Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ With the Wind at My Back ❯ Introductions, and Discoveries ( Chapter 2 )

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

Disclaimer: You know what I own of Yu-Gi-Oh? Nothing. Know what I'm making for this story? Nothing. We clear? `Course we are. I mean, heck, if I owned YGO, you wouldn't laugh at me naming the kingdom "Duel."

Author's Notes: Beware falling AU! Medieval AU, at that. Sheesh, could I have more Yugi/Anzu interraction in one chapter? Let's find out, huh?

Chapter Two: Introductions, and Discoveries

Anzu's eyelids felt like they had weights on top of them, keeping them closed tightly. Not that she minded. Where ever she was, it was warm and soft. With a sigh, her hands curled around the thick blanket that was wrapped around her, and she buried her face a little deeper into the pillow her head was on.

Something small nuzzled her back, and gave a little squeal. "Kuri!"

She winced at the sound, willing whatever it was to be quiet. She was so comfortable. Just a few more minutes before reality could strike. A few more minutes didn't seem like so much to ask.

However, the nuzzling persisted, as well as the squealing. "Kuri, kuri!"

A low moan came from the back of her throat, and Anzu's blue eyes reluctantly opened. The morning sun was shining brightly, and her eyesight blurred for a few moments as she fought for orientation. Finally, everything came into view, and she felt a bit of awed nervousness settle in.

She was outside no more. She lay in a low bed, a full pillow propping her head, and a brown blanket warming her. The house she was in was probably a small cottage, if the wooden walls indicated anything. The room she was in was rather small and bare, only a desk and a dresser decorating it. The desk itself was littered with paper, pens lying about haphazardly. On top of them rested an engraved, golden box that shined painfully bright in the sun's rays. Her mud caked cloak was draped over the desk's chair, and her dirty shoes were placed tidily next to the bed.

Anzu sat up, pushing the blanket off herself. She huffed at the mess that was her skirt, now discolored with dry mud and rain water. She hoped she could clean it. Sighing, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and hopped off. The blankets rustling from behind caused her to look over, surprised to see them moving.

Out from under them popped the small kuribo that had frightened her in the forest, and the little thing jumped up at Anzu the instant he spotted her, screeching happily as he did so.

"Whoa!" she laughed, almost dropping the creature in shock. "You're still with me, huh? So, where's here, anyway?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

She got one anyway. "Kuri," said the fluffball, looking for all the world as smart as a fluffball could.

"You don't say," Anzu remarked, good humoredly.

Walking over to the window, she peered out at the clearing that greeted her. At the edge of the trees, she could see a dirt path, maybe the same one she had been on before passing out. She wondered just how far she had been from this house at the time. It couldn't have been that far if they had found her.

The door creaked open, startling Anzu, and causing the kuribo in her arms to puff up, protectively. In walked a small boy, who looked just as startled to see her as she did him. Blonde bangs framed a chubby face, as the rest of his hair was a crown of black and maroon. Large purple eyes blinked a few times at Anzu, before the boy smiled a very friendly smile at her.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed. "That's good. We were worried. Hold on a moment." He turned away from a befuddled Anzu, and yelled out of the room, "Grandpa! Grandpa, she's awake!"

"She is?" an old voice called back. "Okay, okay! No need to yell. The house isn't that big, you know?"

Anzu watched, feeling more and more confused, as an old man only slightly taller than the boy, walked in. It instantly became clear where the boy got his unique hair, but not quite so clear where he got his innocent looks. The man, Anzu decided, had a very disturbing gaze; piercing and scrutinizing. Or maybe he was just leering. As if knowing her thoughts, the kuribo puffed up more, and howled at the man.

"You have a pet kuribo?" was the man's first question for her. Not 'Are you okay?' Not 'What's your name, young lady?' Not even, 'What were you thinking walking in the woods at night alone?' Instead, she got a question about the monster in her arms. She didn't know whether to be insulted or flabbergasted.

"I-Well, yes," Anzu stuttered, half truthfully. The kuribo wasn't really her pet, but he did seem to be rather attached to her, regardless of only just meeting her.

"Curious," murmured the old man, walking over to her, his purple eyes staring intently at the small creature, who seemed less than thrilled with the attention. "Kuribo usually live in packs," muttered the man, mostly to himself. "To see one without its kinsfolk is very odd. Friendly little things, but not very domestic. Not every day you see one take a liking to a human. Hmm, hmm," he tapped his lips, before trying to pet the kuribo. The creature responded by taking a swipe at the man's hand, and the old man barely avoided the sharp claws. "Well, guess this one isn't that domestic," he laughed, good naturedly.

Anzu, for her part, stared uncomfortably between the old man and the boy, chewing her bottom lip in apprehension. Apparently, the boy saw her discomfort.

"Grandpa," he coughed politely into his hand, getting the old man's attention. "You're scaring her."

"Oh, I don't think the kuribo's a girl, Yugi," said the old man, absently.

The boy named Yugi groaned. "Not the kuribo, Grandpa!"

"Hm? Oh!" the old man blushed in embarrassment, straightening to his full height and giving Anzu a warm smile. "Forgive my horrible manners. I've been dealing with Duel's monsters for so long, I've seemed to have become more familiar with them than people.
"My name is Sugoroku Mutou, the boy over there," he pointed behind him, "is my grandson, Yugi. He's the one that found you in the woods."

"Thank you," Anzu smiled politely at the boy.

Yugi blushed, placing a hand behind his head. "I-it wasn't much. I just happened to be at the right place. Um... " he blinked a few times, a serious expression on his pleasant face. "What were you doing in the woods?"

Anzu's heart dropped to her feet, bouncing there painfully for a moment, before jumping all the way up to her throat. "Well, I... " she trailed. "I just couldn't stay where I was."

Sugoroku gave her one of his piercing stares for a moment, before he shrugged. "Then, I suppose you don't have a place to stay right now."

"No, not really. But don't worry," Anzu waved a hand. "I'll be on my way soon. I'll just brush off my cloak, and-"

"And do what?" Sugoroku challenged, staring speculatively at the filthy cloak. "Not meaning to be rude, but your clothing is in disarray. It probably would be best if they were cleaned before you went anywhere, yes?"

"Uh, I suppose," she agreed, hesitantly.

"Well, then," Sugoroku clapped his hands together, "you should stay right here. I think I still have some of Yugi's mother's clothing around in the storage room. You're a bit tall," he admitted, sizing her up, "but they should do until your regular clothing is clean.
"And you could probably use to clean yourself, too. Yugi," he turned to his grandson, who turned to him, "start up a bath for her, will you?"

"Okay, Grandpa," Yugi nodded, walking out of the room.

"Oh, but you don't have to," Anzu shook her head vehemently, feeling terribly guilty. "I don't want to impose."

Sugoroku waved her objections aside. "It's not any trouble. Besides," he smiled, "we don't usually have casual company. Most people just come here on business.
"Now, then, I would love to know your name, young lady," he said, warmly.

She felt her face burn with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm so sorry! How rude of me," she adjusted her hold on the kuribo, feeling about as tall as the little guy. "My name's Anzu."

"Anzu," Sugoroku repeated, then smiled brightly. "Well, Anzu, you just stay here, and I'll be back with some new clothes that you can put on after your bath."

"Thank you so much," she said, grateful. "This is too kind of you."

Again, he simply waved it aside, and walked out to leave her with her thoughts.

"So," she looked at the kuribo, "what do you think? They seem nice."

"Kur... " the creature yawned, settling deeper into her arms.

She smiled. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a bath and have some clean clothing on. I do feel rather disgusting. And this place... " she sighed, content, "feels warm."

"So, you're sure she made it to the forest okay?" Shizuka asked, for what seemed like the twentieth time to her older brother.

"Yeah, yeah, she made it already," Jounochi rolled his eyes, before patting his sister on her copper brown hair. "Trust me, she's fine."

"I hope so," she said, her face still looking concerned. "I just wish she had let one of us go with her. Or at least have some idea where she was heading."

"She didn't even know where she was going," remarked Honda, resting his back against a tree. His dark brown eyes surveyed the castle from their standpoint. "I'm sure she's all right. Lady Anzu's pretty resourceful."

"Like I said, she's fine!" Jounochi insisted, annoyed that they were arguing this point still.

Shizuka still didn't seem convinced, but said nothing more on the subject. From the time she had moved into the castle, Anzu had become fast friends with the blind girl, and Shizuka had been upset on the day her friend had declared her escape plan. It's not that Shizuka didn't realize that Anzu was probably correct; King Pegasus left a bad taste in Shizuka's mouth, as well. False politeness, and a tone that made ice crawl down her spine.

It just was that Shizuka was aware of something her brother and his friend seemingly decided to ignore. That Anzu had never been on her own, and didn't really know how to fend for herself. What would the girl do once she found a village? How would she make her way through the world? She didn't know any trades, except macramé as far as Shizuka was aware, and she doubted that would do much in the way of helping Anzu create a new life for herself.

"She's fine, fine, fine," Jounochi interrupted her thoughts, tapping his sister's skull with each 'fine.'

"Katsuya!" Shizuka complained, taking a swat in the direction she knew he was sitting, satisfied when her hand collided successfully with his chest. It didn't really hurt him, but he humored her with a small grunt. "Serves you right," she said.

"Would you look at that," Honda interjected, eyes on the castle gates.

Four suited up knights rode out on horseback, all of them making their swift way over to the three at the forest's edge. The horses stopped a few feet away from them, and one of the knights lifted the visor on his helmet, revealing a pair of bright green eyes.

"Otogi," Jounochi greeted, smiling crookedly. "What's the hurry?"

"The Lady Anzu has gone missing," Otogi answered, steadying his anxious steed.

Honda clenched his teeth, lips pressed together, praying that he didn't say anything stupid. He was such an awful liar, he wished that Anzu hadn't needed to include him in her plan. He could give her away. Next to him, Shizuka sat, looking as if she had just heard the news.

"That's awful!" the girl whispered, tears somehow managing to appear in her sightless eyes.

"The king has ordered a search party," Otogi said, pointing at Jounochi and Honda. "I'd like you two to be part of it."

"Of course, we'll help," Jounochi nodded, thankfully answering for both of them. "Lady Anzu's our friend, after all."

"Mine, too," Otogi added, something odd in his tone. Then, he smiled and spoke normally, "Good to have you aboard. We'll wait for you here. You two bring Shizuka back and get ready."

"Agreed," Honda somehow choked out without sounding too uncomfortable. He helped Shizuka to her feet, making sure to look at her than the knights. If he looked at them, he'd break for sure, he knew he would. "Let's go."

As the trio headed back to the castle, Otogi watched them, suspicion in his eyes. If what King Pegasus said was true, they knew that Anzu had left quite a bit ago. They were traitors, so the king said, and Otogi was a loyal knight. He wouldn't argue with the king's ruling. Still, he wasn't lying about Lady Anzu being his friend. And the receding figures were friends of his, as well. He didn't want to go against the king, but he couldn't bring himself to believe his close comrades were in fact enemies.

Otogi also, for the life of him, couldn't understand why King Pegasus found it so important that Lady Anzu was to be found and brought immediately back. The order had sounded less like an upset man fretting over his object of affection, and more like an angry man furious over the escape of a prisoner.

Instinctively, Anzu pulled at the skirt of the dress Sugoroku had given her. After her bath, which should would've enjoyed a lot longer if she'd not been so worried about appearing rude, she had found the lavender dress lying on the bed of the room she'd been in. He'd been right; it was a little short and tight on her, barely reaching below her knees. However, it was pretty, comfortable, and more importantly clean. Shoes, however, had not been offered since none fit, and so she stood in the room with bare feet.

"Uh, Miss Anzu?" the young voice of Yugi called from the other side of the door, a small knock accompanying it. "Is it all right?"

With a grin, Anzu opened the door for the short boy. "The dress fits fine, Yugi. And please, no 'miss.' You're going to make me feel old!" she giggled.

"Oh, sorry!" he apologized, blushing profusely. His eyes went from her to the kuribo that sat on the bed. The creature looked back and him and squeaked, somewhat uppity. "He's so young," Yugi commented, slowly walking over to it. "How long have you had him?"

"Well, not very," Anzu stuttered, not quite sure how to answer. Vaguely, she decided, was best. "He just sort of followed me one day."

"He's very cute," said Yugi, smiling at the furball. Carefully, he held his hand out to the creature, who puffed up in defense.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Anzu bit her lip. The kuribo had snapped at Sugoroku before, and she certainly didn't want a repeat performance.

However, the kuribo leaned towards Yugi's hand, blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. When Yugi made no move, the creature moved himself closer to the boy's hand. Then, the kuribo simply jumped into the outstretch hand, and cooed. Whether the small monster had a nose hidden beneath all his fur, and actually smelled Yugi, or because the boy simply didn't look threatening, the kuribo had seemingly deemed him safe.

Anzu clapped her hands together, delighted. "You're very good!"

"Thank you," Yugi beamed, stroking the kuribo's fur. "Grandpa's an expert at all the monsters who live here in Duel. Many people come here asking for his advice on how to handle them, whether they're pets or dangers. I just sort of picked it up over the years."

"So, you've always lived with your grandfather?" she asked, curious.

Yugi nodded. "I've been here since I was born. Sixteen years come winter."

"What!?" The girl nearly fell over. "You're fifteen? My age? Really!?" Anzu bit her tongue, her face burning red. What a stupid thing for her to say! "I-I mean, it's... I'm really very sorry!" she exclaimed lowering her head to hide her embarrassed face.

Yugi, however, didn't seem at all insulted. "It's okay," he smiled. "It's my height, right?"

Hands clasped in front of her still blushing face, Anzu nodded.

"I know I'm pretty short," Yugi said, putting the kuribo back onto the bed. "So's Grandpa. It just runs in the family."

"I'm still sorry," said Anzu. "I feel really stupid."

He either decided to let her off the hook, or simply had a short attention span, because the next thing Yugi asked was, "What's his name?"

Anzu blinked, confused. "Huh?"

"The kuribo," Yugi explained. "What's his name?"

"His name... ?" She didn't have a name for him. She had just found the little guy! Well, he had found her, actually. She looked at the tiny ball of messy fur, realizing she had to think of one fast, unless she wanted her little white lie out in the open. So, she said the first one that jumped into her head. "His name's Kuri."

Justifiably, Yugi gave her a blank stare. "You named your kuribo 'Kuri?'"

Anzu kept her straight face well. "Yes."

And still, the blank stare continued. "Kuri the kuribo?"

She felt her eyebrow twitch. "Do you have a problem with that? Kuri's a very good name, I'll have you know!"

"Of course, it is!" Yugi held his hands up in defeat, smiling sheepishly. "I wouldn't really know. I've never owned a kuribo myself."

Anzu huffed, crossing her arms. She thought it was a perfectly decent name! On the bed, the newly christened Kuri squealed in his mistress's defense. If she was angry, the little beast figured he should be, too.

Again, this time to perhaps save his hide, Yugi changed the subject. He walked over to the desk, and began to sort the papers. "Sorry about the mess. I'm afraid I don't keep my room as neat as I should."

"This is your room?" she asked, a little bit of mortification crawling into her stomach. "I kicked you out of your room last night?"

"No," Yugi shrugged. "I told Grandpa that you should sleep in a bed, instead of on the couch. It wasn't that big of a deal. Besides," he turned to her, smiling, "this gave Grandpa the excuse to clean out the old storage room."

"Why?" Anzu frowned, curious.

"That room used to be a makeshift hatchery, back when Grandpa's Great Grandpa used to be a Monster Expert," he told. "Ever since Grandpa took over the job, he's been throwing his old junk in there, since he's such a pack rat.

"A... Hatchery?" she repeated, walking over.

"We don't live that far away from Kaiba Fortress," Yugi said, placing the papers into the desk drawer. "Maybe a ten minute walk, and we're officially on Kaiba territory."

Anzu's blue eyes widened. "A hatchery... Then the rumors about the Kaiba family are true? The reason why King Pegasus has never been able to incorporate their territory into part of Duel Kingdom... "

Yugi nodded, and finished her sentence for her. "Is because the Kaiba family are the proud owners of three Blue Eyes White Dragons. My ancestor hatched them himself for them."

"Amazing," Anzu's voice trailed. "I never thought it was true."

She had heard the old story when she was younger. Everyone who lived in Duel had. When Pegasus had become king, he had ordered his knights to go across the kingdom, seizing territory from the rich who still claimed ownership of the land they lived on. However, no knights ever sent to Kaiba Fortress had ever come back, except one who had told a story of three horrible beasts that guarded the fortress, making it impossible to take. Ever since then, the Kaiba family, and their territory had been a well known thorn in the king's side.

"It is," Yugi shrugged. "Grandpa still goes there once a month to check up on them. I go sometimes, too. Lord Seto Kaiba's rather cold, but he's very proud of those Blue Eyes of his. He takes good care of them."

"Three Blue Eyes... " Anzu shook her head. "It's unimaginable, to actually own such dangerous creatures."

"You'd think so," Yugi admitted. "But, they seem very loyal to their master, so I don't think they're going to go on a rampage any time soon."

"I hope not!" Anzu exclaimed, horrified at the thought.

Yugi smiled. "Anyway, since Grandpa's cleaned out the storage room, and I helped put in an old bed, you can stay there for now."

"Huh?" she uttered, surprised.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," he assured her, still smiling. "It's probably the biggest room in the house, and we really cleaned it up. You don't have a dresser or anything like that, but we can fix that in a few days."

"But... " her brain was quite processing the whole idea. "You want me... to stay?"

Yugi looked at her, slightly disappointed. "You have someplace to go then?"

"Well, not exactly," confessed Anzu.

"Then, you'll stay here until you do," he said, brightly.

"But, I'd be intruding," she stuttered.

He looked at her as if she were crazy. "No, you wouldn't."

"I'd have no way to repay you," Anzu insisted. "I can't cook."

"Neither can Grandpa," Yugi grinned. "I cook."

"I can barely saw clothing," she warned. "Really, macramé's the only talent I think I have."

"Macramé's pretty," he said, managing to actually sound serious.

"It isn't funny, Yugi!" Anzu cried, and he grinned. "I certainly don't know how to take care of monsters well."

"You take care of Kuri," Yugi pointed out.

"Well, that's different," she weakly defended, as the monster in question walked over, and climbed onto the desk.

"Not really," he shook his head. "You really shouldn't worry about it. I can teach you some easy things to help with. Besides, Grandpa and I wouldn't feel right just letting you go."

Anzu bit her lip. "You really don't have to."

Yugi smiled. "Of course, we do. It's not any trouble, really."

Actually, Anzu realized, it was a lot of trouble. Especially if she were to be found out while staying with them. It would be horribly selfish of her to stay, but horribly dumb to go just yet. Maybe, she decided, maybe for a few days. A few days to get herself oriented, and then she'd leave and they'd be safe from the king. Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

"Okay," she conceded, albeit reluctantly.

Yugi's smile brightened even more, and he opened his mouth, ready to tell her she wouldn't regret it, when Kuri decided to make his presence felt. The young kuribo had gotten his green hands on the golden box that sat upon the desk. With the persistence of youth, the creature had managed to tip it over, the lid opening and allowing the contents to pour out over the desk. Small, gold pieces clattered along the wood surface.

"Kuri, no!" Anzu scolded, picking up the monster, who cooed in an attempt at sympathy.

"Don't worry," Yugi assured her, reaching over to clean the mess.

Anzu looked at the golden shapes with curiosity, picking two up to examine them more closely. Strange, sharp shaped pieces glittered in the sun's light, blinding her for a second. "Puzzle pieces?"

"That's right," Yugi nodded, placing a few more back in their box. "It's my treasure. Grandpa gave it to me a few years ago," he confided. "He said it was magic."

She looked at the smaller boy. "Is it?"

"Well, maybe it's cursed," he laughed. "Because even after all these years, I still haven't been able to get even two pieces to fit together. I don't know why, though," Yugi clicked two golden puzzle pieces against each other, before dropping them into the box. "I've worked at it for hours some days, but I just can't seem to make any headway with it at all."

Anzu tilted her head, pondering the dilemma. "Do you know what the puzzle's supposed to look like?"

"Not a clue," Yugi admitted, with a small blush. "It probably would help. All I know is that this is my favorite part." He lifted up a rather large piece, a relief of a stylized eye in the center of it. It shimmered in front of Anzu, almost as if it blinked, and the girl scolded herself silently for being unnerved by it. "Don't know why," he shrugged, "but I really like this one. I'd like to be able to figure it all out."

"Oh... " her voice trailed, as her gaze rested on the two pieces she held. She felt bad for Yugi, for some silly reason. It was only a puzzle, but she understood the frustration that must be eating at him because of it. Idly, she fiddled with the pieces in her hand, and nearly dropped them when the came together with a tiny but definite click.
"They fit," she stated, her voice sounding oddly dull considering how shocked she felt.

"They do?" Yugi asked, eagerly taking the now connected parts from her hands. He stared at them in awe for a long moment, before a large smile formed on his face. "Well, that decides it!" he declared. "You were definitely supposed to end up with me-With us," he amended, cheeks red.

Anzu couldn't help but smile back.

King Pegasus didn't like to think of himself as an impatient man. However, when he wanted something, he did generally want it as quickly as possible. It was... Inconvenient if things took too long. Therefore, since a day had come and gone since Lady Anzu's disappearance, and no one had brought her back, he felt he was justified in being slightly annoyed by it.

Especially since it seemed that two of his own knights had a hand in her escape. From behind his white hair, his left eye burned in reminder. The blind girl, Shizuka, she had been the one who'd given Lady Anzu the cloak she'd worn during her leave. The Lady had gone out the back way, heading towards the forest. However, past that Shizuka knew nothing, that much King Pegasus was sure of. The other two helpers, Sir Jounochi and Honda were clue less, too. That didn't help matters in the least.

In his throne room, King Pegasus glanced out the window, staring down at the courtyard, where the Shizuka girl was feeding the birds that she loved so much. She cared a great deal for Lady Anzu. She wished to know where her friend was. She would eventually find out.

King Pegasus smiled. As soon as her friends found her, Lady Anzu was as good as his. They can hide her, but they can't hide their thoughts. No one could, not against the king. His eye burned again, as if to remind him just why that was.

He looked up at a painting that hung next to the window. A large portrait of a beautiful young woman with blonde hair, and blue eyes. Fondly, he reached up to feel the canvas beneath gentle fingertips.

King Pegasus could be a patient man when need be. Soon. Soon, the girl would be back in the castle, and he could fulfill a promise he made long ago. A promise he had no intention of breaking, no matter what the cost.

Next Chapter: That Old Black Magic