Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! © Kazuki Takahashi
Author's Notes: I wrote this for the Secret Santa gift exchange at the LiveJournal community ygodrabble. This isn't much of a Chirstmas story, mind. Hell, I think might have made Yu-Gi-Oh! way too serious. What have I done? (Thanks to Elsalhir for looking this over.)
Despite the long weekends where she was off to go help save the world with her friends, Anzu still worked part-time jobs whenever she could. It was hard to find something stable — she was either too young, or they found out she was in school, or her friends showed up and caused havoc and someone was set on fire — and she had to stay out of Domino in case someone recognized her. There were jobs in other districts of Tokyo, so, every other day, if she didn't have dance class, she went to find work.
Her persistence paid off and, after a little bit of fibbing about her age and how she didn't go to school, a small restaurant hired her. They served a lot of traditional meals, with a customer base consisting of businessmen. Anzu's outfit was a simple black vest, crisp white shirt and a short skirt, which showed off her legs. She was quite proud of her legs; they were long, and powerful without looking overtly muscular, which gave her one hell of a high kick. Unfortunately, she couldn't use the last skill in the restaurant full of tipsy businessmen, no matter how much she wanted to.
Like any good dancer, she endured the pain of customers pinching her rear and upper thighs. A good dancer had to deal with a lot of pain, not only from overworked muscles, hunger cramps, but blisters to her feet and toes. On the plus side, they weren't pinching the underside of her breasts (because that really, really hurt), and she really needed the money, so she kept her temper in check.
This evening, however, Anzu was finding her tolerance — pain and otherwise —exceedingly high and close to breaking. One customer, a man who came in every week and ordered far too much sake and expensive sushi, could never keep his hands to himself. Anzu always felt sorry for the waitress that was assigned to his table (and was also secretly glad that it wasn't her). In hindsight, she realized, it was only a matter of time before it was her turn.
He did pinch the underside of her breast — and it hurt — and the only way Anzu kept from smashing her tray over his head was to quickly think of New York and ballet music. It kept her smile frozen on her face and her mood cheery as she took his order.
"You're gorgeous," he slurred and Anzu felt herself inwardly twitch.
"Thank you," she muttered in reply, before she tried to dart away from the table. She was too slow, and he pinched her rear, too. Anzu felt anger shoot up her spine, and she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to think of New York and a series of hip-hop moves she had learned in her last class. It helped. A little.
She was shot a few sympathetic glances from the other waitresses, but there was nothing they could do, really. Thankfully, her other customers kept their hands to themselves and Anzu avoided that particular table as much as she could. But she did have to serve his food at some point, and she had to take several deep breaths before heading over.
He touched her arm this time. "Do you want to join me after dinner?" he asked, and Anzu felt a surge of revulsion. She jerked away and then forced another smile.
"I'm working late!" she said politely and, once again, didn't scurry off fast enough to avoid her thigh being pinched. Anzu felt her anger shoot to dangerous levels, and it took everything in her to not spin around and smack him across the face with her foot. She dug her fingernails into the tray, and bit her lip hard. Anzu knew some waitresses might have taken him up on the offer, for he paid well. But she wasn't like that! She didn't want to be that way. And she wanted to hurt anyone who thought that about her—
"Little Anzu?"
Anzu stiffened, recognizing that voice. She whirled around and, true to her thought, Mai Kujaku was in the table she had just walked past. Two things were surprising: that Mai was there to begin with, but she was also wearing a flattering cocktail dress that, while revealing curves and legs and cleavage, looked fashionable and classy at the same time. (Anzu could never have Mai's attributes; she danced so much it kept her underweight.) Mai's hair was pinned up, save for a few golden curls that framed her face. She was wearing a choker that looked like it was made of diamonds — with matching earrings, too — and was probably worth a plane ticket to New York several times over.
Mai's eyes darted up and down her body twice before her lips began to spread into a grin. "Anzu Mazaki, aren't you—"
"Shhhh!" Anzu hissed, waving her hands frantically, and Mai quickly shut her mouth. Anzu quickly glanced behind her to make sure her manager wasn't in hearing range before she turned back to Mai. "What are you doing here, Mai?" she whispered fiercely.
"Meeting someone," Mai replied with a quirked eyebrow. Anzu felt a stab of fear.
"Jounouchi?"
Mai snorted. "No. I'm meeting a representative with a company called Gamers, Inc. They want me to participate in one of their Duel Monsters tournaments."
Anzu frowned, suddenly curious. Yuugi and Jounouchi were usually well-informed about Duel Monsters tournament, but they hadn't mentioned this one. "I haven't heard of it."
"You wouldn't," Mai said with a smirk. "It's a... low-key affair, if you know that expression."
Anzu had to think about that for several seconds, before she frowned. "It's illegal?" she whispered, horrified.
Mai smirked in reply, but didn't deny or confirm it. She narrowed her eyes and looked Anzu up and down again. "Speaking of bad things, little Anzu, aren't you in school? And underage?"
She flushed, and glanced behind her shoulder again, locating her manager quickly. He was with the hostess, and they were looking over some papers. "I... I need the money, Mai."
Mai gave her a disbelieving look. "Why?"
Anzu inwardly huffed. She hated telling people, even her friends, her reasons for breaking the rules and for putting up with certain customers. Mostly because she knew people would think she was silly; silly, little girl with silly, little dreams of moving to New York and studying dance. Silly, silly, silly.
Mai sighed. "All right, little Anzu, you don't have to tell me. May I get an apple martini?"
Anzu flushed again, before frowning. "T-This isn't my table, Mai."
She waved her hand. "I'll make it my table. Apple martini, please, hm? There's a good, little Anzu."
She said the 'little' in a slightly mocking-teasing voice and Anzu felt a surge of anger. She didn't like being teased, but Mai also knew her secret and that kept her mouth shut. (She didn't think threatening Mai would do any good, either.) She went over to the bar to put in the apple martini order, and then made her rounds to the other tables, occasionally glancing over at Mai.
Why wasn't she surprised that Mai was involved in something illegal? Anzu thought. But what quicker way was there to make money? Mai liked money, to buy all the expensive things she wanted — things like cocktail dresses and diamond chokers and diamond earrings. Mai was a typical woman who liked expensive things and did what she did to get them. She wasn't like Anzu, who had to plead with her mother to buy her nice clothes that were not baggy or weren't throwbacks from the 50s. She wasn't like Anzu, who had to count every measly yen and make sure she didn't overspend on new dance shoes, because the decent ones were really expensive. She wasn't like Anzu, who had to deal with grabby, drunk businessmen who paid well for certain favors...
Suddenly, Anzu wished she had some other talent besides being able to move to a beat and high kick. Talents like Mai had. Because, to be fair, Mai didn't deal with grabby, drunk businessmen to stay wealthy. Yes, she did bad things, but an illegal Duel Monsters tournament wasn't even comparable to being with some old man...
Speaking of old men, her least-favorite customer wasn't easily giving up. He made a show of opening up his wallet, which seemed stuffed with 10,000-yen bills. "May I have another sake?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows in a way that Anzu guessed was supposed to be suggestive.
Feeling a little queasy, Anzu went back to the bar to place the order and saw that Mai's martini was ready to go. She went back over to the table, seeing Mai tapping away at her phone while she played with one of her curls. She looked up when Anzu set down the martini and smiled. "Thanks, hun," she said, tipping her head and taking a sip.
"Want anything else?" Anzu muttered tiredly. "Or do you want to wait until your businessman shows up?"
"Hm," Mai said, nodding, and then smirked. "Suppose I will. So, little Anzu, are you going to tell me now? What do you need money for?"
Anzu bit her lip. She didn't want to explain, but Mai was her friend, in a way. And, the more Anzu thought about it, Mai was like her. She had thrown conventions and customs out the door and now traveled the world, playing a card game. Still, Anzu was shy. "Promise not to laugh?"
Mai smiled and winked. "Promise."
Anzu sighed, and glanced behind her again, making sure no one was in ear shot. "I... I'm saving money up. I want to go to New York."
Mai lifted her eyebrows. "Why?"
Anzu twisted her lips. It was now or never. "I want to study dance."
"Dance?" Mai repeated, and then frowned. "What kind? This kind?" She cupped her hands near her breasts and Anzu turned beet red.
"No!" she cried, and then winced at how loud it was. No one appeared to hear her, and Mai looked close to snickering. Anzu huffed. "Not exotic dancing. Proper dancing. Like ballet, hip-hop, salsa. Like that!"
"Shame," Mai chirruped, sipping her martini. "Exotic dancing is good exercise." She looked over Anzu again, and then said coolly, "So you want to go to New York."
Anzu nodded. "Yes. And I need to save up the money to do so. It's going to be expensive." She sighed dejectedly, hopelessly. "Really, really expensive." It was daunting when she really thought about it. First it was the plane ticket, and where was she going to live, and what happened if she failed to get into school? There were so many unanswered questions.
Mai said nothing for several long moments, too long for Anzu's liking. She huffed, fists clenching at her side. "Go ahead and laugh," she snapped.
Mai lifted her eyebrows. "No," she said, and Anzu frowned, confused.
"Why not? It's silly. And selfish. It is! Everyone thinks that."
"And you're talking to me, who spends her days playing a children's card game to buy herself expensive things," replied Mai, and Anzu flushed. That was true. Mai twisted her lips. "I'm impressed, though."
Anzu frowned again. "W-Why?"
"Because I thought you were like every other little girl," Mai murmured. "I mean, I saw your deck, filled with pretty, useless cards no respectable duelist would let herself own. I thought you were going to go the traditional route. Housewife and mother."
Anzu felt a stab of guilt. She didn't want to be those things. She really didn't. And that meant something was wrong with her. Because that was what every girl wanted, didn't she? A husband with a great job, who could buy her nice things, and all she had to do in return was have a couple kids and take care of the house...
Mai was smiling when Anzu blinked to clear her vision. "It turns out you're more than your friendship speeches," she said teasingly, and Anzu glared.
"I still depend on my friends," she growled.
"But you're willing to follow your own dreams," Mai shot back, and Anzu stiffened. "And you're willing to leave them behind for your dreams, aren't you?"
Anzu felt another stab of guilt. That was true, too. The moment she was able, she was writing both Yuugis a quick note and hugging Jounouchi and Honda, before she hopped on a plane. How selfish of her, she thought. Her friends needed her, didn't they? Who would be nice to Yuugi — his mother certainly wasn't nice, after all — and make Jounouchi lunch because there were no women in his life? Who would give Honda girl advice, because he was so useless at talking to girls and had the habit of pining away at ones that would never give him a second glance?
Anzu felt tears in her eyes and she had a moment of self doubt. She could almost hear her mother's voice in her ear, telling her to give up on her silly, little dreams. To concentrate on her cooking and cleaning and sewing, because she was going to make a useless wife otherwise—
"It's okay, little Anzu," Mai said. She sounded alarmed, and Anzu had to blink to clear her vision again. She was surprised that there were tears in her eyes and she fiercely forced them down. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry—
"It's selfish, isn't it?" she whispered meekly, and then jumped when Mai grasped her hand.
"That's the point, little Anzu," she said, and she sounded almost... kind. The expression on her face matched her tone of voice and it wasn't almost surreal. "If women like us aren't selfish, we'll never get anywhere. We'll never get to follow our dreams, will we?"
She said something in English, and Anzu had to repeat it to herself to understand it. It was a phrase she had never heard before, but understood the meaning. "Life's too short to play it safe they say."
Anzu twitched, her mind instantly screaming that Mai was wrong. It was selfish, and Anzu was a terrible person for thinking about running off to New York. If she didn't have those dreams, she wouldn't have to put up with men grabbing her rear, breasts and thighs, or with the blisters on her feet, or with always having to be poor and it'd certainly would make her mother happy—
But a new voice broke through that noise, sounding a lot like Mai. Forget all that, it said. You'll go insane. You hate it when Jounouchi expects a homemade lunch without even considering how much work it is. Honda would find a decent girlfriend if he looked past breasts and short skirts. Yuugi doesn't even like that you mother him, he's just too polite to say so. And other Yuugi just stares at you blankly when you try to flirt with him. Besides, they all support you, they said so! And they dislike their parents, too, so they would say not to listen to your mother—
Anzu looked back at Mai. Despite Mai's attitude and the way she had belittled her and her friends, she was nice. She also did whatever she wanted, and Anzu would be lying if she said she didn't envy that...
"You know, maybe I will get an appetizer," Mai said suddenly, and Anzu jumped in surprise. "My businessman is late, it seems. Be a doll, hm, Anzu? What's a good appetizer?"
Anzu was almost on auto-pilot as she whispered, "The edamame is good..."
"I'll take it. And another martini." She handed Anzu the glass and then patted her hand again, almost dismissively. That was a little strange, but Anzu was too bewildered by her emotions to question it. She took the glass and returned to the bar, placing the orders. Her least-favorite customer's sake was ready to go and Anzu forgot Mai's words when she felt a wave of revulsion. Again, she couldn't high kick the man, as satisfying as it would be. She needed this job. She needed this job.
This time, her least-favorite customer full on grabbed one of her breasts. Anzu fought off a shriek and quelled a surge of violence. To add insult to injury, he pinched her rear harder as she left. She snarled under her breath as she stalked to the kitchens to check on her orders. She caught Mai's eyes on the way, and Mai frowned at her before looking away.
One of the waitresses inside the kitchen gave her another sympathetic look. "He's had his last sake, so he should leave soon," she said, and Anzu huffed.
"Good, because I'm about to smash his glass over his head," she muttered darkly, and the waitress gave her a quick, amused smile. One of her table orders came up, and Anzu grabbed the plates, quickly hurrying out. She happened to notice that Mai had left her seat, but couldn't think much on it. Another group of businessmen had arrived and there were a lot of them. Once they were shown to their seats, Anzu headed over, pad of paper out to take drink orders.
She had just placed the drink orders when she heard a terrible sounding "Eeeeiiii!" It startled her, the bartender and several all waitresses, and it took Anzu a moment to locate the source. It turned out to be her least-favorite customer's voice, who was staring blankly at the table as Mai — Mai — seemed to be in the process of counting each individual bill from the man's wallet before tucking it away in her dress. She lifted up, leaned forward (providing who knew what kind of view), and whispered something in his ear. Whatever she said made the man wail, and Mai smirked, blew a kiss, and strolled away. Anzu noticed her tucking her Duel Monsters cards into her purse as she headed back to her table.
Anzu's least-favorite customer left fairly quickly after that, leaving her a decent tip, surprisingly. Anzu was really confused then and, the moment she got a chance, she stopped at Mai's table.
"What was that?" she demanded to know, forgoing politeness. Mai, who had been served her appetizer and drink by another waitress, looked up from her food.
"What was what?"
"That! What did you do to him?" Anzu pointed in the general direction of her least-favorite customer's former table.
Mai glanced over at said table, and then smirked. "Oh, I just challenged him to a little game."
"A game." Anzu said in disbelief. "A game where you took all of his money."
Mai smirked again. "Yup."
Anzu frowned. "But why?"
This time, Mai had the disbelieving look. "You know why," she said and Anzu frowned again. Had Mai challenged him to a game because... of what he was doing? Why would Mai do that? Why would Mai stick up for her?
Mai pulled the wad of yen from in between her breasts. "Here you go, by the way. I don't need this."
Anzu stared at the yen, which was more than she made the entire three years she had been working. "What?" she said blankly. Mai huffed and moved over to tuck the money into Anzu's vest pocket, and then patted it gently. Anzu quickly looked down and shook her head. "M-Mai, I can't take this—"
"Well, pity, because I just gave it to you," Mai muttered. Anzu felt tears in her eyes again.
"But why?"
"Independent women have to stick together, little Anzu," she said with a wink. "And besides, New York is expensive. You'll love it though. The food. God, the food. And the stores! You haven't shopped until you've shopped in New York. Not to mention, the men, they know how to dance..."
Anzu smiled weakly, looking over Mai again. Mai understood where she was coming from, and that was more than Anzu could have ever asked for. And it was worth all the groping and lies and blisters just to have that. "Thank you, Mai," she whispered, and Mai smiled at her with another wink.
Author's note: I might have to explain this story a bit and where I'm coming from... What Anzu goes through doesn't seem to be that unusual in Japan. Also, in the manga and in and an episode of the 1998 Yu-Gi-Oh series, Jounouchi thinks that Anzu is sneaking off to go "enjo kosai" or "entertain" older, married men.
Uh... yeah.