Disclamer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Tetris, Jenga, Checkers, or any other game mentioned in the course of this fanfic.
Author's Note: I was inspired to do this story after having read Scribbler's fanfics about the early days of the friendship between Yuugi and Anzu. In particular, the ending to this fic contains a nod to the beginning of "Schadenfreude". I can only hope that I've done justice to her stories. Enjoy!
Fairy Tales Aren't Real.
Anzu was in her bed, wide awake, reflecting on what had happened at school, trying to make some semblance of sense from it. None of the people that she liked to hang around with were at school today, so she ended up wandering around during the lunch period. That was the plan, until she heard someone try to talk to her. It was that Yuugi Mutou kid. It was the first time she'd ever heard him speak outside of class, and even then he only spoke up when answering the teacher's question, which was a rare occurrence anyway. All she knew about him was what everyone knew about him: He was a shy, geeky loser who was always playing some weird game that no one had ever heard of. And yet, here he was, talking to her. At the time she was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear what it was that Yuugi had said, so she apologized like her parents had taught to do, and asked him to repeat himself. He brought up a grey rectangular object that he'd been holding in his hands, and said that she could play with his Game boy, if she wanted to. She looked down at the strange device, and looked up at Yuugi's face, and she couldn't decide which one was weirder. Still, her parents had taught her to be polite at all times, so she thanked him and put her hands out to receive the strange toy.
As she played on the Game boy, some game called "Tetris", she began to think that maybe Yuugi wasn't quite so weird after. It was a pretty fun game after all, except that she kept hitting a point where the right blocks wouldn't come down and she'd end up cramming them too high and lose the game. He was smiling so sweetly though, and she really wanted to be polite, so she kept playing, and kept running into those same dead ends, having to start over again, and over again, and over again… No, this wasn't fun at all. This game was stupid, and Yuugi was stupid for thinking that she'd ever want to play some game where she couldn't win. Finally the right block, a long thin block, came down and she moved it into position to clear four rows, only the stupid game got it wrong and put the block to the left of where she wanted it to be. She yelled at it and threw the Game boy down as hard as she could, hoping to teach it a lesson it would never forget.
She'd certainly never forget the sight of the plastic screen cracking, nor the casing shattering, not even the little cartridge breaking apart. Most of all, she'd never forget the look on Yuugi's face. She was prepared for him to be angry, or sad, wailing his head off and blaming her. That was what a normal person would do, but Yuugi wasn't normal. He laughed. She broke his toy, and he laughed like it was some kind of joke. She tried to apologize, remembering how much her parents stressed proper behavior, but the words had caught in her throat. How do you apologize to someone if they don't act like you're the one who hurt them? Even after he'd gathered the broken pieces of his Game boy, even after lunch had ended and the teacher returned to resume class, even after she had dinner with her parents, even now as she lay awake in bed, she still hadn't figured it out. "Tomorrow," she resolved, "tomorrow, I'm going to apologize, and that's that. Who cares if he doesn't act the way he's supposed to, that's no excuse for me being rude." She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Anzu was definitely in a much better mood when she got up then when she went to sleep. She'd had her favorite dream, the one with the knight and the princess. She loved fairy tales, especially the ones about how the brave and chivalrous knight could stand up to anything, and how the princess didn't ever have to worry at all, because her knight would always be there for her. Though now that she thought about it, the dream was different last night; the knight seemed weirdly girly to her and the princess's hair was really freaky. The princess almost seemed to remind her of someone, but she couldn't remember anything about her hair except that it was weird. Oh well, it was bound to occur to her, but now was the time where she had to get ready for school. She checked her uniform, making sure that it was nice and neat and clean like her parents had instructed her to always keep it, and seeing that it passed inspection she put it on. She came down for a quick breakfast, not wanting to wait too long before she could apologize and get this whole Yuugi business behind her.
"Where's the fire young lady? Slow down and eat your food properly. You wouldn't want to grow up all short and stunted because you hadn't been getting all your nutrients, would you?" Her mother was right. Dancers had to be in good physical condition, so she slowed down and chewed her food carefully before swallowing. It wasn't like this was going to delay her apology too long anyway, so she relaxed. Her dad was talking about his job, how sure he was that the promotion was going to be his, and all the wonderful things that this meant for them. Anzu didn't care too much about that, since if he did get the promotion he would be around less often, but she did like getting nice things, and dance classes were expensive, not too mention how much it would cost to dance in America. So she prayed a silent prayer that her father would get what he deserved.
"Well now, I think our little Anzu is feeling a little bit better." Her father chuckled at the lame word-play.
"What do you mean, Dad?" He smiled at her and rubbed the top of her head, mussing her hair. He knew she didn't like that, but he did it anyway.
"Last night you seemed distracted at dinner. You're mother and I were getting worried that something had happened at school, but I'm glad to see that we were wrong." She whispered an affirmation to him, and resolved that no matter what, she was going to apologize to Yuugi.
Her father left for work shortly thereafter, and her mom not long after that. So long as she made sure to observe all the rules that her parents had set out for her, they didn't have any problem with her going to school on her own. And indeed, she did follow their rules to the letter, and the trip to school was uneventful, as were the morning classes. Her on-again off-again friends were at school today, and Anzu worked out in her head that she could fit in a quick apology to Yuugi before having lunch with them. Okay, maybe he was unpopular, and apologizing to him would definitely lead to some weird looks from her class mates, but she could handle that. Heck, she was probably inflating the whole matter out of proportion, she was probably the only one this whole thing mattered to, and once she took care of it, everything would go back to normal.
Finally, the lunch bell rang, and she had her chance to set things right. It took her a little while to find him, which was weird now that she thought about it, since his hair should have made him stick out of any crowd. Still, she found him hiding in a secluded little corner of the school. She took a deep breath, and braced herself so that she could get the words out this time.
"Hey Yuugi. About yesterday…" He turned to her, and he was smiling so brightly.
"Anzu! I'm glad that you found me. Ummm, I'm sorry I picked such a hard game for you. Here, this one should be much easier." What was he doing? He wasn't making any sense. "My Grandpa owns his own game store, so I can get these extra cheap. I'd really like you to have it." This wasn't going how it was supposed to. She was supposed to go in, apologize, and get out. Unthinking, she took the game from his hands, and started playing. Absentmindedly, she wondered what would happen if she broke this one too. Would Yuugi laugh again, and come the next day with yet another game, or would he start acting like a real person and get mad at her? But she played, and found that this one was easier then the last game and she was having fun. She especially liked that the goal was to rescue the princess, though she wished that she were a knight instead of a plumber. That was weird, like Yuugi, but there wasn't anything wrong with that, was there?
"Hey Yuugi, I see you're feeling awful generous today." She pulled her head out of the game, and saw that Matsui, an older brother of one of her classmates, though she couldn't remember which one at the moment, was looking down at Yuugi. Then he picked him up by the collar of his uniform. "I've managed to forget my lunch money today, so I'm going to need yours. You wouldn't want your friend to go hungry, would you Yuugi?" Anzu was incensed. Where did he get off saying that he was Yuugi's friend? She hated bullies, especially bullies who tried to pretend. She didn't allow herself to put up with creeps like him, and she wasn't going to let him get away with this.
"Hey you! Get your hands off him. You can't take his lunch money like that." Still holding Yuugi up, he turned his head towards Anzu.
"Oh, hey Mazaki. Could you let Ran know that I'm going to be late getting home from school? See, I've got to-" Anzu cut him off.
"I said to let him go. I'm warning you, if you don't let him go, I'm going to make you regret it." He seemed momentarily confused as he looked back at Yuugi. Anzu noticed that Yuugi hadn't said anything; he hadn't even made a sound, and he was just looking at her, his eyes seeming to shine with need.
"What, him? What about him? Come on, Mazaki, if I don't get his money, someone else will, so cut me some slack here." Muttering under her breath that she warned him, Anzu shot her leg out, striking Matsui in the shin, and she kicked again, striking the other shin even harder. He reeled back as he let go of Yuugi, and Anzu grabbed hold of him, careful to make sure that neither he nor his Game boy got hurt.
"If I catch you making trouble for Yuugi again, your shins aren't the only things that are going to hurt. Now beat it!" Matsui had four inches, thirty pounds, and two years on her, but Anzu didn't care about any of that, and she made sure that he could see it in her eyes. He didn't run off, but Anzu was sure that was because he couldn't and not because he didn't want to. She relaxed herself now that Matsui was gone. "Man, that guy was a real jerk. Hey Yuugi?" He looked, still stunned, but able to murmur a small 'yes'. "Does that happen often to you? Bullies trying to take your money?" He looked away, and she couldn't tell if it was out of embarrassment, shyness, or shame.
"Well, it's not always about my money, but… yes." As he shuffled his feet, Anzu looked him over, and realized for the first time that he was actually a little taller then her. It didn't seem that way when he was offering his Game boy, or when Matsui picked him up off the ground. There was something about Yuugi that made him seem smaller then he really was.
"Well, don't worry anymore Yuugi. From now on, if anyone tries to bully you, they're going to have to get through me first. How does that sound?" Yuugi's eyes became wide, and Anzu couldn't help but notice just how open they were. In cartoons, people with big eyes were supposed to be more 'innocent'. By that standard, Yuugi was easily the most innocent person she'd ever known.
"Does, does that mean we're friends?" He couldn't have disguised the hope in his voice if he'd tried, and Anzu could tell that he wasn't even trying for that. It was probably a bit early to say it, but Yuugi seemed like such a nice kid, and it really didn't make sense to let jerks like Matsui push him around like that.
"Sure. Want to have lunch with me?" He nodded so hard that Anzu was worried that his head was going to come off. As they got their lunches from the cafeteria, she found herself looking at his hair, and finally realized that that was the hair that she saw on the princess in her dream. She smiled inwardly, deciding that she rather liked the idea of getting to be the knight instead of the princess. She was a modern girl after all, and if she wanted to be a knight, then she could be a knight.
It was only after lunch was over and class resumed that Anzu realized that she'd completely forgotten to meet up with her other friends. "Oh well," she thought, "They'll understand. After all, they weren't here yesterday anyway, so it's not like they were all that worried about my feelings." Anzu kept her focus on the teacher's lecture, unaware of the dirty looks she was getting from certain students.
Dinner seemed much tastier to Anzu today then it did yesterday. She was worried that since she hadn't technically apologized to Yuugi that dinner was going to be just as unpleasant as it was yesterday, but she decided that standing up to Matsui counted as an apology unto itself. Her mother looked at her, and Anzu realized that she had been beaming. "Well, someone had a good day today. Do you think we could hear the good news?" She blushed just a bit, embarrassed that she'd been wearing her heart so openly on her sleeve.
"Oh, it was nothing. I just made a new friend today, that's all." Her father finished slurping his ramen before speaking.
"Oh? Seems like our little girl is getting more and more popular every day, doesn't it Hana? So, what's her name Anzu?" Anzu had been focused on a particularly delicious bundle of noodles, and only heard the last part of her father's question.
"Her? Her who?"
"Your friend, the one you'd just made today." Duh, she realizes that of course they would assume 'she'.
"Actually, his name is Yuugi. Yuugi Mutou." Her parents exchanged a look of concern, and silently agreed to let her mother speak first.
"Anzu, dear, I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to be friends with him. We've met his grandfather, and, well, he's not someone I'd want you to be anywhere near." Moms. They can be so overprotective. They've never had a problem with her friends before, so she didn't see why they had to act like this over this one.
"Relax, it's not like his grandfather goes to school with him. Besides, he's practically harmless. A real sweetie, but a total wuss. You guys worry too much." She saw concern in her father's eyes.
"Sweetie, we just don't know if you really realize what boys can be like. He's going to be different from all your other friends, and we don't want you to get hurt." Anzu scoffed.
"Please, if anyone was going to get hurt, it'll be Yuugi, and since that'll never happen, it's not an issue. Now, if you don't mind, I'm done eating and I'd like to get started on my homework. A dancer's got to have good grades to get to America, am I right?" Her parents nodded silently. Anzu knew that when it really mattered, she could get her way, and right now, her way was with Yuugi.
She sped through her homework and rushed through her bedtime routine, and in record time Anzu was in bed and sound asleep. And in her dreams, Matsui took the form of a towering demon, eager to attack the fair Yuugi, only she was riding forth on a white steed and with her mighty lance in hand, she slew the foul demon, and all the while, Yuugi looked upon her with adoration in his eyes. She loved that feeling of being needed, of being able to be there for someone who didn't have anyone else, and she dared the world to try and break her resolve, because she knew that would never happen.
Anzu was humming to herself as she made her way to school, when she was pulled out of her reverie by a familiar voice. "Hey Anzu, what the hell's the matter with you?" Ran was never a polite girl, Anzu figured that she had bad parents, but Ran had never been rude with her before.
"What's the matter with me? Why don't you learn to speak politely and then maybe I can answer your question. Look, I'm sorry that I didn't have lunch with you yesterday, but you weren't here the day before, so if anything, that makes us even." Ran continued to glower at Anzu.
"I'm not talking about that, though that is part of the problem. My big brother told me that you attacked him during lunch. I thought we were friends Anzu." Clearly Matsui decided that certain important things weren't worth mentioning. Well, it was time to straighten the record.
"Your brother," Anzu said in an even and balanced tone "was being a total jerk. He just walked up to Yuugi, picked him up, and told him to give him his lunch money. He wouldn't listen to me, so I had to stop him. What was I supposed to do, stay back and let him take advantage of Yuugi?" Ran looked at Anzu like she was staring at the dumbest thing alive.
"Umm, Yeah? I mean, guys like Yuugi are there to be picked on. Really, it's a service that we have someone like him at our school. It means the rest of us don't have to worry about bullies, except when he's absent from school of course. Still, on average he makes things much easier for the rest of us." Anzu had to remind herself that punching Ran square in her pretty little face was not an option. She just had to reason with her, that's all.
"Ran, that's a horrible thing to say, about anyone. Yuugi is a sweet, nice guy. Yeah, he's a bit weird, but that's no excuse for that kind of attitude. I'd really like it if you never said anything like that ever again." Ran seemed positively confused at this point, her whole line of dialogue completely disarmed.
"Whoa, where is all this coming from? Why do you care so much what I say about Yuugi?" Clearly, Ran needed the obvious spelled out to her.
"Because he's my friend, that's why." Ran seemed stupefied. She was sputtering, trying to form some sort of cogent response to what she'd just heard, which Anzu found to be insulting. It wasn't that bizarre for her to be friends with Yuugi Mutou, was it?
"You… and him… friends? That, that doesn't make any sense, you two don't have anything in common, there's no way to account for it… unless…" Ran seemed like she was on the verge of an epiphany. Anzu saw an impish grin form on Ran's face, and she found herself worried about what was going to come out of the rude girl's mouth next. "Not to worry Anzu, I understand completely. Well, not completely completely, I mean, we are talking about Yuugi here, but I can assure your secret is safe with me, though I do look forward to when you decide to come out into the open, but I won't rush you. As for Matsui, consider water under the bridge. I'll just have to explain to him that Yuugi's off limits. Well, we better hurry; class is going to start soon." Now it was Anzu's turn to be confused as Ran pulled her along. On the one hand, it seemed like Ran's 180 was genuine, but it felt to Anzu like she'd fallen into some sort of bizarro world, and she both wished that she did and didn't understand what Ran was talking about. Still, the lecture was starting up, and now was the time to focus on her studies.
Class was slow and tedious, as usual. By the time lunch had finally arrived, Anzu thought that she was going to collapse. It wasn't that she didn't like schoolwork, but could anyone have possibly chosen a more inappropriate man to be a teacher then Mr. Kawazu? He could have been performing demonstrations with high explosives and still manage to reduce everything to tedium and dullness. But that didn't matter anymore. He was going to a different class after lunch, and as for lunch itself…
"Yuugi, there you are. Come on; let's go find something good to eat." He started up his timid routine again, only he was reaching for his backpack.
"Actually, I brought some food with me, from home. I was kind of hoping that we could skip the lines today. I… I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I brought a whole bunch of different foods with me… it's not in here." Yuugi had just opened up his backpack, and indeed, there wasn't any food there. "I guess I must have misplaced it, but I was sure I put it all in here." Anzu kept her fists in control.
"No Yuugi, you did put the food in there. Someone took it, and I'm going to find out whom." The nerve of some people. Yuugi goes through all that trouble to bring food to school, and some jerk has to take it all. "Ooh, when I get my hands on him, he won't know what hit him." Yuugi followed behind her, and she was pretty sure he was trying to get her to calm down, and it was actually working. Anzu was still pissed, but by the time she came upon a pair of kids with a pair of bentos, she felt like a simple smack on the temples would do the trick. She paused to ask Yuugi if those were the bento that he'd prepared earlier, and he nodded just enough for her to see it. Taking a deep cleansing breath, Anzu walked up to the two offenders. "Excuse me, those aren't yours. Apologize, give them back, and we'll be on our way." The two guys, who she realized were Kenzo and Akito, the students who sat behind Yuugi in class, ignored her until she brought her hands down on the table. Kenzo responded first.
"Hey Mazaki, what's the deal here? We're trying to eat, so stop bugging us." Anzu could feel her blood boiling, but she kept her cool. No sense in going overboard.
"No, you're trying to eat Yuugi's food. Give them back to him, and get in line for your own food." Akito snickered.
"Come on, you can't possibly expect us to believe that that little shrimp packed all this food, can you? And even if he did, if he wanted it so badly, he should have done a better job of protecting it. I mean, that's just common sense, am I right?" Anzu responded by smacking both their hands away from the bentos and snatching them away.
"Wrong. Come on Yuugi, we're going to find a civilized place to eat." They walked away from the cafeteria, totally oblivious to Kenzo and Akito as they glowered at the two and to the words that they muttered.
"Wow Anzu that was really amazing. I mean, there were two of them, and you weren't even scared at all. Man, I never would have imagined that I'd ever meet someone as nice and strong as you." Anzu was blushing and glowing under all that praise, so she felt a little modesty was in order. Dancers couldn't afford to get arrogant, that's what her parents told her.
"Nah, it was nothing special. It's just what friends do; we look out for each other. It's only natural." Anzu noticed out of the corner of her eye that Yuugi had become downcast. "Yuugi, is something wrong? Did someone else bother you earlier today? You can tell me, you know that, right?" She turned to look at him directly, but now he was all smiles.
"No, I was just thinking about what you'd said. I've never had a friend before, so this is all kind of new to me. Friends really look out for each other?" Anzu contemplated what Yuugi had just said. She knew that he was unpopular, but surely he'd had at least one friend before her. It couldn't really be possible for someone to be so unpopular and lonely, could it?
"Yeah, that's what friends do. So don't worry, I've got your back Yuugi. Now let's eat this bento before class starts up again." As they ate, they chatted about the little things, mostly what sorts of games Yuugi's grandfather kept in his store. Before long, they had finished the bento that Yuugi had brought, which truth be told were merely okay, only just above cafeteria food in terms of edibility and flavor, but it was the personal touch that mattered. Still, just as Yuugi returned to his seat for the start of the new class, Anzu thought that she saw that same downcast look on his face that she saw before. Clearly she was imagining things, as this had been a really good day. A weird one, but that seemed to be the new normal for her.
After the final class came to an end, Anzu found that a note had been put in her desk, probably around the time that she and Yuugi had gone off after the lunch thieves. It was from Ran, asking her to hang out with the group after school. Well, she had been neglecting them over the past couple of days, so it was only fair for her to try and make amends with her other friends. As she made her way to the location provided on the note, she ran into Yuugi.
"Hey Anzu. Umm, I don't suppose you might want to come to my grandpa's game store today, to see if you might be able to find a game to you'd like?" She frowned a bit. She had become a bit interested in the weird games he'd been talking about all through lunch, though nowhere near the extent that he was, but she had made prior arrangements.
"Sorry Yuugi, I'm going to be meeting up with my other friends about now. But you know, I could introduce you to them. I mean, they've got their quirks, but I'm sure if you made a good first impression like you did with me that they'd welcome you in with open arms." He seemed to freeze up at the suggestion.
"No, no, that's okay, Anzu. I don't think I could make a good impression on a whole group of people, and besides I've got to get home right away. Grandpa's going to want me to help him out at the shop." He paused, but only for a moment. "I really made a good first impression on you?" She stopped to think about it. She hadn't been picky about the words she'd chosen, but on reflection, she decided that they were the right ones.
"Yeah, you were really kind Yuugi. You don't see that too often anymore." Anzu stretched up on her toes, just about equaling Yuugi's height, and returned to a more relaxed stance. "Even If I can't come by today, I'll be sure to come by sometime soon." Anzu realized that she was fast running out of time, and an angered Ran was not someone she wanted to have to deal with twice in one day, so she told Yuugi that she had to get a move on and that she'd see him again tomorrow. He waved back, and shuffled away, his mind heavy with new discoveries about friendship.
According to the note, they were going to meet by the pool at the back of the school, and when Anzu got there, she saw that everyone had arrived some time ago, and they were clearly waiting for her. Standing at Ran's left was her best friend Narumi, and at her right was Reiko. A little off to the left were Naoki and Akiko. Together, they comprised the clique that Anzu was a part of, the popular girls whose opinions mattered and could effect real change throughout the student body. That's what Ran always said, though Anzu felt that eight was entirely too young to be engaging in that sort of political thinking anyway. Still, they were all fun to be with, and they could always be counted on to keep up with the times, so it wasn't all bad.
"About time you got here, Anzu." Narumi seemed to be in a bad mood, which confused Anzu. The two of them were frequently at odds with one another, and it was only because Ran was their mutual friend that they got along at all. If anything, Narumi should've been happy that Anzu hadn't been around recently. "Ran here was getting all antsy that you weren't to show up, and I don't want my best friend getting in the dumps because dancy-pants decided she was too good for us." Insults that didn't really make sense; yep, Narumi was definitely acting like herself. Anzu breathed a sigh of relief that the day had finally reached its weirdness quota, and came into the group proper.
"Sorry about the absence guys, I've just had some stuff I've been doing on my own. No big deal, really." Naoki and Akiko were laughing off on the side, a light titter that sought to emulate the so-called 'noblewoman's laugh', but they lacked the experience to make it come out right. "Did I miss out on a joke?" Reiko cleared her throat.
"Well, it's not a joke, but Ran was right. You really do plan on keeping this one close to your chest. We don't want to pressure you Anzu, really. We just want to know what's going on with you, that's all." Anzu raised an eyebrow at that, and looked at Ran. It seemed like she'd kept her word, but there was still the sense that they were having an entirely different conversation from the one she was having. Anzu took a shot to try and clear up this whole confusing situation.
"Do you guys have a problem with me hanging out with Yuugi? Because you shouldn't. He's a really sweet guy, and if he didn't have to go home earlier, he could show you that himself." Their eyes opened wide at that one.
"Wait," Ran said. "You were going bring him here? To meet us?" This was getting really bizarre. The five of them gathered together in a circle, but they didn't speak quietly enough to keep Anzu from overhearing them.
"She was going to show him to us?"
"Clearly she really wants our approval."
"It makes you feel really appreciated, doesn't it?"
"To think that our Anzu is growing up so fast, it touches you right here."
"I think that our consensus is to not rush this, and let nature take its course. Agreed?" And all together they chanted with their hands on top of one another.
"AGREED!" The circle pulled apart, and the clique began to file out, except for Ran who stayed behind.
"I'm sorry if this was awkward for you. Naoki and Reiko wanted to know where you'd been, and I thought that I was careful with what I'd told them, but they're pretty clever, and they figured it out real quickly. But don't worry; we're not going to share your secret with anyone. We'll wait for you to speak up, and we won't try and push you. See you later Anzu!" Ran was gone within moments, and Anzu was left trying to assemble some sort of sense from the pieces that the five of them had left behind.
"Well, at least my parents are still sane, as far as I know. I should really get back home, I'm beginning to forget what normal is like."
"What's the matter dear? You've hardly touched your food." Anzu heard her mother, but didn't really feel like answering. She was still trying to work out the puzzle of her friends, but she was beginning to think that it would take one thousand years for her to solve this one. She put it aside for the moment; her mother was beginning to look at her like she was getting really concerned.
"I'm sorry Mom; I'm not really hungry today. I had a big lunch with Yuugi today, so I'm still feeling kind of full." That wasn't true of course, but how could she explain something that she didn't understand herself? Anzu found herself contemplating whether or not she ought to bring bento to school tomorrow when her father interrupted her thoughts.
"So, it sounds like you really like this guy, little Anzu." There was something about the tone of his voice that Anzu didn't like, but the day had been pretty stressful, so she was probably imagining things, and besides, it was a perfectly normal statement.
"Yeah, I do. He's still weird, but it's a good kind of weird. You wouldn't believe some of the games that he says his grandfather has in his shop. There's this one game, the name is on the tip of my tongue but that's not the important part. Anyway, you've got this tower of blocks and you take turns pulling blocks out and stacking them on top, and you keep doing this until someone knocks the whole thing over and then you yell 'JENGA!' Hey, I think that was the name, Jenga. Doesn't that sound like a neat game? I was thinking of going to his grandfather's store some time soon, to buy one of his games. Can I, Please?" Anzu was a big girl; she didn't use puppy eyes or quivering lips or anything like that to try to get her way with her parents. She just looked them in the eye like a grown-up.
"Well," Her father began to muse "I think I have an idea. Dear, when is Anzu's next exam?" Her mother took a moment to recall.
"I believe it's in a month, Akira." Her dad clasped his hands together.
"Then it's settled. Anzu, if you can get a ninety or better on your next exam, we'll take you to Yuugi's game shop and buy you a game. How does that sound?" Anzu was practically beaming. Sure, she didn't mind using her allowance, but there was no sense in not taking up her parent's offer. Her crazy friends completely forgotten, Anzu proceeded to finish off her dinner and rush up to her room to study.
As she finished off her bedtime routine, Anzu began to wonder whether she ought to let Yuugi know about her father's plan, or whether she ought to surprise him. As she tucked herself beneath her blanket, she decided to go for the surprise. After all, he'd been nothing but a surprise since she'd met him, so it was only fair that give him one of her own. As she fell asleep, she had the dream again, only instead of a towering demon attacking the princess like yesterday, today there were a pair of smelly ogres who were pillaging the fields. She drove them away, her hand stayed by the fair princess, who didn't want any blood spilled ever. She smiled down at Yuugi as they enjoyed a fancy feast, until it came time to return to the castle, when she noticed a group of maidens whispering in a most unsavory manner. Every time she tried to get closer to them, they kept moving farther and farther away, past the range of her hearing. The princess also seemed weirdly melancholy, but she was sure it was nothing. After all, she was a beautiful and powerful knight, and she would never ever let any ill fate befall her princess.
The passing days were chipping away at Anzu's resolve. Like the wind and the water eroding the earth, she found that her strength was wearing out, trying to handle every tiny little thing that came her way. It wasn't the dance lessons; those were the same as always, and her teacher had nothing but praise for her, though lately her compliments seemed backhanded, but that was just crazy talk. It wasn't her parents. Even though her father hadn't gotten the promotion he'd been gunning for, mom and he seemed to be in really good spirits anyway, though on occasion they would look at her all weird like whenever she talked about Yuugi, looks they never gave her about any of her other friends. It wasn't even her friends, though they were still acting like Anzu was keeping something secret from them, even though they knew all about Yuugi. Half the time Anzu didn't feel like she knew them anymore.
No, the problem was all those jerks that kept picking on Yuugi. It seemed like every day someone was deciding that Yuugi was a punching bag, or a bank, or a vending machine, anything but a sweet kid who didn't deserve to be treated that way. She had to watch over him like a hawk just to keep up with all of the lousy jerks in the school. What was the matter with them? Why did they have to keep singling out Yuugi?
"Anzu, it's your turn. Are you okay?" Anzu felt like she'd just woken up from a bad dream. She was playing checkers with Yuugi in one of his hiding places around the school, and as usual, he was kicking her butt. At least this was one area where Yuugi couldn't lose, that's how it seemed to Anzu anyway.
"I'm sorry Yuugi. I was just daydreaming. I think I'll move this one." Truth be told, she didn't really think about which piece she was moving. She only had three pieces left, while Yuugi had seven, so it didn't really matter. Yuugi seemed to be concerned about the move she'd made.
"Anzu, if you move there, I can take all three of your pieces." Now he was looking at her with those big open eyes of his. "Are you sure you're okay? Because if you don't want to play with me, you don't have to; you can spend time with your other friends if that's what you want to do." Anzu wasn't even sure that she could call them friends anymore. They'd never been very close, and now it seemed like they were off living in la-la land while she was still here on Earth. No, Yuugi, for all his strangeness, made for much better company these days and she was going to tell him so.
"Yuugi, it's not you." He seemed to become despondent at that. "No, it's not what you're thinking. Really, it isn't you. I like spending time with you. It's just all those jerks and bullies in our school, they're the problem. Don't you wish that they would just leave you alone?" Of course Yuugi would say yes. No one wanted to be picked on, least of all Yuugi.
"Actually, I'd kind of like it if we could all be friends." Of course, only Yuugi would want to be friends with all those jerks. Anzu didn't understand how Yuugi could be that way. But that was okay, she'd made a promise to look out for him, to make sure that he'd be safe. A loud, obnoxious voice yelled out from just outside of the classroom.
"Hey Yuugi, get your scrawny ass over here, NOW!" Kimura, the worst of the worst at Domino Grade School, and it wasn't just what Anzu thought of him. He'd been suspended multiple times within the past school year, and it had been rumored that his father had connections that kept him from being sent to a juvenile prison facility. Whatever the truth, he was definitely not someone that Anzu wanted to ever deal with, but it didn't seem like she was going to have a choice in the matter. She put her arm out in front of Yuugi before he could get up, and he stayed in place. No way was she going to let that thug anywhere near Yuugi. She moved in front of Yuugi as Kimura came into the room. Her forehead was becoming slick with sweat. It wasn't the size of him, it wasn't any sense of strength to him; it was his eyes, those eyes that shined with so much hate that it made Anzu's blood freeze in her veins. She remembered hearing once that he'd brought a knife to school and cut up one of his classmates, but that had to be an exaggeration. It had to be. "Girl, you better get out of my way. I'm not in the mood to play, so beat it."
"No, YOU beat it. Yuugi doesn't want to be anywhere near you, so leave him alone." He was looking right through her, like she wasn't even there.
"Damn Yuugi, you're even more pathetic then the last time I saw you. At least you used to be willing to take your beatings like a man, but now you've sunk real low. I mean, guilt-tripping some girl into being your bodyguard? That's just weak." Anzu felt that fire burning within her, and in her mind's eye, she was suited up in armor, with a shining sword in her hands. She wasn't even aware of the crowd that had gathered to watch, everyone was far too stunned that Mazaki was going to fight with Kimura.
"He is not pathetic, and he didn't guilt me into anything. We're friends, and I'm not going to let you hurt him. You hear me, you bully?" He seemed put off by that, but only for a moment.
"Fine, I'll just have to beat you to a pulp first." Anzu had only just noticed his fist shooting out, and even though she brought her arms in front of her in time, she could still feel her chest blossoming with pain. She flailed at him, so very undisciplined, yet so relentless. In the corner of her mind Anzu knew that the crowd was growing as more kids came in to watch the fight, but they didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that she was the only thing that stood between Kimura and Yuugi. She wouldn't fail him. She was a knight, the knight always won, that's how the fairy tales always went. Always.
She was about to claw his eyes out when she felt something grab her arm. She tried to move, but she couldn't. Unable to attack, her vision began to cool, and she realized that Mr. Kawazu was holding her back, while Mr. Tatsuya was restraining Kimura. She saw that most of the crowd had disappeared, except for Ran and the others, though she couldn't say when they had arrived. "I expected this kind of behavior from Kimura, but you Anzu? I can't believe you would pick a fight with him."
"What? That's not what happened. Ran, tell them what happened!" Anzu's hopes were dashed on the rocks, for Kimura shot a murderous glare in their direction, and Ran and the others gave their best impressions of being completely unaware that anything was going on at all.
"I'm sorry young lady, but we're going to have to call your parents about this, and see what they have to say." No, they couldn't call her parents. Dancers don't get in trouble, only good girls can be dancers, that's what her parents said. She was going to be in so much trouble and all because she stood up for Yuugi.
"No, you shouldn't call her parents. This wasn't her fault, it was my fault." It took everyone a moment to realize that someone had spoken, and when Anzu turned her head in the direction of the voice, it was Yuugi. Anzu couldn't believe it, he was still here? "Kimura was going to beat me up, and Anzu was just protecting me. She didn't do anything wrong, so she shouldn't get in trouble." Anzu looked at Yuugi as he came out of his hiding spot, and saw in his eyes a light she'd never seen before. A quick glance at Kimura showed that he was directing the full strength of his glare at Yuugi, yet Yuugi didn't falter at all.
"Yuugi," Mr. Kawazu said, "If what you're saying is true, than we're going to need to call your grandfather, and you'll have to explain to him what's happened here." If that was supposed to discourage Yuugi, then Anzu would have to say that it had precisely the opposite effect.
"That's okay. Grandpa's always asking me about school, so I was going to tell him anyway." Mr. Kawazu and Mr. Tatsuya seemed pretty satisfied by that, and so they took them to the office while they waited for Yuugi's grandfather to arrive. Kimura wouldn't co-operate, so he was taken to another room while his parents were contacted for what was undoubtedly the umpteenth time.
As Anzu sat still in the plastic chair that had been provided for her, she thought about what Yuugi had said. If his grandfather really was always asking Yuugi about school, then Yuugi would have mentioned her to him. She wondered what Yuugi had said about her, and what his grandfather would take from it. Would he act like everyone else did, that there was something weird and wrong with her, or would he actually understand? If Yuugi's grandfather were anything like Yuugi, then Anzu thought that he just might be weird enough to get it. "I'm sorry Anzu." And now Anzu chides herself, remembering that Yuugi was right there, sitting next to her, and she hadn't even so much as looked at him since they came in here. "Maybe if I'd chosen a better hiding spot, then Kimura wouldn't have found me, and you wouldn't have gotten hurt and in trouble and… I'm so sorry. Can you accept my apology?" She sighed. He was blaming himself for this? She had to straighten things out with him too it seemed.
"Listen Yuugi, the only one who did anything wrong was Kimura. You're not to blame if someone is mean to you. That's entirely their fault, and no one else's. You're a good friend Yuugi, so don't feel bad. If anything, this was my fault. I should have just tried to get you out of there, but I was just feeling so angry that I had to fight him. Really Yuugi, you're the one who kept a cool head there." That didn't seem to help at all.
"But… but I wanted to help you. You said that friends look out for each other, but I was too scared to help you. And then the teachers showed up, and when they said they were going to call your parents, you looked so scared, and I was still just sitting there and doing nothing. I had to do something Anzu, I really wanted to be your friend."
"Of course you're my friend Yuugi. Don't worry so much, nothing's ever going to change that, okay?" It was at that time that Yuugi's grandfather arrived. The first thing that struck Anzu about him was how he was only just a little bit taller then them. He certainly seemed small standing next to the principal.
"Ah, Mister Mutou, you've arrived. I believe that you're grandson has something that he'd like to explain to you." Grandfather Mutou turned towards Yuugi and flashed a happy, open smile to his grandson; he calmly asked him just what happened, and Yuugi answered. He told him everything exactly as it happened, including how scared he felt and how much he wanted to help her against Kimura, which took Anzu off guard. She was never this open and honest with her parents. When Yuugi finished, his grandfather turned to Anzu, a hard appraising look in his eyes. In the back of her mind she wished that she hadn't been all dirty and bandaged when she first met Yuugi's grandfather, but only in the back of her mind. The old man smiled, as if in approval, and turned to the principal.
"Sir, my grandson has always told me the truth, and from what he says, I don't think that he or his friend should be punished. That Kimura sounds like a rotten apple, and it doesn't feel right to punish anyone for standing up to him. If you do punish Anzu, then I'm going to have to contact all the other parents and let them know how Domino Grade School appreciates those who stand up to bullies." Anzu could have sworn that the principle's knuckles were turning white, but that was probably just optimism on her part.
"All right, I'm going to let Miss Mazaki off with a warning. So long as this doesn't happen again, it won't even go on her record. Is that understood, Miss Mazaki?" Anzu leapt to her feet and started bowing profusely, thanking the principal for his mercy and grandfather Mutou for being so understanding. The principal told her and Yuugi that since the school day was almost over, they should go to the teacher's lounge to pick up their assignments for the day and go home. He handed grandfather Mutou a pass to smooth things over with the teachers, and in short order Yuugi and Anzu had their assignments.
"Thank you Grandfather Mutou, you really saved me back there. I don't know what would have happened if they'd called my parents. They would've been so furious." The old man chuckled.
"Please, just call me Grandpa. Grandfather Mutou is too formal for these old ears. I was just worried that one or both of you had been severely injured, but I'm glad to see that that's not the case. You're a tough little cookie, aren't you little Anzu?" She had to admit, the fight with Kimura could have gone a whole lot worse, though it definitely wasn't something she wanted to have to do again. She wanted to be Anzu Mazaki, world famous dancer, not Anzu Mazaki, the infamous street fighter. Still, so long as this sort of thing didn't happen too often, she didn't see any reason to feel bad about it. Besides, Yuugi was safe, and that was the important part.
"That was nothing Grandpa; I could have taken on a hundred Kimuras. So long as I've got Yuugi with me, I can stand up to anyone." They laughed and chatted and talked about the sillier things of the day, and eventually "grandpa" told Anzu that Yuugi and he were going to go into their house, and Anzu realized that this meant that she passed by Yuugi's house on her way to school. "Yuugi, I live just a few blocks down from here. Did you know that we lived so close?" He seemed to be in a state of shock.
"No, I didn't. Umm… I'll see you tomorrow, Anzu." Yuugi rushed into his house, leaving behind his grandfather and Anzu. The old man chuckled a bit.
"Well now, I don't think I've ever seen that boy so happy before in my life, not that I can't see why. Still, I am a bit disappointed that he hasn't been telling me everything like he said he was. Maybe he's embarrassed to admit it; don't you think so, little Anzu?"
"What do you mean? What hasn't Yuugi been telling you?" He smiled, and patted her on the head.
"He never mentioned how pretty his new friend was. That's all." As Anzu watched the old man go into his home, she didn't quite know how to take what he said, especially coming from him. As she made her way back home, she went over what she was going to tell them. Even though nothing was going onto her record, they still wouldn't approve of her getting into fights, even if they were to protect her friend. Still, she was able to explain to her parents that she tripped, that Yuugi had offered to walk her back home, that she declined the offer, and it was as simple as that. Anzu hadn't anticipated that they would insist on more dance practice to improve her coordination so that that wouldn't happen again, but all told it was a small price to pay, considering what could have happened instead.
That night, her dream was a bit more involved. There was a horrid little gremlin that held everyone in fear, for it was owned by one of the wealthier lords, but Anzu wasn't scared, and when it went after the princess, she fought it to a standstill. She thought the lords were going to have her head, but the chancellor was wise and kind, and wouldn't allow anyone to punish Anzu for doing what she had to. Anzu smiled, inside and out, at how everything seemed so dreamy.
So much whispering. So many pointed looks. No matter where Anzu went in the school, that was what she heard and saw. She could only catch snippets of their whispering's, she couldn't get close before they started looking away. When the lunch bell rang, she asked Yuugi to go ahead and save her place in the lunch line while she talked to Ran. With him out of the room, Anzu felt safe in asking if she had any idea what was going on. Ran shrugged her shoulders in an arrogant manner, like what she was about to say was so obvious.
"Well Anzu, after what happened yesterday, you've got to expect rumors to start up. Especially when you consider the way you've been acting lately." Anzu slammed her hands down on Ran's desk.
"That's it, I'm sick of getting the runaround from you. What are people saying about me?" Ran smiled a smile that seemed almost evil.
"You mean what have people been saying about you and Yuugi, right?"
"What does Yuugi have to do with anything?" Ran was feigning innocence. It really didn't fit her.
"Gee, I can't imagine how your boyfriend could possibly fit into the rumors about you. What do you think Anzu? Umm, Anzu? You in there?" Anzu was boggling at what Ran said. She couldn't possibly have meant that. That couldn't be what everyone was thinking. Anzu could barely manage to get her mouth to work, her voice a meager whisper.
"What?" Ran seemed genuinely surprised.
"Whoa Anzu, take it easy. I understand that you didn't want anyone to know, but really, think about it: You're always talking with him, you're always running off with him to one of the hidey-holes he's got set up here at school, you play his weird games with him all the time, and you're way ultra-protective of him. Throw in the way that you were fighting with Kimura over him, and it's no surprise that everyone's put it together." Anzu opened and closed her mouth several times, and she said nothing at all several times. Finally she found her voice.
"NO! We're just friends. That's all. How could I possibly… that doesn't make any sense. I just like him, that's all."
"Yeesh Anzu, you can drop the act, you're not fooling anyone. The more you try to deny it, the more obvious it is." She couldn't get through to her. Anzu realized that no matter what she said, Ran was going to take it as an affirmation of her position. And if she couldn't convince Ran of the truth, then what chance did she stand with the rest of the school? And what if Yuugi thought that was what was going on? What if someone had teased him with the rumors, and now he really thought that that was how she felt about him? If she told him the truth in public, he would be humiliated, but if she told him the truth in private, no one would believe her. Anzu glanced up at the clock and realized that Yuugi was probably waiting for her.
"This conversation isn't over, Ran." And Anzu ran off, desperately trying to ignore all the inane rumor mongering that seemed to have spread throughout the school like wildfire. It didn't work.
Over the next five days, nobody tried to take Yuugi's money, or food, or even try to beat him up. They just pointed, teased, and taunted. They were daring her. They wanted to see the crazy girl attack someone for being mean to Yuugi. It was insane, that was the only way to describe it. Why did everyone decide that they had to get in on it? Ran and the others were worthless now, Anzu realized. They were practically the ringleaders for this circus of lunacy. And all the madness was mirrored in her dreams, which were filled full of vicious jesters who didn't know when to quit.
Then the day of the exam came.
"A fifty-seven? Anzu, you were supposed to get at least a ninety. What happened?" Anzu could tell that her parents were furious. Sure, they didn't act like it, but they had to be angry at her. After all, she was so damn angry with herself.
"Honey, listen. We're not mad. It's just that you've been studying so hard, so we really want to understand what happened. Just tell us the truth dear." Anzu blew some hair from out of her face.
"I just… I just couldn't pay attention in class today. Everyone kept acting like idiots and jerks. They kept pointing at me and Yuugi, and it didn't matter how many times the teacher told everyone to be quiet, they kept finding ways to tease Yuugi. It was really frustrating, and I couldn't focus on my exam. If they could have just left Yuugi alone for one day, I would have done just fine." Her parents looked at her, and then they started smiling. Their eyes were shining, like they'd just realized something, and her mother reached down and held her in her arms.
"There there, dear. I understand perfectly well what you're going through." Could it be? Maybe her mom really did understand what was happening. She really wanted someone to talk to about this. "I remember the teasing I got when I got my first crush. Why, I-"
"NO!" Anzu pushed her mother away and almost fell down in the process. "The kids at school are stupid enough to think that, but I thought that you might have understood. But you DON'T! Why don't any of you understand? WE'RE. JUST. FRIENDS! Why won't anyone believe me?" Stifling her tears, Anzu ran up into her room and locked the door behind her. She looked down at her hands through teary eyes, and saw how badly they were shaking. What the hell happened to her, she thought to herself. Everything was falling apart; her schoolwork, her friends, her parents, and hell even her dancing was getting all messed up. The only thing that hadn't fallen all to pieces was Yuugi. Anzu slammed her fist into her pillow. Yuugi! He was responsible for all this, but how? He was shy, timid, and a total wuss, and yet somehow he'd managed to get her wrapped around his little finger to the point where everything was about him. It didn't make any sense, how did he do it? Over and over again she went over it in her mind, punching her pillow every time the loop started over again.
The pillow wasn't working, she was still so damn angry. She had to find something else to hit. No, she had to find someone else to hit, someone that she could just treat like a punching bag, someone that she could beat up and move on from without a second thought. She stopped punching the pillow. She just sat there and cried as cold waves of realization overtook her. Anzu wanted to retch at the idea of ever hitting Yuugi. "I can't do this. I can't be a knight, it's too much. I'm sorry Yuugi, I didn't mean to lie to you, honest." She kept whispering into her pillow. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
That night there were no dreams at all, only the darkness of sleep.
The next week was uneventful. Sure, on occasion Anzu had been tempted to interact with Yuugi, ask him what game he was playing this time, how well his grandpa's store had been doing, that sort of thing. But she kept herself strong, and didn't give in to temptation. About four days into it the taunting and the teasing stopped, proving just how fickle kids could be. Still, she couldn't risk all that madness starting up again, so she kept away from Yuugi. She saw someone take his lunch money, and she didn't move. She didn't see when someone grabbed his toy from out of his hands. Given just a few more days, she would've been able to forget all about him, but she didn't get a few more days. As the school day ended, she overheard those jerks Kenzo and Akito.
"Man, can you believe that Yuugi actually tried to defend himself today?" What?
"I know what you mean. I mean, there we were, taking his lunch, as per usual, and the little freak tries to tell us no." Kenzo was laughing now.
"Yeah, and then you put your fist in your hand and said to him 'or what?', and he freaking raises his arms, like he was going to try to defend himself." What?
"Of course, he didn't really defend himself, now did he?"
"Of course not, I don't think the little wuss even knew how to make a fist. Say, do you think that he's gotten out of the nurse's office yet?"
"Nah, I'll bet the little baby is still crying his eyes out. It'd be sad if it weren't so funny." Anzu left the room. She didn't hear what ever it was that Kenzo was going to say next. Now that she thought about it, Yuugi had been there this morning, but he was gone in the afternoon. She hurried to the nurse's office, desperate to keep ahead of her imagination, knowing full well that those jerks had to be exaggerating, they had to be. She opened the door, and there he was.
Yuugi was sitting on the nurse's bed, his eyes all swollen from crying, and the rest of his face was badly bruised. Anzu didn't know why she did it, she couldn't explain why it was so important, but when she saw that he saw her, she knew that he was going to try to apologize for this too, and there was no way she was going to let him apologize for what she'd done to him. She ran to him and grabbed on tight, spitting the words out so that this time they wouldn't catch in her throat.
"I'm so sorry Yuugi. I was so stupid and selfish. I promised to watch your back, to be there for you, and I wasn't. I screwed up Yuugi, and there's nothing I can say that can make up for how big an idiot I was. And don't you dare apologize for getting hurt, that's never your fault, you hear me? Just, please don't hate me." She had to choke those last words out, the desperation damn near strangling her.
"But I am sorry Anzu. I really did want to stand up for myself, but I was so scared. I thought that maybe if I could stand up for myself, then maybe I could help you." Anzu wiped away her tears and pulled back from Yuugi, releasing her grip on him.
"Help me?" He nodded with eyes so open and honest.
"I could tell that something was really bothering you and I wanted to help you with whatever it was, but you're so brave and strong, so if even you were feeling bad, how could I do anything for you? That's why I tried to stand up for myself, so that maybe I could stand up for you. But I messed it up. That's why I'm sorry, Anzu." He was crying now. She hated to see him cry. She took a napkin from the desk and wiped away his tears.
"Yuugi, I want you to listen to me. Everyone at this whole school, even me, we're all idiots. You're the only one who's got his head on straight here. They're idiots because they don't understand that, and so they're jerks to you, and I'm an idiot because I let them get to me. I'm not strong, not the way you think I am. I thought that it would be easy to be your friend, but it's not, and I don't know if I can handle that. It's too hard to be around you all the time, but I can't ever walk away from you Yuugi. It hurts too much either way." They just sat there, looking at each other, and for the first time Anzu noticed that she was taller then him now. He'd always seemed smaller, and now he really was. She couldn't help laughing at that, and then she had an idea. She grabbed his hand in hers, and linked their pinkies together.
"Anzu?"
"We're going to make a pinkie swear. Repeat after me; swear forever, swear forever, never break it, no, not ever." Yuugi repeated, the words rolling awkwardly off his tongue. "Now Yuugi, you're going to promise me that you're going to get tougher and teach those jerks to leave you alone, and I'm going to promise that whenever you're in big trouble, trouble that's too big for you alone, I'll be right there, ready to help you." They bounced their hands up and down as they repeated their promises, and Anzu felt like she could see for the first time, like a cloud of darkness had enveloped her but was now gone.
That night, she had one last dream, and in that dream, she had to leave the princess for a while, she had a journey of her own to go on, but she promised that all the princess would have to do was to call for her, and there she'd be, charging in on her white stallion, ready to spirit her away from evil.