Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, or any other copyrighted, patented, trademarked, or otherwise items possibly used in this chapter.

Chapter 4

Serenity hesitated, then her fist came down upon the cherry wood door in a series of light raps.

"Come in."

She pushed open the door and admitted herself and Jou inside the office. Odom smiled and stood to greet them.

"Thank you for coming! Please, sit down. Would you like water or biscuits?"

Jou's eyebrows flew up and his jaw dropped. Serenity lifted his chin back up before her sensei noticed. She grabbed him by the elbow and steered him into a seat, taking the other one offered while smiling sweetly at Odom.

"I would love a biscuit, thank you."

Odom resumed her seat and pushed the platter of biscuits towards her two guests. Jou numbly took one (he was rather hungry) and kept staring at Odom like she was an enigma.

"Now, Serenity, I stopped by an art exhibit the other day, and I spoke with the owner of the museum. He's an old friend of mine from college. Anyways, I told him about you and how amazing your artwork is becoming now that you're finally getting the hang of letting the hand work on its own. He agreed to take a look at your portfolio, and if your artwork passes his judgment, it could be in the next gallery!"

Serenity nearly toppled out of her seat. Instead, her biscuit tumbled from her fingertips and her face drained of all color.

"Are you serious?" She asked breathily, moving to hold the arms of the chair to ensure that she wouldn't fall out.

Odom beamed and nodded.

"Quite serious. You mentioned a mural?"

"Yes, in my-my room." She stuttered.

"Perhaps you should take a picture of it, or bring him a sketch of the final product. He likes variety when it comes to talent."

Jou decided it would be a good time to come into the conversation.

"What does she get from this, besides people gawping over her art?" He asked suspiciously.

Serenity held in a groan and resisted the urge to smack him senseless.

"Well, she has a chance at a scholarship—"

And she really did fall out of her chair.

Jou was still laughing when they left the nurse's office. Serenity scowled up at him and playfully punched his arm.

"Shut up. That was beyond embarrassing…"

Jou chuckled one last time and pulled her into a light, one-armed hug.

"I don't think she took you for the type to have random fainting spells."

She smacked him away and walked a bit faster than him, aiming for the run-down apartment building in the distance.

"Absolutely not."

Serenity's mouth fell open.

"Dad, why—?"

"Because I said so."

"But Jou's going!"

"And so is that Honda kid. You're not going."

Jou stepped forward.

"Dad, I think I can protect her from Honda—!"

"Well, it's not just him, it's all of Tokyo. All of 'em are drug-dealers, potential rapists, and bad influences for my only daughter."

Serenity rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Like you're one to talk." She muttered under her breath, kicking over a beer bottle, not expecting the vile liquid to gush out all over the floor.

"Oh, now you've done it! Clean it up before the landlord starts complaining about leaky ceilings!" Her father hollered.

She grimaced and began mopping up the beer with a dirty shirt she found nearby. The toxic smell wafted up to her and she nearly lost whatever she'd eaten for dinner (microwave meals all looked and tasted the same after eating them for a year).

"Dad, if I wear a chastity belt and wore a turban over my face, would you please let me go to Tokyo?"

Her father gave her a skeptic look.

"Why a turban?"

"I figured drug-dealers wouldn't mess with someone they thought was Muslim." She replied grudgingly, not missing Jou's shaking shoulders and his silent laughter.

"Will you stop bugging me about it if I let you go?"

"Yes."

"Why's it so important anyways? You went to the last duel monsters tournament. If you've seen one game, you've seem 'em all."

"Not true! Besides, I have to cheer for Jou!" She retaliated, glancing at Jou and seeing his look of distaste.

"All right, fine. But if you let her out of your sight, Jounouchi, don't expect to leave this apartment for a month!"

Jou quickly composed his features as his father turned to him. He nodded solemnly.

"I promise."

"On your life?"

"On my life."

"Good. Now get out of here. I hope you're packed."

Serenity jumped up and hugged the man, a rare occasion. He grunted and gently pushed her away.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you when you get home."

Serenity, her spirits soaring, flew into her bedroom and grabbed her pre-packed suitcase. She rolled it out to the front door and bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet. Jou met up with her with his own bag, his duel disc carefully tucked under his arm and his deck nestled in his pocket.

"When they buzz up, we can go."

Serenity gave him a look.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

"Hey, you're the one who used me to get on Dad's good side." He grumbled.

"Did not, I was telling the truth."

"Part of it."

"But I did tell the truth." She retorted, grinning impishly.

He sighed and gave a small jump when the door call buzzed. He pushed intercom and announced that they were on their way.

The car ride couldn't be considered torture. However, it wasn't exactly enjoyable either.

The tension and rivalry between Honda and Jou, and the fact that Honda avoided Serenity like the plague, secured a very uncomfortable seven hour trip to Tokyo. Anzu, Ryou, and Yugi tried to make light of the situation and rope the others into amiable conversation, but to no avail. Serenity had no other choice but to rest her head on Jou's shoulder and fall into a dreamless sleep. Therefore escaping four hours of mental distress, for the moment Jou heard her deep breathing, he turned a scathing glare on Honda and muttered a threat.

It was a relief to enter the big city. Serenity was awoken by a loud gasp issued from Anzu.

"Oh my GOD! It's him!" She shrieked, gaping at a haughty young man with a crowd of paparazzi tailing him.

Serenity blinked a few times, then looked out the window to try and recognize the man. When she did, she did the same thing Anzu did.

"Oh my GOD! It really is him! Can we stop and get his autograph? Please?" She begged, pulling on Jou's shirt sleeve.

"Chill out, what for?" He snapped, tugging his sleeve away from her.

"Duh! He's the hottest rock star ever. And an excellent actor." She replied frostily, insulted by Jou's ignorance.

"So? He probably lives here. And I think he was the potential rapist Dad warned you about."

Serenity sighed in disgust and settled back into her seat.

"We'll sneak out of the hotel later tonight, Anzu."

Anzu sent her a scheming smirk.

"You get the rope?"

"As long as you get the duct tape." Serenity replied.

Grampa Mutou chuckled and Ryou groaned in horror.

"Why did I come along? I'll never survive with these two!"

"Hey, we have to put up with them too. And you will be doing nothing with ropes and duct tape." Jou reprimanded.

"Hey, I recognize that limo." Honda murmured, pointing out the window.

Jou growled deep in his throat.

"Shoulda known. 'World's Best Duelists' had to include Kaiba."

"Well, yeah, but there's probably a lot of others coming too. We most likely won't even meet up with him." Yugi said.

An 'if we're lucky' was implied to end of his statement, but no one said it aloud.

Grampa pulled into a parking garage.

"Here we are. Let's go check in."

Grampa and the six teens piled out of the van, all stretching their legs gratefully and walking about aimlessly to enjoy the feel of mobility again.

"If I ever become a paralytic…" Yugi trailed, Serenity being the only one close enough to hear him.

She giggled and he flashed her a grin.

The warm, soft interior of the hotel lobby was calling, and the troupe set off for it. Grampa stood in line to check in while the teens went around looking for the gift shop.

"I can't wait to see the city," Anzu gushed, picking up a vividly colored key chain. "They probably have some really cool dance clubs."

Serenity held up one of the kids' t-shirts.

"Since when do kids wear clothing like this?" She asked disgustedly, showing the other the somewhat provocative logo on the shirt.

Ryou grinned.

"I might have to buy that before we leave. I know someone who would get a real laugh out of that."

She handed him the shirt.

"Be my guest, weirdo."

The slightly insulting name slid off him as he promptly took the shirt to the register.

Grampa stuck his head inside the gift shop.

"C'mon, we've got our room keys. Let's unload and get up to our rooms."

"Do we have jointed rooms, Grampa?" Yugi implored, being the first to follow the elderly man out.

"The boys do, but the girls have got a room to themselves."

"Sweet! I brought my X-box, guys!" Yugi cheered.

Jou grinned and followed after him to celebrate with him, but he stopped short.

"Serenity, don't you dare leave that store." He growled, glaring at something in the lobby.

She snorted and maneuvered her way around him in time to see a certain familiar face waving at Yugi. Yugi waved back amicably, as was expected of him, and followed his grandfather outside.

"Anzu, do I look okay? How's my hair? Are my lips all chapped? I forgot to put on chap stick before—"

Anzu laughed and pushed her forwards.

"Relax, Hon'. You have a few days to impress him."

"She won't be impressing anybody." Jou argued.

Anzu gave him a deflating look and his resolve withered. He sighed in consent.

"Fine. But nothing better happen between you two."

Ryou bounced up beside them, holding his new purchase happily. Jou stared at him, then shook his head in defeated wonderment.

"You really are a weirdo." He muttered, following after Yugi.

Ryou lifted a shoulder.

"So? I like being weird. At least I'm not psychotic."

"Yet." Serenity added.

He laughed and handed her the bag.

"I think we'll take care of the luggage. You two don't worry about it. And, uh, you might want to introduce her before Jou comes back." He said in a low voice.

Anzu and Serenity watched him and Honda walk away with their eyebrows raised.

"You know, he's probably the type that would sit in front of a fire and read a trashy romance novel."

Serenity laughed at Anzu's assumption.

"He does seem to be a bit of a romantic. I mean, once you get past all the weird, he's a pretty sweet guy."

"Yeah, but we're not here because of him. C'mon."

Serenity gasped as Anzu grabbed her and charged for Malik.

"Hey, Malik, I don't know if you remember me…" Anzu started, flashing a dazzling smile at him.

He turned, startled by their sudden presence. Then he broke out into a warm smile, his eyes inviting.

"You're Anzu, right? A friend of Yugi's." He said, his accent thick.

"Right! And this is my good friend Serenity. She's Jou's sister."

He turned his gaze to her and her stomach flip-flopped; her smile turned out a bit weak and shaky, but it didn't seem to register with Malik.

"I remember you. You had really interesting hair."

Serenity felt Anzu's grip on her tighten in trying to restrain herself from laughing out loud. Serenity's cheeks burned.

"Umh…thanks."

Malik frowned when he saw Anzu's face turning a gentle blue from lack of oxygen.

"Are you okay?"

Anzu took a deep, calming breath and nodded at him.

"Fine." She replied, a small giggle escaping her.

"Uh, it was nice meeting you." Serenity said quickly, drawing the attention away from her struggling friend.

Malik reached out and shook her hand.

"Nice meeting you too, Serenity."

Her hand tingled.

"Yeah."

He looked down where their hands were still connected. Coming back from a day dream state, she blushed furiously and jerked her hand away. He smiled gently.

"I'll see you around."

"Next!" The lady at the desk called.

Malik started and pulled his luggage up to the desk to check in.

Anzu bit her lip to hold it in. Serenity covered her eyes with her hand. When they turned, they found all five of the men staring at them incredulously. Anzu couldn't contain herself anymore. She burst out in bubbly, contagious laughter which Serenity soon followed her in. They stumbled over the others, unable to walk straight while doubled over in laughter.

"He's either not as bright as I first thought him to be, or you made him nervous." Anzu commented, drawing another stain of red to Serenity's cheeks.

Jou shot a glare in Malik's direction, then at Anzu, then grabbed Serenity's shoulder and steered her to the elevator.

Yugi was about to push the button for the third floor when they heard someone swearing in another language.

"Hold the door!"

Serenity recognized the accent and, obviously, so did Jou. He almost reached over to push the button for Yugi, but Serenity stopped him with a scowl she'd inherited from their mother.

Malik jogged into the elevator, slightly out of breath. With his first exhalation came a string of Arabic words that Serenity was quite sure weren't appropriate. Anzu fell into another giggle fit and Malik gave her a strange look.

"Are you laughing because of what I said about her hair?" He asked bluntly.

Anzu nodded, the ability of speech stolen away from her momentarily. Serenity met his gaze sheepishly.

"My apologies. I probably sounded like an idiot—" At that, Jou gave an ungrateful snort, "--but I assure you, I'm not. I'm just tired. I haven't slept for two days straight and now I have jet lag to top it all off."

"Why haven't you slept?" Ryou questioned.

Malik frowned.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. Isis got a boyfriend. That's all I'll say about it."

Yugi's eyes widened.

"You're kidding, right? She actually dates?"

Malik gave him a slightly annoyed look.

"Of course she does. She's, what, twenty? That's proper marrying age where we live. But there's a slight problem concerning the dowry."

"You have dowries?"

Malik's eyes rolled heavenward and he glanced to see what floor they were on.

"We like to keep to the old ways. Isis is just ruining that plan. Dating," he sneered, his eyes narrowing and losing their initial warmth. "And he's a merchant, too."

"What's wrong with that?" Serenity asked quietly.

Malik shrugged.

"Constant travel. He'd have no time for her. She needs someone to take care of her, not just make her…I dunno…be the normal 'good wife'."

"Gee, it sounds like you care, Ishtar." Jou snarled.

The elevator doors opened andMalik jerked his suitcase out into the open hallway.

"Why wouldn't I? She's my sister and my mentor. If not for her, I would have never seen the light of day. For that, I would give her my life."

Jou, suddenly struck dumb by Malik's sincere reply, froze in between the elevator doors. Anzu shoved him out, wanting to just jump onto a bed and sleep for a few hours.

"Girls, you're in room 345. Boys, you have rooms 344 and 343."

Malik chuckled.

"Looks like we'll be seeing each other a lot. I'm in room 346."

The second Malik disappeared into his hotel room, Jou grabbed Serenity's key from her.

"This better not be a damn jointed room. You better be wearing that damn chastity belt you promised Dad—"

Serenity, smacked Jou's hand away from the door lock. He gave her a cold look and she swiped her card back.

"Shut up, Jou. You can trust me."

"I can't trust him."

"Then you're just going to have to trust me twice as much to make up for him." She snapped, glaring daggers through him and mentally picturing herself dangling him from the window by his underwear.

Jou got the hint and gruffly entered his own room with Ryou.

"I better not go as insane as you while we're here, Bakura."

Ryou shook his head hopelessly.

"My insanity isn't contagious. I'm sure."

"I dunno about that, Bakura. Obviously if you're buying a tiny t-shirt for someone that just happens to have a subliminal message on it…" Anzu teased.

"Oh, speaking of that," Serenity muttered, handing Ryou his bag from the gift shop.

"Thanks. Have a good night."

"G'night, Ryou." Serenity replied fondly.

He smiled when she used his first name and nodded to her before closing himself inside the room with an irate Jou.

Serenity stepped out of the hotel room, knowing it was well past two in the morning, and quietly made her way down the hallway to the vending machine. She was starving.

As she slid the money through the slot, she didn't notice the shadow that fell over her.

"Isn't it a little late for a midnight snack?"

Serenity gasped and dropped everything. She turned her wide eyes upon Ryou and clamped a hand over her racing heart.

"Oh my God, Ryou, you scared me!" She hissed.

He smiled.

"Sorry. I was coming to get something to eat, too." He said, reaching down and picking up her fallen items.

"And to get rid of Jou? I could hear through the wall." She said, rolling her eyes and taking her stuff back from him.

"Yeah. He's a little…angry."

Serenity laughed.

"A little? Did you see his face when Malik said which room he was in? I thought he was going to combust!"

Ryou grinned and bought his own snack from the machine.

"Hey, if you need my help distracting Jou, I'm at your service. I wasn't supposed to come to this in the first place, so I might as well help out."

"Thanks, Ryou. And who did you buy that shirt for?"

"Oh, one of my best friends from England. Her name's Felicia."

"Your best friend's a girl?"

"Well…" he trailed, blushing, "I'm a bit of a romantic. I just get along with girls easier than guys."

"But you do have a best guy friend, right?"

He nodded, grinning.

"Of course I do. He's Felicia's brother."

"Wow. No one else was worthy of being your best friend?"

"My ex-girlfriend is still my best friend. And I have lots of really close friends."

They headed back down the hallway.

"You had a girlfriend?" She asked, smiling teasingly.

"Yeah, she…she was…cool."

She noted the reserved tone in his voice and decided to move on, not wanting to lose his offer of help.

"How long has it been since you've visited your friends?"

"Oh, I was just there seeing my father. He wasn't on site, so he came back to Surrey for a couple weeks. When I couldn't see him during the day, I was hanging out with all my friends and getting them in trouble for skipping school."

Serenity laughed at her mental picture of Ryou getting someone in trouble. She could see him sneaking around to other houses in all black and using walkie talkies to communicate with the others.

Then again, she couldn't really imagine him in all black. At the moment he was in blue plaid pajamas—true to his innocence.

The elevator doors opened nearby and two people stepped out, carrying suitcases, backpacks, and small MP3 players. They chatted animatedly in English as they passed, but then the girl, her dark brown hair swishing, turned back to look at Ryou. He met her gaze easily and she smiled and came back to him, offering her hand.

"Hi, I'm Kylie."

He took her hand.

"Ryou. Nice to meet you."

"You too. British, right?" She asked, dropping her hand back to her side.

"Yup. And you're American?"

"Damn straight."

Serenity could only stare in wonder as the two flirted, exchanged room numbers, phone numbers, and set up a place to meet at the tournament the following day.

By the time Kylie left (after pecking Ryou on the cheek, of course), Serenity was about to have a heart attack.

"What was that?" She hissed.

Ryou chuckled and ushered her towards her room.

"Good night, Serenity."

"Hey, you can't just get rid of me like that—!"

"I can and I am. Good night. It's late and we're supposed to be awake in five hours."

She huffed and let herself into her room, flopping down on her bed grumbling to herself about how bipolar Ryou was.

Whoot! Extra long chapter! And it only took me four hours to write:) Hope you all enjoyed the latest installment! I just had to get things going, you know? And as for Ryou's character, I am making him OOC on purpose. You can't blame me for wanting to explore his character more, can you? I'm pushing Serenity too, pulling at her character as much as I can to make her a more interesting figure. Now, Malik: I can't remember much of his personality, but I do know he was pretty bad with a temper to beat a crocodile's. In this, he has changed. Let's say that after Battle City wrapped up, he got his life back (if he ever had one in the first place) and toned it down a bit. In other words, he controlled the testosterone.

I'm working on moving reviewer thanks to my website (the one listed on my profile), so once I have those up, I'll alert you all to it in whichever chapter is out by then. :)

Thanks for reading! And PLEASE review! You can say anything! You can leave something like 'omg, lol' or something like that. I just want all my shadow readers to get out here and tell me what they think. I'm not going to think you're weird or stupid or anything. I cherish everyone who reads this and feels comfortable enough to review.

Again, thanks, and I'll update soon! That's a promise!