Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Of Pointed Ears and Dancing Fairylight ❯ An Unexpected Release ( Chapter 1 )

Hmm... everyone around here seems to have a yami of their own. *glances at Threnody* Oh, Thren-chan--

Threnody: *glares* No.

*pouts* Bu--

Threnody: No. I will NOT be your yami.

... Oh, all right. You're no fun, Muse-chan.

Threnody: And I intend to stay that way. *pointed look*

Eheheheheh... Ok. Whatever.

Anyway, welcome to the fic, readers! This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh fic, so I may not be fluent in everyone's thoughts and reactions, k? Here's the stats for the story:

Rating: As of now, it's PG-13. Might go up if I can work up the nerve for a lemon or two... or three...

Pairings: VERY brief Anzu/Yami, Yami/Yugi, Seto/Jou, Bakura/Ryou, perhaps even some Mai/Anzu? O.o

Warnings: Magic, shounen ai, yaoi, magical creatures, fluff, slight angst, crazy-mixed-up-ideas from yours truly *bows*

Right then! All disclaimers apply, folks!

On with the show!

Of Pointed Ears and Dancing Fairylight

Chapter One: An Unexpected Release

"--And I think we should start seeing other people." Anzu concluded, hesitantly meeting his crimson gaze with her own cerulean one for the first time since she had led him to the dream-like copse of trees the two now stood in. One errant strand of her glossy mahogany hair fell into her eyes as she peered up at him, silently begging him to understand, and in a daze Yami Hitokage reached out to brush it back into place, outstretched hand stilling instantly when she flinched back from him. He felt his heart contract painfully at the realization that she actually expected him to hit her. She expected him to strike her because she had... she had...

The words she had spoken so quietly just a moment before dimly registered in the back of his mind as he let his hand drop listlessly back down to his side, and Yami inwardly flinched, waiting for the sting the phrase would inevitably bring to his soul.

Nothing-- or at least, nothing near the intensity he expected. He prodded gently, repeating Anzu's words in his mind, but all he felt was a peculiar sense of longing, and not the outright fiery refusal of rejection that one would have expected.

Yami swallowed thickly, knowing his eyes were flashing between understanding and confusion and a faint sparkle of joy. Not joy that Anzu was breaking off their relationship, but a happiness for her and also for him, that they wouldn't make mistakes and hold each other back for the sake of something they had conjured up purely out of their own imaginings.

"Anzu..." he began, reaching up and cupping her face with one hand, causing her clear blue eyes to jump back up to his face from where they had drifted to the ground during the tense silence. Yami was inwardly relieved when she didn't flinch away again. "Anzu," he repeated, his voice firm and unyielding this time as he made sure that he had her full attention. "Anzu-chan, I won't pretend that we haven't had fun. Neither of us should want to. But..." he paused, gazing at the clear sapphire of her eyes. And through the haze of fog that seemed to cloud his mind, he realized that everything she had said was true. Yes, he did, indeed, love her-- but it was the love of a sibling for his own, not the love of a mate, nor the love of a life-long partner.

When their friends had all began pairing up into couples less than two years ago, everyone had just assumed that Yami and Anzu would go with each other. Neither of the two had objected, because they honestly enjoyed each other's company, and each mistook the love they shared for another kind-- or perhaps they had fashioned the 'right' kind of love from the will of their own separate hearts to please. They had started dating, and everything had been fine; until Yami had become aware of the nagging sensation of something missing-- something vital to a relationship of the type he and Anzu were trying to create together. At the time he had ignored his newfound revelation, but now he found that he had unconsciously noticed the signs-- both of them spending more time with their friends than each other; the absence of the little signs of affection everyone else so freely gave to his or her partner; the lack of anything any more fascinating in the other in the sexual sense than any other person of the opposite sex they encountered. Everything was suddenly falling together neatly, like the pieces of a ready-made puzzle, and he could no longer ignore the clear-cut picture the pieces formed in front of his mind's eye. He and Anzu just simply did not love each other in the sense they had originally imagined they did.

Yami realized that he had been staring at her for long moments without answering, and he quickly shook himself out of his mental analysis. "... But, Anzu... You're right."

She looked at him then, really looked at him for the first time in days, searching his face for something. He let her, gazing at her as she seemed to contemplate something, before her bright eyes filled with tears. A soft smile touched her lips as she drew in a shaky breath and reached up to cover the hand on her cheek with her own, caressing it softly.

"Yami..." her voice was a bare whisper, almost lost to the wind in the leaves above them. "Thank you."

He smirked. "Shouldn't I be the one thanking you, instead? It seems to me that you were the one who figured it out first."

One lone tear fell from her shining eyes to travel softly down her face as she gave a small nod. "We can still be friends, right?"

"Of course. We'll always be friends, Anzu. Nothing can change that." He sighed and dropped his hand, gaze darting the way they had come. "You should probably get going back. It's almost time for you to start."

Her gaze followed his for a moment before she turned back to him. "You're... not coming...?"

Yami could not suppress another sigh. "No. Not right now. I need... to think."

"... Alright." She gave him another one of her soft smiles. "Goodbye, Yami."

"Goodbye, Anzu."

**********

The wind whistled through the trees as Yami made his way deeper into the park and it's forest , made his way away from the clearing where Anzu and the others would be. In the two years that they had been dating, Yami had made sure never to miss a concert for the band that Anzu was in, and today had been no exception in that department. It was the whole rest of the day that was a tangent from the normal.

Slowly, the sound of upbeat music faded from the air, to be replaced by the quieter music of the birds chirping in the trees overhead. It was the normalcy of the whole scene that suddenly cut through the fog in his brain that had descended earlier, and the youth suddenly felt like he weighed a thousand pounds. He paused, deciding that this was as good a place as any to muse on his thoughts, and sat down, leaning back against a handy tree. He shifted, making himself comfortable, then reached into the black bag he always kept at his side, extracting a nearly-finished triangular golden puzzle from the confines, along with a few scattered free pieces of the whole.

He had received this particular trinket on a trip to his grandfather's house when he was barely eleven years old, before his parents had died and Anzu's family had offered to house him. It had been in many more golden pieces back then, but it had called to him even then, and over the years he had come to depend on it as something to distract him when he really wanted to think things over, like he did now. He selected a random piece and held it up to the main structure, eying it carefully. Yes, right about there--

-CLICK-

A small burst of accomplishment stuttered through him as it connected smoothly with the whole. He reached for another piece. So, now... for the thinking.

I love Anzu, but I realize now that it wasn't the kind of love I thought it was. She was the one who showed me that.

But still... shouldn't it hurt more? I've always heard that it would.

-CLICK-

Perhaps I'm in denial? I suppose it's possible. Anything is possible.

He sighed. But where does that leave me? I suppose Anzu may already have someone she's got her eye on, but I've never even thought about it. Never thought about it beyond her.

-CLICK-

I'm probably destined to be alone. To be loved, but never loved in that sense. There's certainly no one else I know who I like in that way.

-CLICK-

His brain registered the click of another puzzle piece sliding home, but when he reached for another, there were no more. I guess that was the last piece...

Wait... 'last piece'?

He stared at the pyramid resting so solemnly in his hand. I've finished it?

... I've finally finished it!

Yami felt a thrill of exhilaration at that thought, but the feeling was pushed to the back of his mind when suddenly the puzzle began to pulse in his grasp. His eyes widened and he dropped it immediately, shooting to his feet and staring down at it.

Oh no... What if it was a bomb, set to go off when it was finished or something?

No, that's absurd. But, then... what?

His answer didn't exactly come in words.

/Fear pain shame reckless idiot what now? agony desperate hopelessness sleep/

The puzzle flashed with a brilliant, white-hot light, blinding him.

**********

When Yami came to, he was lying on the forest floor, staring up at the bright blue sky.

The color of Anzu's eyes.

He shook himself free of that thought and sat up, gaze automatically drawn to the puzzle, now laying quietly and complacently amidst a patch of thick green grass. The youth ignored the headache that sprang up behind his eyes for one agonizing moment in lieu of reaching over and picking up the pyramid. The small movement seemed to somehow sap all of his energy reserves, and he leaned gratefully back against the supporting trunk of the tree behind him, breath wheezing out of him in a loud sigh.

There was something wrong. He slid his eyes open hesitantly from where they had fallen shut. Something wasn't right here.

He snuck a glance at the puzzle as if it could tell him what was going on, but it was as quiet as it had always been, excluding that weird throbbing a few minutes ago. No help there.

So what was it?

His mind came up with the answer.

There are no birds. No sound at all. What the hell?

A rustle behind him, behind the tree; he jerked at the unexpected noise and turned his head, trying to peer around the thick trunk of the oak tree.

Startled crimson clashed with curious violet.

TBC...

^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

So... *looks nervous* How'd it go? Did anyone like it? Sorry for all you Anzu-haters out there for the whole Yami-and-Anzu thing. I promise it will go away fast. ^.^ And no, there will be no Anzu-bashing in this fic; one, because she won't be in here often enough, at least in the beginning, and two, because I don't exactly hate her na no da. ^.^; Don't kill me! *ducks any thrown fruit*

Should I continue? I think my idea is rather original for this fandom, but I'm not sure. Does anyone even like it? I know I'm not that good at writing.

Threnody: Stop whining and let them answer, baka! You'll annoy them all and make them go away... Not that that's a bad thing.

-.-; Thren-chan! Don't insult the readers! I need the reviews!

R&R, onegai!