Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any other company for that matter


Anzu reluctantly opened her eyes. her alarm clock had been ringing for five minutes straight and the sound was beginning to deafen her. She raised her sleep weary arm and allowed gravity to do its work as it smashed into the tiny device. Trying hard not to move to quickly, she sat up and stretched, taking in account all the aches and pains that let themselves become known. Usually Anzu loved Mondays the idea of school thrilled her, unlike her friends, and she looked forward to learning new things. She could never understand those who slept in on school days, sure it was hard to get up sometimes, heck, even Anzu understood that. Her alarm was set for the dastardly hour of six AM.

As hard as it was for her to get up that morning, Anzu pressed on. She showered quickly, put on her school uniform and rushed downstairs, pausing only to snatch an apple and pick up her backpack. Biting into the apple, she grabbed her keys and ran out the door. Seven o'clock, just enough time to get to the dance studio for a quick practice before school started.


Anzu arrived to the school five minutes before the warning bell began to ring. Out of breath from running, she leaned on the side of the staircase to regain her composure. Anzu let herself become lost in the hustle and bustle of the students as they walked by. Small, freckly boys carried large armloads of books, large letter wearing jocks strode past her, barking in that annoying way of theirs and giving her looks from the corner of their eyes. The latter Anzu just ignored, jocks were never her thing, they sent all their brainpower to their muscles, hoping to attract girls with good looks rather than intellect, how foolish. Boys and girls of every size and description waltzed by her, scarcely bothering to even watch where they were going.

One particular guy caught her attention, tall, brown haired and blue eyed, a male version of her very description. Unlike every other student who fought for enough space to walk, he sauntered by easily, the look in his eyes daring anyone to impede his path. Seto Kaiba was someone who was not easily trifled with, even she knew better than to annoy him too much. While the result of taunting and flustering the young CEO to no end was more satisfying than almost anything else in school, pushing things too far was dangerous, as peoples' parents tended to find themselves out of work rather quickly if they hung around him to much. Anzu knew she was special however, as she had been grinding on his nerves for years and had yet to come home and find her mother out of work. Be this a sign of preference or perhaps tolerance on his part was unknown, but she highly suspected that it was because she presented a challenge to him that most others failed at miserably. She was smart, she knew how to bid her time, and most of all, she was the closest thing he had to a threat academically at school.

Anzu let him walk by unhindered; she was not in a mood to pick a fight today. The bell would ring soon, and her Social Studies class would be starting. Wincing when she moved her tender arm, she entered the school. The bruise that was hidden by her sleeve ached painfully, especially after an hour of intense practice, but she ignored it, hopping it would soon fade as the other usually did.


Seto Kaiba stepped out of his shiny black limo and walked up the path towards the school. He pretended not to notice the group of girls standing nearby giggling amongst themselves and nudging each other to try and talk to him. Some of the girls sported squeaky clean cheerleading uniforms and gave such looks that he wanted to walk over and direct them to the nearest brothel. It was absurd how some of the students treated him with such disrespect. Didn't they know who he was? He could have them all kicked out of school with a single phone call. But, perhaps that's why girls wanted him, he had such power and authority wherever he went, that most who knew his name clambered if they heard he was coming to town. All women were like that, well, almost all women. There was one that he found he could tolerate more than most others. She stared at him coolly, not with false innocence or raw lust as so many of the other girls did. She provided sport, a distraction from most of the bimbos at the school. She was in no way appealing, but she could hold her ground in an argument. Sometimes it was just what he needed to let off a little steam. Kaiba looked up suddenly, feeling as if he was being observed. Just up ahead, leaning against the railing, stood Anzu Masaki.

He noticed her watching him with mild interest, her eyes casually taking him in, posture nonchalant and slightly bored. She meant no harm, of that much he was sure, but it amused him how he sometimes caught her eye as she mindlessly stared in his general direction, possibly plotting a prank or perhaps thinking up revenge for one of his. Their relationship, if it could be called that, was comical in a way. They never got along, spending all their time yelling at one another and scheming if one thought the other was present. They were not friends, not pals, perhaps acquaintances or rivals, but nothing that could be considered friendly. If someone didn't know them, they might assume they were some old married couple trying to figure out how to make each other's lives miserable rather than two high school seniors who just happened to cross paths every now and then. Seto walked by the girl without making eye contact, the day had barely begun and he saw no reason to pick a fight before he had a chance to plan it out first.

The bell rung just as he entered the classroom. He pulled his Socials book out of his large silver briefcase and set it before him for formalities sake; he'd read the whole book several weeks before and memorized every detail of the curriculum. The seats around him slowly began to fill up. Moto and his group usually huddled together in the back corner near the window, but it seemed that they had all opted to attend a duel monsters convention in Hong Kong, and wouldn't be back for another two weeks, leaving Anzu stranded in her little corner. Kaiba wasn't exactly sure how he had found out about Moto's plans; he must have overheard them at some point. Under no circumstances would he even have thought to ask them of their plans, insignificant that they were. He couldn't have cared less about where they were, but he had to admit seeing Anzu looking so alone was depressing in some way; she seemed lost without the endless chatter that constantly surrounded her. It was beyond him why she even hung out with those morons, though she was nowhere near his intellectual level, he'd have thought that she had enough sense to hang around people who would actually make her look good rather than just an overzealous cheerleader. Well, if she wanted to lower herself to their level, so be it.

Kaiba shook his head. Why am I even thinking about her? He wondered. She has done nothing to aggravate me yet. Must be the pathetic look on her face, I've never seen her so lost.


Just then the teacher walked in. She was new, just out of university it seemed. Her hair was styled in a very hip fashion, feathered in the front, dyed with streaks of red hidden amongst a strong copper base. Her makeup was light but noticeable, accentuating her large eyes and drawing attention away from her long nose. Though she had only been their teacher for a month, she had gained the respect of the students, even a reluctant Seto listened to her when the mood struck him. Though she was usually incredibly cheery in the mornings, that particular morning her smile seemed to reach from ear to ear. "Good morning class!" She practically sung. Today we're going to start on our first group project! Won't that be fun?"

Half the class groaned, the rest slapped hands; Anzu it could be noted lowered her head to her desk and let out a deep sigh. Kaiba said nothing, surly the teacher would let him work alone. "Here are the partner lists!" She shouted the teacher over the noise. "Billy, you're with Hanna. Andrew, Eli. Anzu..." She paused briefly. "You'll be partnered with Seto Kaiba."


My first fanfic, so please be nice. Please review.