Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. All I own is myself.
A/N: god this was a tricky pairing for me. I don't use Malik all that much, and I never use Anzu unless it's for this contest. *thoughtful* lessee what I can think of, ne?
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Malik walked out onto the deck of the cruiser, taking a deep breath and looking up at the stars. He loved boats; the rocking motion always seemed to calm him. He had a feeling he would need that calm tonight. Everyone was heading back from the site of the ceremonial duel, and it was a bittersweet atmosphere. While everyone was glad they could help Yami…no, Atemu finally rest in the afterlife after 5000 years, it was still sad to see him go. Yugi was acting a little distant, Joey, Tristan, and Duke were quiet, no acting macho tonight, and Ryou and Grandpa were with Yugi. Malik was pretty sure that Seto was calming Ishizu down, his big sister having broken down crying as the emotional goodbye caught up with her.
In fact, Malik couldn't recall where Anzu had disappeared off to. She hadn't been seen much and then just vanished maybe an hour ago. He knew she was somewhere on the boat, but couldn't place where. With a sigh and a decision to look for her, Malik started off down the deck. He'd check out here first because he had an inkling of a thought as to where she might be.
Sure enough, when Malik reached the stern of the ship, he spotted a lone figure standing at the rail, looking back the way they had come. "Anzu?" he called softly, approaching her.
Anzu started and turned to Malik, hurriedly wiping her eyes. "Oh, Malik. I didn't hear you come up," she said hurriedly, trying to make it look like she wasn't crying. Malik, however, wasn't fooled and came to stand next to her at the railing, reaching up to wipe some stray tears from her cheek. "It's ok to cry," he said softly, "You've lost a close friend. Of course it's going to be hard to say goodbye."
Anzu nodded and turned to look out at the river behind them. "I feel as if I look in that direction for as long as I can, I can put off saying goodbye to Atemu completely for awhile…" Malik looked at the brunette and wasn't surprised to see the tears flowing again. With a small release of breath, not quite a sigh, Malik tried to make her feel better.
"You know," he began, "Atemu will never truly be gone. He continues to live on in our hearts and will watch over us from the heavens. And one day, you'll probably see him again."
"Don't you mean we will see him again?" Anzu wondered, smiling a little none the less. Malik was right, It wasn't goodbye forever. Just a temporary one until they could all meet again.
Malik gave a strange little smile before looking out over the water. "While I believe that I am making progress, I don't believe that my heart is light enough for the afterlife just yet. There are still battles that I must face…demons in my past that I must vanquish before I can be lighthearted again."
"You don't have to face them alone…I'll help you," she offered. Malik smiled and wrapped an arm around Anzu, holding her close.
"I'd like that," he murmured as the two returned to looking out over the water together.
In the afterlife, Atemu smiled softly as he watched Malik and Anzu's interaction from a viewing pool. "I'm glad they're going to be ok," he murmured. He had checked up on everyone to make sure they were taking his leaving well. Grandpa and Ryou had cheered up Yugi with conversation, and Yugi's feeling better was starting to spread to the group. Joey Tristan and Duke were starting to act more themselves, with Seto throwing in a snide remark every now and then just to rile Joey, though Atemu could tell that Kaiba was just doing it to lighten the mood…and it was working. Ishizu had fallen asleep in Seto's arms, having had cried herself into exhaustion. At least she was peaceful now. He had checked up on Mokuba, since he hadn't seen him near Kaiba and had laughed at seeing him at the helm of the ship, Odin letting him drive.
"It looks like your friends in the living world are all rebounding nicely," came a voice from behind Atemu. Turning, Atemu smiled at seeing Mahaado and Seth there.
"I agree. They're slowly returning to normal. Though, it looks like there may be two new relationships blooming," Atemu pointed out. Seth and Mahaado both came over to look.
"Who would have thought that Seth and Isis would make a cute couple," Mahaado wondered, ducking the swat from Seth with a chuckle.
Seth growled at Mahaado before looking into the pool as well. He had to admit, it was a good match, but he had Kisara again, and couldn't ask for anything more. "At least your friends are finding the support they need with each other," he added, "The afterlife shall be entertaining once they're up here."
"Is Malik truly not ready for the afterlife?" Atemu wondered.
Mahaado and Seth shared a glance. They've been up here longer than Atemu and were given the privilege of watching several weighing of the heart ceremonies, so they knew about how much weight someone could have and still pass. "At the moment, Malik would just barely pass the weighing. Granted the gods would be lenient towards the fact that he is changing for the better, so he'd be admitted into the afterlife. His chances improve if he continues this path of redemption," Mahaado answered.
Atemu nodded in acceptance, pleased with that answer. Now all he had to do was enjoy himself in the afterlife and patiently wait for his friends to come to join him.