Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Frozen Tears ❯ Tears Fall From the Sky ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A/N I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. And Kazuki Takahashi created it. That is not my name. And I have not read the mangas, but I learned the Japanese names before the English ones, even though I was watching the show in English. So the characters have their Japanese names but their personalities are geared more toward the characters from the English show.
I do own this fanfic. Although the Anzu/Yami Yugi concept is not mine and has been used in numerous other fanfictions, I like the idea and decided to use it. But I've said too much already. And it is not all mushy like this chapter. SOrry for those who like mushy stuff, don't worry for those who don't.

Frozen Tears

Chapter One: Tears Fall From The Sky

Anzu Mazaki was walking through the busy park, her eyes wandering to find someone but knowing he wouldn't be there yet. She thought about what she was going to say, what she would let herself say. She felt like she was bursting inside; she held so many feelings she felt that they were overwhelming her. Fear of what he might do or say. Nervous about what might happen. Shyness; she wondered if she would be able to say it.

Anzu thought about the one feeling she wanted to feel most right now: love. Was that not why she had come here, to show her love? Anzu smiled. Yes, that was why she was here. She had to profess her love to that person. Anzu's smiled faded. She wasn't sure what he would say back, though. But she could guess. That was why she was frowning. She knew what he would say. But she still had to tell him. She could no longer keep it inside.

Anzu sat down on a bench that overlooked the pond. It was a peaceful day, so the pond was smooth and tranquil, a mirror showing the blue eyes and cold, pink nose of Anzu's reflection. Anzu thought about the pond and tried to get her emotions under control. She closed her eyes, thinking as hard as she could about the calm peacefulness. Slowly the emotions like a raging sea settled down, serenely smoothing out and becoming like the water before Anzu.

Outside of Anzu's calm sea, the crisp air of autumn was getting colder as the sun went behind a cloud and a shadow spread across the park. Anzu shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her. It sure was bitter. A small breeze nipped at Anzu's neck, making shivers run down her spine and jolting her out of the calm of her mind. The pond before her rippled and Anzu's reflection was distorted for a few brief moments. Anzu stared at the water, and as the breeze faded and the pond went calm she saw that another person was now behind her.

She quickly turned around. It was Yugi. No, Anzu thought, it was Yugi's Yami. Well, yes it was Yugi, but it wasn't him…Anzu was confusing herself. She still didn't entirely understand it herself.

"Hello!" Anzu said, trying to make it sound happy. She forced a smile out. But inside, she was really on that rough sea of emotions again, trying to ride the waves and make it safely to the shore of normal, happy feelings. But this time she could not calm her feelings.

The wind really picked up, blowing red, orange and yellow leaves around the two, making the water of the pond ripple and become angry, again distorting the reflections of the pond. Anzu shivered again, shaking the stare that Yami was giving her.

"You wanted me to come?" he asked.

Anzu racked up her courage. It was now or never, she guessed. "I…I have to tell you something. I…" Anzu's voice cracked, showing her nervousness.

"What, Anzu?" Yami asked, knowing it must be important if she was nervous. She was almost never nervous.

~Flashback~

"Yugi has a heart, Kaiba! He has friends that will stick by him no matter what." Anzu had been so courageous then. It took strength to stand up to Kaiba. But Anzu had done it for her friend, and that gave her courage enough. "What do you have, Seto Kaiba? What do you have at the end of the day? What? Tell me!"

"I have all that I need." Kaiba had been so cold, but Anzu still stood up for Yugi. And she was still strong afterwards, because she still had enough courage to duel Mai.

"Don't let these tears fool you, Mai. I may be crying but I've never felt stronger." Anzu had been so strong then, too, after being put down by Kaiba. "I won't give up. I won't."

~End Flashback~

"Yami, I…I love you." Anzu's voice cracked again. She turned her head, unable to look at Yami's face. She knew what he was going to say, but she needed to hear it from him. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind that he might say something different. It was a hope that she tried to quell, knowing that she would only hurt herself if she let it get larger and cloud her better judgment.

"Anzu, I- it won't work out. You and I both know that. It's just- it just won't work." Yami hated saying it; he knew it broke Anzu's heart. But this whole conversation would hurt Yugi more than he deserved to be. Yugi had loved Anzu almost as long as he had known Yami. But there was no way it would work out this way.

Anzu knew that was exactly what she had expected him to say. But she knew that wasn't the answer to the question she had wanted. His answer was only for the well-being of others and didn't have much to do with his own feelings. That was part of the reason why Anzu loved Yami so much, he was always thinking about others before himself. He always made the decision that would help the most people. Yugi was lucky to have such a caring companion.

"But do you love me?" Anzu asked.

Yami opened his mouth to say something but decided not to and closed it again. He thought for a few moments, looking at Anzu's cheek, the only visible part of her face.

He was about to open his mouth again with his answer when Anzu turned around completely, shutting her eyes tightly to try to hold back tears, and ran as fast as she could away from Yami. The tears that threatened to fall stinging her eyes, blinding her vision and making her shut her eyes tight again. She ran, as fast as she could, away from the park, not caring where her feet took her, as long as it was as far away from Yami as possible.

The cloud that had shadowed the city grew darker and emptied its burden on Domino City. Fat drops fell to the ground, flocking to the solidness of the earth like moths to a flame. They ran to the ground, congregating in puddles and small flows, only to join others as they fell down a gutter or drain. Some drops fell into the dead earth of freshly-harvested gardens, turning the dry dirt into mud. Some of the drops fell down drains on the side of the street, to be carried away to somewhere beyond the city through a never-ending maze of underground pipes. The cloud covered the tops of the few skyscrapers of the skyline, creating a scene that was both beautiful and eerie at the same time.

Anzu ran on, her salty tears joining the drops of pure water, only to be swept away by the currents and flows of the rest of the water. She ran beneath the majestic skyscrapers, staring down at her through their mysterious veil of cloud. She ran, not looking at where she wandered to in the city, and not caring.

She stopped when her feet ached and her lungs were on fire. She panted, looking around her for a familiar sight. All she saw on either side of her were four story apartments made of brick, blocking her view of anything else. She walked to the nearest intersection and looked down the road for a landmark. Seeing one of the more familiar skyscrapers, she took her bearings, then headed towards home.

Yami just stood there, staring at the pond but not seeing it. He barely changed his posture when rain started hitting his back and his reflection in the pond became as distorted and unclear as his own thoughts. He thought about anything and everything; about Anzu, about Yugi, about anything in particular that crossed his mind.

He sighed and turned around, heading towards home. Trying to be considerate of his aibou and not catch a cold, but sneezing as he turned out of the park, knowing that he had already caught one. He tried to get his train of thought into an order which wouldn't hurt, with only thoughts about getting home and the prospect of dry towels making his legs move.

At home, Anzu dried off and changed out of her wet clothes and into dry ones. She then sat on her bed staring out her window at the rain, thinking about what she was going to do next. She started remembering things, like the Duelist Kingdom and the happy times when everyone was just innocent kids having fun. Because of what had happened at the Duelist Kingdom, they all had lost the innocence of their childhood and had discovered that evil really wasn't just in fairy tales. It was real. And it was inside everybody, dormant until unlocked.

Anzu had tried not to let it show. She had tried to accept it yet keep it away from everyone else, but in the end she had let her love through and look where it had brought her. She had been through the pressure of being laughed at and being 'accused' of being in love with Yugi. All the jokes, all the laughter, all the shame was hard to ignore.

Anzu had stood up for Yugi and helped him in many things. She had stood up to many people that would make some cower, like cold Seto Kaiba. And the Duelist Kingdom had put friendships to the test…

Anzu knew Yami would never tell her his feelings for her. She knew it wouldn't work out and she knew that Yugi would be hurt. Her hand went to the phone, thinking she should apoligize to Yugi. But she knew he would never forgive her.

She had tried. She had tried hard to keep it inside. But she had gone and told Yami about her love and it hadn't helped one bit. He had just said the four words she had known he would say: it won't work out. She knew it wouldn't. But that wasn't the question she had wanted answered, whether it would work out or not.

Out the window a soaked mailman came up to Anzu's porch and put the mail in her mailbox. Anzu decided to see if she had gotten any mail this time. She usually didn't but always liked it when she did.

Anzu went down to the porch and grabbed the soggy mail. She walked back into the kitchen and looked through the mail, looking for anything with her name on it. Sure enough, at the bottom of the pile, was an envelope addressed to Anzu Mazaki.

Anzu went up to her room and opened the envelope. Inside there was a letter and a plane ticket. She read the letter.

Anzu Mazaki-
You are invited to compete in an tournament. The tournament will be held in Egypt. All participants are playing for one million dollars and rare cards. This tournament is won by collecting the most points. The most creative and unconventional wins get you more points, more average wins get you less points. Your plane will leave on November 1st at seven at night. If you are to attend please do not be late. I wish you the best of luck and hope to see you at the there.

Anzu pondered over the letter. Why had she been invited? She wasn't a great duelist. She didn't hold any titles, and she hadn't officially been in any tournaments. It didn't make any sense to Anzu.

But I could use a break, Anzu thought. She needed a break from the rainy autumn weather, the constant, friendly bickering of Jou and Honda. She needed a beak from Yugi, and especially Yami. And she had nothing better to do.