Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Mâ! Kore wa Hontô Janai Deshô! ❯ Chapter Two: What ever Happened to Anzu? ( Chapter 2 )

Mâ! Kore wa Hontô Janai Deshô!

A fic by: Saiya-jin Spice - “Sugar, Nice, and Everything Spice! Spicing up your fanfiction, just the way you like it!”

Disclaimer: Yuugiou (Yu-gi-oh) (c) Kazuki Takahashi

Special Thanks: A big round of applause for my Beta’s, C.B.A. and Sakura Nightstar! Thank you so much for all your comments, suggestions, and taking the time to answer all the questions I had. It means so much to me!

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Chapter Two - What Ever Happened to Anzu?

There were just some moments in life where everything seemed to sleekly glide by like someone was playing the slow motion option on a DVD, and Anzu declared that this was one of them.

Every sinuous little detail she remembered as if it had been burned into her mind, and much to her dismay, couldn’t take back. She didn’t know what to say, what to do, or how to react. Just three thoughts swirled together in her mind whipping together until they blended together is a mass of confusion. Number one primarily being that a complete stranger, Namu, had kissed her, which by the way, was her first kiss. Secondly, Honda out of everyone had seen, and third of all, now Yuugi would know too. He would know that she had ditched him and their plans that afternoon, and was already with someone else.

Why did she feel like such a slut?

“A-Anzu...” The spiky-haired teen barely managed to choke out. “B-but...What about Yuugi?”

Oh, no... Anzu could already feel the hot, steamy tears pricking the corners of her azure eyes, as Namu’s arms remained securely around her.

“M-My God, Anzu if you were seeing this guy...” Honda just left it at that, at a loss for words.

“No! You don’t understand!” The brunette exclaimed as she wiggled out of Namu’s strong grip. “I’m not! We were just...we were just...”

“Kissing?” Honda completed her unfinished sentences with raised eyebrows.

“Well, yes, I mean, no, but...” Anzu just trailed off, not knowing what as an excuse. It was true in that technical sense; they had been kissing. But it wasn’t her fault! As if she actually wanted her first to be taken away by a complete stranger.

She eyed Namu urgently, hoping that by some slim chance he would say something, and blame it on irrational thinking on his part. That it wasn’t her fault, and she hadn’t intentionally screwed Yuugi over for him. Their eyes met, as a slow, mischievous smile gradually spilled across Namu’s lips.

“Well, Honda-kun, as you can see, you were right in the sense by saying Anzu-chan and I were kissing. However you are incorrect in believing that this had been going on for some time now. In fact, we only starting going out today.”

Anzu nearly blanched. Just started “going out” today? Since when, and how come she wasn’t aware of this! Namu was being of absolutely no help, and she was only falling deeper and deeper into trouble. In fact, by the way he was behaving, it was almost as if he wanted to cause the trouble. It looked like it was up to her to save herself from this predicament.

She opened her mouth to speak in her defense, however, her brown-haired friend got to it first.

“Plus, weren’t you supposed to be out with Yuugi today? It is Friday, isn’t it? I distinctly remember him saying how excited he was to spend time with you alone, so what exactly are you doing with some guy when you’re supposed to be with him?” Honda curtly continued with narrowed amber eyes.

This isn’t good...He knows about Yuugi and my plans! What am I supposed to say? I did tell Yuugi...or I should say, Atemu, that I had to leave, but I can’t tell Honda it was because I got a little freaked out! Because...I thought I saw something! How crazy is that? It’s so stupid sounding! And now he caught me with Namu...What can I say? Anzu thought panicked with her heart pounding heavily in her chest.

“Honda...just please don’t tell!” she finally blurted out with clenched fists. “Yes, I was supposed to be out with Yuugi today but I wasn’t feeling well, so I told him I had to go home. Well, on my way back I was feeling a little better when I ran into Namu, and everything’s been so confusing since then! You know I would never want to hurt Yuugi like that, and I just got so sidetracked!”

“Apparently. I mean, you were kissing this... ‘Namu’ guy, afterall,” he responded coolly. As if he were almost disgusted.

Anzu gnawed at her bottom lip, feeling absolutely terrible, as she eyed the blonde-haired duelist who was casually sitting next to her as if he hadn’t a concern in the world. His bronze arms were casually draped over the back of the chair while his head was slightly tilted up in a superior way. A sly smirk played at the corners of his lips and his deep amethyst eyes just seemed to glint with dark amusement. The girl frowned, and shook her head, deciding she was just imagining things. Namu wasn’t like that; he was nice, friendly, and compassionate. However, she couldn’t deny the fact that Namu was just sitting tight like nothing was wrong. Not to point fingers, but it was his fault that she was in this mess, anyway.

“Namu!” Anzu suddenly exclaimed, grabbing onto the boy’s arm in an abrupt, unexpected motion. “Please tell him what happened! Please!”

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Malik withdrew immediately from Anzu as if he had touched a searing coal and had been horribly burned. What exactly was the girl begging him to do? Tell her friend that this whole thing was his fault? He secretly smirked. Well, unfortunately for little Anzu, she had no clue that creating tension had been his main goal all along. And it couldn’t work out more perfectly that now the Pharaoh and his vessel were being brought into the picture. Evidently the Pharaoh’s host had feelings for this girl, ones in which this Honda was aware of, and was concerned about.

Quite frankly, he couldn’t be more pleased. It always made things all the more interesting to twist friendships around and create all types of possible suffering. Now all he had to do was claim that Anzu had been the one to come onto him, and put the blame on her. He knew that idiot male cheerleader for the Pharaoh would believe it too. However, when the girl reached out to touch his arm again he couldn’t help but involuntary flinch.

“Namu, please tell him. These are my closest friends and I don’t want anything to happen between us,” she softly pleaded, staring up at him through watery sapphire eyes.

Damn, why did she have to look at him like that? With those stupid big and blue eyes? The girl looked like a fallen angel in mourning and he felt the wince slid over him. No, he couldn’t allow himself to be weak now. No high school Prima-Donna was going to stand in his way of getting revenge. But when a more serious look a desperation fell over her delicate features he felt himself biting his lip.

“...Yeah. It wasn’t her fault, I held her up, and then I let my emotions get the better of me, and...I kissed her.”

Both Anzu and Honda turned to look at him, both surprised although Anzu looked more relieved.

“Thank you,” she murmured, although Malik chose to ignore her, disgusted with himself. What the hell had he been thinking?

“H-Honda...” Anzu started looking unsure of herself. “Could you please not tell Yuugi? I’d die of guilt if I hurt him. Just don’t say anything to him about Namu if he asks, okay? I’ll...I’ll tell him myself when the time is right.”

Malik watched as the teenager observed her through critical eyes as if he were considering the potential outcomes over in his mind. Finally he sighed and looked at Anzu sternly.

His expression was clearly disapproving. He really didn’t like this at all. First of all, it didn’t even seem like her, and it wasn’t like Anzu to lie. She must be really desperate to cover this up...But I don’t even know this guy! I don’t know if he can be trusted. What if something did happen, and Anzu would be placed in danger? I’d have to tell then, and in fact, I don’t even want to lie to Yuugi. It’s just not cool, and Yuugi doesn’t deserve to be left in the dark about this!

“Anzu, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to do your dirty work for you. I’m not going to lie to cover up for you. You’re better than this, tell him yourself. And I suggest as soon as possible,” Honda somberly concluded.

“Honda, please! If this wasn’t a big deal I wouldn’t be asking you, but now is just not the right time!” She pleaded. Honda shuddered, realizing that it had been a long time he had seen her look so vulnerable. There was just something in her eyes...Something that told him she needed him to do just this one thing for her before she could get back on track.

“...All right,” he finally agreed. “I won’t say anything, but only just this once.” Her eyes softened with relief as she thanked him sincerely, although he wasn't really listening.

Somehow, he had a feeling he was going to regret this.

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Anzu sighed as she recollected her short hair back into a stubby little ponytail that sat on top of her head. She couldn’t believe it, Friday night as she was stuck working. Not only that, but on top of that, overtime! She had been so happy because they had this Friday from school off, but it turned out to be futile because she was scheduled into work all day. Ironically enough she worked at her favorite clothing store, or she should say, ex-favorite clothing store, DEBS. And on any regular Friday night, she would have loved the chance to come to the store and go shopping...if she weren’t actually working there. She rolled her eyes at her fate.

Oh, well. She might as well make the best of it, and besides; she did get employer discounts which was pretty cool. As she gathered an armful of clothes that didn’t sell last month which would now be sold for sale, she caught a glance of lavender hued fabric, which instantly reminded her of something, or should she say, someone.

Namu.

She sternly piled the clothes down upon the counter in disapproval of her thoughts as she tried to busy herself in stamping new sale prices on the tags. She had to get her mind off of him. The problem was, she couldn’t. Afterall, he had been the first guy to ever kiss her. It wasn’t exactly easy to forget. And although she had been upset with him because he hadn’t defended her at first, he had in the end, and now she couldn’t forget about him.

But it’s not like I like him or anything...I mean, I still love Atemu. Nothing will change that. Namu just happened to like me, I guess, and is a little more on the bold side. Well...maybe a lot more on the bold side and decided to kiss me. But it’s nothing more than that. Nothing more. The pretty brunette told herself firmly. Nothing more...

“Um, hey,” An irritated soprano voice snapped.

Anzu slowly glanced up warily as she made eye contact with another teenage girl, who looked Japanese-American, and had fake highlighted blonde hair. The girl obviously had money due to her more expensive clothing, and her eye makeup was applied so heavily and black it looked like her blue eyes were gateways to hell. But still, Anzu couldn’t help but feel self-conscious due to how casual she was dressed. Afterall, it turned out that when she had returned home yesterday, she really hadn’t been feeling too well and practically slept the whole day away. And in the brief time period she was up she was gulping pills and drinking tea. It was no surprise as to why she decided to toss her hair in a sloppy ponytail, and throw on jeans and a simple tee-shirt. The way she looked at it, was, at least she wore some lip gloss?

“Do you need some assistance?” Anzu volunteered as she nonchalantly played with the changing stall keys in her hands.

“Uh, duh. Are you that Mazaki Anzu girl?” she sniffed staring down at Anzu with a scornful look.

“That’s me,” The girl confirmed with a nod. Although, truth be told, she was rather curious as to why someone like that girl would need something from her.

“Then is it true that you are friends with that guy Jounouchi?”
Jounouchi-kun? What in the world...

“Yeah, that’s me. Why?” Anzu suspiciously inquired through narrowed eyes, getting a bad feeling. And quite frankly, Anzu had learned a long time ago to trust her intuition, as it was normally correct.

A hint of a smirk played at the corners of the blonde’s lips as she placed her hands on her hips. “I’m Kasukana Aijo. A pleasure to meet you, I can assure you...Anzu-chan. And so I won’t have to waste any more time in this third-rate store, to be blunt, I want you to hook me up with him.”

Anzu’s eyes nearly grew to the size of saucers as a sweatdrop slid down the back of her head. WHAT? Just who did this girl think she was? This “Aijo” had just randomly stalked up to her and demanded that she should make her get together with Jounouchi? What the heck! First of all, she didn’t even know why someone would want to date him, and secondly, Anzu didn’t even know this girl! Why would she go out of her way to do a favor like that? In fact, a favor as incredibly stupid as that?

As if reading her mind, the girl smirked portentously and stared Anzu down as if she were nothing more than a speck of dust. “And you had better if you know what’s good for you.”

“If I know what’s good for me?” Anzu repeated incredulously. “And tell me, what exactly, is good for me?”
Right on cue she whipped a disposable camera out of her purse and swiftly snapped a picture of Anzu. “Domino High School, you go to, isn’t it? And if memory serves me, none of the students are, like, allowed to have jobs.”

Anzu felt her blood run cold although she forced her face to remain emotionless. She had purposely picked to work at this DEBS which was closer to Osaka, so she could avoid most people from Domino. It was still risky and she had faced some close encounters, but an actual picture was in its whole new league. She couldn’t just rip the camera out of the customers hands; she could get fired for being impolite. So what to do...? And to top it off, even if she did go along with this girl’s ridiculous plan, Jounouchi wouldn’t be interested. Anzu knew that her friend’s heart belonged with someone else, although he continuously tried to deny it.

What Anzu couldn’t figure out was why this girl was so eager to date Jounouchi, and why she couldn’t just go up to him herself...?

“Look,” Anzu finally began, trying to calm her nerves, “I’m really not in the mood to deal with this, so please let me be straight with you. Even if I did mention you to Jounouchi, he just wouldn’t be interested. He already has someone. So, basically in simple terms, what you’re hoping to accomplish is futile. Now, if there isn’t anything else you want to buy here, you’re going to have to leave.” It took all of her willpower to restrain herself from saying anything harsher.

The other high school girl’s indigo eyes blazed with rage as she grabbed Anzu by her wrist and shoved her up against the wall.

“You know, you stupid bitch, I know a lot of people at Domino who can completely destroy your perfect little cheerleader reputation. How would you like rumors spread around such as...oh, I don’t know...say you’re knocked up with...that guy Mutou Yuugi’s kid? And, for fun, we could throw in, though, at first, you thought it was Honda Hiroto’s? Hmm? How does that sound?”

Anzu refused to let her expression wavier to one of pure horror. No, she wouldn’t allow herself to falter! She was stronger than that. Whoever this girl was, obviously knew her, and had something against her. But what did she ever do? She had never even met her until tonight! What could she have possibly of done, and how did she know that she was close to both Yuugi and Honda? Anzu mentally cursed because if this place where any other, she would have easily fought this girl and kicked her ass. But this was work. And, if she did, she would get fired.

But what am I supposed to do?! I don’t care whatever she does to my reputation because I can easily talk my way out of it. But Yuugi...Yuugi can’t! He’s too shy and can’t stand up for himself! Honda...Honda might, but the problem would be, he wouldn’t know what to say. I don’t care what she does to me, but I don’t want anything to happen to my friends! I have to protect them no matter what, and if it means loosing my job...Then so be it. Dancing is my dream, but my friends are more important!

With a glare, she grabbed Aijo’s other free wrist, and in one clean throw, whipped her over her shoulder!

“Listen, girl! Don’t you ever go near my friends or you’ll be hearing from me! And believe me, that won’t be a good thing!” Anzu snapped slamming a right hook punch into Aijo’s face.

The Japanese-American girl let out a sharp gasp as she reached out to pull Anzu’s hair, but to no avail because of it being up into a short ponytail. In another cheap attempt to get ahead she clawed at her purse, whipped out a can of aerosol hairspray, and aimed it at Anzu’s eyes. The brunette bit at her lip to keep from screaming as she instantly flinched, while Aijo sneered in triumph and slapped her across the face.

“No, you have it wrong! Don’t mess with me, freshman!” Aijo gloated flicking her silky hair. She would soon have Mazaki Anzu fully regretting not listening to her in the first place.

“I’m a sophomore, idiot,” Anzu corrected irritably as she wiped at her eyes, trying to clear them. Luckily, at least it wasn’t pepper spray...

“My bad!” The girl snickered, slamming Anzu’s body against the wall, and dug her fake nails into her neck.

Anzu couldn’t contain it this time, and let out a blood-curdling scream, which immediately caught the attention of a numerous amount of nearby customers. Aijo laughed in amusement and drew her arm back prepared to strike again, when suddenly a large hand sharply enclosed over her wrist and unsympathetically yanked it down. A razor-sharp pain jolted through her like electricity as she let out a cry when she was harshly thrown to the ground like a doll. She feebly glanced up through her messy bangs to see who had attacked her from behind, and saw another teenager with roguish wind tossed platinum blonde hair and piercing amethyst eyes. His mouth was drawn into a scowl, as he glared down at her with clenched fists.

A exclaim of recognition from Anzu made her head snap over to the girl’s direction.

“N-Namu! What are you doing here?” Anzu faltered, clearly taken aback.

The handsome stranger turned to look at her and softened his features a bit to toss a charming smile in her direction. Anzu nearly melted, the whole while hating herself for it.

“Anzu-chan, are you all right?” he inquired.

“I’ll be just fine,” the blue-eyed girl reluctantly admitted, not wanting to look defenseless. Damn, why did that back-stabbing idiot have to look so good? She mentally slapped herself for her thoughts. Get a grip on reality! You aren’t exactly in situation to be thinking how cute Namu is, when you’re in a fight!

“Now...” Namu’s silky masculine tone broke through her thoughts as he turned to face an angry Aijo. “...I don’t know who exactly you are, but I advise you leave now. I don’t beat up girls, but I will leave that honor to Anzu-chan.”

Aijo glared daggers looking as if she wanted to kill Anzu, who now looked as if she recovered from her previous contemptible attack. I’ll just knock her down right now, when she’s not expecting it! She thought with venom.

In a swift motion she bounced onto her feet and lunged at Anzu, but was taken by surprise when Namu grabbed her by her waist with lightning speed.

“You really don’t fight honorably, do you?” he mused, while nonchalantly stroking his Duel Disk.

His expression abruptly turned cold, almost looking like a new person all together, and he whispered callously into her ear, so that only she could hear, “Well, there’s nothing really wrong with that, but not around the wrong person. And unfortunately for you, you picked the wrong person to pick a fight with.”

The Millennium Rod glinted from where it was safely tucked away from view in his pocket as a devilish smirk slipped across his lips. “And I don’t like others who cramp my style,” he chuckled dryly as Aijo’s eyes grew wide with trepidation.

Without warning a loud and shocked voice called out as the trio’s heads whipped around to see the store’s manager standing before them warningly. Her hands were planted on her hips as she immediately confronted them.

“What exactly is going on here?” The middle-aged woman ordered, staring all three of them down.

Anzu instantly jumped to her defense and said innocently, “Kaoru-san, this girl was trying to shoplift and I was just trying to escort her out. This nice man here saw I was having trouble and rushed over to help.” Okay, so it was a lie. But she couldn’t tell her boss precisely what happened, could she?
“That’s not true! Your little employee here, attacked me! Watch the tape back if you don’t believe me!” Aijo growled accusingly.

Anzu felt a dizzy spell wash over her as she could swear she looked more pale than usual. If they played the tape back, it would ruin everything! It was true that she had attacked Aijo first, but it was because of what the girl was threatening her with. And she highly doubted that the camera picked up what they were saying. On top of that, she would also be caught for lying because Aijo hadn’t shoplifted anything!

Namu eyed Anzu’s expression and titled his head up self-importantly. The girl still had no clue what he was capable of.

“Fine. Play it back, you’ll see,” Namu replied easily. Anzu nearly did a double-take.

“What are you saying? She won’t see anything, but me actually hitting her first!” she hissed through clenched teeth. In the background, her boss paged the security department through her walkie-talkie.

“It’ll be fine,” Namu responded indifferently as Aijo sneered at the both of them. Anzu bit her bottom lip, never feeling quite so tense. Namu didn’t know because he wasn’t there when they had first started fighting! She was going to get fired!

“All right, the three of you come with me,” Kaoru stated in an authoritive tone as she jabbed her thumb towards the back room.

The trio followed her, Anzu looking reluctant, Aijo confident, and Namu uncaring. When the back door was opened a taller man was already waiting, looking slightly out of it.

“What did you see when you played it back?” Kaoru inquired once they reached him.

“...The young lady with blonde hair was stuffing things into her purse and attacked Mazaki when confronted,” he murmured as if in a daze.

“What!” Aijo exclaimed in disbelief as Anzu’s jaw dropped.

Both reactions were so severe that none of them even noticed Namu lingering in the background as he placed a long, golden object back into his pocket.

“Is that right?” Kaoru thoughtfully mused as she studied Anzu. “Well, if that’s the case, good job, Mazaki. You’ll have slight raise in this month’s paycheck.”
Anzu felt guilty, she really did, but extra cash? She couldn’t help the grin from spreading across her face. “Thank you so much!” Besides, it was Aijo’s fault in the first place for even threatening her friends’ reputations. She got what she rightly deserved.

“That is a lie!” Aijo piped up abruptly, looking a mix between frustrated and insulted. “Why would I want to steal from such an inadequate store like this? I can buy whatever I want, and I would never stoop to such low measures!”

“Well, I guess even you can surprise yourself. Think over this as the cops come,” Kaoru unsympathetically replied with an arched eyebrow. “And, thank you for looking over that tape again.” She nodded towards the security monitor, who still appeared to be in a trance.

“...You’re welcome,” he murmured as Kaoru to some extent frowned.

“You seem tired. Take the night off and get some rest,” she waved him off as she turned towards Anzu. “And as for you, you can take the rest of the night off too. Besides, your shift is ending and Umi should be coming in at any minute.”

“Thanks again, Kaoru-san,” Anzu smiled at the woman as she glanced at Namu. “Ready to go?”

He eyed the girl wordlessly and nodded as the duo left the dark room, the whole while Aijo glaring daggers. Mazaki Anzu...I won’t forgive you for this.

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“Don’t let this go to your head because I could have still managed just fine without your help,” Anzu finally told Namu matter-of-factly as she placed her hands behind her back.

It was almost difficult for him to hide his amusement. “Is that so? I have to say, I highly disagree,” he casually pushed his Millennium Rod further into his jean pocket.

“Don’t be arrogant; I haven’t completely forgiven you after what happened the other day with Honda. But...I still wonder what could have happened that would make the security guard lie in my defense. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

“Maybe the tape messed up and was played back wrong...?” Namu suggested.

“Can that really be possible? It’s unlikely...”

“Who knows? He probably was stoned or something and just made some story up. You saw how out of it he was.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Anzu agreed, although she knew that, still, there was something rather strange about that whole picture.

“So, why are you mad at me?” Namu piped up casually as he placed his arms behind his head.

“Why? Because you weren’t standing up for me yesterday! You wouldn’t tell Honda that it was you who had...you know,” Anzu embarrassedly trailed off. “And speaking of which, exactly why did you kiss me?”

“What difference does it make? It was just a kiss. So, who are you trying to impress?”

“No one. I just don’t...want things to get weird between my friends and I. Plus, Honda knew that I was supposed to be out with Yuugi and he caught me with you instead. I would feel so bad if I knew I hurt him.”

“Then I apologize,” Namu simply shrugged. Anzu rolled her eyes. It just wasn’t as easy as that; it had also been her first kiss...But she knew that she would sound ridiculous, especially to a guy, if she brought that up.

“You don’t sound too sincere,” she lightly teased, trying to ignore her other bubbling feelings. “But...I guess I can look past it. Honda promised he wouldn’t say anything, so maybe I’ll just confront Yuugi at another time and tell him the truth. I don’t want to lie to him, you know? But in the meantime, I’m going to go grab something to eat. You wanna come with?”

“Sure,” Namu smiled, exiting DEBS with Anzu. “So where to?”

“Any particular place you like? It’ll be my treat,” the brown-haired girl paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her, as she instantly whipped around to face Namu. “Oh! And by the way, I wanted to know exactly what were you doing here? DEBS is a girl’s clothing store, you know. Do you have a sister or something, and were looking for a birthday present, or whatever?” Namu resisted from giving her a strange look. What kind of stupid stories did this Anzu come up with...?
“Nah, I was just passing by and heard some loud arguing. By chance I looked over and there you were, and no offense Anzu, but I could have heard you from a mile away. It looked as if you could of used some help, so that’s how I fit into the picture. And speaking of which, what was that girl’s problem?”
“I’m not really sure,” Anzu admitted, “I’ve never even seen her before, but apparently she has something against me. She likes my friend, Jounouchi, so then she wanted me to hook them up. Which I really ----” she stopped talking as her azure eyes widened in dismay. “Oh, no...” she groaned.

“What’s wrong?”

“She...She took a picture! All she has to do is turn that into the principal of Domino High School, and I could be expelled!”

Namu shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Anzu-chan. You’re not wearing a uniform and probably by the way you were positioned, it looked like you were just another customer shopping there. The only way she could have busted you was if you were working behind the counter or something more obvious.”

Anzu seemed slightly relaxed by this as she nodded her head. “You’re right. Oh, and by the way, Namu?”

“Yes?”
“Feel privileged, because I won’t let my other guys friends address me as ‘Anzu-chan’. I really don’t like it, but...” Namu tilted his head back and let out an amused laugh.

“Then thank you, Anzu-sama for your ‘generosity’!”

“Very funny,” she grinned playfully as she elbowed his side, “So, back to our previous discussion, where do you want to go to eat at?”

“Anywhere’s fine.” They made eye contact and Anzu felt her cheeks unconsciously redden. What was with her recently? Ever since she had been exposed to Namu...

“Hey, Anzu-chan? How about that place? It looks nice,” the blonde-haired boy explained as he pointed towards a create-your-own Stir Fry restaurant.

“Yeah, it does! Good idea, Namu-kun! Come on, let’s go!” she reached for his hand, as his eyes slightly broadened in surprise.

He slowly took it, the whole while scolding himself not to get side-tracked by this stupid girl’s strong will and cheerfulness. He firmly reminded himself that he was only acting anyway. But when Anzu spun around on her heel to face him, cheeks flushed and her hair in a messy ponytail, for the first time, he felt himself falter.

“R-Right,” he concurred, surprising himself when he allowed another smile.

With a laugh, she dragged him forward, but he soon ran past her, dragging her momentarily before hoisting her onto his back. Anzu let out a shriek of delight as she wrapped her slender legs around his middle, and arms around his neck. Suddenly, her cell phone rang, but she ignored it as Namu carried her towards the restaurant. She could just check her voice mail later, in any case.

Yes, she had told herself earlier that Namu wouldn’t get in the way of anything, and that she still loved Atemu. Which, was true. She and Namu were just friends...Just getting closer to each other.

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Riiinng. Riiinng.

Jounouchi tetchily eyed the offending phone that dared wake him from his nice, peaceful nap. Wait...Nap?! Since when had he fallen asleep! Last thing he remembered was getting ready to leave to start dueling again after he returned home from work. Crap! He supposed he really was more tired than he previously had been led to believe.

“’Lo?” He asked as he picked up the phone and cradled it next to his ear, while simultaneously pulling a pair of jeans on.

“Jounouchi-kun? It’s Yuugi.” The sound of his best friend’s voice perked him up without delay.
“Heeeey, Yuugi! What’s up, man?”

“Well, actually, I’m kind of worried. I’ve been calling Anzu all day and she hasn’t answered. I was concerned about her yesterday too because she went home early, claiming she wasn’t feeling well. But then that’s when I saw her with that Namu guy...Well, when I called her today to check up on her, she didn’t pick up. I figured that she was probably sleeping or doing something else, so I called back a couple hours later and still no response. Then I called her cell phone, and she still didn’t pick up.

‘Anzu carries her cell phone with her everywhere, and if she’s not picking up...I dunno. Maybe I’m just overreacting,” Yuugi shyly trailed off.

Jounouchi’s brown orbs narrowed as he quickly slipped on a white button-up tee-shirt and thumbed through putting the shirt together. “No way you’re overreacting. Something weird is going on. Look, I know I kinda blew you off yesterday, so what were you saying about seeing her with that Namu guy?”

“Oh...Well...Like I said, she told Mou Hitori no Boku and I she had to go home because she wasn’t feeling well, and when we were heading back from the Museum we saw her with him. I’m not accusing her of anything, but...she seemed perfectly fine. And like I said yesterday, if she didn’t want to be with us, she just should have told us rather than lie! It’s not like her, and if that were the case, we wouldn’t have dragged her along with us.”

“Dude, that’s retarded. You’re right, it doesn’t seem very Anzu-ish of her. And you say, like, can’t get a hold of her?”

“No.” Yuugi’s quiet one word response spoke a lot about how hurt he was.

The blonde-haired duelist by now had finished buttoning his shirt, although his mood was none too pleasant. It pissed him off whenever someone hurt Yuugi, who never did anything to anyone, and normally that offending individual would be getting paid a visit from him. But it was different this time. He was more than reluctant to take action this time because it was Anzu they were talking about. Out of anyone, Anzu was protective of the boy, which is why Jounouchi just couldn’t figure out an explanation for her behavior. If she wasn’t picking up her phone, was it a possibility that she was taking the easy way out and avoiding them because she knew Yuugi found out?

He looked down grimly and shook his head. No, Anzu didn’t run from things. Then, if that were the case, what could be going through that girl’s mind...?

“Hey, Yuugi, I’ll tell you what. This worries me too, so when I grab something to eat quickly, I’ll pick you up at your house and we’ll go to hers, and see if she’s there. If I remember correctly, didn’t she say her parents were out of town all weekend?”

“Yeah, she did say something about that. But ---” Yuugi stopped talking immediately, letting out a gasp.

“Yuugi, what’s wrong?” Jounouchi demanded.

“Jounouchi-kun...Do you think...Well, that guy she was last seen with, is it possible that she could have been...” Yuugi left his sentence hanging, unable to finish.

But gravely, Jounouchi understood what he meant. Yuugi meant to say was it possible she could have been abducted by that Namu character, they all knew so little about. Afterall, Anzu was a pretty and energetic girl, and if she was alone with some strange guy that they didn’t know too well... And to top it off, Yuugi couldn't even get a hold of her. And as much as the ill feeling in his stomach twisted and burned, he had to ignore it.

“Yeah, Yuugi. I think it’s a possibility,” he solemnly admitted. “And suddenly, I’m not really in the mood for my snack. I’ll be over in a couple of minutes, okay?”

“O-okay. See you,” Yuugi swallowed hard, and Jounouchi could hear his voice wavering.

“Later.” The duelist clicked off his phone and somberly set it down, feeling sick.

What if something really was wrong with Anzu, and she was hurt? He cursed, making a vow that if someone actually had harmed her, he would kill them. He didn’t care, just as long as he could see that bastard’s ass in jail, and then hopefully in hell, where he belonged. He carelessly ran his fingers through his mass of unruly blonde hair, trying to slightly tame it, and then brushed his teeth. As he was reaching for his jacket he noticed his answering machine was blinking, indicating that he had missed a call. Thinking of the prospect it could be Anzu, he played it back:

“Hey, sexy, it’s Mai. In case you’re actually awake to be hearing this message, I just wanted to tell you that if you have time tonight, we should go out to do something. Last night was...fun, and I thought it’d be cool if we could do something again. Because, you know, to celebrate how well our dueling has been going. So, if you get this, you know my number. Call me back. Later, hun.”

Jounouchi blinked, feeling his cheeks redden until they were probably glowing, as he shook his head. Last night...

Damn, and speaking of a night to “celebrate”...He wasn’t exactly sure why, but now just looking at Mai, he got a peculiar feeling in the pit of his gut. He couldn’t place his finger on it, but well, it felt good. But now wasn’t specifically a good time to be reminiscing what happened the other night. Anzu could be in danger and he had wasted enough time. So grabbing his car keys, he raced out of his bedroom, ignoring his intoxicated father as he shouted at him to come back when he passed the living room, and then slammed the door shut.

-------------------------------

Yuugi and Jounouchi stood outside of the main entrance to Anzu’s house with looks of apprehensive disapproval. They had already rung the doorbell a couple of times and still no response. In fact, it didn’t even look as if anyone was there.

“Jounouchi-kun...” Yuugi started, but the other duelist just silently nodded his head in recognition.

“I know. I’ll call Honda to see if he knows where she is, and if not, well...We’ll start looking for her.”

Yuugi unenthusiastically nodded his head, practically feeling the worry consume him. All of his nerves seemed to be jittery and he was more panicky than usual. But no matter what he did in an attempt to calm himself, nothing would work. The blunt truth was he was scared to death that something might have happened to Anzu. Not only was she his childhood friend, and still one of his closest, but...he loved her. Of course, he would never let her know that, but he still did nonetheless.

He had always admired how she could always smile no matter how hard the times were, and how she could always defend herself. No one intimidated her. Not even Jounouchi and Honda had when they originally had been picking on him. She had just stood taller and glared them down. And that was probably when he first really started to develop feelings for her...

He trailed off into his own world, remembering that certain time when everything had slowly begun to fall into place.

-----------------------

[Domino High School; About a Year Ago]

Mutou Yuugi sat by himself inside the boisterous classroom as other students raced outside to play basketball. Everyday it was the same thing; everyone would run off with their friends as he was left behind with his games. But he didn’t particularly mind too much. Afterall, he was used to being a loner and ignored frequently.

“Hey, Yuugi! Quit playing games by yourself and come play basketball for once.” One of his classmates called over to the boy suddenly.

Yuugi coyly peered up from the barrel game he previously had been fiddling with, and timorously looked down again. “That’s okay...My team would just lose...”

His classmate rolled his eyes and let out a noticeable sound of irritation as he walked out with the other guys without protesting any further. Yuugi would never change. He would always be just a loner.

I wish I could play my kind of games with someone. Yuugi thought sadly. I always bring a lot in my book bag, but...I know! I’ll finish that today! The puzzle I always carry around!

The tri-haired teenager, slightly cheered up by the thought, fished through his knapsack, until his hand came in contact with a smooth, golden object. He grinned and pulled it out; an ancient looking box with eccentric hieroglyphics carved into the sides. Inside the golden box, as Yuugi claimed, was his most treasured possession; The Millennium Puzzle. He had been trying to put it together for eight years, and yet, to no avail. However, he didn’t let that get him down. He would just keep on trying until that one glorious day he would.

“This is like a riddle! It’s something that you see, but have never seen before! This answer is ---” Without warning the beautiful, antique box was harshly ripped from Yuugi’s hands as the boy let out a gasp.

The box now carelessly rested in a jeering Honda Hiroto’s hands with a critical Jounouchi Katsuya behind him.

“Heh, heh...What are you talking to yourself about, Yuugi? You win the prize for creepy!” Honda snickered, eyeing the boy’s treasured puzzle container scornfully. “’Something you see, but have never seen before’?!” he mimicked in an over exaggerated falsetto of Yuugi’s voice.

“Your greatest treasure?!” Honda continued contemptuously as he tossed the box up into the air and caught it with one hand. Knowing how short Yuugi was, he took that to his advantage, and held the box way above his head tossing it haphazardly. “Looky!” he called to his blonde-haired companion.

A look of panic washed over Yuugi’s face as he instantly jumped out of his seat and dashed towards the spiky-haired teen, horrified. “Give it back, Honda! Give it back!” he shouted, fighting back the tears blinding his vision.

This, however, only provoked Honda as his grin widened, and tossed the box in the air. “Pass! Jounouchi!”

“Ah! Be careful!” The shorter boy exclaimed, desperately jumping up to catch his prized possession, but it was a useless effort. He was just way too small. Sometimes he really wondered why he had to be cursed with how diminutive his height was; it was times like this where he absolutely loathed it. Now his most prized possession could possibly be destroyed, no thanks to these two...

Single-handedly, Jounouchi caught the Egyptian box with ease as he contemptuously eyed it with plain disgust. “Geez! Only a girl would care about a box,” he began scornfully. His long blonde bangs fell into his cold eyes as he glared down at Yuugi with revulsion. The violet-eyed boy slightly backed up, feeling like a prey hiding from its predator, as terror stabbed through him. “Just watching you makes me sick. It really pisses me off! So, y’know, Yuugi...” At this point, Jounouchi had now took a step closer in his direction as he smirked down at him, “...I’m going to teach you how to be a man!”

Yuugi stared up at the taller boy, clearly taken aback, as Jounouchi continued. “You want this box back? Then gimme all you got!”

Yuugi gave him a blank look for a moment before he balled his hands up into tiny fists and shouted, “I hate fighting!”

Both Jounouchi and Honda winced, both mentally noting not to get the kid to scream again. Damn, the little punk had a set of lungs on him!

“Oww! Shut up! You got no guts!” Jounouchi snapped appalled as Honda’s expression clearly imitated he meant the same.

“Anyway, please give it back,” Yuugi continued slowly, back to his regular timid self.

“No way!” Honda scoffed, sneering down at him.

“What’s in here, anyway?” Jounouchi mused. “Let’s just take a little peek!”
Yuugi felt his blood run cold, alarm once again searing him like a javelin. No! They absolutely couldn’t! They would just...they would just laugh or try to break it! “You can look, but don’t lose anything! It’s really important to me!” He feebly told them, feeling the blood rush up to his ears.

Ignoring him, the blonde-haired high school student slightly lifted the lid and glanced in. Not even a moment passed before he rolled his eyes. “How fucking dumb. Here, Honda.” He carelessly tossed the prehistoric relic towards his friend, although it wasn’t in the best of his judgment.

For, right before Honda reached out to grab it, the toss was intercepted as another more feminine hand reached out and snatched it just in time. All three sets of eyes whirled over to plainly see their class representative, Mazaki Anzu standing there with the box in her one hand. Her sapphire orbs blazed with revolted anger as her full, soft lips were drawn into a frown.

“If you think it’s dumb, give it back to Yuugi!” she snapped menacingly, staring the two attractive boys down. Her icy tone gave all away that she definitely was not a force to be reckoned with.

“Anzu!” Yuugi cried happily, a slight blush across his cheeks. “Nice catch!”

“Mazaki!” Both Jounouchi and Honda gasped, looking more than a little apprehensive. The two knew from past experiences exactly what this girl was capable of. She was unquestionably not a pushover. Even if she was a girl, they had found out the hard way that she would fight just like any other regular guy, and her punches actually stung.

“Bullies who pick on little kids are what’s dumb! Get out of here!” She finalized with she said with an arctic blue glare, her eyes not once leaving Jounouchi and Honda.

The duo instantly recoiled, backing up and headed for the door. They didn’t want to pick a fight with her, especially about something as stupid as that little punk’s girly habits.

“Damn meddling girl!” Honda hissed bitterly, under his breath, trying to cover up his wounded pride.

“I’ll get you back, don’t you forget!” Jounouchi threatened as both casually made their way out of the classroom in a rather panic.

Making sure they were completely out of sight, Anzu whirled around on her heel, her expression completely changing, and pinned Yuugi with a brilliant smile. “Here you go,” she energetically smiled, gingerly placing the artifact back on the boy’s desk. “It’s something special, right?”

“Thank you, Anzu,” Yuugi bashfully expressed his gratitude. “But, wow, Anzu. One word from you and they ran away!”

“Their heads swell if you don’t knock them down once in awhile. You need to be tougher, Yuugi,” the girl replied indifferently with a shrug as she propped her head upon her hand, after pulling up a seat next to her childhood friend.

Yuugi gazed up at her, feeling his cheeks heat up once again. He had always admired Anzu because she was never afraid of anything. He really wished he could be like that. Not only was she tough, but she was smart, funny, and...beautiful. And as he listened to Anzu rant about how most of the guys at Domino were perverts - save him, of course, she told him quickly - he couldn’t keep his eyes off her face.

After all the years he had known her, it took him this long to finally realize that, unquestionably, he was madly in love with Mazaki Anzu.

--------------------------

Honda was in the middle of completing his Algebra Trig. homework so he could just get it out of the way, and have fun for the weekend, when his cell phone went off, ringing the tune to one of his favorite songs. He picked it up, and flipped the top open inquiring a simplistic, “Hello?”

“Hey, what’s up?” The voice on the other end inquired.

“...Jounouchi? Is that you?”

“Yeah, who else, you idiot!” His friend scoffed. However, Honda couldn’t help but notice that Jounouchi still sounded considerably down, which is why he had even questioned it was him in the beginning. If he didn’t know any better, it sounded as if Jounouchi was trying way too hard to cover up his currently down mood.

“Hey man, is everything okay over there?” Honda briefly asked, leaning back in his chair.

There was a pregnant pause, before his friend finally gave in, and heaved a sigh. “...No, not really. Anzu’s gone. We can’t find her. So we were wondering, Yuugi and I that is, if you have any idea where she is?”

Honda’s amber eyes widened a thousand fold as he bolted upright. A sinking feeling welled up in the pit of his stomach, remembering yesterday.

“H-Honda-kun...” Anzu started looking unsure of herself. “Could you please not tell Yuugi? I’d die of guilt if I hurt him. Just don’t say anything about Namu to him if he asks, okay?”

“Anzu, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to do your dirty work for you. I’m not going to lie to cover up for you. You’re better than this, tell him yourself. And I suggest as soon as possible,” Honda somberly concluded.

“Honda, please! If this wasn’t a big deal I wouldn’t be asking you, but now is just not the right time!” She pleaded, and it was a long time he had seen her look so vulnerable.

“...All right,” he finally agreed. “I won’t say anything, but only just this once.”

Oh, God, no...Had something happened to her! She was last seen with that Namu guy, and he had had a bad feeling from the moment he laid eyes on him. And it would be all his fault too! He should have told her that he wouldn't lie and she was going to come with him. But instead he had just given in and now...and now...

“Honda? You still there?”
“Uhh...yeah!”

“Is something wrong? You don’t...happen to know anything, do you?”

Honda, please! Anzu’s voice echoed in his head as he gravely stared down at his clenched fists in his lap. He had promised. He had promised her that he wouldn’t say a word...to Yuugi. He knew that she had been panicking at the moment and probably meant everyone else as well, which is what he had been assuming. And although he had given her his word, no one could find her, and she could be in danger. Her safety was more important. He swallowed hard as his grip became even tighter.

“...Yeah. I do know something.”

-------------------------

Yuugi was silent the whole car ride to Honda’s, and all the way back to Anzu’s house. He just couldn’t believe it. Nothing seemed to register in his mind and he was only drawing a blank. No, it couldn’t be true. But what Honda had told Jounouchi...

Yuugi remembered exactly how sullen his best friend had looked when he asked what was wrong. Jounouchi’s chocolate orbs were miserable and he had made a pitiful attempt to smile.

“Oh, Yuugi...” He had sighed sadly. “You know how girls are, right? Crazy as hell.”

Yuugi began to tense up as his back stiffened. “No, I don’t know. What’s wrong?”

“Yuugi...”

“Jounouchi, answer me!” The Japanese teenager finally snapped, sick of being treating like a child. Why did everything think he couldn’t handle things?

The brown-eyed duelist flinched in surprise as he blinked for a moment, trying to collect this thoughts.

“Honda...the other day...saw Anzu. And, well, she was kissing that Namu guy you had called me about. And that’s the last time he saw her. Now she’s gone.”

A mixture of things ran through Yuugi at the moment. And as selfish as it was, the first thing that had crossed his mind was: Anzu...was kissing someone? But...but I love her! And how...how could she do that?...Why would she do that? And then he had mentally scolded himself for being so self-centered and patiently reminded himself that any guy was probably better than him. He also made an attempt to ignore Atemu’s silent aura of disapproval at his feelings.

“So...so what are we going to do?” He quietly asked, telling himself that he should be concerned for Anzu’s sake right now, not his own.

“Well, all that we can do for the moment. We’re gonna pick up Honda, head back to her house one last time to make sure she’s not there, and then...we’re going to have to start looking for her.”

So, here they were now. Back in Jounouchi’s black Ford pickup truck after getting Honda, and now they were headed back to Anzu’s house. But Yuugi had a feeling that the extra trip was pointless because she probably wasn’t even going to be there. She’s probably with that Namu right now. He thought cynically. But, who could blame her? For not wanting to go out with me, that is. I never showed any signs of liking her, and I’m not exactly a prize. It’s not like I own her...she has every right to do whatever she wants without owing me an explanation.

<Partner, that’s not true. Stop knocking yourself in such a manner and have more confidence. You have many wonderful qualities, along with leadership ones. I’ve told you this before but you truly have the heart of a Pharaoh. And I --->

<Please save it, Mou Hitori no Boku. I really don’t want to hear it right now.> Yuugi knew he was being curt, but he wasn’t in quite the mood to receive a lecture from his other half. Of course Atemu was going to defend him and try and make him feel better. It was like his unofficial job. As if on cue, the Pharaoh ceased all previous conversation and wordlessly retreated back to his end of the soul room.

“Here we are,” Jounouchi announced, putting the truck into park.

“Should we all go, or do you just want me to go look...?” Honda asked while unfastening his seatbelt.

“You just go look. It would be pointless for everyone to get out otherwise,” Jounouchi nonchalantly replied.

Honda nodded his head in affirmation as he hopped out and jogged up to Anzu’s front door, ringing the doorbell. He waited for any sort of sign or response to show that she was there but he got nothing. Just silence. He sighed and shook his head and trotted back to his friend’s truck and climbed back into the passenger seat.

“She’s not there.”

“Well, we kinda figured,” Jounouchi rolled his eyes sarcastically.

“Damn, then sorry. I didn’t know you’d get your panties in a bunch for such a simple comment,” Honda retorted in no mood for Jounouchi’s dry remarks.

“And speaking of someone having their panties in a bunch...” The duelist growled back.

“Guys, stop,” Yuugi finally spoke up from the crammed backseat. “This is stupid. Fighting is pointless and only holding us back. How can you two be so selfish in a time like this, when Anzu could possibly be hurt?”

Anzu hurt...? Yuugi’s heart just ached at the thought, praying that she wasn’t. She just had to be fine! Anzu could take care of herself, that Yuugi knew. But if she wasn’t... He swallowed. No, it couldn’t come to that! Anzu had too much going for her to risk loosing anything.

“Well...Now that you know that I’m working here...I have nothing left to hide. I’m saving up my money! I’m going to America when I graduate!” Anzu smirked as she tilted her head up.

“’America’?!” Both Jounouchi and himself echoed in evident shock at the revelation.

“I’m going to study dance in New York! It’s my dream! Don’t you dare laugh!” Anzu threatened as she pointed a finger at them with a wink.

“W...W...We would never laugh! Right? Right Jounouchi?” he asked his new best friend, slightly taken aback, while finding Anzu’s confidence of her dream rather attractive.

The blonde leaned back in his seat with a smirk of his own and winked back at Anzu. “Don’t worry, Anzu! It’s your dream; we wouldn’t laugh. And besides, we wouldn’t tell on you either! It’s cool that you have a dream like that.”

She grinned as she placed her hand on her hip. “Thank you, Jounouchi. Yuugi. It means a lot to me...”

Yuugi bit back his tears as he thought back on the moment when Jounouchi and him had first discovered Anzu had covertly been working at Burger World to gain extra money. She worked so hard to fulfill her dreams. She didn’t deserve anything but the best, and if anything had happened to her...Yuugi suddenly blinked as if coming out of a trance, when he noticed that Jounouchi and Honda were staring at him in response to his previous outburst.

The duo watched him silently and then finally turned to face each other. “Sorry,” they both mumbled in unison.

The boy barely nodded, glad that they were at least going to behave. “Now, we’d better ---” he was cut off by the sound of a bike clutching the gas.

Right on cue, a flashy motorcycle with two passengers on it - the actual driver, and then the rider - raced into Anzu’s driveway and then came to a stop. The two individuals had helmets on that covered their whole entire face, but once they were removed, the trio’s jaws dropped. There was no mistaking it; that short brown hair, blue eyes, slender build, pretty face...Anzu. And then the one driving was definitely none other than Namu; All three of the boys recognized it without a doubt.

It appeared as if Anzu didn’t notice them at first but as soon she hopped off the bike, her clear eyes instantly fell on the truck and glanced up in acknowledgment. “Guys...?” She slowly inquired in bewilderment.

“Don’t just ‘guys’ us, Anzu! Where the hell have you been!” Jounouchi furiously demanded, tearing out of his truck, and harshly slamming the door as he stormed towards her.

Anzu shrunk back in confusion, as her back pressed against the motorcycle. Namu, still on the bike, observed the two passengers still gaping from the truck and then the livid Jounouchi stomping towards them, and secretly smirked. This couldn’t have been any more convenient. But as for now...

“Jounouchi! What are you doing!” Anzu shrieked when he sharply grabbed her wrist and practically threw her behind him.

“You,” he hissed with poison, staring Namu down with abhorrence, surprising the dirty blonde that most of the anger was directed towards him, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I believe we have already met, so introductions would be rather pointless, yes?” Namu stated, forcing a plastered smile on.

“Don’t be a smart ass, you bastard. Tell me what exactly you did to Anzu that made her worry us sick, and not give a second thought about it!”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, you do! Tell me, now!” Jounouchi roared, grabbing Namu by his collar.

“Stop IT, Jounouchi!” Anzu ordered grabbing his arm tightly. What exactly was Jounouchi’s problem! And why were Yuugi and Honda with him looking uneasy? This certainly couldn’t be because of her...could it?

He mutely shook her off, his thoughts focused on preparing to strike the Egyptian boy. On the other hand, in a split second as Namu stared Jounouchi down, his whole entire demeanor seemed to melt away until his amethyst orbs darkened with rage. In a blink of an eye, Namu snatched Jounouchi’s arm and twisted it sharply behind his head in a hammer lock.

“You don’t really want to fight me, do you?” Namu sneered, finding the situation amusing.

Jounouchi gritted his teeth as he desperately fought to break free. However, Namu was much stronger than he looked and his grip only tightened as he harshly kneed Jounouchi in his abdominal area. The Japanese teenager used ever fiber in his body to prevent himself from letting out a cry of agony, when Anzu’s voice hastily shouted out to the both of them.

“Stop this right now!” she ordered securely fastening her arms around Namu’s waist in an attempt to yank him off her friend. “Namu-kun, stop it! Please let go of Jounouchi, let go!”
Namu’s clutch involuntarily loosened on the duelist at the sound of Anzu’s voice. Her clear sapphire eyes and the urgency penetrated into his skull as he cursed himself for almost backing off. It was as if she almost had some sort of mind-controlling power over him. Plus, he was getting sidetracked yet again. Needless to say, with one more angry shout from Anzu on how she was going to beat him up herself, he had but little choice to let go. He released his arms from around Jounouchi’s neck and backed off with a sour look.

As for Jounouchi, after gasping a few times to catch his breath, he unhurriedly looked up at Namu with fire in his eyes. By now, Yuugi and Honda had run out of the truck and were now standing behind the blonde-haired duelist wordlessly. Although they didn’t speak all of them thought the same thing. Why? And bluntly putting it, the whole situation was uncomfortably awkward.

As if sensing the tension, and realizing something was wrong, Anzu bit her lip and stepped forward, closer to her trio of closest friends. “So...where do you want me to start? I think there’s a big misunderstanding going on,” she finally asked in a quiet tone.

“I think that’s only putting it lightly,” Jounouchi growled caustically, pronouncing each of his words carefully.

The whole group was silenced in a eerie stillness, as no one spoke, and all eyes rested upon Anzu. She wrapped her arms around herself as if for comfort as she stared at the mixture of irate and bothered faces of her best friends. “Well, then what do you want to know?”
“For starters, where have you been this whole time as to where no one could reach you?” Jounouchi piped up, seemingly taking on the role of the group’s spokesman. “Although from what I’m gathering, it seems pretty clear.” His last words were bitter as he purposefully threw a glance in Namu’s direction.

“I was at work,” Anzu coolly replied. “And yes, all day,” she finished before Jounouchi could interject. “I was called into overtime, and I left the house definitely before nine. So, if you tried to call me at my house, I wasn’t there obviously.”

“I called your cell phone, but...you didn’t pick up,” Yuugi timidly presented his reason as to why they said they absolutely couldn’t reach her.

Anzu eyed him for a moment before realization hit her like a brick wall. But she always picked up her cell phone! But...Oh, no. No way. She faintly recalled that it had rung before she and Namu had went out to eat, but she had just ignored it because they were in the middle of joking around having a good time. Out of all times for her not to pick up her phone...But furthermore, what exactly was she supposed to say to this? It was true, she had been with Namu, although she wasn’t quite sure what everyone had against him. Or why they were all so upset. It wasn’t as if she had gone missing for days...

“Yuugi...” Anzu couldn’t find her voice once her gaze fell upon her childhood friend’s saddened expression. Somehow, she had a bad feeling that there was more to his concern than they were letting on. “I was out with Namu ---”

“Again?” Jounouchi brusquely interrupted. “Like, how you were out with him yesterday when you were supposed to be with Yuugi? And like how you screwed Yuugi over to hang out with your new boyfriend, apparently, who you were so desperate to cover up you’d lie to us about him? Yeah, we know about how you ditched Yuugi just for this creep!”
Anzu couldn’t believe what she was hearing, as she fought her jaw from dropping in shock. He...knew? “It’s not like that! And how did you know about...” Her gaze slowly drifted to Honda who had his hands shoved into his pockets.

“Yeah, I told them,” He answered the question she didn’t even have to ask. “But only because we thought something had happened to you. The last time I saw you, you were with him, some guy we don’t even know, and it was a possibility that he could of done something to you. Especially because we couldn’t find you anywhere and you weren’t answering any of your phones. Yeah, it might have been a little far-fetched, but you’d never know! We were so worried about you and I had to tell them! It was the only way.”
Anzu swallowed and faintly nodded her head, figuring now was a time best as any to tell the truth to Yuugi. Most likely, he already had the sour gist of it. “Guys, look. Here’s what happened, although I’m mainly speaking to Yuugi when I say this. First of all, Namu and I are not dating in the least. Things are just a little...crazy at the moment. Secondly, Yuugi I really did want to hang out with you and the Pharaoh yesterday, but I began to feel a little sick. I thought I saw something and it scared me, and although I was probably just hallucinating, I did begin to feel lightheaded so I left to go home. On the way there I ran into Namu and I was feeling a little better, and he asked if I would like to go out with him, and trying to be polite I said yes.

‘But I never wanted to ditch you or anything like that! It was by pure coincidence things happened the way they did. And like I said today I got called into work and Namu came to visit me, and we just hung out afterwards. I know I have no excuse for this, and I accept that all this was my fault. I just want you to know - all of you to know - that I’m so, so, so sorry.”

“Then why didn’t you pick up your cell phone?” Yuugi softly asked.

“I...I don’t know. This isn’t any good excuse for it, Namu and I were just having fun and I decided to ignore it. I didn’t think you guys would be so concerned about me.”

“Of course we would! Do you know how much you mean to us!” Jounouchi cried the words Yuugi so desperately wanted to say himself, but never could. “You’d be stupid to think that we wouldn’t come looking for you if we had no clue where you where!”

Anzu stared down at the sidewalk, feeling the guilt and shame bubble forth. She felt like the worst person in the world. She was so horrible. They were right; how could she have done that to her own friends? She should have at least told them she was going to be working so that they wouldn’t worry about her. And now this whole complication with Namu...She really didn’t know what to do.

“I’m sorry. I know this may be pointless to say, but I really am. I really, really am sorry,” Anzu whispered, feeling a lump form at the back of her throat. “Please forgive me, I can’t bare to have all of you mad at me.”

She felt Jounouchi’s eyes soften as he laid his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Anzu. We’re not really mad, and it was our concern for you which made us kinda upset, if anything. Just try to answer the phone when we call next time, so we don’t freak out, okay?” A small smile formed at the corners of his lips as Anzu feebly returned it.

“Thank you,” she said, looking directly at each of her friends as she spoke. “I’m just really sorry for making you all worry.”

She then kneeled down and hugged Yuugi, particularly guilty about him, knowing how their plans were ruined the other day. Still emotional, she didn’t notice just how crimson his cheeks grew. “I’m so sorry, Yuugi. Let’s make it up tomorrow, okay? We’ll have a whole day together. Just you and me. How does that sound?”

Yuugi, although he tried to mask it, knew his face lit up along with his eyes. A whole day...alone with Anzu? “Yeah, that would be great!” he beamed, feeling better already, as Jounouchi and Honda eyed each other knowingly with grins.

Slightly off to the side, Namu observed the brunette girl almost feeling...jealous as she hugged Yuugi. Disgusted with his feelings, he quickly brushed them aside, and focused on some valuable information he overhead.

“I’m so sorry, Yuugi. Let’s make it up tomorrow, okay? We’ll have a whole day together. Just you and me. How does that sound?” Anzu had said.

She had told Yuugi that tomorrow they would have a whole day together; just him and her. Which meant, the Pharaoh would be there alone as well. And finally all his hard work of disguising himself as the persona of “Namu” would pay off. All he would have to do was just casually call Anzu’s cell phone, ask where she was, and go find the two. And once there he would finally duel and defeat the Pharaoh, strip him of his Egyptian God cards, and then kill him. And of course it would be all the more sweet, once Anzu discovered that their whole relationship had been a lie, and the Pharaoh would mourn for not seeing it himself.

As the old saying went, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. And in this case, a life for a life. He would murder the Pharaoh just like the Pharaoh had been the cause of the murder of his father. And then finally, after six years of hiding in secrecy and planning, he could have his long awaited revenge.

“And what about him?” Jounouchi’s distasteful tone, caused him to glance over.

Anzu looked reluctant as she slowly turned to face him. “Namu-kun...Maybe it’s best if you leave for now. I’ll call you tomorrow though, and thanks for the ride home.”

“Hey, that’s cool. I understand you need some alone time with your friends. I’ll call you later to check up on you. See you,” Namu smiled charmingly, and with a wave he hopped back onto his bike.

After putting on his helmet, he put the key into the ignition and clutched the throttle as the motorcycle shot up into the air due to how fast he had jerked the throttle. He then sped off in less than a few seconds, the buzzing sound of the engine from the distance was the only sign he had ever been there.

“So,” Jounouchi almost immediately said. “You seem to be hangin’ around him a lot. You like him or something?”

Anzu couldn’t help but roll her eyes in irritation. “Why do you even care? You know, I have other friends than just you, Jounouchi! I’m free to hang around whoever I choose, and just because he’s another guy, doesn’t mean I like him!”

“Cool your jets, Anzu! I was only asking,” he countered in defense.

She sighed as she raked her fingers through her hair. “Sorry, it’s just been a long day and speaking of which, you will not believe what happened today at work. But before I continue, are we now back on track and everything’s sorted out? We’re still friends, right?”

“Of course!” The trio of them chimed simultaneously as Anzu to some extent backed up due to how loud they had shouted.

“We’re just glad you’re safe,” Honda exhaled, folding his arms over his chest.

“As you can see, I’m perfectly safe and healthy. Don’t worry! Now, as I was saying...Jounouchi, somebody has a crush on you...” Anzu trailed off in a mischievous singsong voice.

The blonde’s eyes bulged as Yuugi and Honda eyed him wickedly, this news instantly catching their interest.

“Oooo, who, Anzu?” Yuugi grinned as Honda elbowed Jounouchi in the side, exclaiming something along the lines of: “You dog!”

<Yes, do tell.> Atemu said, all of a sudden out in translucent form, although he was only visible to Yuugi. The shorter boy eyed the spirit and chuckled, finding it amusing that the Pharaoh was suddenly interested in Jounouchi’s personal life.

“Well...” Anzu began with a grin, “It goes something like this...”

--------------------------

Anzu nearly collapsed on her bed feeling as if she would just fall asleep at any given second now. She was so tired, and today had been quite exhausting. She was just glad things were okay with her friends once again. The boys had teased Jounouchi all night after they discovered that apparently there was this crazy stalker girl after him. And naturally, they had immediately pelted her with stupid questions such as “Is she hot?”. She shook her head amused. At least almost everything was back to normal now.

She picked up her comb and quickly brushed her hair, and then changed into her pajamas; a strappy tank top with a red cherry pasted on the center and long, baggy pants that had little cherries all over. She yawned as she dragged herself over to her window, ready to close the blinds, when suddenly a peculiar sensation pierced her. She froze when the faint whisper of a voice drifted through the crack of the window as if in a song.

“In the future, there shall be a wrong that needs to be righted. It is only a girl who is pure of heart, however, who can allow the light to penetrate through the darkness.”

Anzu’s heart seemed to stop beating as her eyes widened. “Who’s there?” she softly whispered, peering out the window.

However only the dark velvet night sky and its thick blanket that draped over her street confronted her as the wind picked up. An icy gust blasted through the window, causing it to slam open and nosily rattle against the wall. Her pink window draperies rippled outward and encircled around her as Anzu reached forward and attempted to close the window. But it wouldn’t budge and it snapped backwards, she barely dodging it, as she let out a cry.

And that’s when she saw it.

The same woman from the day before seemed to hover by her window in a transparent state as she slowly turned to look at her. Anzu felt her blood run cold as a violet light flickered around her form before she disappeared, which only made the wind increase. Unexpectedly, the rattling window whipped backwards again, only this time harshly knocking Anzu from behind. Pain shot through her as her sight was impaired and black splotches clouded her vision. But before she had time to think about it, she fell forward, unable to comprehend anything more.

The smooth feel of darkness seemed to lure her into an unconscious sleep like a sweet, pleasant slumber. A sprinkling light violet glow then swept over her form, almost like fairy dust, as the window crashed open again with another wind gale as the curtains fluttered like streamers. And faintly the outline of a lucid woman stepped in, showered in pearly moonlight.

“It is only a girl who is pure of heart, however, who can allow the light to penetrate through the darkness. You, Mazaki Anzu, are the girl who is chosen... ”

Anzu moaned softly as she twitched ever so slightly as the woman brushed a faded hand over the girl’s forehead almost tenderly. Her blue orbs almost fluttered open to see the figure bathed in moonlight and then she blacked out again, succumbing to the darkness, all the while aware of the excruciating pounding in her head...

----------------------------

A/N: YATTA! It’s done! It’s done! I finally finished! ::grins:: Well, at least the chapter, anyway. I honestly had no clue that this chapter would turn out to have so many weird romance complications. So! I know I introduced new characters, but don’t worry. I doubt if I’ll ever really have another scene with Anzu’s manager in it again, and as for Aijo, she could be a slight problem, but she definitely will not have a big part. I only threw her in there to create a little conflict. And as for the mysterious woman...Who could it be? Any guesses? I highly doubt any of you would know though because it’s still really early. But! As time progresses, of course you’ll find out. ::winks:: And as for the actual body-switching business...::BIG GRIN::

And, damn! I really hope this chapter made up for my lack of updates. Generally if I’m a little late in my updating, I try to make up for it with a longer chapter. 23 pages, not too bad, but hopefully I’ll start making them longer. So! Hope to see you next time, and please review! They are greatly appreciated, hint, hint! See you next time everyone!

- Saiya-jin Spice [11/07/04]