Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Vampire Dreams ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
A/N: Okay, I've decided that this fic will be half-and-half. Sort of. It will be somewhat canon, but I will take quite a few liberties with it so that certain things will make sense (and also because I didn't really see any seasons of the show after Battle City so I don't actually know how things turn out). So, it will really be mostly AU, but somewhat canon. :) Oh, and one of the first changes I am making? We're all just going to pretend that something happened, which we will not go into detail about because it's not connected with our story, and say that Yami and Bakura have their own bodies, and Marik is just Marik (not insane, but not particularly nice either).
Anyway, I'm not too terribly happy with this chapter, but hopefully ya'll will like it. Also, sorry it took so long for me to update, but if you go to my author profile and read what I wrote on there, well, maybe you can cut me some slack. lol Oh and:
You all have Nightfall2525 to thank for sending me a PM and reminding me that this story was still up here. And yeah, I know that PM was sent in…December, but whatever. lol
On with the story! And, btw, sorry to disappoint, but this chapter won't be nearly so, uh, lustful as the last. It's mostly to introduce the situations and stuff.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!!!!! I do however own my plot and original characters so those I can claim. hehe
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The Vampire Dreams
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Ignorance is Darkness - Egyptian proverb*
Blood poured from the body in a steady stream onto the Victorian rug covering the mahogany floor. The body the blood poured from lay upon an enormous bed covered in silken sheets. They were blood red in hue - whether it was their original color or whether they had been dyed from the massive amounts of blood could not be distinguished.
Anzu, fear and dread making her stomach heavy, walked slowly up to the body. She could not understand why, but she felt compelled to see the face of the body the departed soul had once occupied. As she got closer she noticed a small lump under the sheets. Her head pounded with fear and her hands shook as she tried to pull the sheets from the body but it refused to be lifted, the blood acting as an adhesive. Instead of graciously accepting this opportunity to be spared of what she was sure would be a horrible sight, she gave the silk a harsh tug and covered her eyes with her hand as the blood spattered when the sheet fell to the floor.
Slowly, very slowly, she lowered her hand, eyes growing large as she took in the scene - a woman lying upon the large bed in a once beautiful cobalt evening gown as if as if she had fallen asleep, her face obscured by her hair. Her eyes immediately were pulled to the spot where the lump had resided. Jutting out from the breast was an ornate silver cross resting directly over the heart. She looked closer, entranced by the way the blood clashed with the brilliant silver and the intricate patterns on the cross. The dread may have momentarily released her, but as she lifted her eyes to see the face it gripped her once more in its jaws. She raised her hand to the face that was obscured by eerily familiar hair and pushed it out of the way.
“Oh…my…god,” she whispered once before falling to her knees and quickly pulling herself away from the bed with her hands and feet. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” she chanted as if words alone could help her, and she closed her eyes tight to plea that the sight was not reality. Opening her eyes she saw that her plea was in vain - once more she looked into her own empty eyes. So she did the only thing that seemed logical in her petrified state.
She screamed.
“Aaahhhh!!!”
Anzu Mazaki opened her eyes and quickly sat up trying to fight the thin bed sheets that had a strangle hold on her. Once free, she put a hand to her rapidly moving chest and the other to her head. The nightmares were becoming so frequent now that she could barely remember a time when she didn't wake up in a cold sweat and gasping for breath. Dread still gripped at her chest, and her stomach still felt as if it had been put through a blender. She turned slowly to look at the empty spot next to her on the bed, fully expecting to see a clone of herself lying in a pool of blood.
Of course, there were only the disturbingly colorful books she had been browsing through until late last night. She would be sure to return those to the library today. Stupid lying dream books. She should have known none of the idiotic “techniques” they described could possibly work.
Slightly calmer as the dream slowly began to fade, she sighed and turned on the lamp, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the harsh brightness. Lately she had been becoming more and more sensitive to light**. Maybe it was just all the stress. Shaking her head, she looked at the plain office-like clock hanging on the annoyingly white wall opposite her bed. 4:30 am. If she went back to sleep now she would never be able to wake up in time for her classes. She likely wouldn't even get up in time for work. She might make it to the theatre on time though.
“Oh well, I may as well try and get some work done on my online classes. But first I really need some coffee…” she moaned before standing up and stretching. Briefly she glanced around for her favorite purple slippers and finally found one under her desk and, after some digging, the other under a pile of unwashed clothes. She would have to take some time this weekend to do laundry. And maybe even some dusting. Goodness knows she did that rarely enough.
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“Remind me again why these books are so heavy?”
“What? You didn't know all the universities use their textbooks as a form of torture, Anzu?” said Bakura with a smirk as they trigged along the path to the out-of-the-way building their Ancient Mythology class. Anzu couldn't hold back the laugh that Bakura always managed to pull from her, but today she wished she could resist laughing. It simply hurt too much.
“Anzu, are you okay? You're looking a bit pale,” he said to her in a worried tone and she saw him looked down at her, eyes softer than usual. It was then she noticed her hand resting against her rapidly moving chest and the way she was hunched over trying to carry the books on her back. And there weren't even that many in there. After all, she only had two classes at the school this semester.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little drained. Plus, this weather isn't exactly helping,” she said, motioning up at the overcast skies. They hadn't seen the sun in at least two weeks it seemed. Bakura didn't say anything else to her, just hmm-ed and held open the heavy metal door for her with a faraway look in his eyes. What was that boy thinking now, she wondered as she walked past him into the nosy hallway.
As they walked side by side to the top floor - the elevators had been broken for the better part of the past year, so everyone used the stairs - Anzu looked at her best friend. Ryou Bakura had transformed from the shy quiet English boy she had known in high school into someone completely different. For one, he refused to even hear the name “Ryou” anymore, and he was no longer shy. Maybe quiet, but in a dark brooding sort of way, not the way he used to be. He even walked differently, she though. Sometimes he reminded her of the spirit of the ring, but she assumed that was just normal. Whatever the case, he was a much more confident person now. And he was a wonderful friend when she needed him most.
She had changed too though, now that she thought about it.
Like how she had gone from the embarrassingly skimpy clothes like she used to wear to what she liked to call Thrift Store Artsy Chic. But her style hadn't been the only thing to change - or rather evolve. No, even her dreams had changed. Oh, how her dreams had changed. Somewhere along the way she had realized that she loved acting. Acting. She supposed it had been when she started doing musicals, which turned into plays - which were somehow much more satisfying. Which was why she was constantly at the theatre. Well, when she wasn't at work or at school anyway. But, instead of majoring in performing arts, she was majoring in history. Well, Ancient History and Mythology to be exact. Always nice to have a backup after all.
And she was no longer as innocent as she used to be. She still held friendship as an important part of life, but she realized that she was a fool to think that alone could solve the world's problems. Somewhere in there, she had realized that the most important thing was to simply be strong on her own. That strength, not her friendships, had been what had saved her when things had started getting really tough.
“Anzu, are you coming in, or do you plan on sitting this class out today?” Bakura murmured in her ear, snapping her out of her musings and sending distinctly non-platonic shivers down her spine. She realized that he was holding the door for her and most of the small class was smirking at them along with their professor. Miss Takumi had to be the least stuck up teacher Anzu had ever met. They even had a sort of friendship - something unheard of with her other professors.
“Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking,” she said as she walked in and sat down in her usual seat on the second row next to the large window, Bakura sitting next to her. She pulled out her textbook along with the reading book the teacher had assigned them to read for the first half of the semester.
Miss Takumi stood at her podium and looked out at the class. “Well, now that everyone has decided to join us -”
“Not quite teach!” said an out of breath voice at the door. The voice sounded familiar, but Anzu paid it no head, opting instead to gaze out at the man-made lake where some geese were fighting. Well, until Bakura started poking her thigh. She looked at him, ready to tell him some smart remark, but noticed that he was looking at the door rather wide-eyed. She averted her gaze from him to see what had caught his attention about a late student, and had to contain her squeal when she saw who it was.
“And just who are you?” said the petite professor.
“I'm Jonouchi Katsuya, and I'm ya new transfer student. What? Ya didn't get the memo?” There leaning against the doorway, still as cocky as ever, was someone she hadn't seen since her second year of high school. ***
“No, I suppose not. Now, perhaps you would like to sit down so we can actually get some learning done today? Just sit in the third row behind Anzu there,” Miss Takumi said as she pointed to the empty chair behind Anzu.
Anzu watched Jonouchi do a double take as his eyes landed upon her, shock giving way to surprise. He practically ran to the seat behind her, dropping his bag rather loudly on the floor and leaned over to `whisper' in her ear, “Anzu, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I believe she goes to school here Mr. Katsuya. Now, if you don't mind, I really do have to teach this class. Without interruptions.” Well, wonderful teacher as she was, Miss Takumi did have a good side and she had a bad side after all. Smirking, Anzu scribbled a quick note and tossed it over her shoulder.
I'll give you the update later. Meet me in the hall after class. - Anzu
Seconds later the note was tossed back to her with an affirmative written on it. Seconds after that another note flew into her lap. Curiously, she looked at it and grinned when she read it, turning to wink at the one who wrote it.
You are aware that we are not in high school anymore, correct? Though, sometimes I do wonder with you… ~B
“Now, class, I trust you remember our last discussion about the similarities between the many mythologies of the ancient world. Perhaps someone would like to point out their favorite parallel today?”
“Actually, I would,” said a dark-haired girl in the back of the room. Anzu, along with half the class, had to twist in her seat to see the girl. “I find it fascinating how there are so many references to Lilith throughout the world. Maybe not consistently in name, though there are many variations of her name that occur quite often, but there is always a strong woman persecuted in the way she was who rises above it to become a queen in her own right.”
“Well, the legend of Lilith is a bit more complex than that, but you are right in that there are many goddesses which resemble her. Maybe-”
“But don't you see there's a reason for that?!” the girl interrupted, a zealous look in her eyes. “Lilith is The Goddess! She and she alone hath created our being, our culture! She-”
“Risa, come one, stop it!” A tense raven haired boy had grabbed Risa's, arm and was trying to both grab her things and his while restraining her. He leaned close to her and whispered a few words in her ear causing her to stop struggling against him and stand there with an abashed look on her face.
“I apologize, Miss Takumi; I think the exams have stressed my sister out a bit. I told her not to take on such a heavy workload,” he said with a nervous laugh before dragging Risa's limp form to the door. “I'll take her to the nurse's office right away.”
“Um, that should be fine, Sebastian. Just make sure she gets some rest, okay? You're both excused,” said a very stricken looking Miss Takumi. Anzu was willing to bet that mythology class was one of the places she had never expected to have zealots as students. There was a quiet murmur arising from the class and Anzu turned to face Bakura.
“Wow, what do you think that was about, eh?”
“You're tellin' me!” said Jonouchi from behind her. “What was that chick crazy or somethin'?”
“I don't know. I mean, I don't think so. I've never really talked to her though, so…” Anzu looked down at Jonouchi's desk and tried to remember any words she had exchanged with the girl, but couldn't think of even one time. In fact, she didn't even remember seeing the girl or her brother before today. Which was strange since this was one of the smaller classes at the university. But, she simply wrote that off as being a by-product of her constant lack of sleep. It's amazing what a lack of sleep does to your memory.
“Whoa, Bakura, what's eating you?” Anzu looked up and saw that Jonouchi was looking somewhat apprehensively at a very angry looking Bakura.
“Um, yeah, is something wrong?” Anzu said softly, brushing her hand across his. She saw Jonouchi get a mischievous look in his eyes, but sent him a glare that seemed to sober him. She felt Bakura turn his hand around to give hers a light squeeze before dropping it.
“Nothing's wrong, I just was thinking.” Anzu knew Bakura well enough after the past few years to know that that meant the end of the conversation. Luckily, Jonouchi got that point as well. Anzu pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and, after giving Bakura one more glance turned back to the teacher. But her thoughts stayed on him. Surely that outburst wouldn't have affected him in this way. There had to be something else.
“Well, um, that was interesting,” Miss Takumi said, shuffling her papers absently and looking at the class. “Well, let's get back to it then. Does anyone else have a favorite parallel?”
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“Don't forget to study everyone! We are having exams next week!” A few `okay's and `yeah sure's were Miss Takumi's only reward as the class ran out of the classroom. Anzu herself gave her favorite teacher an enthusiast wave as she walked outside into the hallway. Normally she would have stopped to grill the teacher on what exactly would be included in the test, but today she had a friend to catch up with. And of course he had been the first to run out of the classroom.
“Jonouchi, you never change do you?”
“Haha, what do you think Anzu?” he said wrapping an arm around her shoulders to give her a friendly hug. “So, tell me what ya've been up to these past few years?”
“Anzu,” said Bakura from behind her. She turned around and took in his appearance - which was slightly less worrisome than it had been in the class, but nowhere near his usual composure.
“Yes?”
“I'm not going to be going with you to the next class,” he said, not looking at her.
“Are you feeling sick?” she said, suddenly much more worried. He rarely got sick these days, but she remembered that he had had some bad problems with his immune system when he was younger.
“No, but I have something rather important I need to take care of. Could you tell the teacher?”
“Okay, but are you sure? I thought World History and Concepts was your favorite class?” He only nodded and walked away, but not before he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Be careful.”
She watched his retreating form with a confused look in her eyes then just shook her head and tried to move the almost unbearably heavy backpack to a more comfortable position on her back.
“So, you and Bakura there going out or something?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, no. We're just friends, Jonouchi. Nothing more.” He just hmm-ed and looked at the now empty hallway. “Seriously, Jonouchi, it's the truth. Now, I have about fifteen minutes before my next class starts, so why don't we grab a snack from the student café?”
“Sounds good to me,” he said, getting that same look he got in his eyes when they were younger and he heard the word `food'. Anzu suddenly felt sorry for the culinary students that worked in the café. They wouldn't even see it coming.
As they walked towards the student center they talked about the `old times' and Anzu couldn't help but feel that she didn't miss them not one bit. She didn't tell Jonouchi that, of course. She saw the wistful look that came into his eye whenever he mentioned that childish game that they had staked so much on, and learned that he had decided to go to college after all so that he could take care of Serenity.
When she asked him why, he looked up at the gray skies and sighed. “Yugi didn't tell you?”
“Um, well, I haven't exactly been keeping in touch with him lately. Not since…well, we just haven't talked,” she said dejectedly. It really did hurt her that the boy she was once close friends with would completely cut her off just because of something so foolish. What right did he have to order her around anyway? He knew she had been fond of Mokuba, so of course she would take care of him when he needed her.
“Is he still holding that against you? It's been two years now!” said Jonouchi as he opened the door to the student center.
“Yeah, I know,” she said walking into the warm yet annoyingly bright building. “Anyway, tell me about Serenity. Why do you need to take care of her? Is she okay?”
“No actually, she not. The, surgery didn't fix her condition permanently after all. Really, it just made things worse. The docs say that the degenerative disease she has was misdiagnosed and is a lot more severe than what they thought she had had,” he had been looking at the ceiling when he was talking, but now he looked back at her, eyes brighter than they had been. “Anzu, they said that it's going to start affecting her brain if she doesn't have another surgery - and this one costs ten times more than the last one. But this time there's no competitions to win, no way of getting money, and I just don't know what I'm going to do.”
“Oh no, Jonouchi, I'm so sorry. Poor Serenity, I can't imagine what she's going through,” Anzu said, wrapping her arm around Jonouchi's shoulder and giving him a hug. “And don't worry, you'll find a way. After all, you're not alone in this you know. I'll see if I can't figure out someway to help.” She knew how much he cared about his sister and she knew that this must be killing him. After all, he had only got the money last time by the skin of his teeth and now for this to happen, after all that he had gone through? She couldn't believe the fates could be so cruel.
“You don't have to do that ya know,” he said quietly, looking at the ground. She squeezed his arm, and when he looked up at her, she gave him a looked that clearly said that she wanted to help.
“Thanks,” he whispered, drawing her into a friendly hug. After that, the conversation lighted up considerably as they talked about the old days and then about how she had changed, a topic brought on by Jonouchi mentioning how different she looked, and her replying that it wasn't just her wardrobe that was different. In fact, they got so absorbed into catching up that Anzu was five minutes late for her World History and Concepts class. After making a rather amused Jonouchi - really, why did everyone find it funny whenever she was stressing? - promise that he would drop by the theatre later that night so that they could catch up some more she left for her class, only to find that the classroom door was locked.
Annoyed she briefly considered just skipping the class before knocking on the door loudly enough that a teacher from one of the other classes poked her head out one of the doors to see what the commotion was. Anzu just sent her an apologetic smile and continued knocking on the door. The teacher simply rolled her eyes - she was used to this by now, after all some student or another was always late it to this particular class it seemed - and shut her own classroom door.
“Ah, nice of you to join us Miss Mizaki,” said Mr. Harada as he opened the classroom door to let her in.
“Sorry, Mr. Harada, I lost track of the time. Oh, and Bakura told me to tell you that he was feeling sick so he wouldn't be coming to class,” she said as she sat down in her usual seat next to a window overlooking the parking lot and sitting her bag down next to her after getting out everything she needed for this class.
“His absence is noted,” said the teacher as he wrote in a notebook on top of his desk. “Though not excused.”
“But he said he wasn't feeling well! And he can't afford any more un-excused absences on his record this semester!” protested Anzu. The other students simply gave her a look of pure amusement. After all, with this teacher there was simply no getting through to him. Kind of like an old dog, he was set in his ways.
“Yes, I heard you the first time Miss Mizaki. Now, sit down or leave the classroom so that I may continue the class,” said Mr. Harada already turning away from her and to the chalkboard. Anzu suddenly realized she had stood up and, cheeks burning with embarrassment, sat back down. She spent the rest of the class alternatively copying what the teacher wrote on the chalkboard, fuming over the pure unfeeling indifference the teacher radiated, and thinking about what Jonouchi had said about his sister's relapse.
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“It's not like anyone's forcing you to do it,” said Kaori as they walked arm-in-arm away from the stage, where they had just finished a somewhat stressful rehearsal, towards the dressing rooms. Her neighbor, fellow actress/volunteer, and one of the few friends she had in this city pushed a lock of red hair away from her brown eyes with her free hand and looked at Anzu.
“I know, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't really want to do it.” Anzu was most definitely not a happy camper at that moment. She knew that she owed Seto for what he had done for the theatre, even though she hadn't asked Mokuba to beg his brother to basically take control of the then run-down theatre, but that didn't mean that she necessarily liked going to these galas. Even if they were for a good cause.
She still remembered when Mokuba had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. It had been too late when they found out, so there hadn't been much that they could do aside from making Mokuba as comfortable as they could. The hell if Seto hadn't done his best to find a way for Mokuba to make it through the leukemia though, despite what the doctors said about it being just too late for the young Kaiba. He had even gone so far as to assemble his own impressive team of specialists to find a way to cure Mokuba.
They thought their treatments had worked when Mokuba's Leukemia had gone into remission, but he had had a rapid decline in his last month in which he had become so pale and weak that it had practically broken Anzu's heart every time she saw the teen. She had stayed with him every moment she could and had even put together a showing of his favorite play at the theatre, which he had thoroughly enjoyed. They had had long talks during that month and she had even grown quite close to Seto, seeing a side of him that she was sure no one aside from his brother had ever seen.
Though that didn't mean that they didn't argue constantly. Quite the opposite actually. They were always bickering over something, and that was only when she was actually able to get Seto to talk at all. The man she now lived a mere block away from had changed very little from the boy who had once tormented her friends. She supposed that was what had brought to being Mokuba's second wish - for her and Seto to try to get along. And she had tried. Oh goodness how she had tried. But some things you just can't force.
“Anzu? Anzu! Quit daydreaming already!”
“Huh?” said Anzu, somewhat annoyed over being pulled out of her musings.
“Oi!” said Kaori, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically. “You're impossible, you know that?”
“Well, I aim to please,” said Anzu as she sat down in a metal folding chair and flipped through the script to find the scene she was currently having trouble memorizing.
“So, are you going or not?” Anzu closed the script since she couldn't seem to concentrate anyway, and looked at her friend who was currently making a fool of herself by fighting with a stubborn folding chair that apparently wouldn't open.
“I don't know. I don't really have anything that's considered suitable for this type of thing, but I'll probably go anyway. I mean, after all, it is a benefit gala that Seto's hosting in honor of Mokuba. How could I not - Hey Jonouchi! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come or not,” she said with a smile directed at the tall blond man who had come strutting into the room.
“Couldn't keep me away if ya tried,” he said with a wink. “By the way, you were awesome up there. And who might this be?” Jonouchi noticed Kaori fighting with her chair and took it from her, only to make a fool of himself in turn. Frustrated he just pulled another foldout chair from the wall and sat it down in front of Kaori with a flourish. Both girls laughed at that and Jonouchi grinned.
“One, I'm glad to hear that. Two, I hope you're talking about the rest of the cast because I certainly wasn't very good up there, forgetting every other line and such. And, three, this is Kaori.”
“Hi,” said Kaori with a grin.
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Okay, it was going to be longer, but I think I've made ya'll wait long enough for a chapter update. Oh well, I can just put all the stuff that I didn't fit into this chapter in the next one. Lol
Anyway, please review! It really does make my day and pull me out of the depression I've sunk into lately (reason in author profile).
~Kassie
* From page 1 of Ancient Egyptian Divination and Magic, by Eleanor L. Harris.
** Cookies and chocolate cake (or whatever kind you like) to whomever figures out why she's becoming sensitive to light. Really, it should be obvious. ;)
*** I know, I know, the first name is supposed to be after the last name, but this is really just for simplicity…for me. lol And, btw, I'm going by the way that they do school in Japan: Middle school = 3 years, High School = 3 years. So the second year of high school would be the eleventh grade, I believe.