee, that must have made Tea feel just great," Yugi looked at his friend slightly cross.
"Look, let's just get back to dat love problems thing we had goin'," Joey responded, not wishing to talk about school. Yugi's face lit up.
"So, you DO have a crush on Mai!"
"What? Aw nuts…" Joey sighed in defeat.
"Good Lord Joey, everybody except Mai knows. You don't have to act all tough around the subject," Yugi looked out towards where Tea was splashing the young Kaiba brothers. She seemed distracted by something towards the building, when she was splashed by Mokuba.
Suddenly, an idea popped into the boy's head. A most cunning and benefiting idea…. Not only would this help Joey, but it would help him as well. Yugi was surprised that Yami hadn't controlled him for at least a second just to give him the ingenious idea. This could very well solve their loves problems….
"Joey?"
"Wha'?" Joey moaned.
"I'd like to make a deal with you."
Joey's head popped up, "A deal? On wha'?"
"Well…I was just thinking…" he looked down at his hands, "You really want me to tell Tea what I feel for her…right?"
"Yeah…" Joey returned.
"Well, I will tell her that I love her-"
"Booyah!" Joey grinned broadly.
"-On one condition." The grin fell.
"What condition?" Joey inquired.
This was where it was Yugi's turn to grin, "You tell Mai you love her: first."
"Ryou!" Serenity gasped when she saw the eavesdropper, "I don't believe it!"
"I wasn't…it wasn't…" Ryou reddened. Bakura, I'm going to personally murder you when I get out of here! Bakura, however, was just rolling on the floor, laughing.
"What'd you hear?" Mai practically shoved him onto the bed.
"Nothing!" Ryou lied. Mai stared at him hard. "…You said that you thought Tea might like…I didn't' hear the name," he finished. Mai glared at him harder.
"Spit it."
"Kaiba!" Ryou squeaked. Even Mai could be intimidating at times.
"You know anything that might help us prove this fact?" Mai inquired. Serenity just sat, watching the interrogation with interest.
"I know nothing: I've seen nothing!" Ryou said, a little too quickly.
"Do tell," Mai replied.
"You know…I've never liked mind readers," Ryou sighed as Mai sat down beside him.
Well, you have the key to it in your pocket, as you know, Bakura said in their fused minds. Ryou scowled, inwardly. The stupid thief had taken that stupid Millennium Item…no matter how fair the game was. Ryou hadn't been happy….
"Well…I guess…in both their own little ways," Ryou started, "Tea's been helping Kaiba to have a little more "fun" this trip."
"How so?" Mai inquired immediately. "Fun" had many different meanings….
"You know Kaiba: can't be without technology. She's loaning him her laptop. That's all. It's really nothing-"
"Are you kidding? That helps a whole bunch! She's being NICE to him! Doesn't that prove anything?" Mai asked.
"It just proves that Tea is a kind being who cares for people!" Serenity retorted.
"EXACTLY what she told me this morning at breakfast!" Ryou supplied.
Mai's face lit up, "That's IT!"
"What's it?" Serenity and Ryou looked at each other.
"Guys and gals, we're gonna solve this small mystery: we are going to PROVE that Tea really is falling for Kaiba. I just HAVE to know! This is a goldmine opportunity to have some fun and lighten up this trip a little!"
"We don't have to solve anything!" Serenity returned.
"Nonsense! Where are your two's senses of fun? This'll be a blast!" Mai cried gleefully. "Now…Ryou, you'll be the private eye and ear at breakfast. You two are always up early together! You can talk to her…and try to worm some things out: ANYTHING that will help! Serenity: you and I will try at different times to explore Tea's room. Maybe we can get a clue there-"
"Mai, listen to yourself!" Serenity stood up. "That's WAY over the line! That is SO invading Tea's privacy!" Ryou felt the same: two violations in one day: how sad. "We can't just go exploring Tea's room like that? We're not going to find ANYTHING! This is way beyond us, Mai!" Besides, Mai was forgetting two VERY important factors in this: Yugi and Noa's feelings. Not that Mai knew about Noa's feelings, but she knew all too well about Yugi's.
"Girl! Look, what's it going to take to show you that this is both helpful AND fun? Maybe we can get Tea's mind off that stupid kid of hers from America that she's never going to find again and still thinks she's in love with! We can HELP her, Serenity!" Serenity stopped. That had hit her. So…this could help Tea. But she still wasn't completely convinced….
"Look, if it makes you join…after this whole ordeal…I'll…" she sighed. She couldn't believe she was going to say this, "I'll…confront Joey…about…you know-"
"REALLY? Them I'm in!" Serenity bounced. Now both Mai AND Serenity had forgotten about Yugi and Noa's feelings.
"Do I have any say in whether I stay or not?" Ryou inquired.
"NO," both Mai and Serenity replied, staring him down. That was good enough for him.
"I WHAT?" Joey jumped up upon hearing Yugi's request.
"You tell Mai that you love her before I tell Tea I love her. It's that simple. Or maybe I should put it into a way you would understand," Yugi took a deep breath, and imitated his best, "You tell Mai DAT you luv 'er 'efore I tell Tea I luv 'er. It's DAT simple." Yugi laughed. Joey fumed.
"Yug! You're not supposed ta be the "makin'-fun-o'-accents" type!" Joey pointed at him.
"Sorry, Joey, I couldn't resist," Yugi wiped a tear of laughter away. "Anyway…do you agree?"
"…Umm…I dunno…."
"Think about it: you do something to your benefit, and then you get me to do what you've been wanting me to do forever, right?" Yugi explained in about the worst sentence ever.
Joey swapped his hands this way and that, "Say wha'? Aw, forget it. I give. Just shake on it," he extended his hand. Yugi shook it.
Joey sighed, and stood up, almost exclaiming, "Alrigh'! Joseph Carter Wheeler is going to confess!"
"Carter?" Yugi snickered.
"YEAH! Carter IS my middle name!" Joey blushed, "Let's here your middle name den!"
Yugi rolled his eyes, "Michelangelo."
Joey blinked, "You're kidding, right?"
"…Yeah!" Yugi smiled.
"Well, wha' is it, den?"
"…Ryoko."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"DAT NAME ROCKS! HOW COME I GET STUCK WITH THE CRAPPY END OF THE NAME CHAIN!" Joey fumed.
"Uh, Joey, weren't you going to go tell Mai now?"
"Huh? What? Oh yeah!" Joey turned to leave. He took a step, and then stopped in mid-second step, "On second thought…I'll wait until tamorra (tomorrow)," Joey got a tad pink in the cheeks.
Yugi rolled his eyes again. Should'a known…. However, it did give him time before he had to come clean in front of Tea….
"So…any ideas on what else we can do?" Mai asked, as they had discussed other ways of getting to Tea.
Ryou sighed. This wasn't how he expected this vacation to go. And suddenly, something popped into his head. Oh Lord…it was quite the idea…one he would never have credited himself for EVER having. He wondered if Bakura has switched places with him for a brief second to give him the idea….
"Guys…I feel most guilty about this…but I think I just hatched up a raw plan," Ryou said. The girls smiled and leaned in to hear. Ryou whispered it to them, just incase there were anymore eavesdroppers outside. Mai and Serenity pulled away. Mai was smiling. Serenity was in shock that Ryou had actually come up with something like that.
"That's PERFECT!" Mai jumped up, "Blackmail, bribery and love all in the same idea? WONDERFUL!"
Not long after discussing more of this "plan," the threesome split up. Serenity returned to her room to o and relax for a while. She ran the card through the lock, when suddenly, she heard a laugh. It was a rich…deep…possibly even sexy laugh. It didn't last long, but Serenity gaped at the door from which se thought it came behind. It was a door near hers. It was Seto Kaiba's door.
Seto typed away on Tea's laptop. He closed and opened documents: searched Kaiba Corp by way of the web, and did everything else that he usually did on there. Finally, after a while, he had finished.
He went to the My Documents section to organize certain files, folders and other documents, when he noticed something he hadn't put there.
It was labeled: Doc. 2.
Seto smirked. How familiar. Well, he had to see what she had to say:
Seto opened up the document and there appeared a small letter, no larger than the one he had written to Tea:
Kaiba:
Well, well, you seem to be a normal human after all. Curiosity killed the cat, didn't it? And normal people do seem to have lots of curiosity in them. In you: I didn't think it was possible!
This brings me up to the point: did I not inform you about looking into MY STUFF? I appreciate the fact that you think it was good and all, however…some things are not to be read by people whose…certain…sometimes unlikable qualities are used…so openly! Argh! Just…just…ugh, forget it. I don't understand you: that's all I have to say!
Tea Gardner
PS: DON'T GO DIGGING AGAIN!
Seto laughed at the note. He just outright laughed for no reason at all. Really, he found the note humorous! It was the first time he had laughed like that in a while! Tea really had something in her at times. And this note deserved a comeback, as all great arguments do….
Seto saved the document he was writing. He looked at the clock: 4:23. He smiled. He still had plenty of time. Why not become "curious" again…and "fish" (yes, not "dig") through one of Gardner's stories? Maybe another one would be as good as the last one….
Everyone was seated at dinner. Various discussions were flying:
"Hey, Tea, can I talk to you after dinner?" Mai inquired.
"Sure."
"An' DAT i' 'ow 'ou 'ff a 'ole pice o' pi'a in yor mouf!" Joey talked...while his mouth was full of pizza. (For those of you who don't understand the "language of the messy eater," I shall translate Joey's sentence: "And THAT is how you stuff a whole piece of pizza in your mouth!"
"Interesting…" Duke watched him, warily.
"AWESOME! ME NEXT!" Tristan cried happily, grabbing TWO pieces of pizza. Serenity sighed, next to her brother.
"What's that, Yugi?" Ryou leaned over slightly, looking at the envelope in Yugi's hands.
"Dunno. The mailman arrived today, saying this was for me. The return address is from home…but couldn't grandpa just call the hotel if he wanted to speak to me? Or one of you guy's cell phones? Why write?" Yugi inquired.
"Well, are you going to see what it is?" Ryou asked.
"I'll…look later," Yugi returned, "After dinner or something."
"Seto…what were you doing, all cooped up today?" Mokuba inquired.
"Yeah. Doesn't sound like much fun: staying inside the whole ding-dong day," Noa returned.
"Ding-dong day?" Mokuba looked over at his brother.
"…Just a saying," Noa's cheeks pinked.
"I was…reading," Seto glanced over at Tea. At that precise moment, she had been laughing at Joey's pig-face. It was they way she looked when she laughed that gave such a beautiful expression to it: eyes almost closed in a gleeful way: a small smile parted on her lips: and the perfect view of her profile: just catching small strands of hair flowing further near her eyes than intended.
Okay…so his thoughts got a little descriptive. Seto Kaiba was always an overachiever.
Seto caught himself-not glancing, but staring –at Tea, and turned back to his brothers.
"Seto…what were you looking at?" Noa asked.
"More like, whom," Mokuba snickered.
Seto turned on his brother, "That is not funny. Besides: it wasn't a whom:…it was something else," he ended, slightly lame.
"Like what?" Noa pressed further.
"…Nothing."
Mokuba and Noa sighed. Sometimes Seto could e such and idiot.
"Hey Kaiba," a voice suddenly popped up. Seto looked up, slightly annoyed that one of the geeks was talking to him.
"What?" he looked up and saw Serenity trying to edge away from the stuffing contest that was going on between Joey and Tristan (which most of the others were watching intently, wanting to have some humor in their lives. Others, such as Yugi and Ryou, were sighing quietly in their seats, trying to seem as if they either weren't on the same side of the planet as those two: or they didn't know them.
"Look…I was just wondering…what was so funny this afternoon?" Serenity inquired.
"What do you mean?" Seto interrogated. He didn't remember anything funny….
"I mean…why were you laughing so much in your room?" The activity in the room stopped. The younger Kaibas looked up at their older sibling, waiting for an explanation.
The group watching/ignoring Joey and Tristan slowly turned their heads. Joey and Tristan looked up from their plates of food; the mouths dripping with pizza, vegetables and other such items that I do not wish to go into excruciating detail….
"Laughing? Kaiba laughing?" Mai stated. Seto gripped his fork tighter. Stupid Wheeler girl….
"What: were ya concoctin' some sorta plan for defeatin' Yugi in a duel or somethin'? 'Cause dat's da only time I EVEA hear you laugh," Joey replied.
"Maniacally, I must add," Ryou whispered to Yugi. Yugi snickered.
"No, mutt," Seto answered, "I was…reading something…slightly amusing."
"What were you reading, pray tell?" Duke asked.
"Since when did it become any of your business what I read and don't read?" Seto threw back at the group.
"Come one, Seto, we just wanna know," Mokuba tugged his shirt sleeve.
Seto sighed, "It was just a book. What else is there to read around here?" Seto scanned the room. He caught Tea glaring at him. Okay…so she knew what he had been reading. He then saw her mouth move slightly, to form the words: Digging AGAIN? Seto looked away. No need to get caught up in this battle again.
"What book? I thought you finished your two already," Noa said. Curse you, kid, Seto thought to himself.
"They're littered around this place. Now, if you all will stop pestering me, I'd like to continue eating," Seto said in a low, warning voice. Everyone took that as their sign to return to their activities. But Tea was still glaring at Seto: and Seto was watching her glare.
Tea fumed as she walked up the steps to her room. How DARE he! He was filtering through her stuff AGAIN! Did the guy have no regards to privacy? She stomped toward her door and noticed her laptop case lying against it. She grabbed it by the handle, and opened the door, marching into her room.
Mai sighed as she walked out of the dining room. Now where did that girl go? She still had to talk to her….
Mai's first thought to check was Tea's room, of course. The girl had left about ten minutes ago. Where else would she be? So, Mai walked up the steps to Tea's door.
Tea flushed in both anger and slight embarrassment. How? HOW COULD SHE OVERLOOK THESE LOOPHOLES, AND PERMIT HERSELF TO SAY SUCH THINGS WITHOUT REREADING THEM? Now, she had practically made a fool of herself!
Gardner:
Normal? You are actually calling me, normal? Well, I certainly have heard everything now.
Now: something that I wish to bring up. You said specifically, and I quote, "Don't go digging through MY STUFF." Well, technically, I didn't. You do have a folder there, named "MY STUFF," do you not? I swear I didn't go digging through there. I only went "fishing" through that story folder of yours.
Something else I'd like to take hint of. In your last notice, you referred to the term…" sometimes unlikable qualities." What are you trying to say, Gardner? Are you trying to hint that I don't annoy you as much as you proclaim? Do tell….
Kaiba
PS: By the way…that other little novel of yours…"By the Sands of Egypt"(?)…actually made the culture sound…would "interesting" be the right word? Or would the word be non-obnoxious? I suppose I'm just trying to say that you are doing well on it, without putting all of that "ancient magic" crap in there and infuriating the sanity out of me.
And the worst part of it was: she had to reply to him sometime: wither verbally; face-to-face…or in this format. It was best that he didn't see her going cherry-red as she tried to explain her reasoning for everything said.
Thus Tea began.
At least…until she heard a rapping on her door.
"Tea, girl, open up!" Mai "greeted."
"Whoops! Forgot about that talk…" Tea fumbled with her laptop, shutting down the lid, and sliding it under her bed.
She stumbled to the door and opened it, letting Mai into her room. Mai immediately plopped onto the bed, and motioned for Tea to sit down as well.
"So, uh…Mai. What did you want to talk about?" Tea inquired.
Mai exhaled slightly. She glanced over at Tea's nightstand, and sure enough, she saw it. Mai reached over and grabbed the face-down photograph. Tea was about to protest, when Mai pointed at the boy in the photo, "Him."
Tea frowned, "What about him?"
"Tea, I'm only going to say this sentence once, and only once. I can't stress it enough to you. Don't start rearing up on me when I say this:
"Girl: give him up."
Tea looked at her, slightly befuddled, "What the crap is that supposed to mean?"
"My next point. Look, Tea; there are plenty of other guys out there. And chances are one out of a million that you will find him again-"
"Why are you caring so much about my love life?" Tea protested.
"Why do you care so much about mine?" Mai retorted back. Tea stopped. She did have a point…always getting onto her about Joey. "Look: for once, I want to help. And I want to help you. It's not fair that you, of all people, should be stuck looking for someone that's not around in your life anymore. You shouldn't be alone. I feel, as a friend to friend, that you deserve better than to be alone all of your life: searching for nobody-" Tea opened her mouth to interrupt Mai's speech, however, Mai held up a finger and silenced her. "I'm not finished yet. Look, Tea: chances are: he's probably forgotten all about you anyway. It's been what? Six years?-"
"He hasn't forgotten me!" tea said, tears starting to brim her eyes.
"How do you know? Do you have some sort of telepathic connection to him?" Mai inquired.
"Well…how would YOU know?" Tea pouted, "You're…you're being a hypocrite yourself, you know!"
Mai frowned. The girl had a point. "Tea, I'm just worried. You've been trying to help out everyone for so long. You've helped me, Yugi, Joey," Mai began counting off her fingers, "Mokuba, Ryou-"
"Who says I helped Ryou?" Tea shot out. It was true that this morning she had helped him…but Mai hadn't been there.
"Ryou gave out some hints that he really appreciates the help: whatever it is that you gave him," Mai shrugged, "Anyway, so you helped him…and Ka-" she stopped herself. She wasn't supposed to know, in Tea's eyes, that she was helping Seto out.
"Who?" a vein pulsed in Tea's temple visibly.
"Ka…Kari!" Mai exclaimed, "Remember? Kari Simmons? From school? You always helped her with her homework!" Phew, Mai thought, THAT was a close one.
"Oh yeah…Kari. She was a nice girl," Tea tho9ught back.
"Anyway, Tea: my point is: give him," she pointed at the boy (Takanaka) in the picture, "up, and go for someone new. Heck, you've been hanging with guys…these guys for so long, I'd wonder if any of them got attached to you," Mai left the sentence hanging. Tea stared at her, with a look of is-there-someone-here-who-likes-me and why-the-heck-are-you-telling-me-this.
Mai stood up, walked to the door, and gave a final note, "Go find someone, Tea," and left. Tea just stared at the place Mai had stood a second ago. Slowly, though, she returned to earth, and took up the photograph Mai had left on the bed. She traced the outline of her American best friend.
"But…how can I give you up?" A single tear ran down her cheek.
Serenity reclined on her bed. She had been finishing that dream more and more the past few nights. It wasn't much, but she had heard herself say, "I love-" Question was: whom did she love?
Serenity felt that the answer was nearing. She was so close to finding out….
Can't you get to sleep, young one? Yami asked his protégé.
No, actually, I can't, Yugi replied to his Yami.
Why not?
So much on my mind….
I see. Can I help in any way?
…Yes, actually, you can. The biggest thing on my mind is a question you still have yet to answer.
Yes?
Because we are fused together: spirits and minds and all that; and we tend to feel what each other feels: do you or do you not have the same feeling I have for Tea?
… Yami stayed speechless. It was a most difficult question. How to answer…?
Well, Yami?
I…I don't know, Yugi. I suppose so…but I've never really thought about it. Actually, you seem to think about her more than I do.
I see…. So...you might not?
I might not.
Would you ever…get feelings for anyone else?
Why the sudden rush of questions, Yugi?
As I explained last time…if we love two different people…and say…tried to date them separately, it wouldn't really work, you know? It would look very wrong to the eye that doesn't know about you.
Very true, Yugi; very true. I'll keep that in mind and give you a fuller answer tomorrow. I'll think about it all tonight. You, however, must get some sleep.
Yeah, I will. With that, Yugi stopped talking (or thinking…while talking if you prefer) and turned over in bed to try and get some sleep. Suddenly, he shot up.
I totally forgot about that letter!
What letter?
The letter that came from Grandpa today!
Get some rest, Yugi. Open it tomorrow.
Oh…alright. I just wonder what he wants…. Yugi rolled over again. He closed his eyes, and sighed. Suddenly, another thought popped into his head. Hey, Yami?
Yes, Yugi?
You got a middle name?
Thus ends Ch. 11! Hope that last sentence at least made you smile a tid-bit. It was put in for a sentence of humor…though I know it wasn't ALL that funny. Okay, I didn't exactly drop any guys here…but still: the voting is coming to a close soon! PLEASE GET YOUR VOTES IN!
So, you like it? I hope you did! It was a LONG chapter, that's for sure! A lot of "love talk" today…hence the name of the chapter. Well, PLEASE REVIEW!