Authors Note: Read and Review
Important Notice: Before reading chapter 8, one should reread the other chapters; mainly the ending of chapter 7. I edited all the chapters because I did not like the way they were written. Almost everything is kept the same; plot and all. Just a few minor changes. For more info, read chapter 1's notice.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except Monica.
Flash back
"A wager huh?" That sounded interesting. Kaiba always loved a good bet. "Let's hear it then."
"If I win the tournament, Monica, Mokuba, and I get to do something to you. I don't know what yet but I'll think of it."
"And if you lose?"
"And if I lose I'll…" Mai placed a fine manicured finger on her chin thinking of something she would have to do. She couldn't really think of anything that she had that would interest Kaiba. He has everything. What would he want that she has?
"You'll prance around in a blue-eyes costume as one of the many mascots for one day at one of my amusement parks."
"But that's humiliating!" Mai whined.
"I know, and whatever you will be planning on doing to me will be even worse. So it's even." Mai had to admit. He was right. If she won, she would definitely make Kaiba do something embarrassing, something to knock him off his high horse.
"Fine, it's a deal." Mai and Kaiba outstretched both their hands and shook on it. Mai's eye filled with determination not to lose, while Kaiba's for once, actually seemed to hold amusement. They both made their way upstairs and Mai reached her room first.
"Night jerk!" she yelled to his receding figure as she opened up her room door. She smiled lightly excited about tomorrow.
"Night princess" Kaiba yelled back heading towards his room. No need to explain that he was being sarcastic. 'This will be interesting.'
End of Flash back
And interesting things were. The day began with Mai waking up bright and early. She was too excited to sleep last night. All she could think about was dueling somebody. That always seemed to happen whenever she was preparing for a match the night before. Just the feeling of going head-to-head with someone brought her some kind of rush. She loved that feeling. And with the fact that if she could win the tournament today that Kaiba would be at her mercy made things even better. She raced into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed up. She then headed back into her room and started looking for something to wear, finally deciding upon wearing a nice floral patterned sundress. Normally sundresses aren't her thing; they were too loose around the leg area. She liked her clothing tight. But today was such a warm day and she wanted to try something different so sundress it was. She also decided on tying up her hair in a ponytail. The look made her seem younger than she appeared if that was possible and more energetic. She was extremely pleased with the look and blew a kiss into the mirror. She then slipped on some white heels and headed down for breakfast.
Kaiba, Mokuba, and Monica were already down in the kitchen digging into their breakfast. When Mai came down the stairs all were caught staring; even Kaiba, though he was the first to recover. Compared to Mai they all seemed under-dressed, with the exception of Monica. Kaiba wore the typical purple trench coat with black jeans and shirt to match with straps gracing his arms and legs. Mokuba had on the regular baggy jeans and striped t-shirt. Monica on the other hand wasn't looking as plain as the guys. She also wore a loosely hung dress that came to her knees. It was a lemonade yellow and it fit her snuggly.
"Wow Mai, you look beautiful!" complemented Monica.
"Thanks" Mai mumbled back feeling kind of self conscious. "You look great too."
"Of course I do. I mean, if we don't, do you expect these two will?" Monica asked pointing at Kaiba and Mokuba. The girls started giggling while the Kaiba brothers looked offended.
"Hey! I think I look alright" Mokuba argued. Mai came over and patted the boy on head.
"Yes you look alright. Plus you having this thing called "adorableness" which supersedes how you look." Mokuba beamed up at Mai, happy that him being adorable super-whatever's how he looks. Mai took her seat at the table and started to eat just like the rest of them. 'Too bad your brother doesn't have that.'
After breakfast they all headed towards the garage. Seto didn't feel like riding in a limo. Instead he wanted a more casual ride. But casual in Kaiba land is far from what regular people deem it to be. He made his way towards his Jaguar XF which seats four comfortably, pausing, and then ultimately deciding that it was an acceptable ride.
"We'll be going in this" Kaiba mentioned. He got into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"Showoff" Monica and Mai said in unison.
Upon arriving at the tournament, Kaiba and company were treated like real celebrities. Mai knew Kaiba already was one with all the tournaments he won, but just being around him instantly makes you one as well. There were fans everywhere. Mai was even surprised to see a few girl duelists there with signs up cheering and chanting her name.
"Hey Kaiba," Mai nudged him in the chest. "Why are all these girls cheering for me?"
"Because apparently you have fans" the ice prince answered.
"No that's not what I meant. They have signs and stuff. It's like they knew I was coming." The blond was really flattered. She loved seeing female duelists and kind of wished there was more of them. She wanted other girls to realize women could hold their own in Duel Monsters too. And that this was a game where masculinity meant nothing; but Mai never accounted for the fact that she was tougher than most men.
"Oh that. I told the tournament manager last night that you were coming. He seemed to be overjoyed." Kaiba looked at Mai after answering her question to see if she had a problem with it. Mai shook her head vigorously, not having an issue with it at all.
Inside the tournament building Kaiba gave a small speech on duel monsters and some tips to get better. He also announced some improvements with the duel disc that will allow the game will feel more real and intense. After he was finished all the contestants had to meet up in the lobby to draw numbers to see which bracket they fell in for the tournament. Mai turned to her little group before they headed into the stands.
"Which me luck!" she chirped.
"You don't need luck Mai" Monica proudly stated. "You can beat any of these guys blind folded!"
"Thanks Monica"
"Yeah Mai" Mokuba added. "You go get em'. You're way too cool to lose!"
"Aww thanks Mokie." Mai gave the younger Kaiba a big hug then looked at Seto.
"You remember last night right?" Mai asked. Kaiba gave her a small smirk. He needn't say more. From that small little gesture Mai knew. She knew he remembered their bet, and she couldn't wait to show him she could beat any of the contestants at the tournament. Hell, she made it this far with little if any effort, one more match should be a breeze.
"Alright then guys, I'll see you when the tournament is over." With that said Mai headed off to draw her number.
Making their way to the stands Monica was curious to know what Mai was talking about. After getting seated in a good spot, she turned to the elder Kaiba brother.
"So… what happened last night Kaiba?" Monica asked, a mischievous grin playing upon her face.
"Nothing much, just a little friendly wager is all."
The brackets then appeared on the screen. There were four brackets and Mai was in Bracket C. She had to go through two duelists to win the bracket. Then she would go against the winner of Bracket B. If she won that match, she would have to face the winner out of Bracket A or D. In summary, if she won the tournament, she would play a grand total of four matches. The announcer then came on the screen and announced that the tournament was now beginning.
It was ridiculous how Mai completely dismantled her competition. She was now in the finals against the winner of Bracket A, getting there with ease. Every opponent she played in the tournament thus far posed no challenge what-so-ever. Her Harpie deck seemed like it was unstoppable. Even Kaiba had to admit, it was pretty impressive. Mai made her way to the stage for the final match as the announcer called their names. She turned her head to the crowd and spotted her companions. Mokuba and Monica were out of their seats jumping and screaming her name. She couldn't help but smile at their support. She then noticed Kaiba, still sitting as calm as ever. To anyone else, he looked like he didn't care about the match but Mai knew different. His dignity depended on this match. His near future was riding on Mai losing, but the blond wasn't about to let in. Just the idea of doing something embarrassing to Kaiba fueled her on. She stuck out her tongue at him and waved, causing Mokuba, Monica, and a few other fans to laugh. They thought she was just trying to be cute, but Kaiba knew it was directed towards him, and he couldn't help but crack a smile at how silly she looked. 'This woman is going to be the end of me. I wonder what the hell she's going to do to me if she wins. Oh well, I dug myself into this one. Great going Seto.'
The match began and Mai started of strong. On her first turn she summoned Harpie Lady in attack mode and placed two cards face-down. The next turn was the opponent. He summoned a Molten Zombie in attack mode but it didn't last long. Mai flipped one of her face-down cards revealing Trap Hole to kill the monster. He then placed a card face-down as well but Mai flipped her other hidden card which was the quick play magic card Mystical Space Typhoon and destroyed his face-down card. The opponent was then forced to end his turn.
Now it was Mai's turn again. Her opponent had an open field and she had a Harpie lady on her side. She drew from her deck and received the card Elegant Egotist. She smiled, the game was close to being over. She played the card using its effects to summon Harpie Lady Sisters in attack mode. She then activated another magic card called Cyber Shield, powering up the Harpie sisters by 500 attack points. After her Harpie girls were powered up she ordered a direct attack, leaving the opponent with 1550 life points (They are playing by battle city rules with 4000 life points to start. Harpie Sisters have 1950 attack points to begin with, then 2450 after the power-up). Mai placed one card face down and ended her turn.
The crowd was going crazy. Mai was absolutely stunning. Her opponent even started to shiver. He drew his next card and placed it in face-down defense mode. He could do nothing. He did not draw the right card. He knew the game was over when Mai's turn was to come, and it was. Mai summoned a Cyber Harpie in attack mode. She used her Harpie Lady Sisters to destroy the face-down defensive monster which was a pathetic Raging Flame Sprite. She then ordered her Cyber Harpie to finish off the opponent and with a matter of seconds Mai was crowned champion. The crowd was going crazy as to how fast Mai had won. The contestant went up to Mai, shook her hand, and walked off stage.
Mai made her way from the big stage and into the stands wanting to see her friends. She was surprised however at the speed that they were making to get to her instead. "They" being Mokuba and Monica however. She watched as the two pushed through the crowed like a bunch of staving hyena that have just found lunch. Kaiba on the other hand took his time. If Mokuba and Monica were the Hyena's, then Kaiba was definitely the dead lunch. 'Of course he'll take his time. Wait, wasn't he the guy who said time waits for no one. But apparently Kaiba is anything but that. He's Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba corp. So that makes his someone, right?'
"Mai! You were amazing!" Mokuba cried, running up to the blond and squeezing her; completely impressed at how she easily vanquished her opponent. Mai returned the hug feeling great about the win. She looked like a Valkyrie out on the stage; strong, calm, and collected. None of her opponents was even close to challenging her. They were all out of her league.
"Totally cool out there" Monica added. "I mean the way you beat them was impressive but more impressive than that, you did it in a sundress!" Monica and Mai both started to laugh. It was true, she wasn't the least bit scary out on that stage but somehow, her dueling skills was enough to demolish and even terrify her opponents. She then looked to Kaiba who had now made his way down to her.
"So…" Kaiba began not looking at her, head titled to the sky, not wanting to believe Mai had won the tournament, and most of all, their little bet.
"So…" Mai copied, a large smile plastering her face. She hugged Monica and Mokuba and dragged them towards Seto's car eager to get home. Even though playing Duel Monsters was fun, and the win felt great, she knew it was nothing compared to how she will feel when she gets back to the mansion. "Come on guys, I got something fun for us to do when we get back."
'Indeed, this woman will be the end of me. Why did I make this bet again? Stupid Kaiba.'
