Chapter 5 (moving along, aren't we?)

Anzu shook Serenity awake, trying to finish buckling her belt at the same time.

"Wake up, babes. We've got a long day ahead of us."

Serenity groaned and pulled her blankets up and covered her head with her pillow.

"Five more minutes."

"Nope. Hurry up, or I'll let Malik in and let him see you in your pajamas."

Serenity dashed out of bed to the bathroom. Anzu chortled and checked her reflection in the mirror. Deciding there was nothing more to be done with her hair or outfit, she settled down in the semi-uncomfortable hotel chair to read a rather sappy novel she'd picked up from her cousin's apartment. Vaguely she registered the sound of the water from the shower turn off and a small crash. The crash caught her attention and she looked towards the bathroom door. Another crash.

Concerned, Anzu set the book down and move towards the bathroom door, wondering what the problem could be.

A small thud.

Anzu realized, with a start, that the sounds were coming not from the bathroom, but through the door leading to Malik's room. She nearly laughed out loud when she imagined Jou's reaction to finding out that the rooms did happen to be jointed.

Serenity exited the restroom, clad in only a towel, looking spooked.

"What on earth is going on in there? It sounds like he was mugged."

Anzu shrugged.

"No idea. We'll go check after you get dressed."

Serenity blushed and grabbed a set of clothes from her suitcase. She disappeared into the bathroom again and Anzu shook her head.

Serenity came out of the bathroom, fully clothed in a t-shirt and knee-length shorts, and found Anzu staring idly at a book in her hands.

"Hey, let's go. It might be Jou in there beating him senseless."

Anzu grinned and put the book aside, grabbing her purse and joining Serenity. Together, they left the hotel room and moved one door over to press their ears to the door.

A sharp Arabic word came from inside and an audible click. The door cracked open and Anzu tore Serenity away down towards Yugi's door. They froze, watching Malik exit the room with a scowl and a cell phone about to be crushed in his hand. They jumped as Ryou stepped out of his room with burning cheeks. He noticed the girls watching him and smiled graciously.

"'Morning!"

Both girls held their fingers to their lips in an effort to make him quiet. But the damage was done. They had Malik's full attention.

He pivoted on his heel and looked at them, noticing their presence for the first time.

"Oh, good morning. I didn't see you." He said, all traces of anger gone and his expression warm and sincere.

"G'morning." Serenity muttered, offering him a small, nervous smile.

He took it all in his stride and inclined his head toward her for a moment.

"Hey, what was going on? I heard something crash. At first I thought it was Serenity, but…" Anzu trailed, catching sight of Serenity's obvious embarrassment.

"Oh," Malik said, waving it away without even having the grace to blush, "I got a little frustrated and ran into the nightstand. The lamp fell over."

"Oh. I was a little worried."

Malik chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah, don't be."

His cell phone rang, vibrating in his hand. He checked the ID and scowled. He flipped it open and pressed it to his ear.

"What do you want from me now? My name signed in blood, or something? You let me go because I made you a promise, now it would be appreciated if you would trust me and my own judgment. If they show up, I'll hide."

He paused, impervious to the strange looks he was getting from the other three teens in the hallway.

"No, I won't call the police on them again! But I should. Maybe a restraining order…?"

Anzu and Serenity exchanged glances.

"All right, all right. I've gotta get going. I'm starving and the opening ceremonies start in two hours. I'll call you when I get back to the hotel."

Without waiting for reply, he shut his phone with vigor and stuffed it in his back pocket.

"You guys going to breakfast? That is, if you wouldn't mind eating at the same table as me." He said, rolling his eyes.

"We don't mind. It's just Jou. He's been an arse lately." Ryou explained, grabbing Serenity and Anzu by their elbows and propelling them forward towards Malik and the elevator.

"You can say that again! Ever since I started that stupid mural he's been over-protective and rude." Serenity agreed, her annoyance with Jou making her forget her uneasiness with Malik.

"A mural?"

Her nerves returned to her all too quickly.

"Umh, yeah. I paint."

She wanted to take back the words the moment she said them. How idiotic could she sound? 'I paint'. That sounded beyond lame. But, thankfully, Malik just looked interested.

"You're an artist? Really? Could I see your portfolio sometime?"

She stumbled, looking for words. Ryou came to her rescue, reaching around her to press the button to call the elevator.

"She may not have it with her. Jou said something about an art show."

"Yeah, my drawings might be shown in a gallery next weekend. But I brought my sketch book and pencils, so I could draw something for you if you want."

He smiled, the elevator doors sliding open. He let the other three go ahead of him, then stepped on himself.

"That'd be cool. So what's the mural of?"

"My friends." She replied.

"You can paint Yugi's hair?" He asked incredulously, his eyes widening at the prospect of the seemingly arduous job.

"Well, kind of. I'm having problems with it. I was supposed to have them all come over this weekend, but since I ended up in Tokyo instead…"

The grill slid open and they stepped out into the lobby, heading for the hotel restaurant.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be stuck with my sister and her boyfriend in Cairo this weekend. I had to threaten to sneak onto a plane before she let me escape." He said, quickly correcting himself by adding, "I mean 'go'!"

Ryou laughed and stood before the restaurant host.

"How many in your party, Sir?"

"Four."

"Eight." Someone growled from behind them.

Ryou glanced back at Jou's murderous features and decided to stick up for Serenity.

"Two tables of four. I'd like to request that they be far apart, if you will."

While Serenity was about to hug him senseless, Jou was planning on suffocating him in his sleep.

"Right away, Sir. Follow me."

The host led them to their table and seated them.

"Your waiter will be right with you."

He left to escort the other group to their table and Anzu grinned.

"Bakura, I think you're my new hero."

Serenity giggled.

"If he tries to murder you tonight, we have a comfortable floor you can sleep on."

Malik quirked his eyebrow at the statement, but Ryou just smiled.

"I'm afraid that would be taken the wrong way by more than just your brother."

"So? We all know you're innocent." Anzu teased, opening her menu.

Serenity smirked at Ryou and he blushed and looked away from her.

"Not quite. He practically had some girl last night throwing herself on him."

Ryou cleared his throat lightly and gave her a warning glimpse. Her smirk grew.

"Oh, hey, isn't that her now?" She asked, pointing at the girl from earlier who was with the same guy as before. She realized that they must be related.

Ryou turned and nodded.

"Yeah, that's her."

Someone gasped and then Kylie was racing over to their table.

"Ryou! I was hoping to see you this morning! I have to cancel today. My brother's forcing me to stay with him. He says he can't trust some random guy I just met last night."

"Why don't you have breakfast with us, then?" Serenity offered, smiling.

Ryou's eyes widened, seeing the potential mischievousness behind her gratitude. He didn't have time to warn Kylie, however, as she pulled a chair next to him and plopped down in it.

"Thanks! So, what's good to eat in Japan?"

Ryou handed her his menu and stole Serenity's, making the younger girl pout. She knew he knew her game.

"You know, that's a good question. Last time I was here, I never ate out." Malik mused, flipping through the menu (which he couldn't read in the first place).

Anzu took the menu from him and gave it to Serenity.

"You can't read Japanese, smart one." She said sharply.

Malik grinned.

"Then why don't you read the menu for me?" He joked, simply wishing to irritate her.

"How 'bout I order for both of you. You guys aren't vegetarian, are you?"

Malik raised his hand slightly.

"Guilty as charged."

"How about you?" Anzu asked pointedly, staring at Kylie.

"Nope. I love meat. Hit with the best. I'm only here for the culture shock."

"Good. Malik, I'll get you the vegetarian breakfast."

"And that would be?"

Anzu smirked.

"A muffin."

Somehow, Kylie had managed to persuade her brother to let her go with Ryou all day. All day. To Ryou's credit, he had a smile on his face whenever anyone saw him.

Opening ceremonies were held in a building near Harajuku, so while everyone competing in the tournament were stuck inside, the rest of the gang went to the Harajuku district, known as the most popular teen shopping center in all of Tokyo.

Anzu gasped and pulled Serenity towards a shop called Omotesando Hills.

"I heard about this place! It's the newest shop in town!"

Ryou and Kylie jogged to keep up, following the two girls into the air conditioned store. Anzu and Serenity snatched up random articles of clothing and headed straight for the fitting rooms. Kylie didn't hesitate in doing the same.

Ryou groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"I should've entered that damn tournament…"

The three girls came parading out, dressed in the most extravagant outfits he'd ever seen. Anzu had even added a feather boa to her 'fruits' look. Serenity giggled at Ryou's horrorstruck face and spun around, her neon yellow skirt floating up and twisting with her.

"You think I'll get his attention if I wear this?" She asked, giggling.

"You'll do more than get his attention if you keep twirling like that…" Anzu teased.

"Yeah…I don't even know who you're talking about, but you could catch anyone's eye in that."

Ryou nodded in agreement.

"It's quite blinding."

Serenity laughed.

"Back to the fitting rooms!"

Yugi shook hands with another dueler and they parted ways, Yugi marginally happier. Honda slapped his back.

"Way to go!"

"Thanks! D'you know where Jou is?"

"Naw…I think he went to find everyone else."

"Oh, they were going to Harajuku to shop."

They were silent for a few minutes, idly walking around the city looking for lunch.

"Poor Ryou." They chorused.

"Oh, there's Yugi! Anzu, go get them!" Serenity said, pushing Anzu off the end of the booth.

Anzu scoffed and pulled Serenity along with her. Together they waved down Honda and Yugi.

Jou, back at the restaurant table, could only stare at the two girls in shock. He'd never seen anyone wear something so…blinding. Anzu and Serenity were sporting matching yellow skirts and randomly colored t-shirts.

Ryou noticed Jou staring and chuckled.

"You shoulda seen what they tried on at the store…it was ten times worse."

Jou didn't have time to ask why (he didn't think he really wanted to know anyway) as the girls sat back down, making room for Yugi and Honda.

"You guys order yet?" Yugi questioned, stealing Jou's menu.

"Just drinks and appetizers."

Yugi's stomach growled loudly and he absent-mindedly rubbed it.

"Thank God, I'm starving. By the way, nice skirts."

Serenity and Anzu beamed.

"You should see the store we bought them at! Half of it is for cosplaying and the other half is the funkiest styles ever."

"And that was only the first floor! Three of the floors are underground, and it's all cafes, beauty salons, and restaurants!" Serenity continued.

"The top floor is all apartments and the second floor is more clothes. It was amazing." Anzu finished, sighing in contented awe.

Ryou and Yugi exchanged looks and Yugi grinned.

"Sounds fun. What'd you do, Bakura?"

Ryou shrugged.

"I got to rate the outfits. They tried to make me dress up as Neo, but…"

The three girls giggled to themselves and launched into a description of Ryou's reaction to the Matrix outfit.

Grampa laughed heartily, watching the teens trudge into the hotel complaining about their sore feet.

"No more. I'm dropping out tomorrow. That was killer…" Jou whined, pressing the button for the elevator.

Serenity rolled her eyes.

"We didn't come up here just so you could drop out."

"Who's dropping out?"

Serenity jumped nearly a foot and whirled around. Malik's eyes danced with amusement.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, I'm okay. Umh…I just didn't…I mean…how'd you do today?"

"Uh, well, three wins and one loss. Except the loss wasn't really fair…the other guy cheated."

"You didn't do anything about it?"

Malik shook his head.

"Nah, wasn't worth it. Besides, he was three times my size."

Serenity laughed.

Jou rolled his eyes and pulled her into the elevator.

"You going up?" He growled.

"Yeah, for a second," he said, stepping in with them. "I've just gotta grab a jacket and I'm heading out for dinner."

"Are you going by yourself?"

"No, Ryou and his new girlfriend invited me to go with them. Uh, you guys are welcome to join us."

"Sure!"

"Can't. I've got some stuff to do."

Serenity shot a glare at her brother then smiled at Malik.

"I'll go. Should I ask if anyone else wants to come?"

"If you want."

The elevator doors slid open and they headed towards their rooms. Malik slid his card into the scanner and opened his door.

"By the way, Serenity, nice skirt."

Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

"Thanks." She whispered to a closed door.

It didn't matter if he'd heard her or not. There were more important things to think about. Like that he knew her name and he liked her skirt.

Jou snorted, interrupting her train of thought.

"Have fun tonight. And don't tell Dad I let you go without me."

Serenity nodded and unlocked her door.

"My lips are sealed."

"Good."

The door had barely closed when Anzu came trumping in with a brand new hat on.

"Look what I found! Isn't it just adorable?"

Serenity giggled and pulled the hat off.

"You look like a chauffeur."

"Oh, thanks. Hey, where're you going?"

Serenity slid her arms through her jacket's sleeves and beamed at Anzu.

"Out to dinner with Ryou, Kylie, and Malik."

Anzu gaped.

"Way to go, girl!"

Serenity laughed and stepped back out into the hallway. Malik was waiting for her.

"You ready? We're meeting Ryou and Kylie down in the lobby."

"Umh, yeah. Let's go."

After the most uncomfortable elevator ride of her life, Serenity found herself linked by the arm to Kylie who had officially announced that she was Ryou's girlfriend.

"Thanks for letting me go with you guys." Serenity said.

"Don't worry about it, babe! I didn't really wanna get stuck with these two anyways."

Serenity relaxed, letting Kylie lead the conversation as they walked to a burger joint a few blocks away. Kylie squealed when she saw the restaurant.

"O-M-G, it's a 50's diner! I had no idea they had these in Japan! Hold on, this is a picture moment."

She grabbed Ryou and pulled her digital camera out of her purse. She held the camera out, making sure the diner was in the background, then took the picture. She brought the camera back and held it in front of Ryou as they walked into the restaurant. He laughed and showed the camera screen to Malik and Serenity.

"Awesome." He said.

Serenity and Malik studied the screen for a moment before doubling over in laughter.

"Holy crap, is that a guy or a girl?" Serenity asked, trying to see the background of the picture better.

Kylie took back the camera and zoomed into the background.

"I would have to say…cross dresser. Ew! He's picking his nose, too!"

A hostess wearing a short skirt and blouse came up to them, ignoring their laughter.

"Four?"

"Yup."

"Right this way."

She led them to a table near the juke box and handed them their menus.

"Your server will be right with you."

"Thanks."

She left and the four of them opened their menus. However, only two of them could read it.

"Who makes an all-English menu in Japan?" Malik muttered, squinting down at the strange symbols.

Serenity shrugged and tried to remember everything she'd learned so far in her English class.

"I recognize a few words…"

She looked over at Kylie to ask for help, but found that Kylie was engrossed in pointing to something on Ryou's menu. Ryou laughed and shook his head.

"I'm a vegetarian, Ky! I can't get a BLT!"

Kylie pouted.

"But I won't be able to eat it all by myself!"

Ryou turned his head to look at her and smiled.

"Share with Serenity. I'm sure she hasn't ever had one before."

Kylie pretended to growl at him but he only chuckled at her and went back to skimming his menu. Kylie sighed and grabbed Serenity's hand.

"Will you share with me?"

"Sure. I can't read all this anyways."

"Sweet! What about you?"

Malik shook his head.

"Can't read a word of this…uh, these are words, right?"

"Mmhmm! You're vegetarian too, right?"

"Right."

"You're not, like, Vegan, right?"

"No, I just don't eat any meat."

"Fish?"

"Sometimes."

She picked up her menu again.

"All right…let's see…no…no…oh, gross…no…umh, there's a salad."

Ryou rolled his eyes.

"You can get what I'm getting."

"What're you getting?"

"A Vegwich."

Malik managed to turn his incredulous laugh into a cough.

"They're, uh…creative with their names, aren't they?"

Kylie grinned.

"That's Americans for ya. Have you ever been?"

"I went once when I was fourteen." Ryou replied.

Serenity shook her head.

"I've never been, but I was looking at art universities over there."

"Really? Which ones?"

"DePaul, Rice, and Berkley."

"DePaul's nice, as long as you don't mind the city. I've been looking at art schools too."

"Do you draw?" Serenity asked quickly.

Kylie laughed.

"Oh yeah, I'm an original Picasso! Not really. I just play ten different instruments."

"Seriously?" Malik asked, stealing the words straight from Serenity's mouth.

"Just about. Piano, violin, harp, guitar, cello, flute, and timpani. Oh, I've also had a little experience with a glockenspiel."

Before Malik could explain his sudden laughter, the waitress appeared by their table and asked for their drink orders.

"Ooh, do you have the Shamrock shakes here?" Kylie asked.

"Yes we do! Would you like one?"

"I would love one."

"All right. And you, miss?"

"I'll have the same, thanks."

"Oh, can we get chili fries?" Kylie asked, cutting off Ryou before he could order his drink.

"Sure thing. What would you like, darling?" She asked Ryou.

"Raspberry tea."

"Oh, good choice. How about you?"

"Umh…"

"We have Coke, Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Sprite, and Root Beer. We also have iced tea, lemon iced tea, raspberry tea, apple blossom tea, and earl grey."

Malik stared at the woman in awe.

"Did you memorize that or something? I mean, that was amazing!"

The waitress smiled innocently.

"Honey, I've worked here for years. You learn these types of things quickly. What'll it be?"

"Apple blossom."

"You got it. I'll be right back."

Once she left, Ryou got out of the booth and dug around his pocket for some change.

"What d'you need?" Kylie asked, opening her purse.

"I'm not sure if it takes yen or American money."

Kylie squinted at the juke box and grinned.

"Quarters. Here, I have a ton."

She handed him a handful of quarters and Ryou made his way over to the juke box to choose a list of songs.

"Malik, right?" Kylie asked.

Malik nodded, messing with the table cloth.

"Yeah?"

"You laughed earlier when I said I played the glockenspiel."

"Oh, yeah, my best friend and I have a huge joke about the glockenspiel."

"Who's your best friend?" Serenity implored.

"Ryou's, umh, twin brother."

"There's two of him?" Kylie gasped, fanning herself with her hand.

Malik grimaced.

"Trust me, they're completely different. Although, Bakura swears he's better looking than Ryou…"

Serenity burst out laughing.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah! He called me last week to talk crap about something to do with Ryou's best friend, and he randomly mentioned that he couldn't understand it seeing as he's, and I quote, 'ten times sexier than that nancy'."

Ryou slid back into his seat as a classic rock song started playing.

"Juke boxes don't like me."

Kylie grabbed his hand.

"You never told me you had a twin! How come?"

Ryou winced.

"I don't talk about him a lot."

"Wait, you didn't leave him at the Mutou's, did you?" Serenity questioned.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, uh, you left him alone at the Mutou's house, which would include a kitchen and various other fire-starting objects. You get where I'm going with this yet?"

"Oh, yeah, I know. Yugi said he didn't care if the kitchen was destroyed, but if it is Bakura has to cook for him everyday for two weeks."

Malik grinned.

"He'll be on his best behavior then. He would sacrifice himself on an altar before serving Yugi."

"What's wrong with Yugi?"

"I think the right question is: What's wrong with Bakura?" Malik muttered.

The waitress came back with their drinks.

"The chili fries will be out in a few minutes."

"Thanks!"

A swing song came on after the rock song. Kylie gasped.

"I love this song! Can you swing?" She asked.

Ryou smirked.

"You can try and keep up."

She pushed him out of the booth and dragged him closer to the juke box to swing dance. Serenity covered her face with her hands.

"I can't believe they're dancing in the middle of a restaurant." She groaned.

Malik grinned.

"I dunno. Look. There are two other couples out there…oh, I don't know if that's a couple, but…"

Serenity looked and saw that Malik was right. Kylie and Ryou weren't the only ones dancing. There was a middle-aged couple and another couple that might have been a guy with a cross dresser, or a guy with a very ugly woman. Serenity settled for the latter and drew her sketch pencil from her purse. Still watching the dancing couples, she began to sketch them on a napkin. Malik watched her hand fly across the napkin with avid interest.

Serenity looked down at her napkin and added a few small details to the sketch. She smiled and put the pencil away. Malik slid the napkin closer to himself and gawked.

"Can I keep this?"

Serenity blushed.

"Uh…I guess."

"Hey, you promised me that you'd draw something for me."

"I can redo that in my sketch book, if you want."

"No, this one's perfect. You're really talented, Serenity."

She had to quell a sudden urge to hug him.

"Thanks! You really think so?"

"Yeah! You're awesome!"

Her smile was like a 1000-watt bulb. Malik mirrored it.

"I didn't know you were into art."

"Oh yeah! You should see my room. My sister makes fun of me 'cause I have all these abstract paintings on my wall."

She laughed easily and took a sip of her milkshake. Her attention was torn from Malik to the shake.

"Holy crap, this is good."

"What is it?"

"I think she called it a shamrock shake."

He grabbed the spoon from her shake and ate what was on it.

"Mm. You're right."

She eyed the spoon with raised eyebrows. He laughed.

"I'll wipe it off for you, okay?" He teased.

She felt her face heat up and she pulled at her jacket.

"Umh, sure."

Malik used his own napkin to wipe the spoon off. As he moved to put the spoon back, Serenity leaned forward to get her jacket off. His arm collided with her neck and she gasped. His eyes widened and the spoon clattered to the table.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

She held her throat with her hand, her eyes streaming.

"Fine." She choked out, massaging her throat.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Do you need ice or something?"

She managed a laugh and smiled at him.

"I'm fine. Really."

"You sure?" He asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Yep."

He sighed.

"Way to make an impression, huh? I've known you for one whole day and I've managed to impair you."

She sniggered and he grinned down at her.

The air grew tense and Serenity gulped, her smile fading. He held her gaze with intense force and bit his lip. Her eyes flickered to his lips and he didn't miss it.

"Umh…"

Yay! Cliffhanger: You know you love me.

Okay, now for the vocab! Haha, just in case you guys were a little lost, I'll clarify some things for you.

Omotesando Hills: It IS a real store in the Harajuku district. I've never been in it, but it sounds wicked cool.

Cosplaying: Costume playing. Easy enough.

'Fruits': A type of clothingstyle in Japan. You pick a theme and go all out. Usually the themes are odd and 'bright'. The opposite of Goth. You get the idea.

Right. Disclaimer: I don't own Ruby's Diner, nor do I own the Matrix (wouldn't want to either, it was confusing as hell) of the Vegwich. That would belong to Ruby's. Along with the Shamrock Shake.

Just a little side-note: Don't you love it when you ask a waitress what they have to drink and they just spew off the list of drinks so fast you have to ask them to repeat it? Haha, it makes me laugh all the time! Watch, next time you go to a restaurant and the waitress spits off the list of drinks, you'll laugh. I guarantee it.

Please read and review!