NOTE: Standings:
TEA:
Seto: 47
(Yugi: 12)
Noa: 2
SERENITY:
Mokuba: 37
Tristan: 2
Last chapter to vote for Serenity!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter 16: The Amusement Park
July 13
Mai pigged out on potato chips as she sat on the couch in the lobby, watching TV. They were mighty good chips too…original: the best. It was a commercial break, unfortunately. Who invented commercials anyway? They should have been sued for the cause of Mass Boredom and Anxiety.
While munching away quietly on the sofa, all by her lonesome, her phone suddenly rang. Mai jumped, but then answered the phone.
"'Lo? Mai here."
"Hey, Mai! It's Miho!"
"Oh, hey, Miho!" Mai smiled. "Long time no see! How's your vacation gone? Glad to be out of high school?" Miho had gone to Domino High, just as everyone else had (or did) gone there. (AN: YES, Mai HAD gone to high school AND graduated, as she IS in LIL! I don't want her to be an adult! Cut me some slack….) Miho had also been one of Mai's friends there: a great friend. The girl was known for her bubbly personality and her great parties.
"Yeah, I suppose. I'm gonna miss parts of it though. You?"
"Yeah, I guess. So…what's up?"
"What? You don't know why I called?"
"Ummm…no?"
"Mai! What happens every summer!"
Mai thought for a moment. Every summer…Miho…. It suddenly hit her, "Your Summer Party! Sorry, I forgot about it for a second! A lot's been on my mind lately." That much was true.
"Yeah! So? Can you come? It's in three days starting at seven o' clock!"
"And ending?" Mai asked. Her parties always seemed to end rather late.
"Er…three at the latest," Miho laughed slightly. "So, can you come?"
"Ye-wait. Sorry, Miho, I'm kinda…on vacation with the rest of the gang, you know?"
"On vacation with whom?"
"You know! Yugi, Joey and all of them!"
"Oh! Where are you on vacation?"
"At a beach sometime away from Domino. Sorry I can't make it."
"Ah! But you can! See, I'm at my beach house! (She was also a pretty wealthy child.) And for all of those in Domino, I'm recruiting some limos to go and fetch them. But you guys…where are you? I'm sure it's not that far from where I am!"
"Um…just off the highway. About forty-five minutes or so from Yokohama-"
"Hey, we aren't that far from each other after all! Heck, at most, I'm probably twenty minutes away from you guys!"
"Really? That rocks! You know I never miss your parties if I can help it."
"Yeah! And this one is gonna rock! Being at the beach and all. I mean…it won't be a beach party, but it will be on the beach! It'll be more like…a Hawaiian lu-au or something, you know? Pretty casual, yet still: flashy."
"Believe me, I know. But…do you think it'd be rude if I just left this beach house to go to your party?"
"Bring them all along!" Miho cried happily. "The more, the merrier!"
Mai thought for a minute, "…Even Kaiba?"
Miho stopped, "Say what?"
"Even Kaiba? He's here too, surprisingly."
"Whoa! That's awesome! Bring him along too…if you can!"
"Alrighty…but I'm sure his brothers…and Joey's sister will have to stay. What with you and the-"
"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Miho replied, a bit hurriedly and flustered.
"No, not really. We just had a problem with that the other day. It was really bad for poor Mokuba Kaiba."
"Ouch. Yeah…maybe the ones that are younger than seniors-"
"EX-seniors," Mai corrected.
"Right. Maybe they should stay. But they can look after themselves, right? You all can come, right!"
"Yeah, of course! I'll give you a count later, when I ask them."
"Okay! Thanks, Mai! Later!"
"Bye, hun," Mai smiled, hanging up. This would be great! Not only were Miho's parties sources of grand fun, but getting Kaiba out into this kind of world would do him some good!
Mai settled back on the couch, pleased with herself. She had a complementary chip to go along with it.
While watching more commercials, one especially caught her eye. She smiled at the thought. Those kinds of places were fun…and she hadn't been to one in ages. They weren't doing anything today…and there was a special discount, because of its first opening week! Mai smiled even more. What a perfect way to spend the day! She would tell everyone when they got up.
Mai had another complementary chip for her good work.
Joey spotted Mai down on the couch. She was taking up his favorite two pastimes: eating and watching TV. He smiled. He was rubbing off on her already! Joey quietly crept down the stairs and got up behind her. She seemed completely zoned out from her surrounding.
Timing himself carefully, he quickly nudged her sharply in the back, crying, "Boo!" in the process.
Mai jumped and screamed so loudly, that the radius of people for the next five miles must have heard. Several chips jumped out of the bag in her sudden jerk and fell to the floor. Joey's smile fell. What a waste of good food….
"Joey, you…you…ugh, I don't even know what you are!" Mai turned on him and started making to swipe at him. Joey leaned back, and Mai began falling over the edge of the couch.
"You bum!" Mai shrieked as she was falling. Grabbing Joey for support, she tipped him over in the process and landed on top of him with a great thud. The two looked into each other's eyes for a second. It had been a while since they had kissed….
"Oh, is this all? I thought something more…important had happened," a voice sneered from the top of the stairs. The two suddenly looked up, expecting to see who they expectedly saw.
Seto cocked an eyebrow at them, "Honestly, Valentine, I don't know where your taste lies in men…." He snuffed and then walked away back towards his room.
"What a giant baka," Mai hissed.
"Yeah…well…uh, can we get on with what we were doing?" Joey said rather impatiently.
Mai turned around to face him again and laughed, "Eager, aren't you?" In fact, Joey was so eager, that his lips had captured hers before she could regain breath from that last comment.
"Hey Joey-!...?" Tristan suddenly skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs. "Oh…never-"
"What!" Joey yelled at him. Mai jumped up, and Joey sat up.
"Uh…well-"
"Out wit' it!"
"Uh…you know where Serenity is?" Joey's face paled.
"You checked outside?"
"Looked out the window. No one's out there. I checked her room too. No answer."
"Ugh, not again!" Joey clutched his hair, "Tea's probably behind dis again!" the blond ran up to Tea's room and was about to knock, when he noticed the door already slightly open. He heard an audible sigh in there, and what sounded like a sniff.
Joey opened the door quietly, stepping inside. Tea had her back to the door. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking at something in her lap.
Joey cleared his throat, "Uh…Tea? You alright?"
Tea whirled around, "Huh? What? Joey?"
"You alright?" Joey walked in a little further.
"Of course!" Tea suddenly put on a smile, shoving what she had been looking at under the bed, "Is there something you wanted?"
"Do you know where Serenity might be?" Joey asked quizzically, "Heck…it's like…almost ten o' clock and she's hasn't shown herself anywhere."
"This time, I can't tell you where she is, because I don't know," Tea answered truthfully.
"Really?" Joey peered at her.
"Really."
"Where could she have run off to?" Joey turned around. The gears in Tea's mind where beginning to whirl.
"Hey Joey?"
"Yeah?" he turned around. "What?"
Tea hesitated, and then answered slowly, "…Have you checked Mokuba's room?"
Something from downstairs had awoken Mokuba. It had sounded like a scream of some sort. His head was not hurting this morning, thankfully. That meant it all had flushed out of his system! He just hoped he wouldn't become addicted to it. Serenity had already said she was "sort of" addicted.
Speaking of Serenity…he never remembered her leaving last night. Mokuba turned off his back and onto his side so that he face the center of the bed. His eyes suddenly widened. The sun was shining brightly outside, and through the cracks in the blinds, rays of light poured into the room, illuminating Serenity's body.
Her body…which was lying on the bed right next to him.
He flushed so badly, it wasn't even funny.
She had a smile on her face, and was facing him. Her hair was spread out in many directions, and her hand was up on the pillows.
That was when he noticed that his forearm was being clenched lightly. Serenity was holding it.
Mokuba smiled in sheer delight. This was great! Kind of weird…but great! But when had the two gone to sleep last night? And why had serenity stayed in here? What if Seto had come in? Judging by the fact that she wasn't gone, he probably hadn't: a very thankful consequence.
Serenity started shifting. Mokuba kept still, not wanting to wake her. She began turning over, but ended up rolling onto her other side. Mokuba pulled his hand back so that she wouldn't land on it.
Rolling right so that he back was against Mokuba's chest.
Mokuba blushed. This was the kind of position sleeping couples usually took (not the "sick" kind of sleeping though!). He blinked as he lowered his elevated arm and hugged it around Serenity's middle.
He must have been the luckiest kid in the world.
A hard knocking sounded on his door. Serenity's eyes popped open and Mokuba lifted his arm off her immediately.
"Sh-" he silenced himself from whispering the vulgar word.
"Mokuba? Are you up yet?" Seto's voice sounded.
Serenity sat up and looked down at Mokuba from behind. He could see a strong hint of red in her cheeks.
"Get off to the side," he commanded, hopping out of bed, "Coming Seto!" he called out. Serenity jumped off.
"What now?"
"Just stand there!" he whispered back.
"Mokuba? …Who are you talking to?" Seto asked suspiciously as Mokuba opened the door and smiled innocently.
"…Just Serenity," Mokuba stepped aside to let Seto in and see the girl standing off to the side.
"What's she doing in here?" he narrowed his eyes immediately.
"She came to see if I was okay. Is that so bad?" Mokuba narrowed his own eyes.
"Hey!" Joey suddenly skidded into view in the threshold, "Have you seen…Serenity!" Joey cried out, running into the room, "Where have you been? I was startin' ta get worried! I was wonderin' if you had gone out again!"
"I'm here, Joey. I've just been in Mokuba's room for a while," she glanced at the ebony-haired boy. A while…sure. More like the WHOLE night.
"Doin' what?" Joey raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing her.
"Talking, what else!" Serenity clenched her fists. Where were older brothers so overprotective? What did Seto and Joey think they had been doing!
Serenity suddenly glanced at the bed. Oh…maybe they thought it was…something like that…oh gosh…and in our pajamas too? That can't look too good….
"You sure?" Joey lowered his voice, to a questioning whisper.
"Yes," Serenity replied. Mokuba had overhead. He was just glad that Seto and Joey hadn't seen how they had looked earlier. That would have set them off.
"Well, come on. Mai wants to tell us all something," Joey grabbed his sister's hand and dragged her out.
"Us too?" Mokuba called out.
"Yeah!" Joey called back.
"Come on, Seto!" Mokuba grabbed his brother's arm.
"Mokuba…anything Valentine has to say can't be that important."
"Whatever," Mokuba muttered. They walked down the stairs, and saw everyone else gathered there. Mai was standing on a chair in front of the group.
"Alright: good! Everyone's here!" Mai clapped her hands together, "Now. I was watching TV this morning…and I was struck with a great idea! We're not doing anything special today, right?"
There were murmurs of 'yes's' in the audience.
"Good. Now, I was thinking that we should all go out somewhere. But not just anywhere. Oh no. There's this new place open not too far from here. It's got a discount price – and otherwise, isn't too expensive to start with. It's small, but not too small-"
"Get on with the point, Valentine," Seto grunted. Mai scowled.
"Well, alright. What do you all say about going to Great Samurai: Great Japan! The new amusement park that's opened up?" Mai asked.
"Aw, man, I love dose places!" Joey punched his fist into the air, "Dey rock!"
"I haven't been to one of those in years!" Duke agreed.
"The last time I went to one of those places, I was too small to ride almost anything," Yugi stated.
"You sure you're tall enough now?" Tristan joked. Yugi glared amusingly at his friend.
"I get nauseous, but having fun is a whole lot better!" Ryou smiled.
"That sounds fun! Can we go with them Seto, please!" Mokuba turned to his brother. Noa made his way through the crowed to his two siblings, and took up Mokuba's position in pleading as well.
Seto rolled his eyes, "Haven't we been to enough amusement-"
"NO!" they both shouted back. Seto looked quite taken back by the shout.
"What we mean to say is," Mokuba started, "You and I haven't been to one in a few years: Noa hasn't been to one in like…six years…talk about deprivation, and Kaiba Land isn't supposed to start construction for another four years!"
"Noa had a pretty good scaling of it not too long ago, though," Seto looked back at the boy.
Noa's eyebrows furrowed, "I did? …No…That must have been Gozaburo-"
"It was still your virtual reality world," Seto replied, smirking.
"Can't we go though?" Mokuba pleaded, "I mean…I guess you don't have to come since you really don't look like you want to-"
"No way," Seto replied, "I don't trust this group with you two. A couple of days ago was enough to prove that to me…." Some of the group shifted uneasily.
"Come on, Kaiba, it could…it will be really fun!" Tea piped up, smiling. Seto looked over at her. Something about that smile….
"Whatever," Seto replied, "Just-"
"YES!" Mokuba and Noa high-fived each other.
"Great! Then let's pack lunch and make to leave in half an hour!" Mai punched the air herself. "Oh, wait! One more thing!"
Everyone that had been turning to leave, stopped. They looked back up at her.
"You all remember Miho, right?" More agreeing murmurs…. "Yeah, well, she throws this huge, gigantic party EVERY summer! They're so much fun, I swear! She's given me permission to invite you all over for it! It's in three days: starting at seven. What do you all say? Oh, and before I forget, sorry, Serenity, Mokuba and Noa, but…er…it's probably best that you don't…well…come."
"Why not?" Serenity suddenly piped up.
"Certain…reasons," Mai looked away, "High on the priority list…high, you know? Yeah…."
Noa looked slightly confused, and Serenity was still trying to work it out, when realization hit Mokuba.
"Oh! I mean…uh, oh," he said, "We'll stay, don't worry."
"What are you hinting at, Valentine?" Seto jutted into the conversation.
"You'll see in three days, right?" Mai cocked an eyebrow.
"I most certainly will n-"
"WILL be comin' ta this awesome shin-dig!" Joey nudged him harshly in the side. Seto glared at him, but Joey took no notice. After all, seeing Seto Kaiba at a teen party was something he did not want to miss. Heck, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance opportunity!
"Great! Then it's all settled! I'll call her back, and we'll all get ready to go!"
Everyone was ready to go by the half-hour. They all had on short-sleeves, tennis-shoes and shorts (except Seto, who had gone with traditional pants….can't get him into shorts worth anything….), as July was a very warm month...and walking around an amusement park overheated was not the most comfortable way to go.
They left, following the directions Mai had planned for them.
The gang arrived at the park about half an hour later. Driving into the parking lot (they had to pay to get into that as well), they noticed that the park wasn't as big as most major amusement parks, but it was a decent size: at least five roller coasters could be seen, and other towering amusements.
They all walked up to the front gates (Seto walking rather downtrodden), and paid a smaller amount than usual for the fee. They had a discount for this being the very first week of its opening, and, the park wasn't as big as other places, making the original prices a little bit less.
So the money was a good spend. Meeting on the inside, where there was a gargantuan pool of water with a fountain spurting water into the air, Serenity took out a map and looked at it, "Where should we go first?"
Tea looked over her shoulder, "I say we catch the roller coasters while the lines are shorter," she smirked as if she was thinking up one nasty plot.
"How'd I know you were gonna say dat?" Joey asked, shaking his head, "Always da same wit' you. Coast'as, coast'as and more coast'as ((coasters, coasters and more coasters))."
"Hey, I love 'em too, ya know! And I say we go with Tea's idea! Well, for anyone who can tolerate them," Tristan looked around, "Who's in this group? I suppose that's what it'll end up being two groups? One for and one against the roller coasters?"
"Sounds good to me," Ryou added in, "Stand near Tea if your in that group. I can go either way…it doesn't really matter…" he added in afterthought.
It turned out that only Ryou and Seto had not gone to stand directly near Tea.
"Mai? You're here?" Duke looked slightly amazed.
"Well, yeah, hun! Since when haven't I taken fun risks? I adore these rides…though they do tend to mess up me hair…" she suddenly pulled out a ponytail holder and tied her hair up.
"Just count me out of this," Seto stated, "I'm only here to watch out for Mokuba and Noa."
"Ah, you're no fun," Joey waved his hand in Kaiba's direction.
"Oh, come on, Seto! You know as well as we do that you don't mind roller coasters so much. I remember you used to like them a lot!" Mokuba ran from the group and tugged on his brother's arm to get him to move. Seto rolled his eyes and gave in. How could he resist his brother when he had failed otherwise so many times? The act was beginning to be dubbed "useless." And Seto Kaiba hated useless ideas.
"Well, then, it's probably a good thing I haven't eaten in a while," Ryou smiled walking over to the group, "Maybe I won't get so sick…."
"You don't have to come on, Ryou," Duke said.
"No, no, I want to. I enjoy them…it's just the fact of what happens afterwards that I don't enjoy too much."
"So you'll let him stay, but I have to go?" Seto muttered.
"What's da matter Kaiba? Scared?" Joey narrowed his eyes and smirked happily.
"Don't flatter yourself," Seto retorted.
So the group made its way towards the nearest roller coaster: the Big Five. Seto narrowed his eyes at the name.
"Why on earth is it named that?"
Yugi looked up, "Coincidence, isn't it?"
Tristan looked at the map Serenity was holding, "It says here that the thing has five loops, five corkscrews, and five humongous drops. It's a three minute ride."
"So I see," Ryou looked up at the looming roller coaster rather uneasily.
"Bring it on!" Tea laughed.
Joey was still trying to count everything that the brochure had talked about.
"Hey, Yug! You tall enough for this?" Duke laughed, standing by the height chart, "Hair doesn't count!"
"I am too tall enough!" Yugi marched over there to prove his point. He was about three centimeters over the limit, "See!"
"You cut it close there, bud," Tristan commented.
"Come on! What are we waiting for? Next year?" Mokuba ran forward into the line. Noa followed, the rest of the group close behind.
The wait in line took about ten minutes: all of which Seto figured he could be doing better things.
What better things, he asked himself, your brothers took away all of your technology. Well, if I was back at the beach, I could have asked Tea for her laptop. That would have been more useful than sitting here.
They finally reached the point of decision: which row of seats to choose?
"Who's up for the front row?" Tea clapped. Nobody stepped forward. She sighed, "Oh come on! Wimps," she turned and walked towards the front.
"Wait, Tea! I'll come!" Yugi ran towards her.
"Thank you!" Tea smiled back at him.
"I prefer the back, if you don't mind," Mai looked around, heading to the back row.
"I'll go with ya!" Joey said. The rain had three seats per row.
"Let's go near the front…but not in the front," Serenity pulled Mokuba and Noa along a few rows down.
Tristan's face fell, "I'm gonna be right behind you, Serenity!" he got into the row behind her.
"I have nowhere better to go," Duke shrugged, walking to go with Tristan.
"I'll go in the back with Joey and Mai. Perhaps I won't become so ill back there," Ryou sided.
Seto sighed. He was the last person left. His brothers had taken up spots with Serenity. He sighed. He supposed the front was the best. That way, Yugi couldn't best him at anything, especially getting front row and center. He walked in back of Yugi.
"You're here too, Kaiba?" Tea looked around.
"There was no where else to go, now was there?" he retorted.
"You have a point," Tea nodded. She scanned the lines, "Looks like we'll be going on before any of the others."
"We'll wait for them at the end of the line," Yugi replied. Their turn came up two rides later. Tea climbed to the end of the row; Yugi sat in the middle, and Seto reluctantly sat on the other end. They pulled the harnesses down, and the attendant made sure they were strapped in. Then, the ride began.
The train slowly crept out of the station, rolling down the small hill that gave it a boost of energy. They turned to the left, and immediately started a climb.
Tea looked around as they climbed. It gave her heart a bit of a jolt to see them climbing up so high (who wasn't afraid of such heights?) put she decided that it was time to poke a little friendly fun at Yugi, who, always being so close to the ground, hated strong heights.
"Wow! Isn't the view delightful? Hmm…maybe we can see the beach from here! Well, there's one part of the coastline," Tea looked out over the horizon. They were only three-quarters of the way up.
"All look! Another coaster is going up the ramp!" Tea looked in the other direction.
"Tea-" Yugi started.
"Stop." Tea and Yugi whipped their heads around. That was Seto who had spoken!
"Are you saying that you're actually afraid of heights?"
"I'm not saying that," Seto retorted, "I'm just not used to being up here…this vulnerable…and being able to look down at the ground all the time. If you haven't noticed, I don't usually look down at the ground on a helicopter-"
"But you've dueled on top of a blimp before! You told us that it was…so many miles in the air!" Yugi answered.
"Did I ever look down?" Seto gritted his teeth. "I just have to get used to it…and Gardner isn't helping!"
"Well! That brightens my day a whole bunch!" She looked ahead. "Hey, look, Yugi! We're going down!"
"Wha- AHHHHH!" Yugi yelped. The people behind them yelled as well, as they went plummeting down, almost vertically, down towards the earth.
Tea laughed. She was enjoying this! The train flew into a tunnel that led underground. It pulled up and they came up out of the ground, and started a loop. However, at the top of the loop, they spun into a corkscrew. A camera flashed as they passed. After that, they flew down for the rest of the loop.
Yugi had gone very quiet on their ride. Tea looked over and laughed. He was pressed at the back of his seat, his eyes wide with terror. She couldn't see Seto from were she was positioned.
The ride continued: flying up to heights, down into loops or corkscrews, and around giant bends. A couple minutes later, they slowly down sharply, and crept back into the train station.
Yugi saw Serenity, Mokuba and Noa ready at the gate. They waved and smirked. Yugi waved shakily and weakly. Tea laughed again, taking in deep breaths of air.
The train let up and the harnessed flew up. The three of them got out and onto the opposite platform. As they walked back towards the exit of the ride, Tea took the time to inspect her comrades. Yugi was still wide-eyed, and looked a little pale. Seto looked just a tad shaken, and was constantly running a hand through his hair, and grabbing the bridge of his nose.
They were almost near the end of the exit, when Tea said, "Honestly, can you two be anymore…oh, I don't know…pat-"
"Be right back!" Yugi suddenly cried, holding a hand to his mouth and running to the bathrooms on the other side of the street that the roller coaster was on.
Tea giggled slightly. If Yugi was that riled up, she couldn't wait to see Ryou.
She turned to Seto. He was trying to comb his fingers through his hair: it had flown into a thousand different directions on the windy ride.
"All messed up now…" he muttered, trying to look up, although the idea didn't work.
Tea sighed and took out a comb from her back pocket, "Here, already," she walked up to him. She scowled slightly, "Oh, bend down already! You're far too tall," she said, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him down.
She began running the comb through his hair, flattening it, and putting it back into its sleek ways. At times, she used her fingers to get what the comb couldn't.
Call him crazy, but Seto thought…it actually felt kind of nice…her running her hands through his hair.
WHAT!
He snapped his head up while Tea was still trying to comb it, "I think you've done enough," Seto replied.
Tea's eyebrows rose, "Well…okay." She pocketed the comb. In truth, she had, but she didn't want to admit it. Really, she had used the last few seconds to run her fingers through that gorgeous, silky hair of his. She hadn't known just how fine it felt!
Tea looked behind her and smiled. "You go on to the exit. I just want to check something out."
"Whatever," Seto replied, wanting the excuse to get away from her. She was beginning to take a toll on him.
Serenity, Mokuba and Noa came running out a few minutes later.
"That was wicked awesome!" Mokuba cried out.
"Totally!" Serenity cried.
"I swear: that's the best ride I've ever been on!" Noa smiled.
"How did you like it, Seto?" Mokuba asked, upon reaching him. Tea was not back yet. Neither was Yugi.
"It was fine, I guess."
"Ha! I was more than that!" Tea suddenly came up behind them, "If you want a laugh, then look at this!" she held out something that she was carrying to the threesome. Noa took hold of it and set it out so that he, Mokuba and Serenity could view it. Seto's curiosity peaked, and he leaned in slightly to try to get a better view.
Laughter burst forth from the threesome.
"Oh my gosh! Look at Yugi!" Serenity laughed, "He's terrified!"
"But Seto doesn't look half bad either," Noa laughed.
"What the?" Seto snatched up what they were holding.
It was that blasted photograph the coaster had taken of them.
Tea was laughing her head off in the picture (as she was right there, seeing the expression on Seto's face), Yugi's eyes were wide with fright, and his mouth was open wide enough to house about ten flies comfortably. Seto…well, he had tried to keep the calm manner, and it had worked to a degree. His knuckles were slightly white in the picture, from grasping the harness and his eyes had become just a bit wider. He had failed to keep his mouth straight though: he was biting his lip.
"You actually purchased this thing?" he threw it towards her, just a tad embarrassed.
Tea caught it, "Hey! Careful with the cargo!"
"We looked at our picture: but it wasn't that good," Serenity laughed.
"Too true," Mokuba agreed.
The other two groups: Ryou Joey and Mai and Tristan and Duke appeared not long after.
"You get a picta' too?" Joey asked, holding up his own, "Come on: we'll trade on da count o' three. Three!" he cried, thrusting his picture towards Tea. Tea grabbed his and let him have hers.
She laughed upon receiving it. But her laugh was nothing compared to Joey's.
"Hey guys! Look at dis! Kaiba actually looks a bit freaked out! Ha!" he laughed pointed at the picture.
"Will you knock it off, Wheeler?" Seto crossed his arms.
"Embarrassed, are we?" Joey cocked a grin. "This is a gold mine, here, Tea!"
"Well, yours is too! Ryou: you're priceless!" she laughed. He looked a sickly green in the picture, yet appeared fine in real life.
"Isn't it amazing? I felt retched on that train –fun as it was- but I haven't gotten sick yet! It's a miracle!" he smiled. Yugi suddenly came out of the bathroom, still looking a bit pale.
"Oh…that was bad," he replied, walking up to the group. Ryou's eyes widened.
"On second thought – EXCUSE ME!" he ran off to where Yugi had just left.
"What have you got there?" Yugi asked Tea.
"Joey, Mai and Ryou's picture. Joey has ours," she answered. She continued to look over the other picture. Mai was screaming – her ponytail whipping all over the place and Joey was grasping onto the harness with all his might – managing to keep a straight –albeit, frightened- face.
"Tea," Duke looked over the picture, "How can you manage to laugh like that? I sure wasn't laughing…but I wasn't scared either," Duke affirmed.
"Seeing Yugi was really funny – that helped. But I also get a kick out of roller coasters. It's my nature," Tea replied.
"Back," Ryou announced, "It wasn't as bad as I thought."
"No need for details, hun," Mai waved him off.
"Where to next?" Serenity asked. She looked down at the map with the rest of them. She spotted something on there and looked up, not too far away.
"I know where I want to go!" she smiled, "Let's go on Cataract Mountain!"
"Hmm, I don't know," Mai replied, "I was thinking we would do a water ride after lunch: it's the heat of day and we won't want to do anything major just after eating."
"I agree wholeheartedly!" Ryou supplied.
"If you want to go, though, Serenity," Joey said, "Bring someone along and go. I had a ride I just wanted to check out myself…. You can do that, and I'll go do the other one, okay?"
"And I was planning on visiting the Spin Cycle, not too far off," Tea pointed to the map. The Spin Cycle was a ride that you sat in with two rows of people. It was pretty much a gigantic swing that twirled you upside down constantly.
"I'll go with you on that, Tea," Duke looked at it on the map, "Looks fun!"
"Well, then, who's coming with me?" Serenity asked.
"I'll go!" Mokuba jolted forth first. Upon noticing that he had been a little too overexcited, he added, "A water ride sounds pleasurable right about now."
"I'll go with you then, little bro," Noa added. Tristan had been about to offer to go with Serenity, but being surrounded by those small kids wasn't exactly what he had been anticipating. What he really had wanted was to get Serenity to himself….
"I'll go with you, Tea," he added.
"I think Ryou and I will hang low for a while," Yugi said, "Just a little bit: a couple minutes at most-"
"Are you kidding, Yugi? I was so close!" Ryou took a pepped up stance, "I will go on that ride! I will not get ill!"
"Calm yourself there, kid," Mai patted his back, "Don't get so hyped up."
"I'll just stay behind then…with Kaiba, I suppose," Yugi looked over at his rival. He had concluded that Seto was probably staying behind. Seto just gave a small nod.
"Come on, Mai," Joey grabbed her hand, "I wanted to go on dis ride wit' you." He started walking away with her.
"Meet you back here afterwards!" Tea called out. Mai gave a thumbs-up to note that she, at least, had heard.
"Come on, then, gentlemen, let us be on our way," Tea took the map from Serenity and walked with her group to the Spin Cycle.
"See you soon, Seto," Mokuba waved, running with Serenity and Noa to the Cataract Mountain.
Yugi and Seto found a bench and sat there. Seto watched his brothers disappear into the line not far off. He turned his head around then, and scanned the area.
"Be right back," he said, standing up and walking away.
"Okay…alright," Yugi watched him go. Seto walked a little away and disappeared behind a tight corner that Yugi could not see past.
He waited.
Seto came back soon enough with something in his hand. The boy popped something into his mouth. Seto sat down and Yugi noticed that he had gotten himself a large and steamy pretzel.
Seto looked over and saw Yugi watching him, "You didn't think I was just going to sit here, did you? Not when they've got this stuff around…" he muttered the last part.
Yugi almost laughed. So Seto had a bit of a junk-tooth too, as Joey would call it. It seemed that Mokuba and Noa weren't the only Kaibas with a craving for junk food.
"Here," Seto suddenly handed Yugi something. Yugi looked at it and took it. Seto had brought him back a pretzel.
"Hey, thanks," he said.
"Think nothing of it," Seto replied, just watching the crowd, occasionally popping more pretzel into his mouth.
Yugi dug through his pocket to find his wallet and pay Seto back, but Seto stopped him, "Don't. It's fine."
Yugi's eyes widened, "Okay…thanks again." Seto didn't answer. Yugi happily ate his pretzel. Seto was changing over this vacation after all….
Serenity climbed into he front of the log-shaped boat; Mokuba clambered in behind and Noa behind him. The seats were uncomfortably wet: but the more wet the better. Serenity loved these types of rides. Water was so much fun!
"Ready?" she turned around, smirking mischievously at the two boys.
"You bet," Noa gave her a thumbs-up.
"This is going to be great," Mokuba remarked.
"And the line was so short! That was half of the reason I wanted to go now," Serenity said, as the log made its way off the conveyor belt and landed in the water.
The log swished its way through the half tunnel of pipes. It scraped up against the sides constantly, knocking little tidbits of water in.
"Gosh…I haven't had this much fun in years!" Noa looked around, "I really do feel alive again!"
Mokuba smiled to himself. That was pretty much the whole reason he had wanted Seto to give into letting the family go on this vacation. He wanted Noa to experience a real life again: not some virtual fantasy.
"Look out ahead!" Serenity pointed. Ahead, there was a bumpy section of water: part of the reason for the naming of the ride Cataract Mountain.
"Oh, fun!" Mokuba laughed.
"Ye-ah!" Serenity laughed as they went plunging around in the water. Spray lapped up on all sides of them, splashing them with droplets and gushes of water. The trio laughed happily as they suddenly started making their way up.
"Yes! The drops are always the best!" Noa stated.
"Well hold on, because they're faking up out!" Serenity cried as they suddenly went over the top and down the slide. Whoops of joy came from the younger ones as the flew down the slid, getting sprayed with automatic fountains. They immediately felt themselves going up once more. This time, upon reaching the top, they cruised along again (hitting a few "cataracts" along the way), scraping their way along the water.
"Do you see the end yet?" Mokuba asked Serenity.
"Maybe…ah! There it is! We're approaching the gate!" The log suddenly bumped into a bumper gate that stopped them from going down. The red light turned green, and a maniacal laugh sounded from some hidden speaker.
"HOLY CRAP!" Serenity shouted, grabbing the ends of the log tightly. The slide was completely one long smooth run. And they were really high up.
Noa laughed behind them, and Mokuba put up his hands just for fun.
Down they slid, right into a great pool of water that rushed over the front and sides of the boat, soaking the kids' bottoms. Sprouts of water had gone up all around them, getting the rest of their bodies wet. Not to mention the great wave of water that the front of the boat causes on impact with the stream. It flew over and landed atop them, soaking their hair.
After that was done, Serenity laughed, "That was for sure the wettest ride I have ever been on!"
"And fun, too!" Mokuba wiped his bangs away, spitting the water that was dripping from his mouth and hair away.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Noa put his arms in the air.
So engrossed in their conversation, the three failed to notice the last wild cataract before the platform. They were given another wild jostling and more wetness to add to their collection.
As the boat pulled into the dock, the three of them stepped out of it, laughing. The log was sent down a separate way, to get drained of the high excess water.
"That was great!" Serenity sighed, ringing out her hair.
"Totally!" Mokuba looked at her, laughing. He suddenly averted his eyes. Mokuba started unzipping the vest he was wearing. "Hey, Serenity…?"
"Yeah?" she looked at him. Why wasn't he looking at her?
Noa looked over in the direction, just out of curiosity, noticed something and slowly looked away. He understood now.
"Well…er…here…you can wear this for a while," Mokuba held out his vest. Serenity cocked her head and took it. She looked down at herself and almost laughed, realizing what was going on.
She had been stupid enough o wear a white shirt! And water plus white equals VERY MUCH SEE-THROUGH.
She reddened slightly, from embarrassment and humor and shrugged the vest on, zipping it up all the way, "Hey, thanks. That was very gentleman-like of you," she smiled.
"Y-You're welcome," he stuttered, finding it better now to look back at her.
Not that the view before hadn't been pleasing….
"Joey, where are we going?" Mai asked, as he dragged her along.
"I saw this…ride a little while back, and thought you might be interested…" he said, looked down the road. He spotted it and walked towards it with her. Mai looked up at where he was going.
"Joey!" she laughed, "You're not serious, are you?"
"What if I am?" he stopped, facing her, right under the Tunnel of Love sign.
"Well if you are," Mai lowered her eyelids seductively, "Then that's very romantic of you," she smiled, placing her hand on his jaw and bringing it down to kiss him.
Joey's lips happily met hers, and for a few pleasing seconds, they remained that way. He suddenly broke away and said, "Just wait a few minutes…when we're not exactly in public."
"Ha!" Mai laughed, but agreed. They walked into the line, Mai resting her head on Joey's arm, while he held her by the waist.
They were on the ride in no time at all. It was just a simple red boa with a few hearts on it that guided them along a river-like passage. A romantic song was playing in the background, and there were little cupids hovering around.
"A little corny," Mai laughed, "But very relaxing," she lay against Joey once more.
"Speakin' of relaxin'…aren't we forgettin' somethin'?"
"Like what?" she looked up at him.
"Oh I dunno…maybe sumthin' like dis?" he leaned down and kissed her again. Mai wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
In their break for air, she gasped, "How long is this ride?"
"Five minutes, I t'ink," Joey replied, his eyes barely open.
"It'll have to do," Mai smiled, crushing their lips together again.
Seto finished the last of his pretzel. My, had that been tasty. Butter; salt; warmth…good Lord, it was like Heaven on Earth!
A portion of his mind wandered over elsewhere….
Was Tea like Heaven on Earth?
Seto suddenly crumpled up the paper that had held his pretzel. What a thought! What was going through his mind? Ever since she had come up and flirt with him yesterday, his mind had been wandering into those kind of thoughts-
More that usual, another voice told him. He scowled. Yeah, more than usual. He usually never thought about her! …For the most part at least….
Seto licked his lips, trying to get the buttery taste off. Of course, this small action just reminded him of yesterday once more.
Good God! he thought angrily, tossing his paper into the nearest trash can.
Yugi was just finishing up his pretzel. He decided to follow suit and toss his paper away too. His skimmed the rim and fell in after threatening to fall back to the ground.
"Never was good at basketball," he smirked to himself. He ate the rest of the pretzel and looked up, "Hey! Here come Serenity and the others!"
Seto looked up. The three looked positively soaked! And why was Serenity wearing his brother's vest? The three approached the rival duo, still talking happily.
"How was it, guys?" Yugi asked.
"Positively, absolutely fantastic!" Noa stretched.
"Glad you liked it," Seto smiled a bit, sincerely.
Noa smiled back. Seto then looked over at Mokuba and made a small and almost unnoticeable gesture with his head towards Serenity and the vest. Mokuba's eyes widened slightly, and he tried to act of a good explanation, discreetly. He tugged a tad on his clothes and nodded in her direction.
Seto squinted and looked over at Serenity. She was talking with Yugi, so she didn't notice.
Her clothes? What was wrong with them? It suddenly hit Seto, as it had hit Serenity. He almost laughed at the thought. White! That was it! He looked back at Mokuba, a small smirk tugging on his lips.
Mokuba blushed a bit and looked down at the ground. Seto shook his head. He just hoped his brother had the decency not to have prolonged handing over his vest too long.
"Hey, y'all!" A voice cried out. It was Tea, approaching with a pale Ryou and Tristan and Duke.
"You get sick again?" Yugi asked Ryou.
"Just…a second…" Ryou breathed deeply.
"He's trying to repress the sickness," Duke explained.
"Deep breathing exercises," Tristan added.
"You can run off again, if you need to, Ryou," Tea said, patting his back slightly.
"No," he gasped, "I'm staying well…."
"Are Joey and Mai back yet?" Tristan asked.
"No," Seto replied.
"I wonder where they went," Yugi asked.
Duke smirked, "I have a feeling I know where…."
"Where den?" Joey and Mai suddenly approached.
"Want me to destroy your dignity?" Duke smirked.
"You ain't destroyin' nothin', dice-boy!" Joey put a fist out in front of him.
"Alright, guys, calm down," Mai stepped in between them, "It doesn't matter where any of us have been, all that matters is-"
"Why Serenity's wearin' Mokuba's vest," Joey suddenly said. Mai turned around and faced the girl. Serenity sighed, and a hint of red appeared in her cheeks.
"Joey…" she started.
Mai almost broke out laughing, then whispered something into Joey's ear. His ears immediately turned scarlet, and he answered himself, "Nev'a mind, Ren. I gotcha…."
Seto almost broke out chuckling. How stupid was Wheeler?
"So?" Tea asked, breaking the sudden silence, "Where to next?"
"How about that bloke?" Ryou pointed a distance off. Two metal rungs went vertical, straight up into the air. One beam twisted and one remained straight. The gang saw a train coaster speed up the straight pole. They were looking down, and the train had been locked there for a few seconds, before it really let go.
Yugi's face drained. If he couldn't take the last roller coaster; who was to say he could stomach this one?
"I feel confident!" Ryou nodded, standing straight, "Let's go, then!" And without any consent from anyone else, Ryou started walking his way towards the ride.
"Sounds good to me," Tristan shrugged. "I just hope there's a bathroom near there, for him."
The ride was named Vertical Velocity (© that is a real ride at Six Flags…Great America, at least…I know there's some other place too….). The line was pretty lengthy, but this didn't' stop Ryou. He was determined to get on there and not hurl.
Poor bloke….
After about forty-five minutes of waiting (Seto was about to die or boredom), they were let on: each couple going to a distinct pair of seats. (Yugi& Ryou; Mokuba & Noa; Serenity & Tristan; Duke & Tea; Joey & Mai and Seto sat alone).
Yugi watched nervously as the crew gave various thumbs up. During the wait, he had noticed the sudden speed this ride launched at, and the deafening screams of terror. The ride would be over in three full lunches.
"I'm not afraid," Duke said proudly to Tea next to him, "It's just a ride."
"Sure…I'll believe that. Duke, even I'm a little freaked about this one," Tea admitted.
Duke looked over at her and blinked, "…I think I left me stomach back in line."
The ride jolted to a start.
Duke let out a girl's scream as they rushed through the platform.
They first spiraled up the twirled end of the ride, and fell back down, gaining speed with the help of the gears in the upper parts of the station. They were shot up backwards and hopelessly stared down into a pool below them.
Joey closed his eyes. Too much for his eyes…. The only thing keeping him there was the harness…. He felt Mai grab his hand.
Mokuba's heart was beating rapidly. Noa was shouting various close-cusses as they flew up and down.
On the third cycle, on the straight end of the ride, just when they thought it was all over-
It stuck.
Serenity screamed so loudly that Seto winced in the seat behind her. Poor Tristan couldn't cover his ears, due to the harness.
Ryou and Yugi were dangling there, looking down into the green pool.
"Yugi…I don't think we're going to make it," Ryou said, looking rather sickly.
"I feel it coming on," Yugi gasped, "And I used to be able to handle stuff like this."
"Deep breaths – AHHHHH!" they both shouted as the locks let go and they hurtled forward, back into the station. A sudden rip of brakes, and a terrible screech, caused the entire group of passengers on the train to jut frontward in their seats, rather sharply, before settling back as the train pulled in more slowly to the right position.
Tea lay her head back and took a few deep breaths. Instead of laughing, she had actually yelled on that one. Not screamed…but yelled. She would have been laughing at Duke…if she hadn't been already shouting out just to make herself feel better.
Outside the platform, Ryou looked up at the newest victims of the ride, who were plummeting down the vertical pole. "Never again…."
"Amen to that," Yugi leaned on a rail, holding his head. He had managed to keep calm as of now.
"Oh, it wasn't so bad," Tea smiled shakily. That ride had given her quite the jolt: her legs were still shaking.
"You all are seriously a bunch of wimps," Seto snuffed.
"Oh, Seto?" Mokuba asked, "Then why is your arm shivering?" Everyone turned to look at the hand Seto had placed on a railing.
It was indeed shaking ever so slightly.
After that exciting ride, everyone agreed whole-heartedly that it was time for lunch. Yugi and Ryou needed to replenish on everything they had lost.
They walked back to the front gate, and had their hands stamped, for re-entry access (Seto was wholly against this, however, what needed to be done had to be done. Besides: the stamp barely showed up).
They walked back to the cars and Mai unloaded the cooler and picnic basket from Yugi's trunk. They settled on an island strip, segregating the roadways, and parked themselves under some trees. Joey laid out a few blankets, so that they didn't have to sit on grass, necessarily, and Tristan opened the basket and cooler to call out the menu.
"Alright; we have a variety of sandwiches! PB chicken salad; tuna-fish; and a veg-out! Drinks include water; different cokes; and juice! We've got cookies; chips; puffs and just about any other thing that'll slowly clog up our arteries! Yogurt is also around here somewhere…. Spoons and napkins…those aren't necessarily to eat…wha'ddya all want?"
"Pass me a tuna!" Joey called out, waving his arm. Tristan tossed him a tuna-sandwich.
"Same goes for me!" Ryou added, catching the sandwich baggie as Tristan threw it.
"I'll take a PB&J," Yugi called out, "And Tea will have one too, I'm sure!" Tristan threw out two sandwiches in their general direction.
"Two chicken salad sandwiches, please!" Mokuba and Noa cried synonymously.
"Tuna, here!" Duke asked for.
"Chicken salad," Mai winked.
"And I'll have a tuna-fish entrée," Tristan smiled, "Anyone else? Ah, Kaiba!"
"PB&J too simple for ya, Kaiba?" Joey laughed, "Or did we forget da caviar?"
"For your information, I despise, caviar," Seto growled, "Just toss me anything, Taylor." Tristan grabbed the nearest PB&J, and lofted it to Seto, who caught it with one hand, still staring at Joey menacingly.
"Joey; knock it off! We're here to have fun, not insult each other! And Kaiba," Tea turned to face him, "Just cool it a little. And don't give me any back-sass about not doing anything! Goodness!" Tea broke her sandwich in half quickly and bit into one of the halves.
Seto looked over at her and slowly broke his sandwich in half as well –a habit. Why had she just defended him like that? Sure, she had gotten onto him a little, but not as much as getting onto Joey's case. Wheeler didn't seem fazed at all, however.
Again, she bothers me like this, Seto sighed, biting into his broken sandwich.
"Seto?" Seto looked up and saw Mokuba offering half of his own sandwich, "You haven't forgotten, have you?"
Seto smiled lightly, "No kiddo." He gave Mokuba his unbitten half of his sandwich and took Mokuba's chicken salad one.
"Am I missing something here?" Noa leaned over and looked at the two, "What was all that about?"
"Nothing-" Seto started.
"Just a wacky tradition," Mokuba finished.
"Whatever," Noa shrugged, looking around, just before biting. His eyes stopped on Tea. Tea was looking at the Kaiba brothers rather strangely. She had a confused look on her face, and yet there was another look there that Noa couldn't place. She looked down at her own sandwich, and ate the rest of one half. She scanned over the other half, and then began eating it.
This is all getting to be very weird, Noa decided.
After some rounds of junk food, drinks and yogurt, the gang rested for a few minutes, just talking, before they would actually go back into the park.
"We have about six or so hours left here," Serenity stated, looking at her watch, "So let's use the time wisely." She looked down at herself again, and then exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot! Your vest, Mokuba-" she began taking it off, but was interrupted by Tea.
"If we're going on another water ride now, you had best keep that on."
"Nah, I don't feel much like a water ride just now," Serenity replied, "I'll stand back on the sidelines."
"Same," Mokuba and Noa agreed.
"Bytes for you," Duke shrugged, "I was thinking we would visit that raft ride I saw on the map. The warning was extreme soaking."
"I'm out, then," Seto stated.
"No, you're not," Noa reprimanded, "We may not be going, but you are."
"Why? Since when do you have control over what I do?"
"Since we practically forced you onto this trip," Mokuba smirked. Seto rolled his eyes. It was true: ad it not been for their constant want and puppy-dog-eyes, they would not be here, and Seto would be working steadily at home, or Kaiba Corp. With his thoughts NOT focused on Tea Gardner!
"They forced you to come here?" Duke had to keep from snickering.
"Not entirely," Seto turned on him, "They suggested it…and talked me into it, is all."
"Yes…and that's why you're here for a month:" Tristan added, "They talked you into it. Believable."
"Are we going back inside, or not?" Seto suddenly said, "The lines do get longer near midday, you know."
"Wow! Never thought I would hear that come out of his mouth!" Tea laughed, "But he's right! Let's go!" she stood up, cracking her back and started gathering up blankets. Mokuba and Noa got the trash bags. Joey retrieved the cooler, with Tristan and Yugi got the picnic basket.
Within five minutes, they were back inside the park, walking their way around to find the raft ride – coincidentally named: Time on the Nile. Seto was disgusted already. That made two rides in this park with untimely names.
Reluctantly, Seto left his brothers, and Serenity at the front of the ride, and the gang walked along the wooden walkway until they reached the crowd. They couldn't see the station from where they were, but the wait, they supposed, wouldn't be so long. The sign back at the front had read an hour's wait from there: and they had walked a bit from it. At most, they would probably wait just as long as they had for Vertical Velocity. Seto sighed, just anticipating the wait greatly.
Eventually, the gang did pull up to the front and there sat a ten-person raft. There were eight people in their group. They had the raft to themselves. Seto picked out the least wet seat, and sat there. Joey sat next to Mai, directly opposite him. Yugi sat next to Tea, who sat in the seat next to Seto (not the conjoined seat, however). Ryou sat next to Yugi. He was happy to be on a ride which would not jolt his stomach violently. Duke and Tristan sat next to Joey, one seat from Seto. Once the conductor saw that they were all buckled in, the raft rolled off. It swirled down he wide waterway, and immediately bumped into a side, sending the raft careening around, and down the river more.
Tea and Yugi laughed as they bumped into each other at the jolt given from the collision with the bumper. The water fell down some, and they flew down a small rapid. Joey yelled as water poured down his back, and Mai shivered. Tristan and Duke hollered in glee at the sight, just as they flew into some rapids. The two were sprayed constantly with water, as were the others.
Seto wanted to "kill" his brothers at the moment.
The rapids settled and the raft flowed into a cave that had some water trickling down the sides. There was water falling down the exit to the cave: a non-stop torrent.
"Oh God!" Tea cried, seeing the water, "There's no passing that!"
"Da-" Seto started whispering. Everyone shut their eyes, ready for the stream of water. It never came. They all looked up suddenly and saw that they had passed through the mouth of the cave, and the waterfall had ceased falling. As soon as they were clear, though, it started falling again.
"It was a fake-out!" Joey cried, "How cheap!"
"But that isn't!" Ryou looked behind him and shouted. Tea suddenly screamed as water pounded down on her: as its first victim. Yugi's hair fell down in his face and Joey jumped when the water hit him.
Seto, seeing his turn coming, plunged through the curtain, and pulled his body forward as far as it would go in the seat, and the falls passed over him quickly. He was wet, but not a s soaked through as the others.
"Geez, Kaiba, why do you have to be a party-poop'a?" Joey spat out water, looking at his drenched clothing, "I hope dis ride gets to ya more den dat did."
"Fat chance," Seto responded. He was getting as least wet as possible.
More rapids and jolting turns came up and the gang flew around them. They were spinning at an average pace and heading straight for a side wall which had many raining waterfalls.
"Who's going to be the lucky person to get wet?" Mai sighed. Seto deduced a calculation. At the rate the raft was spinning and drifting, the one who would probably be hit was Tea….
Ice cold water immediately poured onto his head and down his shoulders. His back suddenly jerked upright at the sudden fall of icy liquid and Seto's eyes went wide. While he had been calculating, the raft had spun him into the straight path of the waterfall.
The whole raft erupted into laughter: Joey, Tristan and Duke laughing most of all.
"Der ya have it, Kaiba! Dat's payback!"
To his surprise-
Seto started laughing.
A real laugh.
He was laughing at himself!
Everyone else immediately silenced, and watched him. He was still smiling in such an un-Kaiba like way, that everyone was struck speechless.
"W-What are you laughing at, Kaiba?" Tristan asked, just a bit freaked out.
"Well," Seto recomposed himself. Tea sighed. Easy come: easy go. She had really like that laugh of his…. It wasn't as cold as he seemed to always be. That laugh proved that he did have an ounce of warmth in him. Maybe even more than just an ounce. "The matter was pretty ironic," Seto continued. "Secondly, just look up."
"Wha'?" Joey, Tristan and Duke looked up. Water flew down upon them, causing their heads to snap back down. Everyone laughed again, Seto included, though more softly this time.
Tea herself laughed softer, just so she could hear him.
"GOD!" Joey cried out, as soon as the raft had left the waterfalls. "WHY ME? WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME!"
"Well, we've got a little more of the ride left," Mai laughed, "So hold on: maybe someone else will get the treatment."
Mokuba jumped up, "There they are! They just passed through the other side. They'll be here any minute!"
"Grab a gun, everybody!" Noa said to both Serenity and Mokuba. The three jumped up and rant to he edge of the railing, where five water gums were standing. Onlookers could shoot the water at their comrades on the rafts as an added bonus.
"I'm sacking Seto: I don't care how much trouble I get into," Mokuba smirked.
"I'll go for whoever I can get," Noa said.
"Joey is my first target…but after that, I'll get whoever, as well," Serenity said. They stood, poised and ready to shoot. People walked about all around them, but no one bothered the three kids.
"Here they come!" Mokuba whispered.
"They look wet enough already!" Noa stated.
"And your point is?" Serenity laughed.
"Ready-" Mokuba said.
"Aim," Noa added.
"FIRE!" Serenity let out, and pulled the trigger as the raft came down the river. Three gusts of water flew out of the guns. One socked Seto square in the back, and he jumped violently, spinning around immediately, with fire in his eyes. Mokuba's laugh filled the area. Joey got pelted square in the chest, and his surprised look made Serenity break into a fit of giggles. Noa just spun his gun side to side, spraying random people. Incoherent shouts were heard from the raft, as it floated away, and the three could no longer shoot.
They left their posts and settled back down on the bench near the guns. That had been well worth it.
A soaked gang soon approached them.
"Ren! How could ya do dist a me! I was already soppin' wet!" Joey cried, flailing his arms at his sister.
"Which one of you was it?" Seto approached his brothers, his clothes completely soaked through.
"Oh, lighten up, Kaiba," Tea approached him, ringing out her hair, "You had fun, and you know it! You were laughing along with the rest of us!"
"What!" Mokuba and Noa inquired.
"Man…now I'm starting to wish that we had gone," Noa cocked his head.
"No, no, this was well worth the cause," Mokuba nodded.
"It was you then," Seto pointed a finger at his biological brother.
"Guilty as charged," Mokuba held up his hands.
Near four in the afternoon, the gang settled down at an ice cream café inside the park. They collapsed in chairs for a few minutes, just resting their rather sore legs (standing and walking will get to a person after sometime).
"I vote we get some ice cream," Joey held up his hand, "And den we head off fo' more rides."
"Amen, amen!" Tristan cried out.
"Alright, so what do you all want then? Ryou and I will bring them back," Yugi asked.
"Umm…what have dey got?" Joey asked.
"I'll check," Tea stood up, "Honestly…bunch of wimps…" she muttered, teasingly. She came back a minute later with the menu memorized.
"Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Assorted, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, M&M, and Lemon. Toppings include sprinkles, chocolate syrup and whip cream. Or you can have your ice cream dipped into a vat of chocolate and it dries hard."
"Order up!" Ryou placed his hand on the table.
Yugi was for strawberry with whipped cream; Ryou was going with plain vanilla; Joey wanted a mixed ice cream with the works, as did Tristan, Mokuba and Noa, Duke wanted chocolate; Serenity wanted chocolate with sprinkles, Tea wanted chocolate chip cookie dough with whipped cream, and Seto wished for M&M with whipped cream. Mai was going for plain vanilla. She complained that there was too much fat in the stuff already to be adding anything more.
Yugi and Ryou set off, not having to remember too many different orders (four of them were the same, for crying out loud, and two belonged to themselves!), and pocketed with the collected money from the individuals.
With such a large order, the group had to wait quite a few minutes, with Yugi and Ryou constantly running back and forth with different ice creams, so that they wouldn't melt in the wait.
Everyone was finally served almost after ten minutes and they were all eating happily. Bits of chatter were scattered throughout the table. It was about halfway through heir ice cream that an amazing feat was discovered.
"So, Seto, are you at least having some fun?" Mokuba turned to ask his older brother. Seto paused for a moment, looking down at him. The rest of the table had stopped too, just so that they wouldn't miss what he said.
After a minutes, Seto replied, "…Yeah…Mokuba. At least a little fun."
"HALLELUJAH!" Tristan cried out, jumping up from his chair.
"We've accomplished the impossible!" Duke laughed,
"Where's the Guinness Book of World Records?" Mai joined in.
"Der ain't gonna be no book o' records if da Apoca-…Apoco-…Apoxcis-…ack: if da end of da world is comin'!" Joey threw his spoon into his ice cream in mild aggravation.
"Apocalypse, Joey," Tea smiled. Mokuba and Noa just smiled. Their brother had come a long way.
Once most everyone had finished their ice cream (Tea and Seto were still eating), Mai stood up, "Alright people: bathroom break. We're not stopped until we leave…save sickness occurrences."
Everybody…almost…bounced up and started going to the restrooms a short ways away.
"Just a sec…I want to finish this up really quickly," Tea said, spooning some ice cream into her mouth. Seto just threw his trash away. He had gone prior to eating.
The two were left alone. Tea was scooping out the last of her ice cream, and placing it in her mouth.
"So…" she started, trying to make some conversation, "You…really are having fun? Well…some?"
"I suppose," was his small answer.
"You uh…have a nice laugh, you know," Tea suddenly blurted. She felt herself going red. Why had she just said that? Too late….
Seto cocked an eyebrow in slight amusement. What was she playing at? He uncrossed his legs and arms, and placed his hand on the table.
"I…What I mean is…" Tea fumbled with her words as she tossed her garbage into the trash can nearby, "It was just…different…and nice for a change and…-"
She looked up and was surprised to see Seto half a foot away from her face.
"Do you ever stop talking?" he asked; not accusingly, but rather lightly.
"I…I-I don't-" Tea suddenly ceased talking as Seto's lips met with hers.
Mokuba brushed some spare water off his hands that he had missed with the paper towels, as he walked out of the bathroom and back towards the café. He looked up, ready to announce himself back when he suddenly froze on the spot.
His mouth nearly hit the floor, from utter shock and surprise.
His brother…was kissing Tea Gardner!
Mokuba was beginning to agree with Joey: the Apocalypse really was coming…and sooner than they all thought. Mokuba dodged behind a pillar as fast as his legs would allow.
Even more surprising, Seto was holding Tea by her upper arms, ever-so-slightly pulling her closer, and Tea seemed divided between keeping her hands down, or putting them on Seto's shoulders. She seemed to settle for both by placing them on his shoulders, but slightly more near his chest.
Mokuba shook his head. Noa was going to kill if he found out about this. It was likely to start another row between he and Seto…and Mokuba wasn't looking forward to taking sides –willingly or unwillingly- again.
Mokuba would have probably died of shock had he known that this wasn't the first time the two had gone into the act.
Tea finally got wind of what she was doing and immediately pushed Seto away. She looked back at him –with an expression crossed between horrified, frightened and pleased- and stumbled off towards the bathrooms.
Seto looked after her and stared back at where she had just sat. He shook his head clear. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH HIS MIND! Of all the insane ideas to act upon!
"Hey, Seto!" Mokuba walked towards him a minute later.
"Mokuba?" Seto's head shot up. His brother hadn't seen him, had he?
Mokuba put on a smile. He would ask his brother later what was going on. Now wasn't the time.
Near the end of their trip to the amusement park, it started storming –a hint, according to the newscasters that morning- of what was to come over the next two days.
The thunder had scared Serenity out of her wits, causing her to jump and fall onto the nearest person near her – or rather persons. Tristan and Mokuba managed to catch her in the nick of time before she fell. She fell more on Tristan, who was hoisting her up, but Mokuba had gotten part of the impact as well.
"Thanks," she said to the two, looking more in Mokuba's direction.
"No problem," Tristan smiled, "I'd love to catch you anytime." Serenity furrowed her brows in confusion as to what this might mean, exactly, but did not press the subject. Mokuba however, glowered darkly at the male.
Because of the storms, most of the rides had been stopped for a time. However, the storm was over in a matter of about twenty minutes to half an hour, and slowly, rides began opening again. It was nearing seven o' clock, and the group was making its way back towards the entrance.
Mai spotted something about a ride near the entrance. "Hey, y'all! Look!" Everyone looked to where she was pointing. There was hardly a line in the Superman ride (yet another ride in real life), when it usually backed itself out onto the wide sidewalk.
"Let's get in now, before a huge line forms! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance opportunity!" Mai said, running into the line.
"A bit presumptuous, isn't she?" Tristan commented.
"She's right: I'm in!" Duke ran after her.
"Wait up!" Tea called. The rest of the group ran in: Ryou and Yugi looking up at the ride rather uncertainly. The train hurled over them with a vociferous roar, and the two noticed that this was no ordinary ride. It would be like being back on Vertical Velocity on the section where they looked down: they were literally flying, as the seat was tilted back.
Oh, the thoughts….
The group eventually reached the platform and heard some frantic people on the other side, "Where's my cell phone?" "My pocket change is gone!" "Where's MY cell phone?"
"Secure your things," Mai said, "It looks like stuff drops on this one."
"They said to leave the stuff behind back at the front," Yugi commented.
"And there's no storage on this ride," Ryou said.
"Well, either put the stuff in your back pocket, or in something that sips up and hold on tight!"
Lucky for them, Joey and Tristan had brought along cargo pants with zippered pockets, where most of their loose items were stored. The more bulky things they put in their back pockets, or fastened behind them, so that the stuff would rest against the back of the seat, and their back.
It was finally their turn to get on. The seats were in rows of four. The group had managed to get spaces all on the same train.
Mokuba, Serenity, Tristan and Duke got onto one car; Joey, Mai and Ryou clambered into another car and Noa, Seto, Tea and Yugi got into yet another.
They sat down in the seats, which were upright and regular. Noa looked around. Their feet were strapped in against a foot-board, and they had a seat belt and a harness.
"Don't they flip you on this-?" his question was interrupted as the seats suddenly rose forth from under them, putting their legs behind them, and resting them on the harness.
The train began moving.
"Isn't this great?" Tea laughed as they got out of the station. She could hear Noa's muffled, "Don't look down; don't look down; don't look down…."
They turned and began going up immediately. Seto found this time for some good payback.
"Hey Gardner…just look at that. Imagine: the only thing restraining you here is a simple seat belt and this harness…. Imagine if that harness were to break…. Just look how far we are-"
"STOP!" Tea, Noa and Yugi suddenly shouted at the same time. Seto laughed, more manically than on the raft ride.
"I get it: you've gotten your revenge now, okay?" Tea sighed, "I'm just as freaked out as everyone else! But…didn't you say you yourself had to get used to heights?"
"I never said I looked down," Seto replied, looking out over the park, "It's all in the imagination."
"Hey look!" Noa shouted, "Fireworks!" Indeed, out over the park, some random fireworks began sprouting and popping.
"How cool," Tea admitted. "Isn't that neat, Yugi?"
"What?" his head snapped up, "Sorry, wasn't paying attention. I was more concerned with a dilemma: we're positioned in flying mode, right?" The others nodded. "So…does that mean we're going down headfirst?"
Everyone's attention instantly turned to the tracks in front of them. They were just about to go over the edge.
"HOLY S-"
"LANGUAGE, NOA!" Seto reprimanded, over the in sync screams from the rest of the train. The roller coaster picked up speed and hurtled headfirst down the track, bringing them immediately into a double corkscrew. They flew along the track and suddenly were going down headfirst again. But this time, they were flipped onto their backs, looking up.
They were going through a loop.
The gravitational force pressed down on their chests as they pulled through the loop, and finally out of it, going into more twists and turns, and small ups and downs. They finally skidded to a halt not far from the station platform. The coaster coasted slowly to a stop in the base, and flipped the passengers right-side up again.
Again, the crew shakily got off this ride – their things still secure. Others from the ride hadn't been so lucky.
"That. Was. Pure. Fun!" Mai jumped.
"Amen to that!" Duke high-fived her.
"Yugi…we didn't…you know," Ryou nodded.
"I think that loop kept it down," Yugi laughed, "With the pressure and all."
"True, true," Ryou affirmed. "That was by far, the best ride of them all!"
"Why? 'Cause ya didn't upchuck?" Joey chuckled.
"I'll upchuck you," Tristan said, pulling a noogey on Joey.
"Hey! Quit dat!" Joey hollered.
"Come on guys, calm down. I say we watch the fireworks show and then get back to the beach afterwards. We've had a long day, and I'm sure we all want to rest…after a good show," Tea said. Everyone agreed to that.
They hastened over to the fireworks show (there was still a good bit of it left, as well as many other things) and it lasted for a good hour. By then, it was past eight, and the gang was ready to head home. It took at least half and hour to drive back.
They walked out of the park and back to the cars, each one heading off back to the beach house.
In the Lamborghini, Noa was dead asleep, snoring away (Mokuba sighed, just awaiting the great night ahead of him) and asked, "So Seto…did you really, really, really, REALLY have fun today?"
"You asked me this already, Mokuba," Seto replied.
"I know…but we were with the others, and I know you don't like talking around them. Answer me wholeheartedly truthfully this time, okay?"
"Alright Mokuba…" Seto answered. He smiled, "I truthfully did "really, really, REALLY" have fun today. It was different, and…something like revisiting the actual good memories. I did have fun, so don't you go worrying about me."
"That's all I needed to hear, Seto," Mokuba yawned and fell back against the seat, joining his brother in sleep. "And Seto?"
"Yeah?"
"I understand…I know what you mean…about those good memories…. It really was alike a visit to them…" the boy drifted off to sleep.
Seto looked back at the road again, from having looked in the rearview mirror. He put on a slight smile. Memories…. He was making some pretty good ones on this very vacation.
Yeah! LONG chapter for you people! It was more for fun, rather than romance (needed one of those transition chapters!) Anywho, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! MUCH romance to come in the next oh…three/four chapters! I SWEAR! These next chapters are quite full –if not jam-packed- with romance! Remember: this is the last chapter to vote for Serenity! If that isn't a clue, I don't know what is…. PLEASE REVIEW!
(PS: Those real rides in the chapter (Vertical Velocity and Superman) I have been on them. I pretty much wrote what was real about them, and my experiences on them. Although I changed Superman around ever so slightly. It has been two years since I was last on it…. Whatever: later!)