A/N: Darling M speaking (used to be known as Person-san)~! This is an older story, but I've just revamped it after finally going over the whole thing and trying to correct as many spelling/grammatical errors as I could find, heh. I'm sorry if you see any mistakes or errors that I failed to notice. Also, the story remains the same; nothing about the plot changes - it's just that this whole oneshot used to be divided into three parts (sans the epilogue), but now I decided to bring all the parts together into one chapter. Hope no one gets confused! (Almost forgot to mention!: The titles, or themes, for each part - including the epilogue - are themes from the LiveJournal community, "100wangsts"...even though I'm not even part of the community orz.)
I'm also sorry if anything is wrong with the formatting. Something is up with my Edit/Preview page, so please notify me if you notice anything wrong/amiss with the format.
Warnings: Fluff, fluff, fluff, ...corny jokes? Also, nothing explodes; this isn't a serious story in the sense of a heavy mood. Rather, this is...cute? (Hee!) And later on - innuendos!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! - Kazuki Takahashi does.
Enjoy!
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PART ONE – PLUSHIE
The whole thing started when Jonouchi was upset that there weren't any plushies of him.
"Yuugi gets one. Kaiba gets one. Hell, there's even a Pegasus dolly!" He vehemently grabbed the six inch doll from the shelf and mockingly flicked its unrealistic silver hair. "Look, the stupid hair doesn't even come off of one side of his face. What parent would give this to a kid?"
"Relax, Jonouchi." Ryou smiled. "Maybe your type is just sold out. Isn't that right, Yuugi? It's all sold out?"
Suddenly, all eyes were on the short boy behind the counter, Jonouchi's being the most intense. Yuugi paused, a bit nervous under the sudden attention, especially when considering that it was inspired by something so trite. He certainly didn't want to lie to Jonouchi, but he did want to make Jonouchi feel better. So, after a beat, he smiled. …But said nothing.
Yuugi's friends blinked, wondering what kind of an answer this was. Quickly, Ryou beamed, "See, Jonouchi? It's all sold out!"
Yuugi inwardly sighed as his blonde friend's chest pumped slightly. "Yeah... Yeah, you're right! Thanks for clearing that up, Yuugi." Jonouchi tossed the red-dressed doll aside and started to observe a plush-Yuugi. "Of course people would want a doll of me. I bet so many people look up to me now – they all wanted my face in their home."
Honda groaned, and Anzu plucked another plush-Yuugi from the shelf. "Who made these?" she asked.
"Industrial Illusions," Yuugi replied. "It's why they all look so cartoon-like. Oh, four-fifty yen a piece."
"This company better not have ruined my face," Jonouchi muttered, glaring at a plush-Kaiba before deciding that it made good sense to talk to it, "Who would buy you? You look angry even when you're not alive!"
"I'd buy it," Ryuuji quipped, plucking one up at Jonouchi incredulous stare. "See, his cape-thingy even has pockets."
"That's his coat," Honda corrected.
"Forget him!" Jonouchi cursed. "Hey, Yuugi, when do you think the next stock of Jonouchi's are coming in? Shizuka's birthday is coming real soon, and I want to give her one along with her gift so she knows how high her big brother has gone!"
Yuugi managed to crack a smile again (though it looked more like a grimace, really), cuing Ryou to make up an, "Oh, soon! Very soon!" and having Jonouchi being none the wiser.
.
"I'm sorry," Ryou groaned over the phone later that day. "I should've came up with something better. Or I shouldn't have said anything! I just wanted to help – I'm so sorry!"
"It's alright, Ryou," Yuugi replied. "It really wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was!" Ryou cried out. "You didn't say anything – I did. Do you want me to tell Jonouchi? I could tell him that I lied. Or that I didn't know what I was talking about."
"No, it's okay – really. I'll tell him, Ryou. I really like how you tried to help me today. Don't worry about it."
"I'll tell him with you," Ryou said, and afterwards wouldn't hear any arguments. Not that Yuugi argued much; he honestly didn't want to break the news to Jonouchi, but at least he didn't have to do it alone now.
After that phone call, however, Yuugi was having second thoughts, weighing what Ryou had told him in his head. It was Ryou who lied, and all Yuugi did was smile. But Yuugi had...allowed Ryou to lie. Therefore, Yuugi had lied too, right?
I don't want Jonouchi to know that I lied! Yuugi whined. He knew Jonouchi wouldn't get mad at him. His blonde friend might not even feel disappointed at Yuugi. It was just that...if Yuugi had told Jonouchi a "little white lie" once, how would Jonouchi trust him with little things again?
A big part of his brain told him that he was making too much of a fuss about this - over-thinking this. After all, Yuugi didn't even say anything, right?
But for some reason, Yuugi just kept listening to the smaller part of his brain, whose thoughts were somehow louder.
It's like the bigger part doesn't even care about honesty anymore! The smaller part argued.
At the kitchen table, Yuugi stood up suddenly after his dinner, startling his grandpa into stopping short in the middle of a sentence. Still, Yuugi's eyes held a sad but determined fire as he faced Sugoroku with a look not unlike the one he wore when playing in a dangerous duel.
"Where's the sewing machine!"
.
Anzu was nearly glaring at Ryou in school the next day. Ryou wasn't soothed by the fact that Anzu was gripping a spare slipper in her hand. "You're kidding!"
"Me? This wasn't my idea," Ryou replied sheepishly, but still gave Yuugi a confused and awestruck stare.
"Please, you guys, I can't do this alone!" Yuugi pleaded, looking around before cautiously taking the doll out of his bag and showing it to them - almost as though the trio weren't within the peaceful surroundings of their school, but at a street corner trading illegal drugs. "I tried to make the eyes bigger and more round, like the other dolls, but I couldn't get it right! Anzu, you can sew better, can't you? You made your own dolls..."
"Yuugi, forget this!" Anzu replied, ripping the naked (Anzu and Ryou momentarily tried to forget who the sad excuse for a plushie was supposed to be) doll from Yuugi's hands. "Just tell Jonouchi the truth. He won't be mad – and if he does get mad, then I'll take care of him."
"It isn't like that," Yuugi said. "Jonouchi was really looking forward to giving something like this to Shizuka. I'll tell him the truth, but I want to make it up to him when I do. And Shizuka will be so happy, don't you think?"
"But what's the point of that?" Ryou blinked, looking confused. "He said he wanted to give Shizuka a Jono-doll so that she could see how far he's gone for her - so far that a huge company even made a collector's item out of him that got sold out. If you tell him the truth and still give him the handmade doll...won't that defeat the purpose...?"
A moment of pondering silence came as Anzu and Yuugi both acknowledged Ryou's words. Then Yuugi moaned in pain and put his face in his hands.
"You..." Anzu nearly scowled at Ryou. Said boy blinked at Yuugi once more.
"How long did it take you to make that doll last night, Yuugi?" He asked.
"Not long, not long. It was just the eyes..." Yuugi trailed off, distractedly looking at the doll in his hands like it was a dead dove. That remaining fact that the Jono-doll didn't have clothes on made Ryou slightly uncomfortable with the seriously grievous look on his friend's face.
.
At lunch, Anzu dragged Yuugi and Ryou out of the classroom and into the cafeteria – a place that their group didn't usually go to. After looking around for any signs of messy blonde hair and finding none, Anzu smirked.
"I'll help you, Yuugi. But you have to promise that after we're done, you'll tell Jonouchi the truth!"
"Huh? Anzu, what's your idea?"
"Promise me!"
Yuugi and Ryou exchanged a slightly weary glance before both complied. "Well, it was me who lied," Ryou cringed.
"Okay, if we all work together, then we can do this! The plan is that we make a single stock of Jonouchi plushies – or Jono-dolls. …Well, maybe about twenty since there's only three of us. We'll try to advertise them – tell kids about how good and cool of a duelist Jonouchi is so that they'll buy him! Afterwards, we'll wait until they're all sold out, and we'll tell Jonouchi the truth – including the fact that people bought his dolls!"
"That way, he won't be sad!" Yuugi cheered. "Wow, Anzu, that's a great idea! You're really the best!"
Anzu blushed, but smirked and straightened her back at the compliment. "Thanks, it was easy to cook up!"
"Flick your hair, Anzu!" Ryou praised. "By the way, what should I do to help? Besides, you know, admit the truth."
"Well, Ryou, you still spend a lot of time decorating RPG characters, don't you?" Anzu asked. "You can make colors out of the sets Yuugi and I have. We'll make Jonouchi's clothes really cool – and hopefully washing-machine friendly."
"Or we could give him a duel disk!" Yuugi nudged. "None of the other dolls have duel disks."
"I think I can do that," Ryou answered with a smile.
Anzu smirked, "Alright, after school today, our strategy begins. Ryou and I will get some supplies from the art room, and our battle stations will be at Yuugi's house. Is this good?"
"Sir, yes si– uh, ma'am!"
.
The door opened. "I got cotton, so stop killing your pillows, Yuugi."
"Thanks, Ryou."
"Yuugi, I'm done sewing the eyes. Can you re-stuff it?"
"Thank you, Anzu."
Ryou smiled. "Alright! We're almost done with one! You two work fast...but I'll try to carve out the duel disks as fast as I can!"
"Thank you, Ryou," Yuugi replied, and smiled. "Thanks so much, you two..." He said, staring at Jonouchi's huge, animated eyes before stuffing him with the newly aquired cotton. "You didn't have to do any of this."
"I did," Ryou answered lamely, not turning from his work.
"Yeah, you did," Anzu agreed. "But so did I. Yuugi would have done the same for us. And we care just as much for you, Yuugi."
Yuugi mixed the cotton with feathers, and he soon finished stuffing Jonouchi's small legs. He knew his eyes probably shouldn't have been getting glossy over a situation this small and even trivial, but judging by how he felt right now, they probably were. "Thank you both for being friends."
.
The rest of their time making Jono-dolls was also spent on everyday chatter – mainly Anzu continuing to chide the others for any caught mistakes, Yuugi wondering what Kaiba could be doing in China at the moment, and Ryou asking about upcoming tests. After asking just how Anzu and Yuugi had first met, something he never bothered to consider before, and getting his answer, Ryou blatantly asked Anzu what possessed her to break someone else's Game Boy.
"Aren't you supposed to be doing something?" Anzu snapped in response, though Yuugi just laughed.
By the time she took a break and went to the toilet room, they had already finished one doll, almost finished a duel disk, and were just starting two more dolls at a time. "Where do I leave this to dry, Yuugi?" Ryou asked. "The paint might take overnight to dry."
"Oh, just leave it there, Ryou."
"Well. I'm glad that Anzu's temper has gotten more controlled over the years," Ryou joked, making light conversation. "I can't see her doing anything like that nowadays. What gave you the idea to give a complete stranger your Game Boy, anyway?"
"Oh, she wasn't a stranger," Yuugi replied, glancing at where Anzu had sat while working on her share of the first Jonouchi. "We were classmates, but we just never spoke to each other before. We were both young, but I think I was the shyest boy in school. I was tired of being quiet one day, and I lent it to her out of boredom."
Ryou put down his miniature duel disk before turning. "...Boredom?"
"She seemed nice enough," Yuugi explained, "so I got enough courage to go up to her and act like I wasn't afraid of being ignored and rejected. After she broke my game, I thought… Well… I don't know what I thought. It was something like, 'How angry and pitiful – she must be lonely like me,' and somehow, that made me feel equal to her, like I was her friend already. Heh, thinking about it now, it sounds a bit petty."
Yuugi put his work down and leaned back. "Should I start making the clothes for these two dolls after this, or save the clothes until after all the dolls are finished?" He asked, looking over to Ryou. "Or maybe I'll make the clothes while Anzu makes the dolls."
"Boredom?"
"Huh?"
"You said you came up to her because you were bored of being quiet. And when she broke your game, you laughed and felt 'like she was your friend already.' Right?" Ryou smiled. "That just sounds so weird, when I think about it. You two seem so close now, and you've been together for so long. Then it turns out that it all started with boredom. That's probably why you thought someone breaking your game was funny. If it were me, I would've cried. I adored my first Game Boy."
"Oh, well, she wasn't that violent about it." Yuugi said. "She just kind of...threw it down, and it broke. Then she helped me pick the pieces up. And her expression afterwards was kind of cute and funny. It was like she didn't know how to apologize."
"Oh?" Ryou grinned. "I've always seen Anzu as so composed and upright. You should have taken a picture to hold it over her head."
Yuugi chuckled before standing up to stretch. "I'm going to the kitchen. Do you want sandwiches, or something else?"
"I'd love a sandwich!" Ryou cheered. "Perhaps I should help you."
"If you want, but I'll be okay." Yuugi said. Maybe Ryou just wanted to stretch a bit too.
.
"We should have a sleep-over next time," Ryou suggested. "Maybe this weekend. We could get more done, and when we're tired, we'll sleep or play with Yuugi's games."
"Now, Ryou, that's not proper," Sugoroku said as he got his coat. After a short argument on whether or not it'd be safer or unnecessary to drive Anzu and Ryou home rather than let them walk even though the sun was still in the midst of setting, Sugoroku won by being the eldest and thereby "the wisest." He'd drive.
"What's not proper about it?" Ryou asked. "I know we're adolescents, but you're with us, and we're very responsible–" Anzu and Yuugi scrunched their faces.
"That's not all, Ryou," Sugoroku explained. "Anzu would be the only woman in the house. Doesn't that seem improper?"
"Not really..." Ryou admitted.
"Well, maybe when you have a daughter, you'll understand. Now Yuugi, the shop is closed for the day. So don't open the door for strangers."
"Of course, grandpa," Yuugi replied before smiling at the other two. "Thank you both again. Thank you so much for your help."
"You're welcome! Anytime, Yuugi!"
.
"Finally...!"
"Finally."
"At last..."
"Oh, wait, wait! We're still one duel disk short!"
"What? I thought I made enough. Check again!"
"Oh no, what if it fell? Then the paint would've gotten ruined!"
"And I don't have enough blue paint to make another one!"
"Guys, it's okay," Anzu sighed. "If we can't find it, then we'll give Jonouchi the one that doesn't have a duel disk. He won't complain."
Ryou looked skeptical. "How long have we known Jonouchi to think that?"
"If he complains about it, I'll just give him something else to complain about!"
Yuugi looked under the bed. "Oh, boy..."
"Hm? What is it Yuugi?"
"It fell. The paint's just ruined."
"I told you, it's okay."
"No, look." Ryou said. "It stained the carpet."
"Oh..."
"Well, it's okay. As long as mom doesn't see it. And grandpa doesn't really mind those kinds of things."
Anzu stepped up to inspect it. "It's alright, Yuugi. I know how to clean something like that up."
"No, no, Anzu! It's okay. I'll clean it if I have to."
"But I know a trick," Anzu countered.
Yuugi blinked. "You don't have to, Anzu. Really."
"It's fine!" Anzu said before heading downstairs for paper towels.
Ryou made a chuckling sound, and Yuugi looked up. "She likes taking care of you, you know that?"
Through the faint blush, Yuugi sighed. "I know."
.
PART TWO – FALLEN FEATHER
"Why don't you get the Katsuya Jonouchi one?"
The boy blinked at him in confusion. "The what?"
"The Katsuya Jonouchi doll." Yuugi repeated, smiling. The boy's mother looked back to the shelf of dolls. "Don't you know that he's a great duelist? He was a finalist in Duelist Kingdom and Battle City – and beat champions like Mai Valentine, Insector Haga, and Dinosaur Ryuuzaki. And we duel all the time! A true duelist – and the only one to come with his own duel disk! It doesn't cost a cent more than the rest, too."
The boy paused to consider it. "I've heard of him..." he replied. "But all the articles say he wins just on luck. He doesn't even have that many strategies."
Yuugi smiled. "Now, coming from someone who's actually dueled him, I don't think that's true. I know his strategies aren't so complex, but who needs complex strategies? He's that good!"
"Oh, really...?"
"That's right. And besides, Kaiba's coat isn't machine-washable. It shrinks."
"Oh..."
"Um, not to say you shouldn't buy it. I'm just disappointed that nobody sees Katsuya Jonouchi as just as strong as the other duelists!"
"I see. Um, I'll take him!"
The boy's mother watched as he picked the Jono-doll off the shelf, putting the Kaiba-doll back. "Mom, can I have this one?"
It didn't always work. But Yuugi has been learning the art of selling and advertising from the great Sugoroku Mutou for years, and in less than two weeks, there were only five Jono-dolls left (sans the one he'd give to Jonouchi).
Just as the boy and his mom went out, the bell chimed again. "Good afternoon, Anzu!" Yuugi greeted. Anzu smiled, her hands folded behind her. Yuugi gestured to the shelf of dolls. "Look at this – we've sold so many Jonouchi's. Your plan really worked! He'll be really glad!"
Anzu continued to smile before showing Yuugi a tiny white feather between her index finger and thumb. Yuugi blinked.
"Hm, doesn't this look familiar?" She asked playfully.
Yuugi looked at the feather to Anzu in confusion. "It does?"
"I found it just outside, under your window!" She declared, her smile growing. Yuugi paused.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"How strange," he replied.
"C'mon, Yuugi! It came from your pillow. I remember how it looked like by its color!" Anzu stood up straight and grinned. Indeed, the feather looked white at first, but had an unusual hint of blue. "I'm lucky I found it before it blew away. Why are you massacring your pillows again, Yuugi?"
Yuugi smiled. "It's a secret. A secret that should be done within the next two days so long as the sewing machine doesn't trip again. And then it won't be a secret anymore, I promise."
"I'm concerned. Do you still get a good night's rest, or is grandpa Sugoroku already making you sleep on the couch for this?"
"I can afford new pillows! Besides, I just used the same one that I broke already. The one I used to make the first Jonouchi."
Anzu chuckled before nodding. "Alright. So you're making more dolls?"
"That's right." Yuugi grinned. "I bet you don't know who I'm trying to make them look like."
"Oh, I bet."
"It's a super-secret that you won't be able to solve until two-days time."
"My head hurts just wondering who those dolls could be!" Anzu said as she twirled the feather between her fingers. Then she spoke softly, "You shouldn't have, Yuugi."
Yuugi laughed. "Of course I did!"
.
Before Jonouchi said anything in reply, Yuugi hugged him. And because Yuugi hugged him, Ryou felt like he should be hugging Jonouchi too, so he did. Anzu gave a quizzical stare, but otherwise just watched alongside Ryuuji and Honda.
Jonouchi was silent for a mere beat before cheerfully hugging back, nearly picking the two smaller boys up. "Aw, you guys, that's alright! I can't believe you were upset over something like that!"
"Me neither," Honda said. "Jonouchi wasn't worth all of that trouble. You three wore yourselves out over nothing."
"I want a doll," Ryuuji muttered.
"Thank you so much, Jonouchi!" Yuugi said, giving him another bear-hug.
"Yes, Jonouchi, thank you!" Ryou said, though he felt that the hugs were getting too tight and energetic now.
"I really appreciate this! I really do!" Jonouchi declared, smiling. "Anzu, you too! Come over here. I need to thank you too, somehow!"
"I'm afraid," Anzu admitted quietly, looking at how tightly wounded Jonouchi's arms were around the two other boys.
"This was all Anzu's plan," Yuugi cheered. "If it weren't for her, we would have never sold or made so many."
"See, Anzu?" Jonouchi said. "You deserve a hug."
Anzu carefully went closer, but was roughly pulled into the group hug regardless.
"Ow, Jonouchi!"
"That wasn't me. That was Ryou."
"I'm not doing anything!"
"I'm so glad!" Yuugi cheered.
.
A while after Jonouchi finished pumping his chest over having so many dolls with "his face" being bought, Yuugi took out a large plastic bag from his locker.
"Pillows!" He announced.
"Really?" Ryou asked, understanding what Yuugi meant. Yuugi smiled and pulled out a doll with white hair, brown eyes, a white short-sleeved shirt, and blue shorts. Ryou beamed. "Oh, Yuugi! It's so scary!"
"I made a voodoo doll for everyone!" Yuugi said.
His friends cheered, sans Ryuuji. He paused, squinting at Yuugi and pointing at himself questioningly. At Yuugi's nod, he gave a belated cheer. Yuugi pulled the dolls from the bag, handing them out.
"Hey," Jonouchi said. "I'm supposed to be special."
Ryou laughed. "I made an extra duel disk just for yours."
"Thanks, I'm still special!"
"Anzu," Yuugi smiled, "here's yours."
.
"Anzu."
It was dismissal time, and the two of them were the only ones near the lockers. Anzu was just putting on her shoes. "Yes, Yuugi?"
"Here, this is yours."
Anzu looked up. "But I already have–" Her eyes widened. Yuugi held out a doll with spiky hair like his, but with more gold bangs, darker "skin," wearing a skirt with some rubber-bands for bracelets, and an upside-down triangle sewn on its stomach. Its chubby face was smirking.
She stood up with an untied left shoe. "Y...Yuugi...?"
"I made this for you. …It's the most I could do…"
.
As soon as Ryou got to his apartment, he placed his new toy on the table and got out his sewing products.
He had a pretty normal life before he received his Millennium Ring. When he first came to realize that he was no longer alone, no matter where he went, he wouldn't acknowledge it. But because of his denial, his carelessness, people around him and close to him started getting hurt. That's when he "ran away" – all the way to Japan. Originally, he'd thought to make a quiet, secluded living closer to his hometown, but of course the Millennium Ring pulled him to Japan.
In that time, Ryou became quiet. It wasn't because he was shy, but because he was afraid. He almost always felt a presence just behind his own, but knew that if he told anyone about it, they'd think he was insane - and if he got close to anyone, they'd be hurt.
Ryou quickly became bored with being quiet; he really wasn't normally so withdrawn - it wasn't like him. But he didn't stop being silent, because he was afraid. Then he met Yuugi - Yuugi with the Millennium Puzzle, and for a moment he thought – or rather hoped, "Oh, he's just like me. He's just as pitiful as me!" Like they were friends already...
He's still quiet sometimes, but not nearly as much as before. Because there's no need to be so quiet anymore, because he doesn't see anything to fear anymore. And because if he stayed quiet and secluded for too long, he inwardly joked, he'd become bored and boring like how his granduncles were.
"I'm going to take you with me everyday," he said to his doll. "And this one that I'll make now will sit in this apartment everyday in the exact same spot. He was never that silent before, but he will be now – silent and bored. …And he'll be cute too."
.
"The most you could do?" Anzu repeated, staring at the doll to Yuugi in confusion.
Yuugi didn't say anything. As if at a loss for words, he lowered the doll.
"What do you mean?" Anzu tried again. "Why are you giving that to me?"
"Are you mad?" Yuugi asked softly.
Anzu felt her face scrunch up. "Mad? I..." She paused, managing to relax a bit. "I'm shocked. Why did you...make that for me?"
"I told you. Because it's the most I could do." Yuugi said, looking down. "Because you looked so hurt when he was ready to go away. You were even ready to run after him. And I was the one who opened the door for him, but let it close for you.
"I could never...let myself go for that. And now there's not much else I can do to make up for it than…doing something like this. It's small, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry."
Anzu stayed silent. When Yuugi finally looked up, he saw that though she looked somewhat thoughtful, her face had the look of being tense, almost like fire in the eyes of a duelist. Except it wasn't as daunting as fire, nor was it icy and distant. It was just...some kind of emotion, aimed straight at him.
Yuugi didn't know what to say. Was she mad? Sad? He honestly didn't regret what he had done for Atem. He was just sorry for being partly responsible for hurting Anzu. He just did what was best for the pharaoh, for himself... But Anzu?
"Did you make one of yourself?" She suddenly asked.
Yuugi blinked. "Wha...uh, no."
Anzu nodded, leaning down to casually tie her shoe. "Why not," she asked.
Yuugi didn't answer quickly, because he didn't really think about it. "There...wasn't enough stuffing?"
Anzu stood up, holding the doll of herself and taking the pharaoh-doll from Yuugi's hands. She held them up with a small smile. "Now, where would any of us be if you hadn't shown up...with your puzzles and your Game Boys?"
Yuugi couldn't answer, and the pharaoh-doll was placed back in his hands. Anzu smiled. "Did you think that I blamed you? You didn't do anything to hurt me, Yuugi. All you've ever done is help. If you ever think that again, though, I might have to scold you. Got it?"
"Anzu, I don't know..."
"What don't you know?"
"I don't know...what you're feeling right now. What are you thinking?"
"I think that the collection is incomplete. Back to battle stations."
.
The walk to Yuugi's house was silent but somehow not awkward - strange, Yuugi pondered, considering what had just happened…or didn't happen. Anzu was leading Yuugi by the hand, but Yuugi was too confused to fuss and blush over it. Yes, the sky was getting gray, and it seemed like it was going to rain, but none of that seemed foreboding. Anzu even mentioned that all the clouds had silver linings today, that they looked even more pretty and brilliant that way.
After a while, Yuugi held Anzu's hand back. He didn't know what else to do, but it felt good.
"Anzu, good you're here!" Sugoroku greeted. "It looks like you two made Katsuya Jonouchi famous! Why, I think three kids wanted his doll today. But all of the dolls were sold out." It was only after he got no quick response that he noticed their linked hands.
"We're going to make another doll." Anzu informed. "This one will be the best, and it can't be bought."
Sugoroku looked at them quizzically. "Then we'll make one of you!" Yuugi piped. Honestly, he didn't know what had come over Anzu – to make a doll of him. Even though it did make some sense… The collection is not complete.
"Of course." Sugoroku murmured before they went upstairs. He tried not to think about what else they might do besides make dolls.
.
PART THREE – PILLOW
Making a plush-Yuugi should not have been at all hard or challenging. Yuugi thought that making the Atem-doll was a little hard because of the hair, the eyes, and of course, the "skin." In fact, Yuugi had to butcher one of his favorite leather shirts because the tan color was just right. So, to be quite brutally honest, he was a bit disappointed that, after Anzu's rejection of the pharaoh-doll, it seemed that he had sacrificed his shirt in vain.
Also, there was already a heaping stock of plush-Yuugi's made by Industrial Illusions anyway, a fact which he did not fail to repeatedly point out. "See, I have one already. See?"
But Anzu had scrunched her face and pointed out that it was made by Industrial Illusions, so it was "hardly special enough." So Yuugi suggested that they at least just use the said plush as an example for their handmade one. "Are you going to help me make your doll, or am I going to do this alone?" Anzu snapped.
"Why do we have to do this?" He countered. The pharaoh-plush was now sitting innocently on his desk, and he imagined it to be asking the same question. "Don't you like the one I made for you already? …Is it bad?" Though plush-Atem was still wearing its confident (if but slightly askew) smirk, Yuugi couldn't help but feel sorry for its being momentarily neglected.
Even as Anzu rolled her eyes, she smiled. "Of course I like it, Yuugi!" she said. "I just want one of you too!"
He sat down on his bed and paused as she gathered the items needed to make the single doll. He considered helping her even though she already seemed to know where everything was, but her sudden impulse to sew made him hesitant. "Is it because...the collection is not complete?"
"Don't you think so?" Anzu replied, opening Yuugi's closet. In it she found what she was looking for – a butchered sack that used to be a pillow, with only a few handful of feathers left inside. "Oh, Yuugi, this was so nice before. If you had left it alone after stuffing the first Jono-doll, I could have fixed it for you." Still, she took the sack in hand and sat at her quarters, namely Yuugi's desk.
Yuugi was suddenly weary. "You don't need to..." he murmured. The ideal of a "complete collection" made him feel as though Anzu was doing this just to make him feel special, as if his making the Atem-doll for her seemed to demean himself. "Do you need any help?" He asked anyway.
"Not really," she replied, smiling at him, "but I do need some clothes for this doll, eventually." It was ridiculous, but that caused Yuugi to blush.
"O-Oh..." He quickly stood up to regain composure. Looking through his belongings, he found some spare rags and clothes from the making of the Jono-dolls. "I can make my– er, its clothes." He heard Anzu snicker and felt himself blush again.
Yuugi gathered his things and flopped on the bed. "So..." He watched as Anzu started. "Do you...want Atem?" He blinked when the doll eerily fell on its side.
"If you're giving it to me, then I wouldn't mind to have it." Anzu replied, also turning to look at the doll. "But I wonder, don't you want it? It's one-of-a-kind, after all."
Yuugi answered, "I'm giving it to you." Thinking that Anzu was just feeling guilty, he asked, "Are you making that doll for me, Anzu?"
"Of course," she said.
"Then that doll is also one-of-a-kind!"
Anzu turned from her work to stare at him. "Of course," she answered. "It has to be one-of-a-kind if it's of you."
Her voice was somewhat teasing, but Yuugi still felt complimented by her thoughtfulness.
There was a knock from the door, and Yuugi quickly grabbed the sack of feathers and hid it under his bed. "Come in, grandpa!"
"Yuugi, Anzu." The old man greeted, and though his tone was light, his eyes were squinting from his grandson to the brunette close to him. "I'm just checking to see if you need anything. Do you need anything?"
Anzu looked sideways at Yuugi with a noticeable grin, but the boy kept a straight face. "I don't think so. Anzu, are you hungry?"
"No."
"Well, you know, you just call me." Sugoroku replied, speaking slower than usual. "I have good ears, you know."
Yuugi looked at his grandfather wearily. "I know," he drawled.
Sugoroku exited, adding another, "Just so you know," before closing the door.
Anzu beamed when she noticed that Yuugi apparently didn't have the courage enough to retrieve the sack of remaining feathers out into the open just yet. "Never mind that," he said, trying to divert her attention before he'd start feeling embarrassed or bashful again. "I don't have enough blue cloth anymore, so I'll just make my– its clothes white. Do you know how to make the hair, Anzu? ...I could show you."
"Of course, Yuugi," she replied, still smiling. "Do you think grandpa has anything to worry about?"
Yuugi blinked as she played with the red cloth needed for the hair, hesitating to think over his grandfather's "worries." He asked, "What do you mean?"
Anzu gave him another sideways glance, her hand moving to cover some of her face, and Yuugi had to wonder if she was thinking what he thought she was thinking. "I mean...he really does have good ears. He wouldn't like it if he found out we shared a pillow, right?"
Even though Anzu was pointing to the butchered pillow sack under his bed, her other hand was still covering her face, and she didn't divert her eyes or change the subject when Yuugi had blushed at the implications of what she just said.
He quickly looked down, murmuring, "No, no – he wouldn't." What a metaphor…! he thought, but he pushed the thought away, not willing to be flustered about something like this in front of Anzu right now. He was probably imagining things - she couldn't mean-
She didn't help him by adding, her voice low and steady, "Then we'll have to be quiet," either.
"Yes!" Yuugi nearly squawked, his voice coming out higher than intended. "So please don't tell grandpa about it!"
Anzu agreed and abruptly turned back to her work. When Yuugi finally looked up at her again, her hair was covering most of her face so that all he could see was pink.
The rest of their time was spent on simple conversation, surprisingly unstrained. The doll couldn't be finished by the time the sun began to set, but because there was not much feathers left in the sack, the stuffing was finished and the doll's figure ended up being smaller than the rest. Both of them agreed that it was fitting.
"Is it empty?" Yuugi asked, staring at the sack next to Anzu.
She nodded. "But because I used every last feather, yours came out really fluffy."
"Thank you," Yuugi said, pinching his doll's faceless head. He smiled up at the brunette. "Thank you so much, Anzu. You know, I can finish it up from here. You should go home now!"
"I don't want to," Anzu grinned. "All of this made me remember why I liked making dolls so much. Even though I'm better at it now, I used to make ugly dolls that I would treasure, because they would keep me company when I was alone."
"I didn't think your dolls were ugly," Yuugi replied, standing up to stretch. "That's why I asked you for help in the first place. You sew better than me."
Anzu smirked, leaning back in her chair. "Maybe. But after a while, sewing dolls became boring – I didn't play with them anymore."
Yuugi nodded. "Welp! C'mon, Anzu. I'll finish the doll."
"Do you want me to leave?" she challenged.
"No, of course not!"
Anzu winked. "Then don't rush me!"
Yuugi snapped his eyes to the window. "But it's dangerous at night, right? Even grandpa doesn't like to drive around at night. And your parents will be worried!"
Anzu slumped, but didn't rise. After a moment, she grabbed the empty sack and threw it at Yuugi's head.
He jumped back as the sack covered his face. "H-Hey..!"
Taking the sack off, he found Anzu on her feet, grinning at him. "Okay, I'll leave now," she conceded. She waited for Yuugi to finish pouting and place the sack down before continuing, "But remember what I told you."
Yuugi paused before leading her to the door, a questioning look on his face. Anzu smiled, "Don't blame yourself! I won't accept your gift if that's what you're thinking."
He looked past Anzu to the pharaoh-plush and the soon-to-be Yuugi-plush on his desk before nodding. "Okay..."
"I mean it," she warned, still smiling as she picked up her bag along with the for-now faceless doll. "And I'm taking the mini-you with me. It'll be done soon, but you're still doing the clothes, right?"
Yuugi piped, "Right."
"Then this is definitely one-of-a-kind," Anzu said as she was led out the door, "since we're making it together."
.
"Hey, would you look at that."
Yuugi took a seat beside Anzu as he looked at the collection of dolls, and he found himself smiling… - despite the childishness of the sight, or partly because of it?
Ryuuji listed the dolls laid out on the park bench. "Me, Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Ryou, Yuugi, Atem, and even cute little Seto Kaiba! ...Hey, you guys forgot to bring Pegasus."
They were all in their weekend clothes, planning to hang out for the day with their new dolls. "That's stupid," Honda had snorted when Jonouchi had suggested it the day before. "We're not little kids anymore." He had brought his doll with him today anyway.
"Check this out," Jonouchi grinned as he tucked the Jono-doll under his arm and picked up the plush-pharaoh. "Bow down," he imitated in a deep voice. "Who needs a shirt or pants when you got a cape?"
"We were never able to make fun of him for that." Ryuuji acknowledged. "It slipped my mind."
"You guys are jerks," Anzu said, but she was also grinning. "You would've worn the same thing if you were living in those times."
Ryou pursed his lips thoughtfully. "But didn't they have pants in Aladdin?"
Honda considered it. "Maybe pharaohs just had to wear the skirt. Poor guy."
"It's called a shenti." Yuugi piped, keeping the Kaiba-plush on his lap so that its coat wouldn't get dirty. "Everyone had one when we went into his memories. I didn't see anyone wearing pants..."
"Now's a good time to be alive, then," Honda concluded. He watched as Jonouchi played with his doll and the plush-pharaoh in a duel where Jono-doll was obviously winning. "So, are you proud, Jonouchi? Yuugi, Anzu, and Ryou worked hard to make a collection of dolls for you."
He was obviously mocking, but Jonouchi grinned and nodded anyway. "You guys are the best. I can't believe you were able to make this many. You should teach me, so I could make more!"
Ryuuji scowled and muttered to Ryou, "Those might turn out to be some ugly dolls."
"Are you planning to make one of Shizuka, Jonouchi?" Yuugi asked.
The blonde nodded. "Her and me, together! Then who knows? I might make more."
Anzu held a knowing smirk and leaned forward. "Oh? Of who?" A familiar and missed long-haired, blonde woman quickly came to everyone's mind.
"None of your business!" Jonouchi snapped his eyes back to the two dolls he held. "And hey, Anzu, you made the Atem and Yuugi dolls, didn't you?" The blonde's retaliation came with his own knowing grin, and his voice came out teasing, "That was thoughtful of you."
"I made Atem, Jonouchi!" Yuugi informed, smiling. "Then Anzu made one of me. ...So that the collection would be complete." He looked from Jonouchi's sulk to Anzu's knowing glance. After finishing his doll, she had said that she made it because she wanted to, more so than any other reason. Though for now, at his silent inquiry, she gave a nod.
"And don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to teach you how to sew." Ryou said, holding his own doll as carefully as Yuugi was holding Kaiba's. In truth, he was also worried of how Jonouchi's dolls would turn out.
"Well, I know how to sew," Jonouchi said, "just not how to make dolls. But I made some pretty groovy hats back in the day."
Honda shook his head and sighed. "He's lying."
.
It was only because Anzu and Yuugi visited each other's houses more frequently as of late that she was able to help save Yuugi from the wrath of his mother (and his grandfather too, sort of) one day at the Game Shop.
Sweet Mother Mutou held the rag that used to be Yuugi's pillow in her claw-like hands – at least that's how her hands looked like to Yuugi just then. "I leave the house for a few days, and already you're throwing money away?" She scolded him after finding the familiar cloth while cleaning Yuugi's room. "You're old enough to know not to do this!"
"I was...just making dolls," Yuugi had answered timidly. Anzu was witness to the exchange, and though she found his response both hopeless and endearing, it was getting harder not to giggle.
Of course, grandpa Sugoroku didn't know that Yuugi had used his finest and largest pillow to stuff the dolls – so he was equally surprised, but not angry. In truth, he had scolded him just a bit for the sake of pleasing his daughter in "disciplining" his grandson. But in the end, he was defending Yuugi alongside Anzu.
"They were just playing, see." Sugoroku said, smiling. "And it makes those dolls more special now, don't you agree? All from the same pillow."
"Ridiculous," his daughter replied. She liked Anzu, yes, but seeing the brunette holding onto her boy's back so casually (especially knowing how shy Yuugi was and noticing that he suspiciously wasn't as flustered now as she had always known him to be) wasn't helping her mood. "These pillows were expensive, Yuugi. Out of your father's pocket!"
And yet Yuugi didn't apologize, only explaining that he didn't have any more stuffing, and that buying some would have been wasteful. "I only have one head, anyway!" he said. "I have plenty more pillows for my head."
His mother looked from his pleading face to his smiling grandfather, and then to Anzu, who looked like she was enjoying her favorite prime-time television show. Yuugi's mother sagged her shoulders, still irritated but feeling defeated.
At her expression, Yuugi tried to cheer her up. "I could make a doll of you, mom."
Anzu suddenly burst out in giggles, but his mother still frowned, "No!"
.
Later on, the younger two went upstairs. Yuugi was asking Anzu what he should do with the shirt he had used to make Atem's skin so that his mother wouldn't find it, and she had suggested that he give it to her so she could throw it out in her house, as our sweet Mother Mutou had a knack for finding those kinds of items even if they were already in the trash.
Though despite this innocent exchange of inquiries and conversation, our sweet Mother Mutou still stared after them in suspicion as the door to Yuugi's roomed clicked closed. At this, Sugoroku held her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said, though his voice held more sarcasm than sincerity. "…I don't think they're making dolls anymore."
.
A/N: In case anyone got confused, Ryou is planning on making a cute doll of the old Spirit of the Ring/Dark Bakura at the scene where he's in his apartment. (I'm not sure how clear or vague I made that.) That is how you get Zorc to roll in his grave, after all.
I hope you liked it! In any case, please review! (If you haven't already, I suppose?) Onto the exciting epilogue...