Written in Anzu's POV. It's Anzu x Yami Marik.

Hi, this is my first fanfic I've ever submitted, so please excuse me if it's lame and terrible. Or if you really feel the need to flame, please take that into consideration.

"blablabla" - speech
blablabla - emphasis
'blablabla' - thoughts

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor do I own any other anime, for that matter.

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"Hey, apricot head, watch where you're going!" sneered Takara Kimura—right after she slammed into me. My things crashed to the ground. Sourly, I saw she hadn't dropped anything.

"Pick it up," I demanded. I'd just had to deal with Seto Kaiba, the most arrogant jerk I knew, for the whole last class period. After listening to him demand things of me and call me "Mazaki" for the last hour, I was not in the mood to deal with this girl.

She made no move to pick it up, merely staring at me in shock. Obviously, she had expected me to be a quiet victim and ignore her, but I was in too sore a mood to do that today. I didn't feel like being an average bullied kid. "Well, Kimura? Pick it up! Pick it up right now," I snapped.

"Y-y-yes, A-Anzu," she stammered hurriedly. She repeatedly apologized as she picked things up, clearly afraid of what I might do to her. I heard her muttering as she hurried away, "Looks like she's not as weak and pathetic as he said." 'Who called me weak and pathetic?' I wondered.

On my way to my next class, though, I froze at the sight of a certain deeply tanned, sandy-haired blond boy. And he was walking into my classroom.

What was he doing here? What could he possibly want here in Domino High? He should have been back in Egypt. The Battle City Tournament was almost four months ago! There was nothing to interest him here now, was there? I still hated him for the incident where he'd tried to kill Yugi and Jonouchi.

I entered my classroom tentatively, almost afraid of what he would do. Nothing happened, so I found my seat and sat down. Nope, he wasn't causing any trouble. Well, not yet, anyway. I figured he would be in some kind of trouble by the end of the day, though. That was just how he was. I would try to stay far away from him, if possible.

As luck would have it, he had next period with me as well. In that class, there was only one empty seat for a new student to sit. Unfortunately, it was right behind me. I prayed that he wouldn't do anything to me and prepared myself for the worst. Luckily, he didn't do a thing to me—at least, not until after class, after the teacher and all the other students had gone to their next class or to lunch.

I was leaving for lunch when he stopped me. "Well, well, well, Anzu, we meet again," he sneered. Suddenly, I was thrown back against a desk. Takara was halfway out the door when I crashed into it. She turned around to see him about to shove me again.

"Uh, M-Marik, that's not…um…that's not a good idea," she said nervously. She still remembered the events of earlier that morning. "She can get dangerous."

"So what? Danger isn't so scary. It's not that bad. I enjoy it," he said, smirking.

"You're going to regret that," I warned him.

"And what are you going to do about it, apricot head?" he challenged.

I smirked and stood up straight. "Maybe I'll do this about it," I said, turning around with a dance leap, kicking him as hard as I could in the process. Luckily for him, I kicked extra high and only hit him in the stomach. "Ballet lessons aren't just dance lessons. They're good for self defense, too," I added smugly as I walked out the door.

Turning back to see him hunched over like that, he was actually kind of…well, cute. 'Eww, no, don't you dare think that way! Not about Marik! He is not cute!' I scolded myself. How could I possibly find Marik to be cute?

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At lunch, I met up with my friends. Half of them were absent, but Ryou, Jonouchi, and Yugi were there. "Hey, Anzu, what took you so long? If I'd been in your place, I would've starved by now!" Jonouchi greeted me.

"You're always about to starve. Don't you ever think about anything besides food?" I laughed.

"Yep, I think about Duel Monsters," he replied proudly.

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, it's not my fault I'm late. Blame that stupid, annoying Marik Ishtar. He's been in my last two classes. He just randomly pushed me into a desk," I said.

"He did what now!" Jonouchi shouted.

"Calm down. I punished him for it. I kicked him in the stomach," I replied calmly. "I don't know why he's here, either, but it bothers me."

"I know. Didn't he go back to Egypt after the tournament?" Yugi said. "I wonder what he's planning this time."

"I'd like ta hit that jerk," Jonouchi said. "Making us duel against each other that time…ooh, he still makes me angry!"

"I'm sure you would. I'd love to do the exact same thing," I said.

Just then, Marik passed our table. "Anzu, Jonouchi, Yugi," he said, nodding to each of us in turn. "It's been a long time since we last met."

"It has not been a long time. You pushed me into a desk after class, just five minutes ago," I snapped. "Or do you consider five minutes a long time?"

"What…I didn't do anything like that," he said, looking completely puzzled.

"I've got the marks on the backs of my arms to prove it," I said, showing him the dents in my arms. "It must have been you!"

"But I didn't even have class with you last period. I was in class with Ryou," he said.

"I'll be sure to ask him later," I growled. "But until then, I'm going to say you did it because Takara Kimura saw it. There was a witness."

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Surprisingly, when I asked Ryou about it, he said Marik had been in his class. But…that didn't make any sense. How could Marik be in two different classes at the same time? That just wasn't possible! Not unless…but Yami Marik was gone, wasn't he?

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this," Ryou shrugged.

"Like what? Unless Yami Marik came back, there can only be one Marik, and I'm sure he's the one who pushed me. Takara was calling him Marik, and he responded. He looked like Marik. If he's not Marik, I'd like to know just who he is. And a new student wouldn't know my name!" I insisted.

"We can ask Yugi and the others later," Ryou said tiredly. Well, I couldn't blame him. He had several tests coming up, and he was studying like crazy recently.

"Yeah, okay, I'll see you tomorrow," I said, going to my last class of the day.

Naturally, I had to sit through another period of Marik next to me. The only question I had was whether this was the Marik from lunch or the Marik from the class period before that. Was he the one who had pushed me? Judging by his glances at me, he probably was.

Once again, he waited until the room was empty to cause trouble. I cursed myself for having knocked over my things. I had no choice but to stay behind as well to pick it all up.

"Well?" he said, smirking at me.

"What do you want from me, Marik? Or am I talking to the ever-irritating Yami Marik?" I said.

"So you finally figured out who I really am. It certainly took you long enough. I would've thought the shove would be enough to tip you off," he sneered.

"You did that on purpose? You weasel!" I shouted. I wanted to kick him again, but he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me against the wall. "Let me go! Leave me alone!" I protested. He leaned down and kissed me briefly on the lips.

"You know," he said, "that was even easier than I thought it would be. Did you let me do that?"

"No, now let me go! I don't want to be anywhere near you, let alone in your grip," I snarled. But I couldn't help but think, 'Did he just…kiss me? No, not again…don't think of him as cute again, Anzu. Do not think of him as cute!'

"Why are you blushing then?" he snickered. I blushed even redder when I realized he was right. I was blushing. Did I actually…like it? Did I just enjoy a kiss from Yami Marik? Even if it had been regular Marik, I wouldn't like it…right? I didn't have a crush on Yami Marik, did I? With a smirk plastered on his face, he said, "I'll see you tomorrow, Anzu."

I practically ran to my locker when he released me from his grip, completely ignoring all irritated calls as I rushed past people leaving the building. With the practiced skill of several years, I twirled the locker combination and flung it open. I shoved the things I didn't need inside and stuffed the rest into my backpack as quickly as I could.

I kept telling myself I didn't like him, certainly not that way, but it was futile. I knew I liked him. I'd buried the feelings since the tournament, but I knew they were still there, waiting for me to uncover them. They were still just waiting for me.

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As soon as I stepped out of the house for school the next morning, I heard the one voice I didn't want to hear at the moment. "Hey, Anzu!" Marik said, smirking as he greeted me.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"I'm walking you to school," he said nonchalantly, as if it was an everyday experience. "Is that a problem?"

"Yes, it is. I don't want to walk there with you unless someone else is there," I said.

"Then let's go find my pathetic hikari," he said, taking my wrist. I stood rigidly still.

"No. I don't want to be with the two of you together, either. We'll find Jonouchi," I said.

He smirked. "How about we stay right here and don't find anyone," he said, pushing me against the brick walls of my house. It was just like the day before, after that last class.

"No! Let go of me! Not again!" I said, struggling against his grip. It was no use, though. He just ignored me and kissed me again. It was a deeper kiss this time, with him pushing closer to me with every second. I tried to make him let go, but he only pushed harder. At last, I was running out of strength and just couldn't hold him back. I let my arms slide down to my sides. He leaned in closer, and I felt myself kissing back a little, although I tried to stop myself.

When he finally pulled away, he gave me a questioning look. "Was it just my imagination, or did you really kiss me back?" he asked, smirking as usual.

I didn't know how to answer. I wanted to wipe that smug look off of his face, but I couldn't do it without lying. I liked to think of myself as honest, but I didn't want to tell the truth, not about this. It was impossible to lie to him. I was still trying to lie to myself about it, telling myself I hadn't really meant to, and I still couldn't let my lie win. The truth was, I had kissed back and maybe even enjoyed the kiss.

"I…I guess I was," I said, blushing. I added quickly, "Don't get any ideas. I didn't mean to. I was just…just…caught up in the moment." I knew it was a lie, but I couldn't tell him that I actually liked it.

"A-Anzu?" It was Yugi's voice.

I looked over his shoulder to see three pairs of shocked eyes on me: Yugi's, Jonouchi's, and Marik's. "Do you really like dat guy?" Jonouchi shouted angrily. "I thought you said you wanted to hit him, not kiss him!"

Yami Marik let go of my shoulders. "I-I-I don't like him," I said. "He came here and wanted to walk me to school, and when I said that you to come along because I don't want to be alone with him, he started kissing me."

With a malicious smirk, Yami Marik said, "It's not like you stopped me."

Immediately, there were three pairs of accusing, cruel eyes on me again. "I tried to! You're stronger than me. It's not like I didn't try to get you to stop!" I cried.

"You didn't try the whole time. About halfway through, you just let me do it. You even kissed back," he said. And then I knew why he'd asked me if I had kissed back. It was ammunition to turn my friends against me, and I had given it to him.

"I told you I didn't mean to. I told you that I was just caught up in the moment," I said quietly, anger rising inside me.

"If you were the trustworthy friend I thought you were," Jonouchi spat, "you wouldn't have any moments with him! Let's go, guys. Have fun with you lover, Anzu."

"Wait, Jonouchi! It's not like that! I—" I started, but they had already walked away.

"It's no use, Anzu. Your friends hate you. You're mine now," Yami Marik said with a smirk.

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I walked into the cafeteria, dreading the lunch period for possibly the first time. Usually, lunch was fun. It was my one chance to hang out with my friends during school. But today, my friends hated me. I would have to sit alone like the losers always did. Once I dragged myself through the line, it would be torture time.

All the way across the cafeteria, there was one empty table. I tried to put on a brave face as I trudged to the table. There were faint whispers around me as I walked past every table between me and that empty spot: "Why is Anzu…" "Isn't she…" "What happened…" "Did she get…" "I heard Yugi dumped…" "Did Jonouchi hit…" "Is Marik the new Anzu?" "Marik took…" "I hope Anzu…" "What happened to…and why…that new…Marik…there…seat?"

Just as I was about to reach the table, a rude girl named Koto came up. "So, apricot head, did your friends finally get smart and decide to ditch you? Replace you with Marik, maybe? Does it have something to do with the fact you were caught kissing Marik's twin brother?" she snickered.

"Get out of my way," I said. I was shocked at my own voice. It was dull and emotionless. How had I gone from a bubbly, happy girl to this boring, pathetic loser? I hated Yami Marik at that moment.

"Oh, I don't think so. Not until you tell me why you're about to sit alone," Koto said. Why, of all days, did she have to pick this one to be so cruel to me?

Barely holding back tears, I dropped my tray, letting it smash to the ground, and ran out of the cafeteria. 'Where can I hide?' I thought, desperately looking around. 'A lot of girls will be in the bathroom, smoking or something…and I can't go to a teacher's room…ooh, where's a good hiding place when you need one?'

"Anzu?"

I turned around to face Yami Marik. "Thanks a lot," I snapped, letting the tears fall freely now. "Because of you, I have no friends, I'm being picked on, and they're spreading all sorts of horrible rumors about me! I wish I'd never met you!"

He looked very angry, but his anger didn't seem to be directed at me. "Who picked on you?" he demanded.

"K-Koto. Koto Watanabe," I told him, quivering slightly as I wiped away tears.

He smiled maliciously. "Well, well, well, I guess Koto wants a visit to the emergency room. I'll be sure to send her there," he said. His evil grin scared me.

"What are you going to do to her?" I asked nervously.

"I'll teach her not to mess with you," he said. "I'll give her a makeover she won't soon forget, a makeover of her face."

"N-no! D-d-don't do that! Y-you'll only g-get in trouble!" I protested, stammering. "I don't want you to get into trouble!"

"Oh? Why not?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I guess…I guess…I guess I…I guess I kind of… kind of…kind of l-li-like," I stammered. 'Should I tell him? Should I tell him the truth?' I wondered.

"If you don't tell me in the next three seconds, I'll send her straight to the hospital," he said.

"A-a-alright, I'll admit it! I think I like you," I said, blushing.

He smirked and leaned down to me. "I knew you would say it. Fine, I won't hurt her…much. But I do have to make her sorry for what she did to you," he said.

"No violence," I warned.

"Not even a little?" he asked in mock disappointment.

"None."

"And if I try to anyway?"

"Don't."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

I smirked, a silly imitation of his, and said, "Because then I won't do this with you anymore." I stepped closer and kissed him.

He smirked his own little smirk. "Alright, then, for you, I won't. Just because I think you bring the most danger of all," he replied.

"Because I'm dangerous? What, are you afraid of me? That doesn't sound like you. It doesn't sound like you at all," I frowned.

"You're right. I'm not afraid of you. Have you forgotten? I like danger," he smirked.