Hello!

A/N: It's me, Tomb Mistress, and here's my first fic!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I never will either…--

Title: The Animal Within

Author: Tomb Mistress

Date Written: 11/4/04

Date Posted: 11/10/04

Chapter 1: Black Tears

Black Tears

It all happened about a week ago, at night when Anzu first changed.

Flashback

Anzu was sitting on her desk, when she suddenly felt an ache in her eyes. She felt herself crouch, when she ordered herself to stand. Anzu didn't know what was happening to her and so she panicked. She raced to the telephone to seek help from one of her friends, remembering that her parent were out on a business trip. She lunged towards the receiver, but as she was grabbing it, she no longer had a hand…but…a…paw…

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Anzu.

End Flashback

Since then Anzu had to start being "busy" from dusk till dawn. One day Anzu was strolling down the park stealthily, so that she would not be seen, (I mean, wouldn't you be scared to see a huge black panther in a city park?) and yes, she had definitely turned in to a black panther. A beautiful and sleek one too. The light of the Moon made her already shiny coat glow. The night was fresh and perfect for roaming around, and just looking up to see the stars, as there were no clouds to be seen.

There is nothing better than a night like this, thought Anzu as she quietly walked between trees. She loved her new sharp sense of smell, because it helped her from being spotted, but it also amplified the magnificent smell of flowers in the morning, the smell of rain around Midnight, and overall, the smell of nature. What was that? Thought Anzu as she turned a corner. So knowing Anzu, she went to go check, while remembering the saying "curiosity killed the cat…" Anzu mentally chuckled at this. It was a mass of black hair, and it was crying?

Just then, a group of four men appeared, and they didn't seem very friendly either. "Hey kid, what are you doing here so late, and alone?" said the first man. "You could get hurt," said the second. So the hair was a kid. The little boy raised his head and bravely said, "You wouldn't dare! My big brother would beat you guys up!" It was Mokuba! Anzu desperately hoped that these men would not notice this.

"Oh, so you're Kaiba's little brother?" replied the first man. "You know, he would give up a lot of cash for ya!" said the third man. Suddenly, the men started to gang up on Mokuba until he was surrounded. Anzu knew that she would not regret this, she just hoped that it was the right choice. She jumped out of the cover, and safety of the trees, and into the sight of the men. She screamed at the top of her voice "Leave him the hell alone!!" although what the men heard was only a loud "Roar!!!" That certainly got the attention of the men.

Awe, confusion, and fear written all over their faces, while Mokuba was frozen with pure fear. He didn't know if he should or shouldn't scream, but the fact was that he actually couldn't. "We can take her," said the first man while pulling a knife out from his pant pocket. Would that knife have been used against Mokuba if she had not interfered in time? "Let's just go, she's obviously going to eat him anyway, and besides, she sure does look angry," said the second man moving back towards the city.

At that exact moment Anzu decided to act. She jumped onto the first man and forced him down onto the ground. With her big paws, Anzu tore at the man beneath her. His blood curdling screams finally making her stop, and quickly search the perimeter for the other three men. There was a sharp pain on her right shoulder, and she realized that she had been hit with a metal bar. The man that had attacked her smirked and swung away at her once again. Anzu was ready this time, and she dodged all of the oncoming blows. When the man paused, she stroke, only one slap in the face and the man was on the floor, unconscious.

Anzu turned towards the other men and gave them a terrifying roar. They fled. Now the only thing left on her mind was to find Mokuba, who had disappeared from her view. Looking around, she saw him up in a tree, crying. Anzu felt pity for Mokuba, and so she made her way towards the crying boy started purring. He looked down and saw exactly what he had not wanted to see; the panther. He thought that it was strange how it hadn't just climbed up and attacked him, but just sat there and purred.

"What do you want?" Mokuba asked the panther as if it would actually respond. It did respond, it tilted its head as if to ask what he was talking about. "You're gonna hurt me," said Mokuba, his voice cracking a bit. The panther actually shook its head as if to say no. Mokuba hesitantly got off the tree and asked, "Can you understand me?" Anzu nodded, while Mokuba's eyes sparkled. Anzu lay down on the floor and waited, hoping that he would get the picture. "Do you want me to get on you?" he asked. She nodded and he got on her. "You know where I live?" Mokuba questioned the cat. Yes, said Anzu. Mokuba was surprised and startled. Had he actually heard the panther talk? "I heard you! I heard you! Speak again," screamed Mokuba. What? You can actually understand what I'm telling you? Why hadn't you heard me befo- oh right, I hadn't even tried to speak to you, said a puzzled Anzu. "I guess, although, physically, you're not making one sound," said Mokuba.

So all I have to do is think about what I want to say to you, and you'll hear me? But no body else can hear me. I tried it with the men earlier, and all I did was roar, said Anzu. "I don't know, I guess we just share something, or we just have something in common," said Mokuba thoughtfully.

TM: well, that's the end of the first chapter, and by the way, this is my first fic! Please review so that I may improve it, and remember, I accept constructive criticism. I'm also thinking about making this an Anzu/Kaiba. I think that this pairing would go nicely with the beginning that I made up. So please, R/R!