Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly (Version 2 - SEMI FINAL)

Chapter 8

Before long, the sun had set and the moon, now full and bright, lit their way through the woods. As they walked, they heard the rustling of the trees, the hooting of owls, and the chirping of crickets. Yugi said, "Wow, it sure got dark in a hurry." Téa looked around nervously and said, "Yeah. Maybe we ought to set up camp somewhere." Emiko nodded in agreement. Tristan said, "Don't tell me you girls are afraid. You've got us protecting you." Emiko said, shrugging, "I guess so." Téa snickered, "Okay, but who's protecting you guys?" Tristan said nervously, "Alright, good point. Let's set up camp." Joey said confidently, "Relax, you guys. There's nothing in these woods but crickets and squirrels."

The five of them continued to walk, looking for a place to camp for the night. They finally found a neat clearing where they could stay. As the group sat in a circle, Tristan took it upon himself to tell a ghost story for entertainment while the moon rose higher and higher.

"And when they finally pulled over to look and see what was in the back seat of the car," Tristan said, building the suspense, "they saw over twenty pepperoni pizzas with double cheese and meatballs." Téa laughed, "Oh, please! What kind of a ghost story is that supposed to be?" Emiko laughed and Joey groaned, "If I don't get some food, I'm gonna be turning into a ghost!" He turned to Emiko and said desperately, "Em, please tell me you brought something to eat in that backpack of yours!" Emiko chuckled and said, "Sorry, Joey...I kinda...I forgot to grab food." Joey sighed deeply, but then caught something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and ran to the spotted, yellow mushroom, saying, "Hey, my meal ticket!" Before he could pick the mushroom, Yugi said, "Hey, wait! Wild mushrooms can be poisonous, Joey!" A woman's laugh cut through the forest. Mai, walking towards them, said, "So do us all a favour and let him eat it." Joey sighed, "Now what do you want, Mai?" Mai smirked, then took a bite of a granola bar. Joey and Tristan both gasped.

"That's it," Joey growled, "You can duel me, you can insult me, but you're not eating in front of me!" Mai winked at him and said, "You're that hungry, are you?" She smiled and said, "Ok, then, give me your star chips and I'll give you some food." Joey grimaced and said, "Forget it! You know star chips are priceless!" Mai laughed and said sweetly, "I was just kidding, Joseph. I'll be more than happy to share if you can manage to ask politely like a gentleman." Joey folded his arms and pouted, "Right. So then you can go and make fun of me for that, too?" Mai shook her head and said, "Look. By tomorrow, I'll have won my way into the castle, so there's no point in me keeping an entire knapsack of food." Yugi said gently, "Sure would be nice not to have to duel tomorrow on an empty stomach." Joey said skeptically, "How do we know this isn't just another trick? Give me just one good reason to trust you." Mai said, setting her bag on the ground and unzipping it, "Because it's either me or that poisonous mushroom." Emiko relaxed a little and said, "I guess you're right." Mai emptied the contents of her knapsack, laying them out on the ground for everyone to see, then said, "Before we can dig in, I want Yugi to go look for some firewood." Yugi nodded and said, "Sure." She turned to Joey and Tristan and said, "And you two boys can go fetch us some water." Tristan agreed, but Joey was reluctant. Yugi stood up and said, "I'll go and get us that firewood." Emiko stood up, too, and said as he walked off, "Wait up, Yugi! I'll help you!" He turned to wait for her.

"Alright," he said, "Let's go." Mai turned to Téa and said, "Well, I was going to offer this to both of you girls, but there's a makeshift shower right over that way if you want to freshen up a bit." Téa smiled and said, "Thanks, Mai." She stood up and took Mai up on her offer.

Yugi and Emiko walked around, picking up dry branches and twigs to use for firewood and for kindling. Yugi said, "You know, Emiko, I always felt like there was some kind of connection between you and Kaiba." She said, reaching down to grab a small handful of sticks, "I'm really sorry I never told you guys, Yugi. I was just afraid." Yugi sighed. After a moment of silence, Emiko said, "I heard about your duel with Seto. I'm so sorry about the way he treated you guys." He smiled and said, "Don't worry about it Em. It's not your fault." She looked over her shoulder at him, then said softly, "I know. It's just...the night before, we got into a big fight. But after your duel with him, he seemed...like his mind was reset." She returned to picking up branches and continued, "He seemed more like the old Seto we knew and loved. The old Seto who would be there to protect me and Mokuba when people tried to hurt us." Yugi turned to her. She looked down at her feet.