Racing my back

Tomorrow may
bring gladness-or a little update!^^ Long, boring chapter ahead, but it gets
better from here(I hope!)..

Enjoy, and
remember to review!

Arigato!^^

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8

They had been
dating for over a month, and for Jou, it was the happiest time of his life.

He took Mai
dancing, to the movies, dinner, ect, never once letting her pay for
anything.(He had picked up a part-time job, just for being able to take her out
on his own expenses.)

In return,
she taught him driving, with terrifying results, because Jou was even more of a
speed freak than her.

Like one
Sunday afternoon, he raced down the highway with a good 190 kmh/h, evaded two
patrols and only escaped being fined(or rather busted) by making a 180° turn,
and chasing down the opposite direction of the road with smoking tires.

Of course,
he was then banned for lifetime from the steering wheel, at least as far as
highways were concerned, because he had scared Mai nearly to death with his
reckless driving.

People
said, that they looked perfect together, and even though they had their
occasional little fights, everyone could see, how much they loved each other.

And then
came the day, Mai didn’t show up for a date.

Katsuya had
been waiting at the restaurant for over two hours, before deciding to go check
on her.

When he
finally found her at the beauty parlor, she excused herself for mixing up
Fryday with Saturday, and made it up to him the very same night, several times.

Jou
thought, this was a once-in-a-time thing, but after that, she would call off
dates or make up excuses, not to meet him, almost every second day.

Armed with
a bundle of expensive, deep-red roses and his determination, he walked up to
the appartment building Mai resided in at the moment.

Just as he
was about to ring, the blonde came rushing out the door, carrying a suitcase
and a large duffle bag.

For a
second, the couple stood there, staring at one another, then Mai pushed past
him with a mumbled “sorry”, tossing her luggage into the trunk of her car.

“You’re
leaving.” It wasn’t even a question, just a simple statement.

Mai gave
him a quick, cautious glance, and Jou saw something flickering across her eyes,
he never expected to see:

Fear.

“What’s
going on here? Where are you off to?”

Mai didn’t
answer, but closed the cover of the trunk and slid behind the steering wheel.
Sighing, Jou looked down the street, before facing her again, and asking:

“What did I
do wrong?” Purple eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in bafflement, and
blonde tresses flew wildly from side to side.

“Kami, no, you
didn’t do anything wrong, Katsuya! You were-are-wonderful, absolutely perfect!
Even more than perfect!”

Jou only
cocked a brow, as he tilted his head to one side, waiting for her to continue.

It was
Mai’s turn to sigh, as she folded her hands in her lap, and confessed:

“It’s, it’s
because of me. Or rather, because of my parents.”

The second
brow followed the first one, but still no sound escaped his lips.

“When-when
I was a kid, my father promised me to one of his best friends’ son. Trust my
father to be traditional, when it comes to marriage.”

A bitter
smile crossed her features. Katsuya just looked at her, then, lowering his
head, he whispered:

“Don’t do
this, Mai.”

“Do what?”
she questioned, astonished.

Angry gold
bore into puzzled purple orbs, when he growled:

“Don’t lie
to me. If you don’t want to date me anymore, if you’re fed-up with me, or are
scared of getting too attached to me, just say so, but don’t give me those
cheap excuses of yours! It’s demeaning!”

Now Mai
became furious.

“I’m not
lyeing! My father even set up a contract, see?”

Rummaging
through the glove compartment, she pulled out a sheet of folded, expensive
paper. Holding it up for Jou to inspect it, she snapped:

“Says here,
once I turn twenty-one, my future husband can set up the date for the wedding,
any place and time he wishes. I have no say in the whole thing!”

Locking the
letter back where she had taken it from, Mai continued:

“That’s why
I’m doing, what I do. I’m trying to enjoy my life as much as I can, as long as
it’s still mine. Because once I’m married, I won’t be more than an obdient
little puppet for my groom to show around.”

For a
while, they remained in silence, until Jou rasped:

“Guess,
this is good-bye then, ne?”

Mai nodded,
as she started the engine.

n lan lang=EN-US style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>“Yes. But
for what it’s worth-“ she gave him a last, loving glance, “you were amazing. In
every sense of the word.”

Tires
screamed, as she shot out of the parking lot, leaving Jou to stare after her.

Donning her
sunshades, she gave a wicked smirk.

“What a
gullible little idiot!”

Then her
smile softened into one of admiration.

“But damn,
if he wasn’t the best lover I ever had!”

He stood a
the railing of the bridge, looking down at the river, as if searching the
water’s surface for answers.

“You
know, it was-“

“A fake?
Sure. I’m not that stupid” answered Katsuya Kanashimi’s question.

“Hn.
What ticked you off?” Moaning, the blond drove a hand over his face.

“You mean, aside of the fact, that the
name was written wrong? I doubt, her father would have personally signed that
contract, if the whole thing had really been organized by a matchmaker.”

It was his dark side’s turn to tilt a
brow, before stating:

“Looks, like you’re smarter than I-“

“Aww, what
happened? Is the puppy heart-broken? Did the blonde slut realize, that you
weren’t good enough for her, and dump you like the trash you are?”

Groaning,
Katsuya cursed inwardly. Perfect. Of course, the one person to find him in this
state had to be Kaiba. This day was just getting better and better. Not.

Turning his
body towards the elder teen, but keeping his sight on the river, he shrugged:

“They come
and they go. At least, it was fun while it lasted.” Shooting the CEO a dirty
look, he continued:

“Unlike
you, at least I can claim, to have had a relationship, ne?” Kaiba only sneered
cooly.

“I fail to
see the point in giving your heart to anybody, since the chances of being let
down are a solid ninety percent.”

Jou lowered
his head, an amused chuckle rumbling through his chest.

“Yes, but
when all is said and done, one still needs a heart, to have it taken and
broken. But then again, hoouldould you ever know?”

With that,
he tossed the bundle of roses direction Kaiba, who snatched it out of the air,
and walked away from him, never once looking back.

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Sleek, ne?
And this is only the preluo:p>o:p>