A/N: OMG!!! 4 reviews!!! I'm so exited!! does a little jig Thank you all so much. Words fail to describe how I fell about your heart-warming reviews so I shall try to use the extent of my abilities to do so.
Hikaru: Thank you for whacking Atem, he so deserves it. I have another fic in mind for Atem and Anzu that won't end in heartbreak so keep and eye out for it or I'll send you an email telling you when it is posted if you want. Thanks a lot for the review!
Random Reader: I am deeply touched by your words. I feel I have done my job as a writer when I can make a reader respond to my story in such a manner. So thank you very much for the support!
Egyptian Rose: OMG!!!! I love your writing and your approval just makes me burst with energy to write more!! I just love the way you write and it means a lot to have you compliment me! Thank you!
Kaz: Thank you very much for the compliment! I'm glad I wrote Anzu the way you thought she would be in the manga. I thought she would have felt very torn and broken since she loved the guy so I sat down and wrote Dreams Will Lead Me To You. Thank you!
Now, this story will be long and different from my previous fic about Anzu. This occurs a few months after Dreams Will Lead Me To You. The style will be the same and I'll try to keep in touch with Anzu's feelings and character. That goes for all the other characters. This is rated PG for language and mushy scenes in the oncoming chapters just to be safe. It might go up later on in the story.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS AND ENJOY THE FIRST CHAPTER OF My Dreams Will Lead Me To You!! -
Ledgend:
==change of scenery or place.
== flashback sequence
Full Summary: Five years have passed since Atem had left for the afterlife. Everyone has moved on with their lives. But Anzu has started having strange dreams of late...dreams leading her and her friends to believe that Atem is alive by means of some strange magic. Atem is in need of their help to defeat an evil that wishes to claim his power for his own and fulfil an ancient prophecy. But will the others and Anzu be able to help him? Can she risk facing the pain of a broken heart once more? Will she tell him her feelings she has kept inside for five long years? Find out in My Dreams Will Lead me To You .Atem/Anzu. Twist ending.
Darkness…
That was all she could see and fell around her.
Trapped in its void of utter despair, she felt herself fall from the light into a weightless freefall. She attempted to reach for it but it slipped from her grasp as grey ropes tied themselves to her wrists and legs on her bare body, keeping her from the light and bringing her to a suspended halt. As she hung in this desolate place, she slowly lost herself in the darkness that chilled her soul. Hours had seemed to pass when she saw something within her peripheral vision heading towards her from above. She squinted when the object softly started to radiate light as it neared, obscuring her vision. The young woman strained against her bonds to reach the object but her bonds tightened, cutting into her soft peachy skin. She kept struggling even if her skin had to pay the price for her stubbornness but she felt she had to do anything in her power to get to that object. With a cry of pain, arms and legs a bleeding mess, she flung herself at the object catching it within her hands stained with her own blood.
As soon as she had come in contact with the object, the darkness had receded from her by a few feet with a hiss, hovering as it kept its distance but waited to strike once more. She looked down into her clenched hands and opened them, revealing what she had suffered so determinedly for; it was a feather. The feather was about the length of both her hands put together side by side. A color of pure white with a symbol she felt knew but could not decipher was engraved upon its surface. She let it go from her fierce grasp and held it as if it was a newborn child; with wonderment and care at such a small and beautiful thing. The feather hovered above her cupped her hands she had placed underneath it. The lone feather glew brightly until it chased the darkness away.
The young woman closed her eyes and let her soul bask in the soothing light that the exquisite feather bathed her in, chasing away all inner doubt and fear that had gripped her heart in the darkness. The feeling felt so familiar to her...She tried to place it and felt on the brink of recollecting where she had felt this feeling prior to this moment. But the feather shimmered with a spray of golden dust and disappeared, startling her in the process. The dust hovered over her body and landed on her skin causing her eyelids to fall as she fell once more into the creeping darkness...
==
I awoke in a cold sweat in the city of New York, in the Plaza Hotel's penthouse suite. Pulling the silk sheets off my smouldering body, I reached over towards the small bedside table on my right, picking up the glass of water resting upon the mahogany surface and drank hungrily. As I finished draining the cup of its contents, I set it back in its original spot and rested my head upon my goose-feathered pillows as I tried to recall the dream that had forced me to awaken in such a state at...I glanced at my digital alarm clock and my azure blue eyes widened as I read the time with a groan. 3 o'clock in the morning. With a sigh, I decided that I might as well do something constructive with my time. The first thing that came to my mind was the times when Isis had taught me how to meditate on my various visits or stop-overs in Egypt. Actually, I would call it forced me to learn as I had not wish to be taught at first. I still could not figure out for the life of me why the ex-tomb keeper had wanted to teach me to recollect my dreams but I had to admit that it did help me calm down and get my thoughts in order before and after my performances or for any other time.
'Anyways, I said to myself, who am I to question Isis who seems to know all even without the Sennen Tauk...' I abruptly stopped my thoughts from going any further than that remark; I knew where they would lead and I did not wish to re-open old wounds that had now been healed over time.
I sat up on her bed with my legs crossed in a comfortable position, while I regulated my breaths to be deeper and longer. When I felt my body was slightly tingling and numb, I let my mind replay my dream or what it remembered. I focused on the images I saw but they eluded my ''inner sight'' as Isis called it. I tried to grasp at the fleeting images with my mind but only managed to catch one; the image of me holding a large pure white feather. I could clearly see myself, floating in a void of nothingness, eyes closed and naked, with my hands cupped under the feather as it glowed and floated in the air. Then my inner senses were assaulted with a barrage of emotions that was projected by the feather. It did not feel evil, quite the opposite. I felt safe and protected but it was a familiar sense of safety and protection...
I felt that I had seen enough and left her inner consciousness. When I opened her eyes, I let out a ragged breath. 'What the hell is going on, I thought. I've never meditated and felt this way afterwards. Maybe I need some fresh air.' I climbed out of her Queen sized bed, parting the mosquito veil on my way. I omitted to take my night robe with me to cover my cotton white nightgown, even if it was late November, and opened the double glass doors that led to a large balcony. The view was breathtaking. It revealed to you New York at its most vulnerable and at its most beautiful moment. I gripped the railing and let the wind blow in my hair, which now reached my mid-back, and tried to figure out what was going on. The one thing that seemed to be imprinted in her mind was the symbol emblazoned on the feather. 'What could it mean? I asked myself, it must be important since it is the one thing that still remains clear in my mind.' I sighed as I bowed my head and hit the railing with my frustration. My hand recoiled from the pain as I held it to myself in an attempt to ease the pain.
-You are supposed to be the rational one Anzu and hitting metal railings does not count in rational but in Jou like behaviour, I said laughing at myself. That comment made me think about my goofy friend as well as the rest of the gang. We had come a long way in 5 years.
Five long years have passed since we had all been in Egypt to send Motori no Yugi or rather Atem to the afterlife. After that, the rest of high school and graduation everyone just seemed to move on with their lives no matter how hard it was to accept the fact that we wouldn't be running off to save the world anymore.
Yugi had become very depressed and reclusive after Motori no Yugi's departure. I had expected that he would be sad from the blow of losing his best friend, his surrogate brother/father figure, but I never expected depression, not from Yugi. He had fallen so deep in his depression that duelling seemed to be the only escape for him. But of course we, his friends, would have none of that from Yugi, especially not Jounouchi and I. We both took him out to the pier where so many of our adventures had started and ended and we each took turns to speak with our troubled friend.
Jounouchi had gone first telling Yugi to not give up just because Atem was gone. He added that the two of them would always share a bond that would never break unless he let it break. Yugi listened and seemed to feel slightly better but I noticed it hadn't taken his depression away. I wasn't expecting for a miracle line to make him better, this was no Disney movie; I just wanted to see Yugi, our Yugi smile again. I had told Jou to let me try. I had knelt in front of him and told Yugi that I knew what he was going through but after I had spoken those words, Yugi had finally snapped...
==
-How can you know what I'm going through?! He yelled at me with anger and tears running down his face, you're all smiles as if you didn't care about him!
SMACK!
-I'm sorry I hit you Yugi but you have to get it through your head that he isn't going to come back. You can cry every night in your room about him and you ignore your friends who only want to help you but it will not bring him back. And just because you're in a lot of pain doesn't mean Jou's not hurting or that Honda and Mai aren't hurting. I learnt that a long time ago. I said bitterly looking at him. He held his cheek as tears came to his eyes at my harsh words but if I had to be harsh and re-live old wounds to bring Yugi to his senses I would.
-I know it hurts Yugi, I continued with a shaky but certain voice, but he would want you to be happy. I know that he wouldn't want his departure to hurt you like this. He would want you to become stronger from this and learn from your experiences; to rise above the pain and utilise it into something constructive. After a period of silence Yugi asked something and the answer would lead to hurt both him and me.
-You know what hurt the most? He had asked us as he looked down, blocking his eyes from our view with his wacky blond bangs. We both shook our heads no. He looked up towards and fixed his big purple eyes shinning with tears upon me.
-You said you loved the both of us, he started in a whisper, you said it didn't matter that we were two different Yugi's; that I stay I stay the way I was, was all that mattered. But in the end you loved him, didn't you. My heart froze as the words that held such bitterness towards me stabbed at my conscience.
-Didn't you!! Yugi bellowed once more when I failed to respond.
-Yug, lay offa her...started Jou but I stopped him by raising my hand and shaking my head no. I loved Atem and would always love him but I loved Yugi too yet it was the love of a sister and not the love he wished of me. He was my dearest friend and he deserved the truth; it would set us both free.
-Yes, I replied quietly.
-And yet you let him go! How did you do it Anzu? How do you let someone you claim to love go! Why!? I smile as he said this. Not to mock Yugi, but at the irony of the situation; it was the same question I had asked Atem in my mind yet the only difference was that Yugi had the courage and the heart to ask it.
-Because...I love him Yugi, I had whispered with a sad smile as I faced the calm waters. Both Jou and Yugi's eyes widened. I could tell it was not caused with the surprise at my confession but at the fact that I had expressed my love for Atem so openly to them for the first time ever.
-Who was I to stop him? He didn't belong here, I said with conviction I had told myself repeatedly. He had a home to go to and now we have to live our lives the best we can despite the pain Yugi. But you cannot live your entire life grieving for what was or what could have been! You have to move on but it doesn't make Atem less important in your life. Like Jou said to me before, it will make us hold onto his memory even more. I took Yugi's hands in my own and made him look me in the eyes.
-I don't want you to hurt anymore Yugi; I want you to be happy again. It will take time but we'll all get through this like we always have... together. Jou came beside me and placed his hand on ours as he nodded in agreement, showing that he would stand by Yugi through this though time. Yugi sighed and seemed to process the information we had given him. Yugi now realised we were in pain as well but we used it to make us stronger. And in his heart or hearts, Yugi knew he should do the same.
==
And so with our constant reminders of staying strong for him, for us and for himself, Yugi kept it together and continued with his life, no matter how hard it was. He was working now as a teacher in Domino High and also owned the Game Shop. Grandpa had passed away a few months after our graduation making Yugi the owner. If memory serves me well, he had started a class at the shop t teach kids how to play and master the game of Duel Monsters with the heart of the cards, in memory of Grandpa and Atem. He sometimes worked with Isis, Ryou and Rashid to translate Egyptian tablets for Ryou's and Isis's museums. He was currently dating our old friend Miho. I had been surprised at first since we hadn't seen Miho in a long while but she was such a sweet and beautiful girl and she seemed to care a lot about Yugi and the same goes for Yugi. They had met each other during one of his classes at the shop I think. She was bringing in her cousins to take a lesson when he had recognized her. Yugi had told me that the only reason he had known it was her was the fact that Miho had still been sporting her yellow ribbon in her hair. Both of them had hit it off quite well after that and soon, specifically at one of Seto's tournaments that Yugi had won, Yugi had proposed to Miho. They are both happily married for a year now and I think Miho and Yugi are talking about having kids.
Jounouchi went onto Tokyo University to become a very well known doctor much too every ones surprise, especially Seto's. Apparently his love for helping people and the ordeal of his facing Serenity's blindness with no knowledge of what to do during his teenage years had amplified as he grew older so he had opted for this line of work. It seemed that he was very intelligent when he set his mind into his studies because Jou graduated top of his class each year with full honours which got him into the job market easily. But even if the sight of blood still made Jou a little queasy, he would do what is asked of him when the time calls for it. Who'd have guessed Jou would end up becoming this? Everyday he thanked us and especially Atem for helping him become the man he was today. He always tried to spend at least 2 months of every year in a 3rd world country to help the sick children and adults by educating them about healthcare. He was chief of staff at Domino Hospital and he also spent a lot of time with us on his free time catching up on old times. He spent the other half of his time with Mai whom was now his wife. They had gotten married after Jou had finished his studies which was a few month ago. I can clearly remember how nervous Jou was. He had been a total wreck that day, shaking and sweating. Seto, who had been appointed usher along with Honda, had dumped a bucket of ice cold water on Jou to calm him down. It didn't calm him down as I remember that Jou had gone on a rampage about how he was going to kill Seto, but it had gotten his mind off the wedding until he had no choice but to get married. I guess Seto's plan had worked even if it had been a little extreme. Jou was in the top 5 duellist in the country.
Mai was still a duellist and was now top designer. She now owned a boutique in Paris and had called her line of clothing Battle Wear. Mai had started out making clothes for girls when they competed in Duel Monsters tournaments but now she made it for both genders. Mai had always ranted about how the boys, minus Jou always wore slightly deranged yet cool clothes during tournaments and how girls didn't wear clothes that said this was serious business. One day enough was enough and few had become feed up with hearing her rants, so we told her to do something about it and that's when the idea came to her. Then bam! You have yourself a fashion designer. It was either based on an ancient civilisation or it was futuristic and hip. Everyone wanted to wear her stuff and they could but it came at a price for her really unique pieces. Mai and I still fought sometimes but it was always good-natured arguing that tightened our bond of friendship and I loved her like the sister I never had. Sure they had a though road to make it to this point but they both loved each other and that was all that mattered to them. Mai's wedding had been the talk of the whole world it seemed and she had liked it that way. She had insisted on having a private wedding which had required looking all over the world but no luck. Then Seto came to her and told her he would have everything about the location ready and to count it as a wedding present. We had all been dumbfounded but showed up when Seto had sent a jet to pick us up with the caterers, flowerers and decorators to a private property Seto seemed to own. It had been beautiful with lush gardens, a lake, a forest and acres of land. Mai had fainted at the site and Jou had said he couldn't accept but Seto said he had to because it was the only way he could keep the mutt, as he called Jou, away from him. Jou had seen through the insult and had thanked Kaiba but insisted he pay for the place. When we had revived Mai, we had gotten everything in place and she was soon the one and only Mrs. Jounouchi Katsuya. They had several homes so I can't guess where they are but they told me they were finishing the construction of their new house on the land Seto had given them on their wedding day.
Honda went on to driving professionally on motorcycles. He quit after a year of it and decided to become a member of the police enforcement. He was one of the best in Domino now and actually got through to thugs because he had once been them at their age. I recalled that he had started dating Shizuka back in his motor days but Jou and Honda thought it better if they waited until Shizuka was out of High School for them to keep dating. Shizuka had been slightly angry but let it pass because she loved Hiroto and would wait for him. When she did graduate they started dating again even if their schedules didn't match sometime but they made the time because they loved each other.
Shizuka had become the head nurse at her brother's hospital, after her studies in a nurse college were completed, and joins him on his trips abroad. It gave her a change to see the world she had almost been doomed to never see again. She had been driven to become a nurse ever since she had stayed in the hospital with that scarred little boy she told me about that helped her watch Jou's duel during the beginning of Battle City. She had never gotten the chance to see him but he had made her realise that she liked reassuring patients and taking care of them. I know I've had my fare share of injuries from my shows and I know first hand that Zuka is good at what she does. She's specialised in working with the blind or with people becoming blind. She was currently engaged to Honda and both are planning they're wedding with anticipation, which is in the upcoming spring.
Duke had kept going with his Dungeon Dice Monsters, marketing it against various gaming companies other games and, with Pegasus's aid, soon became popular like Duel Monsters. He had started marketing it in Japan then had moved to America to enlarge his product. He was richer now and was currently coming out with a new game that he deemed top secret. He stayed in touch during his tie away and even visited or sent tickets for the whole gang to come and see him. We always tested out his new games because he thought it was only fair since we had been the first to see Dungeon Dice Monsters in play before everyone else. He was also a well know player and heartbreaker amongst the ladies yet it did not deter him from his quest to find the one for him. Duke had married Vivian, the Chinese duellist from Seto's Grand Prix Tournament about two years ago and had a beautiful son named Hiroshi. They were living in their home in Hong Kong and I think Vivian said she was thinking of having another child in our last phone conversation.
Ryou had decided to follow his father's footsteps and become an archaeologist. It wasn't hard since he had been watching his father at work for years so it felt like second nature to him. Ryou had made amazing finds in Egypt with the help of Ishizu, Shaadi, Yugi and Rashid. He was also successful in Greece, the Himalayas and in South America. He was now a University teacher in jolly England as he called it; teaching ancient studies and archaeology. The departure of his dark half, Bakura, had really brought out the real Ryou. He was more open and joked around more than we have ever seen him do and that made the others and me happy for Ryou. This new Ryou had also gotten himself a girlfriend in England. Her name was Natasha Rumsfeild-Ryou. She and Ryou had gotten together about two and a half years ago and had a pair of twin that had Ryou's and Vivian's good looks. One was named Yuna and the other was Yuri.
Malik had followed his dream and was now a pro motorcyclist like he had always dreamed he would be. He went around the world winning a ton of races and losing some. Now he's teaching kids who want to learn how to be responsible drivers and how to go pro. But Marik is still a duellist to be reckoned with even without the Sun God Osiris in his deck. He was currently dating some mystery girl he had met in India. We have no idea who she is and Marik doesn't even want to tell us, all we knew was that her name was Sita. He said that we would meet her soon and to be patient but the suspense was killing me.
Mokuba was now in his last year of high school and had many friends. He loved to hang out with his friends and still kept in touch with everyone in the gang. It was expected for Mokuba to be into Duel Monsters as his brother was one of the best, so he entered tournaments every opportunity he could and the kid could really hold his own in a though duel. He was also dating Rebecca Hopkins and hated it when we teased them.
Rebecca had decided to move to Japan with her parents. She had skipped some grades until she had ended up in Mokuba's class. She was very intelligent and still a little annoying but a good person at heart. She and Moke made a cute couple and were very sweet to each other when she wasn't trying to be a witch to me. But I know she only does it to get my attention. She's an only child so I have no qualms about being a big sister to her.
Me, I had gone to New York to follow my dream of becoming a dancer after Jou and I had pulled Yugi out of his weird funk due to Atem's departure. I had also been affected very deeply, heck I pleaded for him to stay in tears, but I had been preparing for the pain for a long time now. Ever since I had had that dream of him leaving me and my friends to complete his destiny, I knew he would leave but I never thought it would hurt this much. And that was around the time between the fire at the warehouse and my date with Atem. I had fallen into a deep depression but hid it carefully. Isis had told me that we would all have a place to return to but for the others and myself, that place had been taken away. So I had poured myself and my bleeding heart into my dancing. I had been performing Swan Lake when an international scout had spotted me and after the show had told me that I was very good and should come to New York with her to try out for Julliard.
I had been accepted at Julliard after my year of dance school in Domino. It had hurt to leave my friends behind but we kept in touch and visited so much that it never felt like I had left. I was now one among the best ballerina's in the world and was a very good contemporary dancer as well. I was seen in many dance videos and concerts. Soon after that part of my career, I began to teach girls and boys alike how to dance as a dance instructor. When I wasn't dancing, I was visiting Yugi, Jou and the others or modeling for Mai's clothing line. I had also dated Seto during my one year at dance school in Domino but we had separated for reason's we only told their closest friends which meant, in short, that the whole gang knew. He and I were friends and still talked but he was a little hesitant towards me so I respected his actions and gave him space to deal with whatever was wrong with him.
Seto Kaiba was still chairman and C.E.O of Kaiba Corp. Everything was going great with the company, since he wasn't bankrupt, heck, Seto was leagues away from Bankruptcies, and he held tournaments yearly for adults, boys and for girls. Seto, strangely enough, was on good grounds with the gang and vice versa especially with Jou, Mai, Yugi and I. Actually, the main reason why he held tournaments yearly was to get us all together and it felt like old time again. Jou acted like he used to, so you would never think he was a doctor. Yugi was his old bubbly self; Mai left her boutique and came to show the world her Harpy's. Otogi came down with Vivian and the kids to advertise his products and fought with Honda just for laughs. I left New York, with Seto since he was here most of the time during 'business season' as he called it, and we both came to duel and I came to also cheer the others on. Mokuba brought Rebecca and they both duelled in hopes to prove themselves to Yugi and Seto as duellist. Ryou also attended with Natasha and their son to watch the duels. Shizuka, who left the hospital with Jou, would come to cheer us on and watched the kids with Vivian as we duelled. Marik would duel as well but he never brought the mysterious Sita with him. I treasured those times we all spend together and hope they'll last.
I stood out here for a few more minutes as thoughts of my friends overlapped those of my dream, which seemed to be forgotten from my mind and decided to go back in to rest. I turned and walked towards the open doors when I felt something cold hit my bare left shoulder. I looked down at my shoulder and saw a tiny pinprick of water that had once been snow. I then looked up and saw snow flakes falling from the still dark sky. I stared; face turned upwards and eyes closed as they fell on my body, making me fell cold and lonely. When I re-opened my eyes, I saw something that made my eyes widen even more. As it fell from the heavens, I took one step back and waited for it to complete its descent.
I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and deduced from the pain in my arm that I wasn't. There, on the balcony's stone floor, was the feather from my dreams. I approached it slowly and reached down with a hesitant hand. As in my dream, as soon as I touched it, it lit up and i felt that emotion again yet it was fainter thins time and did not overwhelm me. But that proved nothing, the feather in my dreams clearly had a symbol upon it and this one lacked it. I turned it over in my hands with relief, when I saw the symbol materialise on the feather looking me in the eye as if it was telling her something.
-Alright, I can take a hint so you can stop glowing, I said to the feather as I rolled my eyes. I knew when things that were beyond my understanding were at play but what was I to do? I looked down and the symbol glew in response to my question. There was only one person I knew in this city that could help me and I was not too thrilled about the idea of talking with him.
==
-I can't believe I am doing this! And for a stupid feather! I said exasperated as waited for the elevator I was in to take me to my destination. I was dressed in a pair of white running shoes, a black wool skirt and a white turtle neck with my purse slung over my shoulder. When the annoying ding was heard, I walked through the elevator doors that let me off the top floor revealing a very immaculate and expensive looking lobby.
-Hello, welcome to....
-Yeah yeah, I know where I am. Is your boss in today? I asked as I stopped in front of the secretary.
-Yes but he is conducting an important meeting, said the middle aged woman but I suspected she was lying. Do you have an appointment?
-No, I didn't think I needed one. Look, can I just go in and...
-I'm sorry miss, but you cannot see Mr...hey come back here!! She yelled after me but I ignored the old woman and opened the Cherry wood doors. I had spent half the morning planning how to reach the person who could help me and I was not about to let this old woman get in my way!
A man was seated in his big leather chair behind a cherry wood desk as looked up from his papers to have his gaze fall upon me in his doorway.
- Anzu? What a pleasant surprise, he said in a tone that couldn't tell me if he was or if he was sarcastic.
-Forgive me sir I...
-Leave us, he said as he interrupted the poor women.
-Yes sir, said the woman with a bow as she closed the doors behind her.
-So Anzu, what brings you to my company today hmmm?
-I have a problem and I need your help figuring it out...Pegasus.
==
And that's a wrap for this chapter. I bet that some of you thought it would be Kaiba she was meeting but I go and throw Pegasus into the mix. I wonder how he will help Anzu...I hope you all liked it and if you have any questions about the other characters lives, please leave a review with your question. If not review -.
I'll try to update regularly. Thanks again to all my reviewers, they really warmed my heart.
Until the next update,
Evelyn15