NOTE: Sorry for the long wait! But now, your cliffie-anxiety can subside!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter 20: The Aftereffects
July 17
And so we recap:
Yugi and Ryou are drunk…no matter how much they proclaim they are just "tipsy."
Joey and Mai are slightly light-headed and are using that to their advantage for some romantic endeavors behind a palm tree outside.
Miho is overseeing the dance contest, though not for long, as she cannot ignore her new boyfriend, Tristan, at her side.
Duke is still off flirting with random girls. Typical….
Tea had just finished telling Seto –through song- what he's really like, and they have ended up kissing on the balcony outside.
And Noa, Mokuba and Serenity are beginning to get worried; for the gang has not shown up yet at the beach house.
What a peachy party, no?
"Alright, Tristan, I'll go mingle with the people not on the dance floor," Miho sighed, finally giving in.
"You make me feel a lot better."
Miho smiled and laid her head against his arm, "That's something I like about you, Tristan. You care about others. You're right to force me to go talk to my other guests. …Why don't we start at the punch table over there? Hey…is that Yugi? And Ryou, too!"
Tristan noticed them and blanched. No way…. Miho ran over to them, dragging Tristan along, "Hey guys!"
Yugi and Ryou stopped laughing at something and looked at her.
"Why 'ello there, miss," Ryou bent over in a slight bow, but ended up falling forward, onto the floor. Yugi burst out laughing.
Ryou lay sprawled on the floor, laughing as well…with a couple well put in snorts to go along with it.
Miho's eyes widened. "…Yugi? …Ryou?"
"Miho!" Tristan suddenly understood, seeing the cups in their hands, "They're drunk!"
"WHAT!" Miho spun around, "But how can that be! I didn't put anything in my drinks…this time!"
Ryou got up from the floor and put a finger in the air, "Well you know, I did see a susssssspicious looking character…. 'E had some bottles with 'im and was pourin' them into the punch there-"
"WHO!" Miho grabbed the boy by the collar.
"Too close!" Ryou shoved away from her. He wiped his brow and sighed.
"Sorry," Miho rubbed the back of her head. "But who was he! What did he look like!"
"Well…I know his name…. At least…I did a while ago. Can't seem to remember it now…" Ryou scratched his head.
Yugi tried to help, "What letter did his name begin with?"
"Dunno…" Ryou looked at the floor, "Name some letters."
"Umm…" Yugi looked away, putting a finger to his chin. "Give me a second here…. …Upsilon!"
"That's not a letter!"
"Is too, dufus!"
"It IS not! I have enough mind to tell you that much!"
"Well then, the rest of your brain must be on crack, because upsilon is a letter!"
"Look," Miho patted Ryou's shoulder, pityingly, "You just tell me when you think of it." She nodded to Tristan and they skipped out of that scene.
"My God…I can't believe it!" Miho sighed, "To think…those two polite and sophisticated boys-"
"Are completely drunk!" Tristan laughed, "It's…hysterical!"
"It's so sad! Did you see how they were acting? Saying upsilon was letter of the alphabet! The poor guys will have serious headaches in the morning," Miho shook her head.
"…Miho. Upsilon is a letter of the alphabet-"
"NOT YOU TOO!" Miho suddenly grabbed Tristan's shoulders, "WHAT HAVE YOU DRUNKEN LATELY!"
"Nothing!" Tristan replied, "Nothing! If you'd just listen-"
"To the balcony! You need some fresh air!" Miho started dragging Tristan to the nearest balcony, which was through a small hallway.
"Miho, listen! Upsilon is-"
"Whoops," Miho whispered, backing out from the balcony and back into the hallway, "Looks like that spot's taken…."
"What do you mean?" Tristan started to peer out from behind the wall. His mouth hit the floor.
"KAI-!" But Miho jerked him away too fast for anything else to come out.
"Tristan! It's rude to stare! How would you like it if someone had been watching us?"
"But, but, but!" Tristan made hand motions in the air towards the balcony and tried to pull out of Miho's steely grasp, "Kaiba and Tea! I'm sure of it! They were…they were…kissing?" Tristan stopped and put a hand to his forehead and checked him pulse. "I really must have drunk something earlier…. I'm joining the loony bin already for hallucinations…."
"Come on, Tristan! You need some fresh air!" Miho pulled him to the other side of the balcony, which was around the corner.
It makes no sense…. That couldn't have been Kaiba and Tea! It's just not possible! Tristan pondered this thoroughly until he felt a headache coming on. Oooo…too much thinking, he rubbed his head as he and Miho stood out on the balcony, How does Kaiba live, thinking like that all the time!
"Goodbye, ladies," Duke waved to a group of giggling girls and walked over to where he saw some familiar faces.
"Hey, Yuge; Ryou," Duke waved to them. He stopped, seeing them in the midst of an argument.
"Upsilon is a letter!" Yugi's red face shouted, and he then took a great gulp of punch.
"IS NOT! I can't remember the letters right now…but upsilon is too long a name to be one!" Ryou retorted, just as red in the face. He too took a drink.
"IS TOO!" Drink….
"IS NOT!" Drink….
"Guys?" Duke inquired slowly, "What are you arguing about? …And why do you guys seem drunk?"
"WE'RE JUST TIPSY!" they both roared at him.
Duke jumped eight feet in the air and backed away, "Okay, okay…tipsy. But what are you arguing about!"
"The upsilon is a letter or the alphabet!" Yugi proclaimed.
"IT IS NOT!"
Duke blinked, "Guys…allow me to settle this. …Upsilon is a letter. It's just the way Germans say the letter "Y.""
Ryou blinked, "…Oh."
"I TOLD YOU!" Yugi laughed.
"Well, excuse me for not taking German!" Ryou spat.
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU KNEW A BUNCH OF LANGUAGES!"
"I DO! Just…right now, I'm havin' trouble with all of them…even Eng-…Eng…Engman?"
"No, it's Spanlish!"
"Enganese!"
"English?" Duke suggested, wincing at their poor control over their minds.
"We can go with that!" Ryou and Yugi both pointed to Duke before falling backwards, collapsing.
"My God…" Duke shook his head, "I pity those poor souls. …But what am I supposed to do with them now! Gotta dump them somewhere…" Duke sighed and looked around. "I guess the balcony will do…."
As Duke tried to inconspicuously drag the two off –it worked rather well since most people were too busy dancing- Yami and Bakura stood in the background. Yami had his head in his hand and was shaking it, "How embarrassing…."
"For once, Pharaoh," Bakura stated, "I agree."
Joey and Mai were on the ground in the midst of the small group of palm trees on the grounds of Miho's beach home.
…We're not even going to go there….
Noa paced the lobby downstairs, "Where are they? It's half an hour past midnight!"
Mokuba yawned on the couch, "They said not to wait up! They said they would be back late-"
"They also said to make sure you too didn't get too clingy, and look how good that worked out," Noa smirked at his brother, who was currently holding a sleeping Serenity against him.
Mokuba scowled, "Who told you that!"
"Mai."
"Figures. …Anyway, come on, Noa: let's just go to bed already. We all want to sleep, and they guys will be back here sooner or later."
"…I'm just going to call Seto to see if everything's alright and if they're coming home soon," Noa said, pulling out a cell-phone.
"Noa…that is Seto's cell phone."
Noa stopped and looked at it. "So it is…. Whoops."
"Try Mai."
Noa dialed the number she had left with them. He put the receiver up to his ear and listened. It rang for a moment….
Joey scowled in mid kiss. A phone was interrupting their time….
"Mai? Hold on a sec," he reached for her pocket and took out the phone. He flipped it open, where the connection opened immediately. But even before he heard the "Hey!" issued from the other end, he turned it off. He put it back in her pocket and whispered into her ear, "Now where were we…?"
Noa blinked, looking at the dead line. "She hung up on us!"
"You sure she hung up? It could have been someone else," Mokuba added.
Noa went into panic mode, "What if she's in trouble!"
"Noa, calm down!"
"I'm calling Tea!" Noa started dialing her memorized number.
Tea wrapped her arms around Seto's neck as she pushed herself further in the kiss. Goodness…Seto was god of kissing….
And that surprised her beyond anything. He had probably never kissed another girl in his life before her, and here he was, a few kisses later, making her melt in his arms.
And she liked the feel of it.
His hands were around her waist, gently massaging her lower back; once or twice finding a way under her shirt.
As Seto broke away from her mouth to trail little kisses down her neck, she gave a small shiver and moan in pleasure. Who knew Seto Kaiba could do this to her?
A ring tone made its way into their ears.
Tea sighed regretfully as she slipped her hand into her pocket to grab her phone, as Seto looked up from his little escapade down her neck.
She held it up, and Seto put his hand around hers, forcing it down on the power button.
"If you don't want to talk…then just don't answer," Seto stated.
Tea smiled, "You're right…I don't want to talk. But I'm thinking there is one way I should answer-" she slowly pressed her lips against his again.
The few cups of punch she had had were all that were needed to fuzzy-up her mind and keep her from her normal wants to stay away from Seto Kaiba.
I've never really seen Gar-…Tea in this light. She's…she's…I can't find a word for it. I never thought a word would escape me, having memorized the dictionary…. I suppose there's a first for everything, Seto thought, while deepening their kiss. He was reaching Nirvana, as they say, and everything was going perfectly….
Noa stared at the phone in disbelief, "This is unbelievable! She won't answer the phone either!"
"That's…interesting," Mokuba commented.
"See! You're getting worried too!"
"I won't lie and say that I'm not concerned in the least…. Does anyone else have a phone with them?"
Noa thought for a moment, "…Duke! I'm sure he does! Is his number on here?" Noa scanned the sheet. "Ah! There it is!" He dialed it right away. "Now…Duke has no excuse, except if he's in mortal danger to not answer this phone call…."
The phone clicked, and heavy breathing was heard on the other side, "He-hello, Duke sp-peaking," Duke grunted out.
"Duke! Finally!" Noa cried out.
"Noa? That you?"
"Yes! Someone finally answered their phone!" He heard more grunts from the other side of the line, "Duke? Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Yuge and Ryou are just heavier than one would imagine."
"What's going on!"
"I'm trying to drag them away from others' eyes," Duke said, "Their currently knocked out, so yeah…."
"Knocked out!" Noa jumped, looking over at Mokuba. Mokuba's face was in a silent gasp.
"Yeah. One too many hits, if you know what I mean," Duke struggled to laugh.
"Hits?" Noa squeaked.
"Yeah. Would you believe it?"
"Why didn't you do anything to stop it?" Noa inquired.
"They were almost beat by the time I showed up. They collapsed once I came there," Duke said.
"Beat? Collapsed!"
"Yeah."
"…Where's my brother?"
"Dunno. Haven't seen him since the beginning of the party. He just kind of…disappeared."
Noa's face paled, "…And Tea?"
"Haven't seen her either. Though there are plenty of shrieks coming from the palm tree forest by the house. She could be one of them," Duke smirked.
Noa's mouth dropped open, "And why aren't you there!"
Duke jerked his head back in surprise, "Noa, it's not my business!"
Noa raised an eyebrow at this, but continued, "And Mai?"
"Probably with Joey somewhere. But God knows what trouble they're getting into," Duke laughed.
"It's not funny!" Noa panicked. Trouble!
Duke stopped laughing, "Yeah…you're probably right."
"What about-" did he dare ask? "Tristan?" Noa was running out of people to check on. And none of the answers he was getting were good ones.
"Haven't seen him since the row," Duke said. He figured Noa would understand what he meant. Tristan and he fought a lot amongst themselves. Noa was a smart boy….
"Row? As in…fight?" Noa panicked.
"I knew you'd catch on!" Duke smiled, placing Ryou and Yugi against the wall outside on the balcony and walking back to the entrance.
"Duke! You sound like some whimp-" Noa stopped as he heard Duke give a shout of surprise.
"Yah!" Duke jumped back, surprised by the crowd of girls that had gathered at the entrance way and were all staring him down.
"Duke!" Noa cried out, "What's wrong!"
"Nothi-"
"GET HIM!" one of the girls screeched. They all suddenly swarmed on him: a crowd of fangirls. Seto Kaiba's worst nightmare. Duke's best dream.
Get him! Noa looked at Mokuba and mouthed the words. Mokuba blinked. "Duke, what's happening! Duke! Duke!"
"Sorry, Noa! Can't hear yo-ah!" Duke dropped the phone as it was knocked out of his hand. The phone landed on the floor, and Noa's voice called from it:
"Duke? Duke! DUKE!" That was…until a girl partially stepped on it, shutting the phone off.
The phone-line went dead and Noa stared at the cell-phone fro the third time that night. "It's worse than I thought!"
"What happened!" Mokuba suddenly jolted up from the couch. Serenity yelped as she fell from his shoulder and onto the floor. "Yah! Sorry, Ren!"
"W-What happened?" Serenity inquired groggily, rubbing her head.
"The guys are in trouble!" Noa repeated. "It sounds far worse than what I had even imagined! I imagined a couple problems here and there…but this! You should have heard what Duke was saying! It sounded like that whole party was just one big fight! Yugi and Ryou are knocked out from a bunch of hits! Duke was just taken by surprised and pounced on! He hasn't seen Seto in hours, or Tea, but he says that some screams have come from the forest by the house! He said Joey and Mai were together, probably getting into trouble and Tristan was in a fight earlier and-"
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Mokuba held up his hand. "Hold the train there! Are you sure that's what he said?"
"You heard me half the time!"
"True…" Mokuba scratched his chin, "It just sounds so out-there. An all-out fight going on at a party?"
"It doesn't seem that out-there! You know what happens at clubs and late-night gigs like that!"
"Yeah…" Mokuba looked up, worry slightly starting to cross his face.
"Do you really think they're all in trouble?" Serenity folded her hands and looked over at Mokuba for reassurance.
"I don't know. It just doesn't seem possible…."
"But neither Mai nor Tea answered their phone! How do you explain that! They were both shut off before they answered! What if someone is forcing them away from contacts! It happens, Mokie!"
"What if they just didn't want to answer?" Mokuba tried.
"Yeah? And what if they're being raped or something?"
Mokuba and Serenity's eyes widened to capacity, looking at the normally quiet boy, who had just gotten FAR off the shy meter.
"That couldn't happ-" Serenity started, but Noa stared her down.
"Couldn't it? Think of how many people are at that party. Think how many guys are there. Think. It's a late-night party…."
Mokuba looked around sheepishly, "I wish we really knew what was going on…. It just sounds too radical to be true."
"I wish we could just go there and check on them…" Serenity mumbled.
Noa looked up at her. "Serenity! That's it! We'll go there!"
"How!" Mokuba threw up his hands, "We don't even have a car!"
Noa gestured to the window by the front doors. Mokuba walked over to it and peered outside. Seto's car was out there….
He turned back to Noa, who was now flashing his driver's license.
"You forget I'm a bit older than you are, brother. And if worse comes to worse, we'll all drive back, taking the others home. You guys have permits, right?"
Serenity grabbed the boy's wrists, "Let's get going then! I want to put my worries at rest! There is WAY too much anxiety here! Far more than there should be!"
Tis a shame Seto had never taken Noa to a therapist. He really should have the overactive imagination looked at….
"Ladies, ladies!" Duke laughed as they all tried to get a hold of him, "Please! One at a time! There's enough of me to go around!"
Tristan and Miho chose this time to pass around the corner and see this.
"If that isn't the strangest thing I've ever seen…" Miho said in a hushed voice. "What he said doesn't make it any better."
"Oh, I've seen worse! And it was only three girls. They ended up being his overprotective cheerleaders, putting Joey in his place."
"Ouch…."
"Yeah. Except: 'woof' was more like it," Tristan snickered at the memory, "Kaiba would have loved that. You bet he would have!" Something suddenly snapped in Tristan's mind. "That's right! Kaiba! I'm positive it was him and Tea!" he hissed under his breath, "I have to go check it out!" Tristan suddenly turned and bolted for the opposite side of the beach house, cutting through the front hall.
"Tristan! Wait!" Miho took off after him. Tristan was running at top speed to get to the other side of the room.
He was almost there, but had to maneuver around a large group of dancers to turn left and into the small hall that led to that part of the balcony.
He was almost there when-
He tripped.
How typical.
He barely saw that he had tripped over a fallen person, whose leg was sticking out.
Until all he saw was the corner of the wall.
And then black.
"TRISTAN!" Miho shouted, pushing through crowds of people to find him. "TRISTAN!" she screamed when she saw him on the floor unconscious, with a large bruise in the middle of his forehead.
"Oh my God, what happened!" she knelt down beside him, turning him over. He had a goofy grin plastered on his face, still there from when he had been hit.
"Help me get him up! We need to put him on the couch or something!"
Tea lowered her head from Seto's and put it against his shoulder and chest, giving a small yawn, "It's getting quite late," she whispered.
"It's about an hour past midnight," he replied, holding her, lost in the emotions.
"Hence," she answered. They had kissed for a while, then resorted to partial teasing…some caressing…and finally, a bit more kissing. As tired as Tea had been, she was even more so now. She just wanted to go to sleep…against Seto….
Not giving a care in the world whom he was….
"It's been an interesting night," Seto smirked, hearing some cries from inside.
"VERY interesting," Tea suggested, looking up at him.
"I suppose those few spiked drinks put more of a damper on your mind then you thought."
"Why would that be?"
"Because you've been here…with me for the past hour…" he couldn't figure out how to say the next part.
"Engaged in pretty intimate activity? Yeah, I'm aware of that," she sighed.
"And you're okay with this?" Seto laughed softly, "You didn't seem to be a few days ago."
"What, the joke? That was different…." She yawned, letting her mind even looser from her grasp, "I like being around you…."
Seto blinked and looked down at the top of her head, surprised, "Why?"
"Because," she snuggled up into him even more, "You remind me of someone from long ago…. Someone I liked very much…." And with that, she was asleep.
Wish I could get her slightly drunk and tired all the time. I wonder what else I could get to slip from her like that….
Indeed, he had felt a swell in his chest at her giveaway. Something just seemed to fit between them…and that statement had made them fit even more.
As he was slowly drifting to sleep as well, tiredness rushing over his body (he had been up late two nights in a row, after all), his thoughts meandered into "other" territory. Unconscious, dreamy, territory.
Would it work out between us…?
Is this all a joke? All influenced by spur-of-the-moment emotion…?
…Are we going to regret this?
But perhaps the most important question of all was this:
…Do I …feel something for her? And…does she actually feel something…for me?
"Serenity," Mokuba took her hands in his and looked at her, "If we die, know that I love you."
"We're not going to die!" Noa hissed from the front seat of the car.
"You're going to drive us off the side of the road at this speed!" Mokuba retorted.
"The limit is seventy-five, and I'm only going five miles over, because the road is empty!" Noa spat back.
"Yeah, well, since it's night, you should be going five miles under! How did you even get your license, driving like this?" Mokuba held the back seat of the car, holding on for dear life.
"I passed with flying colors, thank you!" Noa responded.
"Are you sure you didn't bribe them into passing you!"
"Hey! Seto doesn't say a thing about my driving!"
"He's probably too scared to be able to speak!"
"Shut up! I'm driving!"
"Driving us to death!"
"Shut up! Let me concentrate!" Noa looked back around at Mokuba in the backseat.
"KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!" Serenity shrieked, cowering beside her boyfriend.
The car swerved greatly as Noa looked back at the road. He put it back in the right lane. "Sorry 'bout that…."
"I think I have only five out of nine lives left," Serenity whispered to Mokuba.
"I think I just lost my last one…and I'm only here because this is the devil's punishment for me," Mokuba laid back against the seat.
"Ah, shaddup," Noa gritted his teeth and accelerated.
"NOA!"
Five near-fatal-accidents later….
"LAND!" Serenity burst forth from the car and stumbled onto another one, hugging it.
It started beeping.
She jumped and backed off. "Whoops…."
"I wonder how long that's going to go off," Mokuba came out behind her. "Hey! That's Yugi's car!"
"Maybe it'll just…stop?" Serenity inquired.
"I doubt it. Cars aren't supposed to stop on their own," Mokuba sighed, the continuous beep getting on his nerves.
Noa came around, walking proudly from the opposite side of the car, "See! I didn't kill anyone!"
"You almost hit a tree though," Mokuba grimaced.
"Hey! That tree was placed way too near to the road!" Noa retorted.
"Oh, so it's the tree's fault!" Mokuba threw up his hands.
"Yes, it is! Then again…it's probably the wind's fault for carrying the seed…. Or the parent's fault for dropping the seed….or God's fault for creating vegetation-"
"Oh, SHUT UP!" Mokuba rubbed his head in anger, "Let's just go in already and do what we came here to do!"
"Right behind you!" Serenity ran up to Mokuba and Noa grudgingly followed.
Mokuba rang the doorbell. A worried looking Miho answered.
"Oh, hello," she looked a bit confused, "You three are a bit late…."
"We're not here to stay, really. We were just checking up on our family and friends. You know…Yugi and them?" Noa spoke up.
"Oh! Well, they're all fine, I think. Except…Tristan just knocked himself out." Worried looks crossed all their faces. Miho continued, "Oh, don't' worry! He should be fine by morning! He tripped and crashed into the corner of a wall. He has a large bruise on the center of his forehead. He'll be fine! Anyway, where are my manners! Come in!" she stepped aside to let the three through. She peered out the door, however, "Who's car is that?"
"Uh…I'm sure someone will get to it in a moment," Serenity blushed.
"So, I know you two by the paparazzi," Miho laughed, pointing to the Kaibas, "but…you are?" she pointed to Serenity.
"I'm Joey Wheeler's little sister: Serenity," Serenity bowed slightly.
"Oh! Nice to meet you!" Miho shook her hand, "Unfortunately, I don't know where your said brother is at the moment…. Or many of the others for that matter."
"Do you mind if we walk around to find them?" Mokuba asked.
"Oh, go right ahead! I'll jus be with Tristan. He's on the couch over there if you ever want to come see him," Miho waved and was off.
Serenity looked around, "It doesn't look like anything bad happened here. Except for Tristan getting hurt, everything seems just fine." She turned to Noa, "are you sure Duke said all that you say he said?"
"I'm positive!" Noa was looking around, slightly worried. He hadn't meant to sound like a fool. "Look, let's just split up. Serenity: you look for your brother and Mai. Mokuba: look for Duke, Yugi and Ryou. I'll look for Seto and Tea. Since we already know where Tristan is, we can pick him up on the way back here. If you find anyone else, beside the person you're looking for, just bring them along."
"Sounds like a plan," Serenity smiled and took off back through the front door to look over the grounds. Noa nodded and turned to start exploring inside.
Mokuba looked around. Serenity's right: nothing happened here. I think Noa was overreacting…again. Mokuba sighed and took out Seto's cell phone. He dialed a number in the book and held it up to his ear, waiting.
"Hello?" a feminine voice answered.
"Hi, Dr. Tachi. It's Mokuba."
"Hello, there! I thought you three were on vacation!"
"We are. I just wanted to…schedule another appointment for Noa…."
"Oh, I see. What is it this time? Over-exaggeration? Or have the hallucinations come back again?" the doctor sounded so sorry over the phone.
"No…I just think he's on the way towards paranoia. He's overreacting. Perhaps you can do something about it? You specialize in therapy after all."
"Of course! When would you like his appointment?"
"Best make it August first."
"Alright. See you then! Goodbye, Master Mokuba!"
"Bye," Mokuba hung up. August 1st. …Best get it done with the moment we get home.
Mokuba turned around and found a glaring Noa, staring him down.
"You called my psychiatric again, didn't you?"
Seto may never have taken Noa…but Mokuba sure had.
"Now…if I were Joey and Mai…where would I be?" Serenity looked around the backyard of the beach house. The volleyball courts were void of any of her friends. And there was a fight going on a little way's away….
"BACK OFF! HIS HEADBAND IS MINE!"
"I CALL HIS EARRING!"
"CAN I KISS HIM!"
"LADIES! PLEASE!"
Serenity gasped and ran over to the fight. That sounded like Duke! Serenity wedged herself into the crowd of women and her eyes widened. Duke was in a fetal position in the center, trying to keep from people pulling out his hair, or taking off any accessories or clothes.
Serenity suddenly lunged forward and grabbed his arm, starting to pull him out of the group.
"HEY! WAIT! DON'T TAKE ME AWAY!" Duke shouted, thinking another fangirl had latched onto him.
Serenity tugged him out of the now confused group and looked at him, "I was trying to save you!"
"Oh…thanks," Duke huffed, falling to the ground. "Wait…Serenity! What are you doing here!" If only she had been in that group though….
"Come on! They'll realize you're gone in a moment. They're not that stupid. You have to get away!"
"Go to the palm trees: they act as a good cover," Duke stated. Serenity dragged him over there.
They walked further into the tree cover, standing behind a small group to watch the fangirls disperse, looking for their lost man.
"Whew: thanks Ren," Duke sighed. "But what are you doing here?"
"Mokuba, Noa and I got worried because you guys were out for so long. We decided to come and check on you."
"You knew how to get here?"
"Mai left us everything we needed to know."
"How did you get here?"
"We barely got here. Noa drove Kaiba's car."
"Barely?"
"We evaded death a couple times."
"I pictured the Kaibas as all perfect people: even in driving."
"Me too. I guess our expectations were too high for once," she laughed. Serenity backed up, ready to get on the move again and tripped over something.
Or rather, someone.
She recognized that snore.
"Joey!" she hissed.
A grunt was her only reply.
Serenity rolled her eyes and tried as best as she could to look thought he darkness. It was Joey alright. But…his shirt was half off, and Mai was next to him, in his arms.
Serenity took a deep breath. I swear…. Joey just…gosh! "Duke, hold Joey up for me, would you?"
"Sure…" Duke answered tiredly. He winced as he held up Joey, the accidental scratches from girls swiping at him were still stinging. "Remind me to tell Kaiba that I fully agree with him about fangirls now…."
Serenity pulled Joey's shirt back down. "Now…how do we get them up and out? Wake them?"
"Joey doesn't wake for anything or anybody," Duke answered.
"True. And Mai would kill us for taking her out of her beauty sleep."
"Do we carry them?"
"I can get Mokuba and Noa over here to help us."
"Alright. You get them, and I'll wait here."
"Okay, see you in a minute," Serenity jumped up and rushed off.
She ran back to the house and was passing under the balcony when a voice called out from above.
"Serenity!"
She stopped and looked up. "Mokuba! What's up? …Besides you?" she laughed.
He smiled, "Hey, can you help me up here for a second? I found Yugi and Ryou."
"Great! …Why do you need help with them?"
Mokuba smirked, "Oh, they got a couple of hits alright."
"What!"
"Just come up." Serenity was up there in a flash.
Mokuba and Serenity stood before the sleeping boys, holding back their laughter.
"I recognize that look! They're passed out, drunk!" She laughed wildly, "I NEVER would have thought!"
"Come on," Mokuba sniggered, "You take Yugi to his car, and I'll drag Ryou along. We'll dump the bodies into designated areas and them take them home."
"You make sound awful: as if we're putting them in mass graves or something."
"Allow me to rephrase: let's put them in the cars and get the heck out of here."
"That's better. Oh, yeah! I forgot! I found Duke, Mai and Joey! But…Joey and Mai are out and Duke's a bit hurt from some…er…attacks. We need your help transporting them in their sleep."
"Gotcha," Mokuba nodded, "But let's take care of these two first." Serenity hoisted up Yugi easily, for he weighed even less than she did.
Mokuba had a bit more trouble getting Ryou up, but managed. They snuck around the crowds and got to Yugi's car, next to Seto's. Serenity dug into Yugi's pockets for his key (the horn was still blaring as well). She shut off the horn and opened the door. They put Yugi and Ryou in the back seat and shut the door, running back towards the palm trees.
"Finally!" Duke said, "I've been waiting for minutes!"
"Sorry. We had to get Yugi and Ryou to the car."
"Heavy, aren't they? Surprisingly."
"Sort of, yeah," Serenity answered. "How would you know?"
"I put them where you must have found them," Duke replied. "Now, come on. Let's get these two up."
"I'll try to hold up Mai," Serenity picked up the girl and put her in a sitting position. "Gosh! She tries to watch her weight, but she sure is heavy!"
"Everyone is…when they're…asleep!" Mokuba struggled to lift up Joey with Duke's help.
"What does this guy eat?" Duke gasped. "Oh right…everything."
The threesome struggled over to the cars, staggering here and there under the weight of their comrades.
So…I guess I have no chance then. I guess if it makes him happy…. And I can only hope she's happy too. That'll…that'll make me happy, for the most part.
Noa looked at Seto and Tea's interlocked forms. They looked happy in their sleep, and at ease. Of course, Noa was very curious about how they had gotten into this position, but decided not to raise any questions. He had an idea as to how to rouse Seto, but keep Tea asleep. She needed it. Seto…he could sleep all he wanted to later. He wouldn't mind skipping out on the beach.
He shook Seto's shoulder hard and then retreated behind the corner, peering out as Seto, confused, woke up.
"What the…. I swear someone was shaking me," he told himself, holding his head. He looked down and saw Tea still in his arms, asleep. Well, if it wasn't her….
"Oh, Seto! You're hear!" Noa suddenly came out from around the corner.
"Noa! What are you doing here!" Seto asked immediately.
"Mokie, Ren and I came to check on you guys. You worried us, being out so late."
"I thought Valentine said to not wait up for us.
"Yeah…but we couldn't help it. We got worried."
"You're getting paranoid. There's nothing wrong here," Seto answered. "Perhaps I should have you see a psychiatrist," he smirked, thinking it a joke.
Noa frowned and looked away, "Mokuba's already taken care of that."
Seto looked confused.
"But…how can nothing be wrong? Something must be wrong if you have Tea wrapped around you. And I doubt she's a fangirl."
"She…fell asleep that way. We were talking."
"You…were…talking?" Noa looked at him strangely.
"Yes. What's wrong with talking?"
"Nothing. It's just weird for you, that's all. Come on: we're leaving."
"Hallelujah!" Seto exclaimed, a little too loudly. Tea shifted, but did not awaken.
"I take it you never wanted to come?" Noa smirked.
Seto glared at him, "You and Mokuba are two evil little demons…."
"Duh…but thank you," Noa beamed.
"First this trip: and now this party you pushed me into."
"If we weren't going to do so, Mai would have made sure you went. And you did. I'm proud. You can have your…cell phone back once we get back. …And once Mokuba hands it over."
"Oh, you're so considerate," Seto rolled his eyes, shifting so that he could get his hands under Tea and prop her up against him. He stood and began walking down the hallway, "Are you coming? You said we're leaving."
"Yeah…yeah…just a second," Noa answered, watching him carry Tea. Why can't…why can't I be Seto? No, no, I thought that once before and it got me no where. I'm just lucky to be alive. Who knows…maybe Seto is telling the truth. Maybe it was all a fluke. …I guess we'll see.
"Have we got everyone?" Serenity asked. Yugi was knocked out in his backseat. Ryou was propped up in the front seat, next to the driver: for one with a license had to sit next to one with a permit. So what if he was asleep…. They were short on awake people. Joey and Mai were in the back of Mai's car, asleep. Seto had placed Tea in the backseat of his car and sat in the passenger seat (Noa had told him he was too tired to drive, so he could relax while Noa himself drove). They had retrieved Tristan and put him in the back of Yugi's car, along with Ryou and Yugi. Serenity would drive Mai's car, thinking that she had already hurt Yugi's car, and her future sister-in-law (she had no doubt about that) wouldn't mind Serenity driving her car. Duke sat in the passenger seat of the car Serenity would drive, to watch out for her. Mokuba was going to take Yugi's car.
"I think so," Noa replied. "See you all back at the house," he said, getting into the driver's seat of Seto's car. He buckled up and backed out. Seto relaxed against his seat. Now he could get back to sleep. Noa was trustworthy….
Noa accelerated so quickly onto the road that Seto felt himself fly back even more into his seat. "NOA!"
"Sorry: a little too much gas," he replied, slowing down.
As soon as they were on the highway, a static sound came on in the car.
"Hey…does this thing work?" Mokuba's voice came on. Seto looked around for the source. It was a walkie-talkie, lying on the dashboard. He picked it up and handed it to Noa, "Yeah: it works here. How did it get in here anyway?"
"Joey put them in all of the cars a while back: in case we wanted to communicate while driving. We haven't used them as of yet."
"Oh. Then…why are you using them now?"
"…Wanna race home?"
Seto's eyes widened.
Noa smirked, "You've got yourself a contestant. But you're fighting a losing battle, bro. I'm gonna kick your tail-fender."
A small laugh came over as well, "See you at the finish line, boys." Before it turned off, there was a heard shout of, "SERE-"
Noa looked at Seto, shocked, just in time to see Mai's car zoom ahead.
"Oh, she's not getting away that easily!" Noa laughed wickedly and floored it.
"NOA!"
"SERENITY!"
…Snore….
"I WON! I WON; I WON; I WON!" Serenity cried out, jumping around the cars, back at the beach house.
"I lost to my girlfriend," Mokuba muttered, hitting his head on the wheel, much as his brother had done when they had first arrived.
"Alright, alright, let's just get everybody in bed," Noa stated, coming out of the car. He peeked back in, "You okay Seto?"
Seto looked at him out of the corner of his eye, "If you think you can peel my fingers from these armrests: go right ahead and try. I would like to feel my hands again. And I don't think I'll be going to sleep anytime soon."
"Same here, Kaiba," Duke suddenly came up and patted Seto's shoulder, "Oh, and by the way: you were right about the fangirls. They're just more trouble than they're worth."
Seto looked at him, confused, but Duke just nodded and went to drag some people to their rooms.
The older teens all slept in the next morning. …And afternoon. …And ni- Oh what the heck! They slept all the next day, occasionally waking up with pounding headaches, and then going back to bed.
Noa, Mokuba and Serenity spent the entirety of the day taking pictures.
Lots and lots of pictures.
And movies! Can't forget those talking-in-your-sleep movies.
Their Sleeping Scrapbook was going to be a BIG hit at the end of summer.
But they figured: why not enjoy their time before they were murdered for showing such things to the public?
THERE! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY for the long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long wait! It took a while to write this! And with school…it just doesn't work. I have to wait until weekend to write now, pretty much. Anywho, I know this probably wasn't the BEST chapter, but I hope you liked it! I really hope you enjoyed it! And don't worry! It'll get even better soon!