Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Love Me if You Can ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Important Characters:

Malik Ishtar- 23 years old; youngest of the Ishtar siblings.

Bakura Hideyoshi- 24 years old; Malik's best friend since Jr. High, he's `in love' with Malik's sister, Isis.

Mai Kujaku- 24 years old; friend of Bakura, roommate of Ryou. She is the matchmaker.

Ryou Tanaka- 22 years old; café employee studying interior design, roommate of Mai, distant friend of Anzu. Has a crush on- more like an obsession with - Bakura.

Anzu Mazaki- 22 years old; friend of Ryou; dreams of becoming a dancer. Has a grudge against men for some unknown reason.

Mariku Ishtar- 24 years old; second oldest of the Ishtar siblings. Has a grudge against Malik and is a womanizer.

Isis Ishtar-Mutou- 25 years old; eldest of theIshtar siblings, married to Atemu Mutou.

Atemu Mutou- 25 years old; husband of Isis; childhood friend of Anzu's.

Malik's ex-girlfriend- 23 years old. Her name is currently unknown by all except for Malik, Mariku, and Bakura. Presumably she ran off with Mariku after breaking up with Malik - or maybe she had hooked up with him even before the breakup. She'll be referred to as She/Her.

~*~

Love Me if You Can

-Chapter Two-

~*~

“... Bakura, what is this all about?”

Malik stood behind the counter of his home's kitchen, staring at his best friend with bored lilac eyes. It was Monday evening and he was in the middle of cleaning up his house before his guests - his sister and his brother-in-law - arrived for coffee.

Bakura was leaning against the opposite side of the counter, absently swirling a drink Malik had given him with his index finger. He closed his eyes and turned to face the Egyptian directly, a frown appearing on his face. “All right... But before I tell you, just say yes.”

“What?”

“Just say yes,” Bakura repeated. “It will make things easier for the both of us.”

The blonde-haired man looked confused.

He shook his head and sighed “Fine. Yes. Now what is this all about?” he asked again.

Bakura propped himself up on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth. “I was terribly worried about you yesterday; you're acting less and less like yourself and it just isn't pleasant to be around you anymore. So I decided that, if you are so unwilling to get over Her, I will simply take matters into my own hands. And I did. I went over to Ryou's after leaving the grocery store and talked out a plan with Mai Kujaku.”

Malik scowled, already knowing what was going on just by hearing the name of the violet-eyed model. “Bakura, you didn't,” he said angrily, stalking over to his friend. When Bakura only grinned slyly, he growled. “I specifically told you that I wasn't ready for a new girlfriend, which is exactly why I always turn down your offers to `woman hunt' and every other stupid idea that you come up with!”

The white-haired man was unaffected by his friend's reaction. He took a sip of his drink slowly and then looked lazily back at the blonde. “You're not ready. That's always your excuse, Ishtar; `I'm not ready' and `It's too soon'. Well you know what I think?” he asked, pinning Malik with a snide glare.

“I think you're just scared of commitment. You want a new love, but you're scared; scared that you'll be left all alone again, that you'll be betrayed again. Well listen up, you pansy. I'm sick of you moping around all the time; it's depressing to me and everyone else around you. Your sister and idiot brother-in-law are even worried about you, they've told me so themselves.”

“Bakura, I don't need to hear this from you. I know they're worried about me. They are my family, after all. And,” he stuffed his hands into his pockets, his lilac eyes narrowing slightly, “it's not as if I enjoy being this way, you know. It's not as if I like being depressed and heartbroken.”

“Then why the hell don't you do anything about it?” Bakura asked, his voice rising in anger. He grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him. “You just sit around and your house and think about Her. Well She isn't coming back to you, okay? She doesn't love you anymore, and personally I doubt She ever did love you.”

“Bakura, stop it,” Malik said harshly, placing his hands over Bakura's arms to push him away. It was one thing to criticize him for handling the situation poorly, but it was completely different for Bakura to mock the relationship he had with his ex-girlfriend.

“What's the matter? Can't handle the truth? Don't like being reminded of how each of your girlfriends in the past have all left you for Mariku?” Bakura quipped, smirking.

Before the brown-eyed young man could say anything more, he was knocked off the countertop by a swift punch in the jaw. The glass he had set next to him went crashing to the ground and shattered into hundreds of fragments, its contents spilling onto the tile. He coughed, tasting blood in his mouth, and glared up at the Egyptian standing above him. He deserved the punch, but he was still angry that Malik actually had the nerve to injure him, after how long they had known each other, just because of some stupid remark about Her and Mariku.

The doorbell rang. The two males stayed motionless and stared at each other, angry sparks of electricity passing between their sets furious eyes. Livid lilac clashed with mocking russet in a battle to make the other look away. The war lasted a grand total of three minutes, ending only when the doorbell rang for a second time.

Bakura pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his face and mumbling curses under his breath. Malik left the kitchen, not having anything to say, entering the foyer where his front door was located. The white-haired man followed him, pushing the Egyptian roughly against the wall in order to reach the front door first. He looked at Malik warningly and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a crumbled piece of paper.

“You're meeting her tomorrow at Café Cibo... seven-thirty, casual attire. Don't be late.”

And with that said, Bakura threw open the door. Isis Ishtar-Mutou stood outside with her husband and greeted her brother's friend with a warm smile. Bakura bowed respectfully to the young couple, ignoring the jealousy that stirred inside of him at the sight of Isis with Atemu, and began walking briskly away from the home.

“Remember, Ishtar; seven-thirty!”

Bakura disappeared down the sidewalk.

Isis blinked. “What was that about? I don't think I've ever seen Bakura look so angry before... except, perhaps, at my wedding.” She chuckled fondly at the memory.

Malik shrugged his shoulders, still in quite a foul mood. “I don't know. But it's not important.” He paused and opened the door wider to allow them better entrance. “Please, come inside,” he offered, tilting his head downwards humbly.

~*~

Anzu Mazaki glanced momentarily up at the monstrous clock tower which stood proudly in the very center of Domino Square; its large hands proclaiming that it was currently forty-five minutes past eight.

`Ryou's late,' she thought to herself, taking in the surroundings. `That isn't like him. He's usually on time, if not early.' She frowned and tapped her foot impatiently against the cement sidewalk. `I wonder why he needed to meet with me anyways. He said it was important, that in concerned me. What could it be about?'

She sighed, running a hand through her short brown hair. A small smile appeared on her face when she noticed a familiar young man running towards her. His silver-white hair was tied back into a loose ponytail and he was waving his arms frantically in order to catch her attention.

“Hello, Anzu! Sorry for being late,” Ryou apologized immediately after halting in front of her. “I was held up at work. Nikko had to leave early and I had to take over for him. I would have called you but my phone decided to die on me, and my boss won't let me use the café phone anymore because I supposedly `abused the privilege' when I began calling up Bakura every day. Personally, I think she's just jealous.”

Anzu shook her head. “Okay...” She didn't quite know what else to say to that. Indeed, Ryou was an odd character. “So what is it you needed to talk to me about?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Oh! That. Well,” The brown-eyed young man grinned. “I've noticed how depressed you've been lately - and before you object to that, yes; I as well as countless others have been able to notice your less-than-cheerful disposition - and I have decided to be a wonderful friend and try to help you get over whatever it is that is causing you to act this way.”

Anzu blinked. “Ryou, what are you...?”

Ryou held up a hand to silence her. “Don't ask questions yet. Let me speak. I have also noticed, being the perceptive person that I am, that the bitterness inside of you seems to be directed towards your opposite gender... males. For what reason, I have no idea, and it is none of my business to ask. But perhaps I can help remedy the situation by setting up a casual, care-free night out for you and a good friend of mine. You see, he as well has been suffering through a depression of sorts. I feel you might be good for each other.”

“Listen, as much as I appreciate you going through all this trouble, I don't think I need you setting me up on a blind date,” Anzu said before he could tell her anything more about this `solution' to the problem he figured she had. “You were right in saying that it is none of your business to ask what's causing me to feel a certain way towards men... and it is also none of your business to try and remedy, as you call it, the situation.”

“But- I-”

“No.”

Ryou pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. “It's just one night. It's not as if I'm telling you to enter a romantic relationship with him, I'm just suggesting that you two go out for dinner... say, tomorrow night... seven-thirty, at Café Cibo.” He gave her a sly smile and turned around, beginning to walk away.

Anzu's jaw dropped slightly. “Ryou!” she yelled, running after him and grabbing him by the arm. “You already set me up on a date with him?” She growled out of frustration when he made no effort to reply to him. “I can't believe you! What am I supposed to do now?”

Ryou flashed a sweet smile and then began walking away once more. He waved his hand at her as he headed towards a blue mini cooper which was parked a few feet away. “Ta, ta!” he cooed before entering the vehicle, which sped off immediately before the brunette had a chance to see who was sitting behind the steering wheel.

The blue-eyed young woman sighed out of aggravation. `I can't believe it... but I should have known he'd pull something like this,' she thought deprecatingly. `I swear I can't trust anyone anymore. Why can't people just stay out if my business? Why do they feel the need to fix problems that I don't even have?'

She placed her hands in the pockets of her coffee-colored coat; frustrated with the world and all of its inhabitants. She didn't know why it upset her so much; she just wished people wouldn't do things behind her back... especially things that concerned her love life.

Without even checking to see if the crosswalk sign was green or not, the brunette made her way across the street. An angry scowl adorned her usually perky face and she ambled on. She had not even taken three steps on the street when she heard the annoyingly loud wailing of a horn which came from the vehicle of a probably impatient, ugly driver.

“Hey watch it!”

Anzu's head jerked quickly to the side when hearing the heavily accented voice yelling at her. She jumped back out of reflex as a sleek red motorcycle screeched to a stop right next to her. She could feel the motorcyclist glaring at her from behind the dark goggles on his helmet but she didn't make any effort to look away or appear, at least, apologetic.

The cyclist hopped off of his bike and removed his helmet, revealing his disgruntled features.

“Are you stupid?” he asked.

Anzu blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Are you stupid?” he repeated loudly. “I could have hit you! You-you could have died!”

“Well maybe you shouldn't drive so close to the sidewalk, moron,” Anzu suggested; placing her hands on her hips and pinning him with her poignant azure eyes.

He snorted in indignation. “Well maybe you should look where you're going before you start waltzing down the street, idiot,” he countered.

“Waltzing? I was clearly sauntering.”

“Well, sorry, but that was a very horrible impersonation of a saunter.”

To the brown-haired woman's own surprise, she laughed. After realizing what she had just done she coughed loudly and clasped her hands behind her back. “Sorry,” she said; the apology contained no detectable sincerity.

He grinned and nodded his head. “Quite all right. I suppose women just can't help being careless.”

“I can say worse things of men.”

“I'm very certain that you can.” He bit his lip, as if trying to make a difficult decision. “I'm Malik, by the way. Malik Ishtar.” He bowed slightly.

The brunette returned the formality. “Anzu Mazaki. It's nice to meet you…I guess.”

“I guess...” Malik echoed with a small smile. He grabbed the handles of his motorcycle and resumed his position on the driver seat. “So... where are you headed, Apricot?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Anzu stepped closer to him, admiring his bike absentmindedly. “Home, actually.”

Malik sighed. “Oh.” He sounded a tad disappointed. “I guess that's where I should be going, too. But I am sort of hungry. Would you like to go and get a bite to eat?”

The young woman shook her head vigorously. “No. I really should be going home,” she declined quickly. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, no problem. Do you need a ride?”

“I think I can manage on my own,” she replied flatly. “But thanks for the offer.”

Malik looked to the ground, trying to figure out what he could say to prolong their time together. For whatever reason, he had no clue, but he enjoyed talking with her. Her personality was different than that of other women he had known in his lifetime; he liked it. He opened his mouth to ask her something else, but she spoke first.

“Goodbye.”

He nodded his head. “Bye.” He then started the engine of his motorcycle and sped off back into the night traffic.

Anzu watched him until his bike vanished out of her field of vision. She pursed her lips and turned on her heel, heading in the opposite direction of Malik and towards her apartment building. She wondered passively if she would ever see Mr. Malik Ishtar again.