Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shattered Dreams ❯ Chapter 1

Akari: Here's chapter one!!! Sorry we didn't post this yesterday, rei-rei was sick all yesterday and this morning. She's still got a fever, but she wanted to type this anyways! Isn't she just wonderful???

Kurai: *sniffle, cough* They don't need to know about my personal problems `Kari. I'm fine. *sneeze*

Akari: *rolls eyes* Suuuuure you are. And I'm the royal queen of England luv!

Kurai: That's not funny or clever. So let's just get this over with...

Akari: OK El Capitan! Can do! Please enjoy chapter one of: Shattered Dreams!!

Disclaimer: Akari: *picking daisy petals.* It's ours. It's not ours. It's ours. It's not ours. It's ours. *One petal left* It's not ours. Aww man!

Warnings: This is an Anzu fic. We don't like Tea at all. Anzu all the way!!! *thumbs up* `Tis not an Anzu-bashing fic, but it is an angsty on. She is VERY AU if you didn't know that already. Also this is a TWT (timeline? what timeline?) fic. It's a pattern `eh? All of our fics seem to slide that way. Angsty and TWT....Oh well!! Yugi and the gang (minus Anzu) won't be the same as in the series, as in there will be different people in the group (duh!) and Malik's name will be Malik. Yami Marik is his dark, as Yami Bakura is Ryou's.

//Yami to Yugi// /Yugi to Yami/

\\Bakura to Ryou\\ \Ryou to Bakura\

--Marik to Malik-- -Malik to Marik-

`Thoughts' "Talking"

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*Beep!: Beep!: Beep!: Beep!:*

The loud annoying droning of the little black alarm clock on the bed side table made clouded azure eyes open swiftly. A delicate pale hand fumbled to turn the blaring machine off and turn on the bed side lamp at the same time. She groaned as the light came on, temporarily blinding her for a few moments before she was finally able to see properly. After getting up off the carpet where she had 'fallen asleep' she twisted around her joints, enjoying as each popped in turn, making her limbs feel much better. Once that was done, she swiftly undressed and pulled a blood red towel around her small lithe form, and stepped into the bathroom that was right next door to her bedroom. She opened the cabinet door that hung on the wall next to the mirror, covering the mirror from sight. She walked over to the tub/ shower and quickly turned it on, testing the water for the right water temperature to suit her. When the water was perfect, as hot as she could possibly stand it, she let her towel pool down to her small feet, and stepped into the scalding hot water.

This was her daily ritual: Wake up and then take a shower to try and rid herself of the filth that she felt on her skin, even if she couldn't see it, she could feel it. After about fifteen minutes she had washed her hair, conditioned it, and scoured her body with the liquid soap that was hanging on the wall of the shower. She turned the shower head off, and watched as the water went down the drain. After it was all gone, she opened the shower curtain and stepped out into the steam covered room, re-cloaking herself with the red towel, and opening the door, letting out all of the steam. She walked back into her room and looked around.

Her room was the smallest and simplest room in the house, but Anzu tried not to let it bother her. She had just painted it during the last summer, and she was very pleased with the way it turned out. The wall color was a deep dark blue that was tinted black. Everywhere on the four walls were sakura and toya trees that were in full bloom. All of her furniture; a desk, a bed, a bed side table, and clothing wardrobe; were black with Egyptian lilies painted all over them. She looked up at the ceiling and took in the mural that had taken her two whole weeks to complete. It was an intricate design of the moon, the sun, and the stars. The sun, which was a brilliant golden yellow, and the moon, which was a haunting silver, were entwined together, both shining brilliantly in their own ways, while the stars, which gleamed a bright pure white, were surrounding the two spheres of light mischievously. Except for these items, the ceiling was painted a plain black that was tinted with a clear gloss, making it seem like it was the real night sky.

Taking her gaze away from the ceiling with a sigh, Anzu walked over to the clothing wardrobe and opened it up. She eyed her new school uniform with disdain, but brought it out nonetheless. `At least it's not pink anymore,' she thought while taking in the white tee-shirt, blue over jacket, and the blue and white pleated skirt that went down to her knees. She was grateful that the jacket was part of the uniform because it had gotten quite chilly in the past few weeks. `Along with other reasons,' she thought hatefully while looking at her pale slim arms. She willed herself to not look at the underside of her arms, as she put on the uniform.

Today was different though. For today was the first day of her tenth grade year. Maybe, just maybe, she might be able to make at least one friend this year. Just one, ad she would be so happy...'Yeah right!' came the dream girls hollow voice in her head. `It's not like anyone has noticed you, or tried to befriend you in the past sixteen years, have they?' A cruel laugh rang through her head. `What's different now? Nothing.' the voice answered for herself. Anzu shook her head and let a small sigh escape through her lips. The voice was right though. No one ever cared enough to try and become her friend in her lifetime, so why should they start now?

She walked out of her room and walked to the kitchen. She stepped into it and flinched as her foot met the cold linoleum floor. She turned on the overhanging light and looked around the newly decorated kitchen. For someone who never cooks her mother sure liked to change the look of the kitchen a lot. It now had curtains, which were bordered by red delicious apples, hung over the two windows, and the whole room had a border on the ceiling and near the floor with the same apples as the curtains. The wall that could be seen between the rarely used appliances was a deep red color that matched the curtains and borders. The brown cabinets had a red tinted stain on them, and the knobs were a startling white. Even the new appliances were red and white. She got out a bowel and put it onto the all white table. She turned to go get the cheerios for her breakfast, but she saw a slip of white and a flash of green out of the corner of her eye, catching her attention. She went back to the table and picked up the note, a ten dollar bill* slipping out of the folded paper and landing on the floor. It read:

Dear Anzu,

Here's your money for lunch for the week. Also we're both going on business trips for the week. Be back on Saturday night! See you then!

XOXOXOXOXO,

Mom & dad

She walked to the pantry at the front of the kitchen and opened the door reveling large amounts of dried and canned food, and a trashcan at the bottom. She threw the note in the trashcan and walked back into her room. She then opened one of the middle drawers and lifted up the fake bottom.

*Flashback*

A nine year old Anzu carefully placed a fake bottom in the middle drawer or her then light blue desk. She smiled slightly when it slid in perfectly, never revealing the true bottom of the drawer. She then crawled under her sky blue bed, legs sticking out as she searched for something in the rafters of her bed frame. She had obviously found it, as she had started to wriggle out from under her bed. She clutched a white purse with a white Labrador puppy on the front that was on its back, all four paws in the air, and tongue lolling out between sharp canine teeth. She opened it and inside was all the lunch money her parents had ever given her since the first grade, which was over five-hundred dollars*. She put the bills on the bottom of the drawer and gently placed the fake bottom over them, so that it looked like it was supposed to.

*End Flashback*

Anzu carefully lifted up the fake bottom and put the ten dollar bill on top of her growing accumulation of money. After eleven years of never eating lunch, she had collected over six-thousand dollars* in cash. After four years, there had been so many ten dollar bills that Anzu couldn't pull off the fake bottom trick without getting caught. She had brought all of the money to the bank near her house while her parents were on one of their many `business trips' and had asked the teller to exchange all of the tens for hundreds. The teller was a bit suspicious and asked what the money was for, so Anzu regrettingly lied and told the smiling woman that it was for a charity and that they had asked if she could to the nearby bank and exchange the tens for hundreds. The woman seemed happy and content with her answer and quickly put together the bills for the thirteen year old. Now, however the tens were piling up again, and Anzu would have to go to the bank and exchange them soon. Soon she would have enough money to support herself when she left this hell called life. After she put the fake bottom on top of the bills, she walked back into the kitchen to finish preparing her breakfast.

When she had finished her cereal she grabbed her black and silver backpack and the spare key that belonged to her from the key rack next to the front door. She slipped on her black shoes that were next to the coat rack and opened the door. She went outside and closed the door, locking it as soon as it had shut all the way. She walked off of her porch and started to walk towards her school, Domino High. The ten minutes that it took to walk to school passed by very quickly and in no time she found herself standing in front of the gate that was locked, shutting out Anzu from going into the school this early. But Anzu knew another was into the school that not many people knew, or cared to know about. She walked about five meters from the main gate until she found the section of gate that cut off then reappeared about half a foot down. Since she was so thin, she easily slipped through the small gap and so she walked to the back of the school to where the art studio was. She walked to the brown oak doors that she knew would be locked this early in the morning, and tapped on it three times. The art teacher, Mrs. Mallard, opened the door smiling at her most favorite student.

"Oh Anzu! I knew you would be here! I'm so glad that you're here! I wasn't sure if you would be enrolling this year... but I'm glad that you stuck it out!" she said with a big smile. "I have another picture done, and I wanted you to look at it. Nut I bet you here to try and finish your picture, ne?" asked her cheerful teacher. Mrs. Mallard was the only person that Anzu talked to or would allow to see her work. Mrs. Mallard was a HUGE fanatic of Lord of the Rings. She was obsessed. So she usually drew and painted scenes from the books and the movies, but she always showed her finished products to Anzu before she showed them to anyone else. Anzu liked Mrs. Mallard because of her innocence and because although she had read Anzu's record, like all of her other teachers, she didn't act like Anzu would shatter if she was dropped.

Anzu gave her favorite teacher a rare smile before nodding her head. Her over-enthusiastic teach teacher squealed then quickly grabbed her students hand and almost dragged Anzu into her personal studio. She got out her portfolio from under her black desk and brought out her new picture. It was Goldberry, the daughter of the river. She was stunning with her corn yellow hair and sparkling blue eyes. The lilies floating around her feat in the river just accented her pure white dress. It was beautiful in Anzu's eyes and she nodded vigorously.

"It's beautiful," she whispered softly. Mrs. Mallard had been Anzu's art teacher since last year, so she was used to Anzu's quietness and shyness towards other people, but she frowned only slightly when she heard that Anzu hadn't grown out of her quietness. But nonetheless she had somehow she had got the shy girl to somewhat open up, using art to do so. She still had a long way to go with the quiet teen, but at least it was a start. Anzu scanned the picture one more time before walking to the black cabinet that was at the far back of Mrs. Mallard's personal studio. She opened it and reached up into the highest shelf, and got out a small black box. Anzu carefully opened the plain black box, and cautiously took out the single piece of paper that was in it. It had been what Anzu had started during the middle of the year, and had been working on it throughout the year, but she had left it in the studio over the summer so that it would be safe. It was almost done. Just a few more details and it would finally be completed.

On the paper were two figures. On the top left hand corner was an angel that was clothed in all black, pure white wings spread to full length. She was looking at the figure in the bottom right hand corner. It was a demon clothed in all white with both arms and legs bound in white ribbon. The demon's wing that was done was slightly droopy and it lacked the sheen that the angel's had. The angel looked down at the demon girl with both sadness and sympathy in her eyes.

Anzu had come up with the idea when she read a book a girl and her dead sister. The two had been very close even though they were two years apart in age, and they loved each other very much. But then one day the older sister had been killed in a drive by shooting. She had been going to the quickie store near their house to pick up some medicine for the younger sister, who was sick. The living sister blamed herself and sank into a deep depression because of it.

Anzu was very pleased with how it had turned out, and Mrs. Mallard simply adored it. All Anzu had left to do was to draw the other wing to the demon girl then she would be done. She put it down on the table in the studio reserved for students and walked back to the black cabinet. There she got out a pack of pixel colored pencils and chose a long slender black pencil. She then returned to the table, sat down, and started to sketch the wing. She made the outline a dark, dark black, and shaded into the centers of the feathers a lighter black. About fifteen minutes later, she had finished it and quickly signed her name at the bottom left hand corner of the picture. She then went over to where Mrs. Mallard sat at her desk and showed her finished work to her.

"Oh I love it!" she squealed, making Anzu blush slightly. "Will you please please let me put it in the art show this year?? I would love for you to finally get the recognition you really deserve, and I'm sure people would just love you and your artwork if you let them," she said to Anzu while giving her the brown watery doggie eyes of doom. "I don't know why you won't let me show your art work off! It's all just so beautiful!" exclaimed the exasperated teacher. She had tried countless times to get Anzu to put her artwork into show cases, exhibits, or even to just put it up for the school to see, but each and every time Anzu had turned her down with a polite no. This time was no exception. The younger girl smiled slightly and gave a quiet `no'. The art teacher sighed and involuntarily shook her head. "Well," she started, "would you like to put it with the others?" she asked nodding to her desk slightly and sighing again. Anzu quickly nodded and trotted quietly over to the black desk. Mrs. Mallard got a sliver and gold key from a chain from around her neck and the bottom most drawers. Anzu delicately placed the picture into a folder marked `black and white pencil sketches' and Mrs. Mallard closed the drawer and re-locked it again. Azure blue eyes briefly looked over at the clock beside the computer and let out a small sigh. She went to Mrs. Mallard and gave the flustered art teacher a slight hug and placed her backpack onto one slender arm. She walked out the double oak doors with a soft goodbye and swiftly headed back out to the front gate. She slipped back between the two gates and walked back to where the main gate was opening. She quickly walked into the gates, passed the deserted courtyard, and into the glass doors of the school's main building, heading to classroom 4-A. As she entered, a young woman with brown hair and brown eyes looked up at her and smiled warmly.

"You must be Anzu Mazaki, am I right?" she asked kindly and softly, as if afraid that someone would overhear their conversation. Anzu mentally sighed. `I guess she's read you file too, huh?' asked the annoying voice that Anzu was starting to hate. `She pities you. You can see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. She thinks you'll break down if she raises her voice at all. She thinks you're pathetic, like everyone else does.' The voice laughed again. Shut up. She told the voice. Anzu nodded her head and bowed to her teacher. "Well dear," the teacher continued with pity in her voice, "my name is Ms Kendo and I'm going to be your homeroom teacher this year. I will be taking roll in six minutes. You may sit anywhere you would like dear." Anzu nodded and started to walk away, but Ms Kendo's hand gripped her arm and stopped her from moving. "If you need anyone to talk to, I'm always here deer," she said while giving Anzu her most genuine smile. Anzu gave her the best smile she could possibly muster, and walked to the back of the room to sit down in the seat that was right next to the partially open window. She took her things out from her backpack and set them down on her desk. She then put her unused backpack under her desk and placed her hands in her lap, bowing her head so that her chestnut brown hair covered her face and obscured anyone's vision of her face.

About four or five minutes later the loud voices of kids' laughter and spirited laughter interrupted the classrooms serene silence. Anzu clenched her hands together tightly as the cheery, happy voices came closer to where she sat partially hid by the shadows. She looked up through her bangs and watched as a group of five teenagers sat in the row before hers. There was a blonde girl that looked like her skirt was just long enough, a blonde boy who looked like he needed a brush, a brunet who's hair was at such a gelled point that it might poke out someone's eye, a red head who was holding the blonde boys hand in a sisterly way, and a last shorter boy who had spiky red, black, and blonde hair and wore a odd gold upside down pyramid that had an odd eye on it. Anzu let her eyes linger on it for a few seconds and watched it as it flashed briefly, even though there was no light reflecting on it to make it shine like that.

The names of the five filtered into her head moments later. There was Mai Valentine the blonde with a big bust. She was at least two or three years older than the other four, but she had failed several times, not from being dumb, but from lack of trying. The blonde boy that was drooling over the older girl was Jonouchi Katsuya**. He was smarter than he looked, which didn't leave much. The red head that was latched onto his arm was Shizuka Katsuya. She was Jou's younger sister, but she was in a higher grade because she was so smart. She had just gone through an operation to fix her eyes. She had been almost blind, but thanks to Jou she had gotten the operation needed to make sure she didn't go completely blind. She now adored her brother even more, and was always seen with him. The brunet was Hiroto Honda, the best friend of Jou all throughout high school. The last boy was Yugi Mutou, son of the esteemed archeologist Solomon Mutou. His parents had died when he was younger, so he had gone to live with his grandpa- who now ran the Turtle Game Shop. His grandpa had brought the puzzle home from Egypt for Yugi and Yugi had spent months putting it together. He wore it everyday, and now for some reason all of the bullies of the school had suddenly disappeared. Anzu knew them all because they had been in all of her classes since she was in the fourth grade, not because she was friends with them. In fact, Jou and Honda had been the schools top two bullies until they had met Yugi. They then became much more civil, and had become Yugi's two best friends.

"OK students!" the teacher shouted drawing everyone's attention. "Everyone please take your places! I will be taking roll now!" The students all shouted `hai!' and sat down to talk quietly amongst their groups. Ms Kendo then started. "Miss Tsuruko? Mr Nobuyuki? Miss Mikako? Mr Shyousei? Miss Ayuko?" she shouted. Each person in turn said `here!' and stood up to show the teacher who they were before sitting back down again. "Miss Mai? Mr Jonouchi? Mr Honda? Miss Shizuka? Mr Yugi?" The five all did the same as the other students and Anzu watched out of her bangs. "OK! So now that you're all here--"* she started, but was interrupted as the door opened suddenly. Two boys walked in followed by the principal of the school. He spoke to Ms Kendo briefly then turned around and left, shutting the door behind him. Ms Kendo smiled at the two boys and then turned to the class. "These are the two new transfer students. Their names are Ryou Bakura and Malik Ishtar. Ryou is from Japan originally, but moved to England, and now he's back. Malik is from Cairo, Egypt, and this is his first time coming to Japan. I hope you will make these two feel at home since they're so far away from their own," she said smiling sternly at the class while the nodded. She looked back at the two boys and pointed to the back of the room where Anzu sat. "You may sit there next to Miss Mazaki. Anzu? Would you please stand up?" Anzu stood up stiffly, aware that the whole class was staring at her, and looked at the two boys for the first time. She took in their appearances. Ryou had on the standard boys uniform. He had large chocolate brown orbs, but his most stunning feature was his white hair that went down to his shoulders. She turned her eyes to Malik and took his looks in. He had stunning gold/ blonde hair and purple/ lavender eyes with what looked like black tattoos under them. He wore an array of golden jewelry that all looked authentic and Egyptian. The one thing he wasn't wearing was his uniform. Instead he was wearing a black sleeveless hoodie and camel colored pants. They both walked to the back to where she was standing, and sat down in the desks right beside her. Ryou was the closest, Malik sitting on his right. She sat back down, and tried to ignore the whispers that were coming from the rest of the class...

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Akari: Wow....that was the longest chapter that you've ever typed! AND you're sick to boot! I'm amazed!

Kurai: Don't be too shocked....and I'm NOT sick. But it did take a bit to type all of this. Hope fully all of the chapters for all of our stories will be this long from now on. I hope you enjoyed this. Right now I'm too tired to go back over this and edit, so if there's any mistakes, I am sorry.

Akari: A HAH!! I knew you were sick! You admitted that you were tired!

Kurai: *glares*

Akari: ehe *laughs nervously* ahem...please review!!!!!! JA NE!!!!!

~Ja ne from Akari and Kurai

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*We're going with the American equivalence of money that she has so that it'll be easier for you people.

** Is that how you spell his last name??

***She already knew that Anzu was there, so she didn't bother calling out her name. Pretty small class (13 people), but that's how our class in Japan was.