Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Wash Away Those Years ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Note: This story is a Jounouchi/Mai pairing (a.k.a. Polarshipping) fic that takes place some years into the future. This fic was inspired by Creed's Wash Away Those Years, from the Human Clay album. Go listen to it, the song is awesome.

Wash Away Those Years

Part One

We'd all returned from the Duelist Kingdom after accomplishing what we'd gone to do, and since then the years seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. Yugi and his grandfather went back to the game shop and resumed their simple lives, as well as Yami. We were all pretty freaked when we'd found out that there really were two Yugis and he wasn't just schizo, but in retrospect it just seems so obvious, what with the strange powers of the Sennen Puzzle and all. I think it's helped us realize that we can't take anything for granted. Anzu was the first to realize this, and now she and Yugi are better off for it. The others and I were starting to worry about those two... Okay, so we were just worried that no one would ever win our bet of how long it would take those two to get together. I still can't believe Bakura won. He's become a bit more confident since Yami sent his dark doppleganger off to the Shadow Realm for some time, and his change might be the best result that's come out of the trying ordeals we faced at Duelist Kingdom.

I was relieved, to say the least, when Pegasus was defeated. that was the start of our run of good luck. Kaiba and his kid brother helped us get off the island after we'd gotten them and Yugi's grandfather out of those soul cards, but not before I'd managed to get a hold of enough money to pay for Shizuka's operation. I think Mai might've grabbed some, too. After all, that was the sole reason for her being at Duelist Kingdom, to win a ton of cash. Mai... She's the only one we've lost contact with since our adventure together. Six years might not be a long time, but it feels like and eternity to me. So much can happen in just a few years, so many things that I dread thinking about. I still have hope that she might return someday, but the others say I'm just being stupid, and I can understand why. Mai had never exactly been part of the group, she'd in fact purposely avoided doing so. Yugi and the others finally decided that she'd never felt we'd been her friends, but that didn't affect the fact that she'd been ours. Personally, I think it was just her way to avoid letting down her shield and showing us the real Mai. She truly was a good person; I could sense it back then and I still can to this day.

"Katsuya!"

I looked up from my thoughts to Shizuka's questioning gaze. "What's up, sis?" How long had she been standing there? It was pouring rain and she looked like she's been soaked to the bone. Though looking over myself, I wasn't one to talk. I'd probably been out here for hours and looked a worse mess than Shizuka ever could have.

"Didn't you hear me calling?"

"Sorry, I didn't. I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

"Well, you know. About Duelist Kingdom and everything."

"You shouldn't worry yourself with thoughts like that." She started heading inside to my apartment. Well, our apartment, I guess. Ever since she recovered from surgery I'd been keeping a close eye on her, which included her moving in with me after I graduated. There was no way in hell I was going to let her go back to living with our mother after everything we'd been put through by our parents. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, in a minute." I stood and stretched, looking out over the misty gray horizon as the rain slowed to a drizzle before going inside and closing the balcony's sliding glass door behind me. Today was going to be a long, boring day; it always was with weather like this.

Shizuka offered me a cup of coffee, which I gratefully accepted. "Are you going to the game shop today?" she asked.

"Probably," I answered with a shrug. Since it was Sunday and I didn't work on weekends, I might as well stop by to see Yugi and Yami. Who knows, the rest of the gang might be there, too. "You wanna go?"

"Absolutely!" she said excitedly. I knew she'd want to go - Anzu was like a sister to her, and I sensed that she's developed some feelings for Bakura. It was fairly obvious since those two were practically inseparable the last time we'd all gotten together.

As I headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth and shower, I caught a glimpse of the hall clock as it chimed the seventh hour. This is definitely going to be a long day...

"Katsuya!"

I started to respond, spit out my mouthful of toothpaste and tried again. "What is it? I'm trying to brush my teeth in here!"

Shizuka threw the door open and started pulling me down the hall, not saying a word but I could tell it was important from the frantic look in her eyes. It was that look she got when she didn't know what to do.

"What happened? Did the toaster catch on fire again?" I asked, trying to get her to lighten up, but the only thing I succeeded in doing was receiving a stony glare and another sharp tug. Whatever it was, this was serious.

I was about to demand she tell me what had happened, but we'd reached the living room and I could see full well for myself what had gotten Shizuka so worked up. With the water running I hadn't noticed the doorbell ringing, so I wasn't expecting to see anyone laying asleep on the sofa and certainly not the person who was there.

Shizuka's voice must've come back and she nearly exploded with a panicked force I didn't know she was capable of. "I heard the doorbell ring so I answered it and she collapsed right there in the doorway and I was so scared that she might be dead but she was just asleep and I didn't know what to do so I moved her to the sofa and went to get you..."

"Shizuka! Calm down and breathe!" After she started breathing normally, I asked her to try that again slowly.

"Okay, okay. The doorbell rang just after you went into the bathroom, so I answered it and was nearly scared to death when the woman who was standing outside came inside and asked to see you, but before I could ask her anything she just sort of collapsed. I moved her to the sofa but I'm not sure I should've done that, because they always say to never move an unconscious person..."

I stopped hearing my sister as I walked around the sofa to get a better look at the sleeping figure. There was no doubt about it, I'd recognize that face anywhere, even beneath the shocking bruises that marred her beautiful face. "Mai..."

Why did she come here? How did she know where I live? A million questions spun through my head as I dashed into the kitchen, grabbed the phone and dialed Yugi's number. If anyone knew what to do in a situation like this, it would be him.

"Hello?"

"Yugi!"

"Jou? Why are you calling so early? I thought you slept in on weekends."

"How fast can you get here? Are the others there?"

"What's wrong?"

I noticed that my panic was contagious, so I thought it best to end the call as quickly as possible. "I'll explain when you get here!"

"Alright. Yami, Anzu, Bakura and I will be over as soon as possible."

I hung up and ran back to the living room, almost dropping the portable phone when I saw Mai sit up. "How... how are you feeling?" It was a lame question to ask, but it was all I could think of. What do you say to a person you haven't seen for years who suddenly appears at your door and collapses?

She didn't respond right away, rather she looked at me with those violet eyes of hers that were usually so sharp and piercing but now looked tired and worn out. "Alright... I think."

This was even more confusing. Mai never spoke like that, not with that monotonous, almost sad tone. "Would you like anything? Coffee, tea?"

"Coffee. Thanks." She accepted a cup and resumed her silence, staring outside through the balcony doors. The light rain had turned back into a steady downpour by the time the doorbell rang.

"I hate this weather!" Anzu exclaimed, wringing out her slightly damp hair as she and the others entered. I never understood why she decided to grow it out, since her former short style was cute, but it's never a good idea to question a woman's fickleness.

"Jou, what's wrong? Why'd you call us?" Yugi went straight to the point. I guess the way I'd spoken to him over the phone had shaken him up. I didn't say anything but nodded towards the living room, not wanting to attract Mai's attention, though I doubted anything would by the expression on her face. She looked so alone, so sad. So lost.

Bakura took notice of her first. "Why is..." but his attention was quickly directed elsewhere as he went into the kitchen to see Shizuka.

Yami finished the half-begun thought. "Why is she here?"

"I don't know. She hasn't said much." I glanced over at Mai again and was surprised to see that she was no longer staring outside and was now looking directly at me, though that expression on her face hadn't changed. "Mai?"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what? You didn't do anything to be sorry for." I thought I saw a glimpse of a smile, but it could've just been my eyes playing tricks on me.

"I'm sorry for coming here so early."

"Don't be! I'm just glad your here! I mean, I haven't seen you in, what? Five years?"

I said it in an offhand way, because I didn't want to seem to be so pathetic that I knew exactly how long it had been, but her next words gave some reassurance to my nearly extinguished hope. "Six years." That smile lit back up and she nearly looked like her old self, except for the bruises and sad eyes. "Don't you try to fool me, Jounouchi! You know exactly how long it's been!" But then the sadness reclaimed dominance over her face, and she stared down into her coffee.

"Mai, why are you here?" Anzu asked gently.

At first I though she either didn't hear Anzu or just wasn't going to answer her, when she finally broke the silence. "I had nowhere else to go."

"What do you mean by that?" Yami demanded.

Mai looked up, meeting his inquiring glance with a suddenly fierce one of her own. "Exactly what I said. I had nowhere else to go. If I stayed where I was, I'd probably be dead."

"Don't say things like that!" Anzu jumped in between the two.

Mai shifted her glance to the girl and softened a bit. "Why not? It's the truth."

I suddenly felt that I had to get out of there. I couldn't listen to these kind of things, not in my own home, and certainly not coming from Mai, so I discreetly excused myself to the kitchen. Bakura and Shizuka suddenly jumped up and looked around rather guiltily. "What were you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

The two turned a bit red and Bakura tugged on his collar. "I changed my mind, I don't want to know. Whatever you do, be careful."

"Are you insinuating something?" Bakura yelled mockingly.

"Wink wink, nudge nudge, 'nuff said," Shizuka said in an equally indignant manner before collapsing into a fit of giggles along with her lavender-haired accomplice.

"Kids," I muttered. I didn't have the patience to give them the Talk or deal with their weird sense of British humor at the moment and decided I would probably fare better in the living room. Yugi and Anzu both looked pale and Yami was nowhere in sight, most likely back in his soul room, while Mai had reverted back to silence. "Alright, what did I miss?"

Yugi and Anzu shared a look. "Should I tell him?" Yugi offered.

"No. I will." They both glanced at Mai, but shrugged and stood to leave without bothering to get Bakura.

After the two had left and I was fairly certain that Bakura and my sister weren't paying the least bit of attention to Mai and myself, I sat beside her on the sofa at a careful distance but not so far that it could have been considered rude. Whatever she had told Yugi and Anzu, I had a feeling that it couldn't possibly have been the "full story," since I'd only stepped out of the room for a moment. Still, it must have been something alarming if only a small part of it had caused them to turn so pale, but I didn't want to pressure her into saying anything she didn't want to tell me...

"Hey! Give that Ring back, I need it!"

"You'll have to catch me first!"

The shouting from the next room brought me out of my thoughts with a shock of embarrassment. "Er, sorry about those two," I apologized. "They're not usually this... loud." I'd wanted to say "annoying," but I couldn't bring myself to call my little sister that.

"It's alright. Actually, it's kind of cute." From the amusement on her face I'd expected her to start laughing, but instead began to cough.

"Anou, I'm such an idiot! You must've been out in that pouring rain, you're soaked..." I rambled, now really embarrassed that I hadn't noticed when she'd first arrived.

"No, Jou! I need to talk to you!"

I barely heard her as I scrambled to find a towel in the hallway linen closet, finally holding one up in triumph. It was such a mess in there... As I brought the towel to Mai and wrapped her in it, I silently resolved to clean that closet out. Next weekend.

"Jou..."

Oh god, I didn't want to hear this. She seemed so hurt, so... different. Not like the Mai I used to know. Whatever had caused her to be like this, I didn't want to know anything about it, even though I knew that made hardly any sense because I should've just been glad that she was back. Still, how was I supposed to avoid it? She must've been looking for me for a while, since I doubted that she could've just shown up at my door out of nowhere. Shit! She must've thought I was being weird, just staring at her like that... I needed to say something, anything. "You... you needed to talk to me about something?"

And then she told me something I'd never forget...