Well I for one am amazed that this isn't a drabble. And I'm sure I'm not alone in that. ^^; This is actually a first for me. Usually I have an idea and go with that but this round I struggled with another one (that would have been a drabble actually) but at the last minute (once I had internet connection back) I came up with this. Which kind of took on a life of its own. All I can say is now I see why they call it conflictshipping.

Anyway. On with round seven. (Seven, really? Wow)

xxx

It was that loser's fault she was in this mess. If he hadn't gone off on his own 'mission' she wouldn't have to drive around looking for him now. And if he though he was going to mussel in on her claim then he had another thing coming. Jounouchi was her fight and she could take care of him herself! Valon may claim he was doing this for her, but who did he think he was? Sure some would have called it sweet but frankly she was just annoyed by it. It was like he didn't think she could take care of herself and wasn't this whole thing about proving exactly that?

He just made her so mad sometimes. What gave him the right to care for her? To look out for her? She was going to be fine on her own and she could prove it. But first she had to find his dumb ass in time before he ruined her plan and she only hoped he hadn't screwed it up for her!

Rafael had told her Valon had gone after Jounouchi himself and that she was to leave them alone. That she disagreed with. That loser was going to get into trouble facing Jounouchi like that and she didn't feel like cleaning up his mess.

Valon she knew she had no hope of finding. Even if the city was practically deserted it still was rather big so her chances of bumping into him were low. And since Valon was after Jounouchi himself it meant that she had to find Jounouchi before Valon did. She was worried about him, not that she cared to admit it, even to herself, but she knew no good could come from their duelling. And it was her fight anyway. Her business and her right and he should have just stayed out of it.

She also had a better chance of finding one of the other dorks; if he had found one of them then they could be of use. With that she scanned the city around her, and like all the other streets she had passed it was dark and deserted. It was starting to annoy her too, just like the boys she was pursuing.

Jounouchi would be looking for her too, if Valon hadn't already got him. He still had some crazy idea about saving her but she didn't buy it. She didn't want to buy it because she had wanted to for so long but he never came. His chance to prove himself to her had already past and it was too late. The only reason she was trying to find him anyway was because she had to stop him from doing anything stupid. He was good at that after all.

Another scan of her surrounds told her she was still alone. With a frustrated growl she turned the corner to find herself behind a very familiar pointy head. It was the first promising sign she had had all night.

"Oi. Honda," she called, effectively snapping his attention away from whatever he had been doing. She didn't really care, as long as he knew where Jounouchi was.

"He took off after one of your little pals," he spat back at her question. She glared at him, before she caught the implication. It seemed that Valon had found Jounouchi after all. She was going to kill him!

"Get out of my way," she snapped back. Honda was shouting something after her but the sound of the engine beneath her drowned him out. She didn't really care what he had to say anyway. She had to save that idiot, and at that moment she wasn't sure which one she meant.

All she needed was a sign, something to point her in the direction either loser had taken. Valon could have led him anywhere, but she had a fair idea of which direction he would lean to. He had to be somewhere near Paradise if he wanted to get back in time. The further she drove the more annoyed she got with him. She wanted to duel with Jounouchi herself, to prove she could really make it on her own. Valon would probably only lose anyway she thought as she knew that Jounouchi could be strong.

She also knew that Valon wasn't too bad himself, and with that thought in mind she half unconsciously speed up.

The street she was speeding down was full of ramps up to the roof. She scanned the street again and quickly drove up one of them. Turing off her bike she waited. Unlike those idiots she knew the value of patience and it wasn't long before she was rewarded. Rising up between the roof tops in the distance she saw a familiar green glow which could only mean the activation of a Seal. And given the position the other two were in it could only mean Valon had finally cornered Jounouchi. With an angry smile she quickly started the bike again and followed her beacon. Now that she had her target it didn't take her long to reach the general site of the duel.

The Seal was still in play, so she knew she wasn't too late. But to her it was vitally important that she stopped the duel before anything happened. She knew she could, after all Valon had done it to her and it was time she repaid the favour. She didn't want to think about what happened if she were too late, at that moment beating Jounouchi was the most important thing to her and if Valon had taken that away from her…

She had to stop herself before her old, weak memories assaulted her once again. She would prove herself! Even if she had to go through Yugi, Valon and Jounouchi with her bare hands she would.

Another scan told her that once again no one was around but she was close, she knew it. It was only a matter of finding them now. It wasn't an easy matter either, but at least she could now reject any narrow streets as those two losers needed some space if they were duelling. But this part of the city was spacious, and with each minute that passed decreased the chance of finding both of them intact dramatically. And the slower speed she was forced to use just added to the list of things that were annoying her that night. More and more she found herself alternately wishing Valon had left her and her claim alone and cursing him for not listening to her. He thought he was protecting her, he had said as much. But he didn't realise that by ignoring her he was doing the exactly same thing Jounouchi had done. There was a small part of her that cared for that idiot, he had found her and given her access to great power after all and she was grateful. He also understood her and after everything that was invaluable. But he was meddling in things that didn't concern him and she wished he would listen to her for once. There were times when his little crush on her was precocious and interfered too much with her plans.

And then there was Jounouchi himself. She had been a fool to ever think of his as a friend, or even as more than a friend. He was the biggest idiot of them all and she wanted to squash him herself. That had been her goal right from the start. To prove to him that not only was she fine on her own but she was strong too. And maybe if she finally did that her memories could be put to rest and never again would she have to think about Marik and what he had done to her. Never would she have to feel helpless and alone and never would she have to feel trapped again. He had proven he didn't care, his words were empty she could she that.

He wouldn't hurt her again.

"I activate, Black Hold Shield!"

At this distance she couldn't tell which of them it was as they sounded muffled but she was getting close and that was all that mattered. And those idiots were, thankfully, obviously still at it. It wouldn't be long now before she could finally put her demons to rest.

She wasn't exactly silent as she approached the field. Not that either of the duellists notice her arriving until she was already upon them. Neither of them looked in very good shape, it was yet another reason why she was going to kill Valon once this was over if this spoiled her fight with Jounouchi.

"Mai!" Valon called to her, sounding cheerful. He had apparently noticed her, which was giving him far more credit then she had. "You're just in time to catch the end of the greatest duel ever!"

And what gave him the right to have that duel?

"You've done enough! Stand down and let me finish this. This is my fight!" she yelled back. Valon should have known that but of course that would require listening to her for once wouldn't it. As Valon spewed some crap about doing it for her, again, she can barely contain her frustration and anger. However his next words make her pause.

"I'm having way too much fun to stop now!"

She had heard something like that long ago. Hadn't Jounouchi sprouted some crap like that once upon a time? It did seem like something that gang would do. She took a second look at him. Valon seemed, happy. She had never seen him like that before. It went against everything he claimed to fight for.

Her angry retort died in her throat. She could only watch the duel in morbid fascination now. And she would only watch as one of those two knuckleheads was practically sentenced to death. There was nothing more she could do now. It was so close to finishing anyway, she had to shield herself as one of the attacks rushed past her as Valon swooped in for victory not falling for Jounouchi's bluff.

Jounouchi however hadn't been bluffing. The armour that had encased him when she had arrived was now destroyed, and even though he was still in the duel each of them were only one attack away from defeat.

Even with the small amount she had seen, it was obvious how intense this duel had been. Both of them could barely stand and still they wanted more. More than anything in the world did she want a duel like that, one in which she could prove her strength and endurance and finally dispel the ghosts from her past. Her very soul burned for it, and her head burned to match it. She couldn't see the green glow her hand muffled as she placed it over her forehead with a wince.

There was nothing she could do now; the duel was too close to finishing and far too intense for her to interfere now. Back and forth they exchanged blows and she could only watch. They were doing it for her; they were both doing it for her. One of them would be trapped and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Back and forth the attacks went and still he claimed it was fun, as if there were no stakes and nothing to be lost. It had been a long time since she had had a duel like that. She watched intently the joyful look in Valon's eyes and the determined glint in Jounouchi's as they drew their final cards. It would be because of her that one of them would be put to rest.

"Jounouchi!" she cried out as it seemed that he was the loser. Any further comment was drowned out by Jounouchi himself calling his last attack. With that there is no way Valon could win. She didn't make a sound as his life points dropped to zero. As he sank to his knees he turned to face her and she was still silent.

"Goodbye," was all he said. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Valon, I…" but what she was about to say was cut off. So far there had only been a few times in her life when she could cry, when she would even consent to it. But now tears poured unchecked down her face as she tried to reach Valon, but the Seal stopped her.

"I'll leave her in your care," he finally said to Jounouchi, who only nodded in response. Anger rose up inside her at that, but her focus was on Valon. Before she can say anything else to him, he collapsed to the ground. Whatever she wanted to say was now lost forever as the Seal constricted and engulfed Valon leaving her alone with Jounouchi.

She should have been happier; it was after all what she wanted. But she didn't even give that a second thought as she fell beside Valon, hoping that somehow he managed to evade its powers despite knowing it wasn't possible. Unless he happened to have another soul handy nearby then he was truly gone.

Somehow everything he had said, about wanting to protect her, about how similar they were in their goals, somehow it didn't annoy her anymore. Not even slightly. Jounouchi was talking but she didn't really listen. She couldn't. Not since the only person who had understood her was now out of her reach, most likely forever.

Valon had talked a lot of crap, and it was true that he had annoyed her. But deep down there was a part of her that was glad he had been around. That there had been someone out there who understood how she felt and where she was coming from.

"We'll get him back," Jounouchi says kindly above her. Tears were still pouring down her cheeks as she finally lay Valon's soulless body down. Anger rose up inside her again. Sure, he had understood, but he was a hypocrite about it. He had told her to fight her own battles, to stand up for herself and fight her own duels. And she had listened to him. But the instant she finally got the chance he went ahead and fought her battle for her. How could he? After everything he had said to her how did he dare?

"He deserved this."

Out of the corner of her eye she watched Jounouchi's eyes widened.

"He realised he was wrong you know. He gave his best today. Surely you can't deny that," Jounouchi replied carefully. Now that Valon was out of her arms she stood up slowly and faced Jounouchi with a small sardonic smirk.

"I thought you wanted to destroy him?" She was taunting him now. She was angry, and she wanted more than anything to face Jounouchi once and for all and put everything to rest. She knew she could rile him into doing something stupid.

"He may have been my enemy, but I respect anyone who fights with everything they have," he replied slowly. She just stood there. It wouldn't be long now. She could see it in his face.

"Come, duel me," he finally said. She couldn't help but smile. It was what she had been waiting for; for a long time now. "Let us duel without regret."

She was fine with that. For now she would finally be able to prove to him, to everyone else, and to herself that she could do this on her own and finally put her fears to rest.

It was finally time for her to face Jounouchi.