"What'd you say?"
Anzu Mazaki sat at her desk with her mouth draped wide open. Her friend, Miho Nozaka, as well as two other female classmates stood near her desk. All four girls were taking tentative glances at the young men in the back of the room.
"Are you serious? You saw Yugi with an older woman?" Anzu's eyebrows drew taut in to a deep frown.
"Now, Anzu," Miho reassured, "this could all be a misunderstanding. You know how Yugi feels!"
"But…"
Anzu's eyes turned to glance at Yugi and eerily their eyes met. Both blushed furiously, turning away from each other.
"SEE? How could he blush like that if he was with an older woman?" Miho questioned. Anzu still wasn't convinced though.
"I can show you the proof, Anzu," one of the girls named Miyuki said. "I know where they meet every day after school…"
"This couldn't be happening! How could Yugi!? YUGI!! Of all people be with an older woman? Jounouchi, maybe, but Yugi?!" Anzu simply couldn't contemplate the very thought. She glanced quickly over there again, watching Yugi, Honda and Jounouchi deep in conversation. Whatever it was, it was some big secret.
"Proof, Miyuki-chan?" Anzu tapped her finger against the desk. "OK, let's meet after school and well see…"
They all nodded in unison, and then settled their meeting places and times. Meanwhile, the male crew held up the wall, deep in conversation.
"What's the big deal with those girls? All they ever do is gossip!" Jounouchi complained.
"I know what they're talking about…" Yugi bowed his head, slightly ashamed of what he was doing in the last few weeks. "It's about the woman I've been seeing…"
"WHAT?!" Honda and Jounouchi chorused loudly, but Yugi jumped up to cover both their mouths before they could make any more noise.
"Not so loud, guys!" Yugi sank back into his place on the top of the desk.
Jounouchi's eyes grew wider with shock until he grabbed Yugi by the shoulders and shook him.
"You've been holding out on me? Dammit! I thought you were my friend, Yugi!" He exclaimed, but Yugi's head was bobbing back and forth so much, he began to have a glazed look in his eye.
"Jou's right, Yugi. Come out with it!" Honda agreed easily with Jou. The two looked Yugi down until he sighed deeply on concession.
Yugi moved closer to the guys, unwilling to let a word slip out of their private conversation to the girls across the room. He reached into his pant pocket, revealing a picture of a beautiful young woman. She had long, slightly curly black hair and crystalline hazel eyes that seemed to capture their breath. Her figure was trim, petite, yet curvy in all the right spots. It was like the dream girl every boy fantasized about.
"Whoa… THIS is the girl?" They asked in unison.
Yugi nodded reluctantly. There wasn't any real way for him to explain what had been doing except by coming straight out with it. He reached into his pocket again, revealing a sheet of mini sticker pictures with the two of them embracing tightly. One of the sticker rows showed the young woman kissing a blushing Yugi on the cheek. By now, Honda and Jounouchi were in utter shock at what the pictures told. They told one HELL of a story!
"So let me get this straight, Yugi." Jounouchi held up the stickers in front of Yugi's face. "So you're getting it on with THIS woman? I don't believe it!"
"Well, it's not like that – ' He began to say, but was cut off by Honda.
"How'd you even MEET someone like that?" Honda wondered, asking the hundred million yen question.
Before Yugi could answer, the door at the front of the room slid open and the homeroom teacher entered. The class leader stood to do the normal greetings of bowing to the teacher.
"Later," Yugi whispered from his seat to Jounouchi. He responded with a swift nod.
Anzu's face was drawn into a serious frown. She knew that Yugi liked her, and she liked him, but there was still the matter of the Game King between them. How something like this could have happened, she didn't know, but she would see for herself today whether or not it was the truth. Was it possible that she moved too slow, waited too long to try out things with him?
"Yugi…" She muttered beneath her breath. At that very moment, Yugi turned to look at her. She drew a sharp breath, before lowering her gaze to her desk. Her face was red with embarrassment.
"Mazaki-san, are you alright?" The teacher asked her with concern. Her proximity to the teacher's desk gave away her condition.
"No, I'm okay, Sensei," Anzu replied softly. Her eyes returned to her notebook, which she suddenly realized she was drawing a rather well done picture of her and Yugi encased in a little heart bubble.
There was nothing either of them could do until later. . . .
The school bell rang its chime promptly at four o'clock. After lunch, Yugi left Honda and Jounouchi a message in their desks to meet him at 4 in front of the city park entrance. What they didn't realize is that Miyuki peeked a glance at the note Yugi was writing and passed the information on to the other girls. They decided to meet at three forty-five in the restaurant across the street.
"Anzu," Miyuki pointed to the entrance of the park, "that's where they're going to meet today. I'm almost positive that woman's going to be there too."
"Almost?" Anzu questioned. "What do you mean almost?"
"I think Yugi's onto us," she admitted. The three girls sat in silence looking across the street, waiting.
Several minutes passed before the first person arrived on the scene: Jounouchi.
"There's Jounouchi," Miho announced. Seconds later, Honda arrived, the two greeting each other with a slap of hands. "Ah! Honda-kun's here too!"
"Yeah, Miho… I thought ANZU had problems. What's up with you two?" The other girl, Ai commented.
Miho held up her hands, waving frantically in front of her face.
"Ahhhh! Nothing, nothing!" She blushed furiously. "We're just friends!"
"Yeah, that's what they ALL say," Ai replied, nudging Miho in the side lightly with her elbow.
Outside, Jounouchi and Honda waited against the fence for Yugi.
"He's running a little late, eh?" Honda said, looking at the watch on his left wrist. "I wonder what…"
Honda's words were stopped by the look on Jounouchi's face, transforming from the attentive best friend to a lovesick, entranced puppy. Without a word, Honda turned around to feast his eyes upon the most beautiful woman had ever seen. She walked alongside a very genki Yugi Mutou.
"Jou-kun! Honda-kun!" Yugi smiled brightly, grabbing his backpack straps with both hands.
Somewhat belatedly, Yugi realized the two guys were staring, GAWKING at the woman at his side. She dressed in a pair of fitted blue jeans, sporting a floral print, spaghetti strapped t-shirt.
"Ahhhh! Yugi! Are these the friends you told me about?" Her head turned to look at Yugi. She was considerably taller than Yugi, about as tall as Jounouchi. The picture was highly deceptive.
"Yeah, these are my friends Jounouchi and Honda, he introduced. "Guys, this is Sakura Terai."
Simultaneously, Jounouchi and Honda bowed before the young woman. She returned the favour by bowing just above their level. As the guys raised their heads, they caught a glimpse of Sakura's breasts inside the loose-fitting shirt.
"Ahhhh…" they sighed in delight, eyes gone gaga over what they had seen.
"Yugi, your friends are so delightful!" Sakura smiled, realizing what they had seen. "Come; let's go for that walk in the park, shall we?"
Sakura led the way inside. Yugi trailed slightly behind to make sure his friends didn't get left behind. "He was so self-conscious about this. What would they say when they found out the truth?"
"There they go!"
Miyuki looked over Anzu's shoulder outside the window. All eyes were on the foursome as they made their way inside the park.
"See, that's the woman!" Miyuki said satisfactorily, but regretted her words when she looked back at Anzu. Her face was saddened, particularly at the sight of such a beautiful woman with Yugi. Who WAS she?!
"Come on, let's follow them!" Ai jumped to her feet, dragging Miho with her. "We can't let them get too far ahead!"
The four girls ran grabbed their bags, cautiously crossing the street to make their way inside the park. Anzu remained silent, watching the three guys and one beauty from some distance away. Her support was not far behind, keeping a safe distance away from them, but close enough to not lose eyesight. It was only a matter of time before Yugi got caught.
"Ahhhh! Such beautiful weather!" Sakura exclaimed, stretching her arms out beside her, closing her eyes. "Don't you think guys?"
Jounouchi and Honda immediately agreed with her, stopping to stretch. Yugi, on the other hand, disagreed.
"Sakura-chan, you know I like it when it's cooler…"
"Did he just say Sakura- CHAN?! How familiar was Yugi with her?" the two wondered.
"Oye, Terai-san, how do you know Yugi?" Honda ventured to ask.
Sakura stopped to look up at a tree, whistling softly to call upon a bird perched upon a limb. It floated down to her outstretched finger, tweeting sweetly along with Sakura's song. She lowered her hand slowly, allowing the bird to make his exit.
"Yugi, you didn't tell them?" Sakura asked, leading them further eastward toward an open area in the park suitable for picnicking. "I thought you said you would."
"Well…" Yugi hesitated in his response. "I was kinda embarrassed, Sakura-chan…"
"Awww! I thought I taught you better than that, Yugi!" She faked a pout, using her hand to caress his face.
By now, Jounouchi and Honda were confused. The two seemed to be talking around them, about things they had no clue about. What was going on? Moments later, Sakura encouraged them to take a seat on the bench overlooking the park. It was the highest point in the area, popularly used for astronomical survey. That was also a popular spot for lovers. Who could resist the sights of a full moon, stars in all their glory, and the surrounding scent of cherry blossoms in the air?
"I'll tell them the truth, Yugi. All of it… you don't mind, do you?" Sakura asked politely. When she got the expected nod, she began to speak. "Everything started a month ago…"
"Enough already!" Anzu muttered, shaking her head. "Let's just go home."
The girls stopped walking to gaze at Anzu's face. Every moment was hurting her, to see someone she likes so much like this. Maybe it wasn't the best thing to do, but the truth had to come out!
"Anzu, you can't give up like that now!" Miho stepped in front of her friend, resting her hands on her shoulders. "You have to know the truth!"
"Suppose I don't want to know the truth, Miho?" Her eyes began to water. "Suppose the truth is that Yugi really doesn't like me? I can accept it, but it's hard…"
"And suppose the truth is that he really does?" Ai countered. "You have to be willing to take the risk, Anzu. Love doesn't come without a price. I should know…"
Anzu crooked her head at Ai, knowing immediately her feelings about Jounouchi. Perhaps they were right. She owed it to herself to find out the truth.
"OK, guys," Anzu nodded in acceptance.
"Good! Let's get in as close as possible to hear what they're saying," Miyuki said, smiling.
The four moved stealthily around a tree until they were within hearing distance of them. The words were lowly spoken, but they made out the majority of them.
"I met Yugi at Sugo's shop about a month ago. I wanted to pick up a new game for my son, so I – '
"Wait, wait," Jounouchi paused the conversation a moment, "Sugo? Your son?"
Sakura chuckled at his questioning. "I suppose I should start from the beginning. I know Yugi's grandfather from when he visited America. I was in my early teens at the time, but I still remember his laughter. I also remember his love for games.
Since then, I've moved back to Japan and I thought that Id visit his shop since my sons into many of the Japanese games. That's when I met Yugi. Sugo wasn't there, so I spent some time getting acquainted with his grandson," she explained.
Yugi was visibly shrinking away from his two friends, since he knew where Sakura was leading the line of explanations. His eyes roamed away from the three, over to the nearby trees. He noticed something strange coming from behind one of the trees across the path.
"I remember when I was talking with him, he spoke a lot about you guys, and a particular girl named Anzu. He didn't know how to tell her that he likes her." Sakura paused to look at Yugi a moment. He seemed fixated on the tree across from them. Catching a glimpse of a uniform skirt, Sakura smiled mysteriously. "So I made Yugi a deal. If he showed my son all the games he knows and likes, I'd help him get set up with this girl Anzu."
"Oh, I get it! You're acting like a matchmaker or something?" Jounouchi asked curiously.
"If you want to call it that, I guess so!" Sakura smiled. "What did you guys think was going on?"
The hidden girls all turned to look at each other at discovering the truth. The older woman was just trying to help Yugi get with Anzu?! Anzu leaned against the tree, breathing a sigh of relief. However, she forgot she was supposed to be in hiding and allowed her bag to fall to the ground.
"Oh no! Anzu!" Miho whispered, worried about what might happen next.
Jounouchi and Honda remained silent, processing all the information Sakura imparted.
Meanwhile, Sakura looked intently at the tree in front of her. Her gaze dropped to the fallen school bag. Boldly standing, she walked to the middle of the path, and then stopped. The guys looked on with interest as to what Sakura's next move would be.
"Anzu! Anzu Mazaki!" At the sound of her name being called, Anzu's eyes flew open, heart racing wildly. What should she do? she thought.
"Sakura-chan, you don't have to do it like this." Yugi walked to face Sakura. His hand clasped hers momentarily, and then released it. Anzu.
"Yugi?" Anzu's head peered around the tree to see Yugi standing next to the woman shed been so jealous of Yugi.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. I just didn't know how to tell you…" Yugi hesitated again, but pressed forward. "I couldn't ask the guys because they wouldn't have been able to help me," he explained, then turned to Honda and Jou, "Sorry guys."
"Nah, Yugi. It's no problem." Honda gave him a thumbs-up reaction.
"Just don't hold out on us next time," warned Jounouchi, smiling at his friend.
Yugi moved closer to the tree, until he stood a few inches from where he knew Anzu stood. When he glanced left and right, he realized the other girls were there listening too.
"Sakura-chan helped me to realize what I needed to do in order to tell you how I felt. I had to accept the terms no matter what. But Ill tell you now, Anzu Mazaki," Yugi took a deep breath before he ventured into unknown territory, "I'm in love with you. Seriously. I know you might not take me seriously, but…"
"Yugi…" Anzu stepped out from behind the tree to see his face fully for the first time in days. Her eyes were clouded, filling slowly with tears. "I was so jealous I didn't know what to do."
Anzu and Yugi seemed to be lost in each others eyes, hearing nothing but each others words. Sakura turned from the two to face Jounouchi and Honda.
"I guess that's it then. I'm glad Yugi could admit his feelings to Anzu," she said softly. The two guys agreed wholeheartedly.
Miho, Ai and Miyuki made a discreet retreat toward the other side of the path. Once Honda caught sight of Miho, he was off and running.
"Miho-chan! Wait a minute!"
Sakura and Jounouchi began to walk back toward the entrance, leaving Yugi and Anzu alone to talk. He stopped a moment to glance at the two.
"Good for you, Yugi," he whispered, a smile plastered to his face. "Terani-san, wait a minute…"
"What is it, Jounouchi-san?" She asked curiously.
"If you and Yugi weren't involved with each other, what's with the pictures he had?"
"Oh, THOSE!" She laughed. "Yugi, Aki and I went to the Amusement Park two weeks ago. We took all kinds of funny pictures. I thought it cute when Yugi blushed like that."
Jounouchi blinked. I wish she would take me out like that and kiss me, he thought wickedly. The moment the thought passed through his head, another figure presented itself before him. It was one of Anzu's friends, Ai Hoshino.
"Jounouchi-kun? Can I talk with you a minute?" Her hands were primly held in front of her, a steady blush coated her face.
"U-uh… sure," he stuttered slightly, unprepared for what she was going to say.
When everyone disappeared from sight, Sakura leaned against the cherry blossom tree, looking up at one final blossom desperately trying not to fall to the ground.
"Thank you for waiting for me…"
The blossom fluttered slowly to the ground… and all was complete…