((A/N: First One shot. R&R. Téa-Anzu, Joey-Jou, Tristan-Honda, Duke-Otogi, Serenity-Shizuka for the Manga impaired. Enjoy, please. Warning, fluffy, ranodm, and written off and on in the four some odd month period.))

Peace.

Such a fickle word, Anzu thought, staring out at the night sky. A moon, near formless when covered by the hazy clouds, flooded mirror light throughout the room. It was so calming, so perfect, so relaxed, this night air...

Tranquility.

Jou rolled over in his sleep, mumbling something about Too many Hamburgers', nearly snapping Anzu out of her trance. She giggled lightly. Oh, how did she come to be so fond of such bullies? Then again, they weren't bullies anymore, were they? Gentle snow fell onto the inactive streets of Domino, and it was a perfect Christmas eve.

Perfect.

That, too, was a fickle word. One minute, perfect would walk by, and the world would be safe, whole, happy, if just for that one moment. And then there would be a flash, like a camera trying to capture the emotion, and perfection would be gone. But she knew, Anzu really knew, that nothing was perfect...

Safety.

The condition of her friends mattered most, of course. If they weren't happy, neither was she. Anzu had heard the people on the streets, talking about how she would steal the light' from Yugi, and how ridiculous her speeches' were. How none of that would ever be. But they really couldn't understand, how much a real friend was worth. They're worth more than your life. And, she really didn't have typical friends...

Destiny.

The most fickle of words, that one. Carved in stone as it may be, it only would take something as intangible as a strong will, as faithless as luck, to swing everything around. Destiny is what has been told, written in the stars as some would say, and yet a single mind can send it careening off course? How is it that laws have fallen so far...

Hope.

Now THAT was a word she knew. Yes, Anzu knew it well, and yet, it even escaped her at times. Oh, she never told the others, but, even the great Anzu lost hope sometimes. Lost faith. In herself, in Yugi, in her friends...

Magic.

That was this night, with Yugi, her best friend since forever ago, Jou, Honda, even Shizuka just paces away form her. Very close, yet so far. Whole nother worlds lived in those minds. Whole nother people in whole nother universes. Like Yugi? How could he stand all the pressure? The responsibility? The world rested on his shoulders, he was doomed to carry this burden form the day he was born, and yet, how does he do it? Stay so strong when everything just seems to be going so wrong? Sure, he had his other side to help him, another person always just a word away, but sometimes a word is too far, sometimes a word is even farther than a world. It's not like Yugi could really talk to him, not for the longest time, even at Death-T when they had to work together, even then, they couldn't actually TALK to each other. Anzu shook her head, clearing it. None of that mattered right now. It was Christmas eve, after all, and the whole gang was celebrating it together, Yugi, Jou, Honda, Shizuka, Bakura, and herself, Anzu. Shizuka almost hadn't gotten there in time for the party earlier, crashing in right before everyone gave up on her. Jou was estatic. Honda was annoyed beyond belief, because Otogi had had to give the young girl a ride since she was so late. He hadn't been invited to the party originally, everyone had thought he was over in America promoting Dungeon Dice, but to Honda's obvious horror, Yugi invited him to stay at least for the party. He'd of course agreed (Well, with the beautiful Shizuka here, I couldn't possibly refuse! he'd replied, curtseying to her and making both Honda and Jou go absolutely bonkers. Oh Otogi, she'd giggled back, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the dance floor) Unfortunately, the die bearing teen had another flight to catch at ten, so he'd had to leave before the end of the night. Anzu idly twirled her soft brown hair, reminiscing. She was living such an interesting life right now, there were so many people in it, so many things to do. The gang even had plans to head over to the Ishatr's Domino city residence and drop off some gifts, regardless of whether or not they celebrated the holiday. It just made them all feel good to try and share some of their vigor and enthusiasm. Anzu had picked out a special gift for Marik. Maybe now he'd start realizing that they wanted him to join them, to be a part of the gang. Maybe..

Ow! Rasenfrasen chair! Yugi's grandfather cursed from downstairs. Anzu giggled slightly, pulling away from the window and settling back into her spot to stare at the prone, sleeping forms of her friends.

Dad! Are you okay? Mrs. Motou's voice came from downstairs.

I think so- ahh! gramps had began, when a series of crashes and a small explosion cut him off. GET A BROOM! HELP! I CAN'T MOVE! THE MERCHANDISE! he screamed, making Anzu slightly anxious. She desperately wanted to go down there and help. It was in her nature. But, Yugi still believed in Santa Claus, so there was a charade to keep up here. Still, he WAS asleep..

DAD! Hold still, I'll get you out! Yugi's mom was heard shouting, and then there was the sound of foot steps and running, and then she said Don't worry! I got the broom! Hold on, dad! Anzu silently started to get out of bed and headed down the softly creaking steps.

You know, this reminds me of that time back in Egypt when I was- Oh, hello Anzu! Um, we were just- Gramps was saying, and Anzu shook her head, smiling slightly.

Oh, I know, don't worry. Do you two need some help? I couldn't sleep anyway and I figured, Anzu trailed off slightly, trying not to laugh at the sight of Gramps buried under an avalanche of dusty cardboard boxes, his head and an unusable arm the only things poking out, the ready figure of Mrs. Motou aiming the bushy end of the broom at his face and looking cluelessly at her.

Oh, yes, please, do help! Here, can you get those boxes Anzu dear? Mrs. Motou asked, finally recovering. Anzu nodded, and went to retrieve said boxes from on top of her elder host. The old man chuckled.

Thank you, Anzu! You're growing into a strong, beautiful young lady! In fact- Gramps had begun, but Mrs. Motou had hit him in the head a few times, looking very annoyed and complete with an anime sweatdrop.

That's enough, Dad. No scaring away Yugi-sama's friends now.., the lady interjected harshly, causing Anzu to nearly giggle again. These people, they're so... sweet, so carefree.

After they'd successfully unburied Solomon, and distributed the presents under the tree, (I can't believe we agreed to buy presents for all these kids! Mrs. Motou had cried in despair, peeking into her bag of discarded price tags mid-project.) Anzu headed back up to bed to sleep away the last three some odd hours until Christmas morning officially arrived.

Sometimes, Anzu thought idly, staring out at the drifting snow beyond Yugi's living room window, I worry that I gave up my dreams for this. I do know that soon, it will all be over. The pharaoh, Yugi's other side, would pretty soon go back to wherever he belonged, and Anzu would be without him forever. Not that he belonged to her alone, if anything he belonged to Yugi, but just that she felt she would probably miss him the most. And after the spirit of the Puzzle left, she would be free to continue her dream, to throw herself totally and completely into her dancing, to go to New York. She hadn't practiced in so long, it was shameful. Ah well...

Shivering, Anzu clutched her arms. I wish I could sleep, I really do..., she whispered. Her brown hair fell gently to cover her tender, fogged blue eyes, and the loose white T-shirt she was wearing fell down past her shoulders, the white shorts nearly hidden completely from sight, and both disguised under her blanket.

I guess that makes two of us then, a voice whispered softly, slightly accented with british heritage. What are you thinking of? Bakura asked, sitting up next to her, leaning over only slightly to look at her face. Her eyes darted up to him and she felt a slight pang of guilt. Of all her friends, it was Bakura she thought of the least, and he probably was one of the ones who had to go through the most.

Our friends. The snow. You, Yugi, the spirit of the puzzle, Jou, Otogi, Honda, Shizuka, everyone, everything. And, nothing, she said in a slow, quiet voice. Bakura smiled slightly, chocolate eyes soft with concern.

Me too. You know, I'm very glad Yugi invited us here. It's awful spending the holidays without my family, all alone in my apartment, no friends. Are you glad you're where you are now? the white haired teen asked in a quiet whisper, Jou and Honda's light snoring for background noise. Anzu blinked, thinking, and rolled over to face him full on.

I don't know, Bakura. I think I am, but I'm worried everything I have to be glad about will be gone the moment the pharaoh is, she said in a matching hushed tone. Why am I telling him this?' Bakura's smile flickered a moment, but he seemed to force it back on.

Well, I can't tell you for sure how Yugi feels about it, but I know from experience that it's at least nice to feel you're not completely alone. Even being with the sort of person that doesn't think twice to slice and harm you, to murder and rob your friends, even being with someone like that, all alone in yourself, it's better than being alone with no one. He'll be lonely. He'll be empty. But I think, he won't mind. He won't mind because he's friends with his other side, because they've taken care of each other in the worst of situations. I won't mind because I'll be released of a hindrance, a fear, phobia you might call it, that people around me will get hurt. He won't mind because he's a sweet boy, and he knows this is what his spirit needs, Bakura spoke gently, as though trying to explain the unexplainable. Anzu smiled uneasily. That wasn't it, SHE'D miss the pharaoh. She knew Yugi would be okay eventually.

she whispered. She just didn't have the heart to tell him, that's not what she was worried about. She glanced down at the sheets, white as the snow out the window, white as the boy's hair, soft as it too. Soft and white and pure, but merely a pawn, something others use to protect themselves. Made her think of Bakura. I'm worried about everyone else, Bakura. What will we do? Pursue our dreams? Forget this whole thing ever happened? He'll just fly off to heaven and everyone will live happily ever after?Anzu, look at me, he interrupted before she could go further. The brunette reluctantly turned her blue eyes up to meet his muddy brown ones. No smile was traced on his face. He looked like he'd just gotten out of a funeral. I don't know, Anzu. None of us do. Not one, he whispered, pushing a lock of hair from her eyes, not one, Anzu. But we'll get through. We'll do what we can, and we'll get through. The boy leaned in one her till she could see the red under the few brown pigments in his eyes, where it went from chocolate or muddy in color, to a gleaming river mud red, usually glinting evil in the control of his other side. Anzu, you'll pull through. And I'll be here for you. You don't need to be afraid, he pulled back a bit, smiling again, you have friends here. It won't matter for nothing, we can use it in our lives. But time won't stop for you, no matter how hard you try to make it.

Anzu stared hard at the sheets she was wrapped in, her eyes darting for a mere instant to the black sleeping bag Bakura was sleeping in that night. Like Yin and Yang, black by white. But why did Bakura have to be Yang? Why did he have to be dark, to be hurt, to be hurtful? Just a pawn in everyone else's games. He plays, he's played with, and then he's thrown away till someone else comes along. How do you do it, Bakura? Bleed all the time, hurt so much? Anzu finally whispered aloud, not looking at him. She heard a short, sharp intake of breath, and could nearly feel the boy's brown eyes waver.

I, I don't know..., he whispered, so low she could barely hear him over Jou. Her eyes flickered up, and she caught sight of him slowly relax, and then smile, as though he just at that moment understood what the universe was about. I have friends..., he said in a light, surprisingly cheerful voice. Anzu blinked, and the boy slipped back under his covers and turned till he was facing opposite her again. Anzu let out a slight sigh and fell back over.

Yes, I guess you do, she whispered back, snuggling into her pillow and finally falling asleep, till Yugi woke her up two hours later jumping up and down about presents. Bakura and Anzu never brought that night up later, but it stuck with them. Like their own kind of secret connection, that something special between them. And though it always left Bakura wanting more, more of this deeper, weaker, yet somehow also stronger, side of Anzu, he never asked for it. And once in a while, she'd just smile at him like she was lost in a memory, and he'd have enough. Just enough, mind you, but enough.