Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Devil's In The Details ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: The characters of Yu-Gi-Oh! do not belong to me. They are the creation of Kazuki Takahashi, and I (dirt poor soul that I am) am merely borrowing them for the use of this story.

Warnings: Some use of "four letter words", later some scenes of violence and dark occultism. Turn back now if either of these makes you uncomfortable.

“You know, Anzu, you really didn’t have to walk me home.”

“It’s no big deal. Your place is on my way anyhow.”

“Really? I didn’t know you lived down this way.”

“I don’t, actually. I’m heading over to Yugi’s. His grandpa owns the Kame game shop, you know.”

“I might have to join you some time.” She stopped for a second, taking an opportunity to stretch her back out and enjoy the satisfying crack of her spine shifting back into place. “Ugh, is cleanup always that tedious?”

“Pretty much. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get any better.”

Yuki laughed at that. “Honestly, that’s one thing I miss about my school in the States. No cleaning duty.”

“That must have been nice,” Anzu replied with a laugh of her own.

“It was.” Yuki looked over at the surrounding apartment buildings. “Ah, there it is.”

Anzu nodded. “Okay. So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Yuki would have nodded and been on her way, but a familiar voice from the front of her building caught her attention.

“Kobayashi!”

Her head whipped around quickly, and she couldn’t help the friendly smile that blossomed across her face when she saw another of her old friends walking towards them. “Suzuki-senpai! How’ve you been?”

“Not too badly, Kobayashi. And yourself? Your mother said you started at Domino High this morning.”

“Hai, I did. Actually, I’d like you to meet one of my friends from my class. This is Mazaki-san.”

Anzu bowed reflexively. “It’s nice to meet you, Suzuki-senpai. Did you and Kobayashi-chan and Bakura-kun all know each other at your last school?”

It was odd, Yuki noted, how dark Suzuki-senpai’s expression became at the mention of Ryo’s name. “Tch. I tolerated Bakura before he put Kobayashi into that coma. To think he‘d do that to one of his friends.”

Yuki stiffened imperceptibly at that. “Now Suzuki-senpai…”

“Kobayashi-chan told us that it was a delayed allergic reaction, Suzuki-senpai.” Yuki could clearly see Anzu’s hackles rising at the attack on their friend. She was definitely loyal, Yuki would have given her that even if Anzu wasn’t so likeable.

“Kobayashi isn’t seeing it clearly. It was Bakura’s fault, not some piece of peanut slipped into her miso.”

And now Yuki’s hackles were rising slightly. If there was one thing that she hated, before or after her time in the hospital, it was being talked about like she wasn’t there. “Ne, Suzuki-senpai, what are you doing in Domino City? I didn’t hear that you’d transferred here.”

“I’m visiting family during my break. The school’s given us the week off for an inservice period.”

“I see…”

“Why don’t you and I go get something to eat and we can catch up on old times, Kobayashi? We’ve missed you, you know.”

Shit. Shit shit shit! If there was one thing that Yuki definitely did not want to do it was to go anywhere alone with Suzuki-senpai. He was an old friend, true, but there was something that tugged at her gut. Call it women’s intuition, limited ESP, whatever. Regardless, there was something that was telling Yuki that it was not a good idea to be alone with the older teen and she was damn well going to listen! The problem was how to go about it politely. “Well you see, Suzuki-senpai…that is, ah…” She turned back to Anzu slightly with a smile of mute appeal and sending a silent thanks to anyone listening that the other girl hadn’t left.

“Don’t forget, Kobayashi-chan, we’re supposed to be meeting Yugi, Honda, and Jonouchi at the shop in fifteen minutes so we can get to the movie on time!” Anzu quickly said. “And who knows how long we’ll be. Come to think of it, maybe we should be going?”

Now Yuki’s smile was one of pure gratitude. “That’s right! Thanks for reminding me, Mazaki-chan.” She turned back to her senpai with an affected apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, Suzuki-senpai, but I’ll have to take a rain check on that. It was good to see you again. Ja ne!”

Yuki and Anzu would have power-walked out of there the second those two little syllables were out of her mouth, except for the pasty hand that clamped down on Yuki’s wrist in a grip as tight as a vise. “Now is that any way to treat your senpai?” Suzuki clucked.

“Hey, let her go!”

“Suzuki-senpai, you’re hurting me!”

Suzuki yanked Yuki closer to him. “You will come with me, my dear. It’s not up to you right now.”

Then Yuki blacked out.

*************

Anzu was shocked beyond belief. The entire conversation was odd, but to see this scrawny little guy who looked like he could barely lift his book bag drag her new friend around like he was, much less grip down on Yuki’s wrist hard enough to hurt her and possibly cause her to pass out? Something was definitely not right here. “Suzuki, let her go!”

“She is mine, Mazaki. You and your little friends can’t have her. Besides, what are you going to do, scratch my eyes out?”

It was times like this that Anzu was glad she kept her cell phone in one of the side pockets of her backpack in easy reach. She pulled out the phone, brandishing it towards the psycho like a priest in one of those weird horror movies might brandish a cross against a creature of darkness. “I’ll call the police!”

“As though they could stop me,” Suzuki chuckled. It was a horrifying sound, worse than the spirit of the Millennium Ring’s vindictive laughter. She doubted that the spirit could laugh any other way, but this definitely wasn’t the time to think about that.

Suzuki’s eyes met hers for a moment, and what Anzu saw there scared her more than the spirit of the Ring on its worst day. Suzuki’s eyes seemed to glow with a dark fire despite the muddy and mottled swamp-water brown of the irises. It wasn’t a good kind of glow, either. It seemed to her that there was an expression of hatred and malice within those eyes that seemed almost timeless. She’d seen something similar in the eyes of the spirit of the Ring, but, if Yami was right, it was a good 3,000 years worth. The depth of Suzuki’s malice seemed to stretch back eons, maybe even back to the dawn of time.

But a movement from her friend made Anzu break away from that black gaze with an almost audible sigh of relief. “Yuki, I’ll call the cops, don’t worry!”

It was Yuki that answered, but there was something off. “There will be no need for that, Anzu.” Her voice was quiet, but it seemed…more sure, more imposing. Almost regal. It wasn’t Yuki’s cheery voice, even though this stranger sounded almost identical.

Her tone was so commanding that Anzu found herself slipping her cell phone back into her bag. “Yuki?”

“You will release me.” Yuki’s voice was still that commanding roll of thunder, but Suzuki didn’t let go. Not at first. “Suzuki. You will let go.” She turned her head so that she and Suzuki had eye contact and uttered the final word. “Now.”

The same force that had made Anzu put her cell phone away seemed to work on Suzuki, uncurling his hand from Yuki’s wrist one finger at a time. When Yuki pulled her wrist away and calmly stepped back towards Anzu, Suzuki’s mouth seemed to unseal itself. “This isn’t over. You are mine!” Then he turned and ran off into the alleyways, disappearing from view.

“Yuki-chan? Are you all right?”

“I’m all right.” Somehow Anzu doubted that, but with Yuki’s back turned to her, she couldn’t be sure. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m not feeling well. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I hope you feel better.”

“Thank you, Anzu. I’m sure I’ll be as good as new tomorrow morning.” Yuki turned back and gave her friend a half-smile that didn’t reach her eyes before turning back and entering the apartment building, tossing a wave over her shoulder. “Mata ne.”

Anzu stood for a moment, still trying to digest everything that had happened. Of course, she jumped a mile when her phone rang. Then she came to her senses and fumbled through her bag for it, somehow glad to see the number for the game shop flashing across the small screen. “Moshi moshi?”

“Anzu?” Yugi’s voice replied. “Honda and I were just starting to wonder where you were. We were going walk together to meet Jonouchi and Shizuka at the movie theater, remember?”

“Oh, right! I’m on my way now, I just left Yuki at her place. Hey, why is Honda at the shop?”

“Something about Jonouchi threatening to kill him if he started in on his sister. You know how Honda and Jonouchi can get when Shizuka-chan’s involved.”

“Right.”

“Are you all right, Anzu? You sound kind of out of it.”

“Yeah…the strangest thing just happened…”

*************

“Someone tried to grab Kobayashi? You’re kidding, right?”

“That’s what Anzu said,” Yugi said as he hung up the shop’s phone. “Ano, Honda? You and Ryo are pretty close, right?”

Honda shrugged. “I guess. Why?”

“Has he ever mentioned anyone named Suzuki?”

“I don’t think so. Damn, someone trying to kidnap Kobayashi… Is Anzu okay?”

“She’s a bit shaken up, but she said she’s okay. It sounded like Yuki-chan was a bit worse for the wear.”

“Can’t blame her.”

“I suppose not,” Yugi mused. “I’d probably be out of my mind if that happened to me.”

“If weird stuff didn’t happen to you so regularly, you mean.”

“Well, that too…” /I wonder what this Suzuki person wanted with Yuki./

//Somehow I doubt that it was anything good, Yugi. What puzzles me is what Anzu described when Ryo’s old friend regained consciousness.//

/The eye color?/

//There aren’t that many people who have silver eyes without contact lenses.//

/Silver? That’s not right…/ “Hey Honda? What color are Yuki-chan’s eyes?”

“Hazel. Why?”

“I think things are going to get even weirder around here.”

****************************************************< br>
Ja ne - Roughly equivalent to the English “See you later”.

Mata ne - See Ja ne.

Moshi moshi - A common expression used when answering the telephone. I’ve been taught that there’s not a direct translation for the phrase in English, but the Japanese-English dictionary at my disposal translates it as “Hello”.

Senpai - One’s senior at school or work. The term is often converted into a suffix, like “-chan” or “-san”.

/…/ - Yugi to Yami Yugi
//…// - Yami Yugi to Yugi