Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Love of a Priestess ❯ Friends ( Chapter 28 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Originally posted February 10, 2005; reposted on May 25, 2005 with formatting edited.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As I've already said, I'm sorry for the formatting problems I've been having. Everything shows up fine in Word, and then… it dies. Weird things happen with my italics and stuff. Sorry.

Thanks again to AMK and to my new reviewer, LadyNightshadows.

And now, the chapter…

Chapter 28: Friends

The next morning I was awakened by the smell of burning bacon and loud noises downstairs. Someone was shouting, and pans were banging madly. Grimacing, I stumbled into the bathroom and freshened up. I had no other clothes to wear, so I straightened my clothes and headed downstairs.

I found chaos in the tiny kitchen. Joey and Yugi were struggling to cook a decent breakfast. They fell over each other, broke eggs, burned more bacon, and dropped pans left and right. I watched, both bemused and amused, until Tea came up behind me.

“Enjoying the show?” she asked, handing me a bag.

I laughed and took the bag. “What's this?”

“Clothes. My clothes. Hopefully they'll fit you.”

“Thanks,” I said slowly. I looked up and smiled. “Thank you so much, Tea.”

She blushed. “Don't worry about it. Just get changed.”

Once I was showered and changed I joined the three downstairs for breakfast. Tea had intervened and saved some bacon, eggs, and orange juice from complete destruction. We ate amidst comfortable chatter. I was glad no one questioned my presence, or asked when I intended to return to the Kaiba mansion. I wasn't yet ready to face that problem.

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I spent the next three weeks with my friends. When Yugi's grandfather returned, I moved to Joey's. When Serenity came back from camp I stayed at Tristan's. After three days at Tristan's I went to Tea's. I stayed with Tea for nearly a week. After Tea's I found myself at Duke's. I spent the remainder of the three weeks with Mai.

I didn't mind moving around so much. In fact, I was glad I didn't stay too long in any one place. I didn't like the thought of the uncomfortable questions that would inevitably follow. The more, and the faster, I moved, the better it was for me.

During my three weeks away, I heard nothing from Kaiba or Kaiba Corp. Nasty rumors spread in the tabloids, of course, but since few people had seen us—and even fewer actually knew who I was—I was never incriminated.

I vaguely wondered if the wedding had been called off. Every time I thought about it, I felt unidentifiable pain. There were times I nearly forgot how much he had hurt me, and thought only of how much I was hurting him. He had wanted this so badly… But then I would hear beautiful women snickering and gossiping about me, and my guilt was gone. He hadn't even apologized to me.

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A week before the wedding was supposed to be, I was unpacking my (or rather, Tea's) things at Mai's when the phone rang. The caller ID said it was Yugi. I picked up the phone.

“Kaiba wanted me to tell you something,” he said. “He said that the rehearsal and dinner are planned for next Thursday night. If you don't want to marry him anymore, you don't need to go.”

“Thank you, Yugi,” I said slowly. I'd known the wedding was coming up, but so soon?

There was a pause on the other end. “Yami says that you need to decide. He says that you can talk to him whenever you need to.” I could sense Yugi's bewilderment, and didn't blame him. Yami and I communicated—and existed—on an entirely different level as Yugi and I.

“Tell him that I will. Thank you.” There was a gentle click.

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I stood there, with the phone in my hand, for several minutes. Mai returned and came over, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“You okay, honey?” she asked, eyes filled with concern.

I nodded mutely. “Well okay,” she said doubtfully. “I'm making dinner, and Joey's coming over in about an hour.”

I smiled, breaking out of my dazed state. “Oh good. I'll go over to Tea's for dinner then…”

“What?!” Mai screamed. “No, you can't! It…”

“Should be a romantic dinner with just the two of you,” I teased. “Here, I'll help you get ready. Don't worry about me. I need to talk to Yugi anyway, so I guess I'll go over there instead.”

As I rummaged through her cabinets looking for candles and holders, Mai asked me suddenly, “Are you still marrying Kaiba?”

I froze uncomfortably for a second, then continued pulling tiny white tealights out of a bag. I shrugged. “I don't know. I need some time to think about it. I've been putting it off for the past two weeks. The wedding is next week. I have until Thursday to decide.”

She nodded silently. “Okay. Well, I just thought I should tell you… we were talking about it, and we… we really care about you. We'll take care of you if you decide not to go through with the marriage. We understand. Yugi told us everything about it. None of us will think less of you if you do or don't marry Kaiba.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. I stood, cradling the tiny votive holders and tealights in my arms. We set up candles in silence. I felt like I should repay Mai, somehow… “Joey… Joey really does care about you, Mai,” I said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Mai looked startled, but not completely surprised. “Really?”

“Yes. I… I can't tell if it's love yet, but he definitely cares for you.”

Mai was silent. “I didn't think…”

“Joey can see past your tough-girl façade. He can see the lonely person inside. Just let him see it. And let him know how you feel too. If you do that, you'll be much happier, Mai. I know Joey sometimes seems immature, but I think that's only because he doesn't hide his feelings. Or he's not very good at it. He has a good, honest heart, Mai, and a big one at that.”

She sighed and gave me a resigned smile. “Kaiba was a fool to say those things to you. You are the most perceptive person I've ever met, and the man who marries you is the luckiest man in the world.”