Hello! This is PandaTeddyClaws or Panda-san for short (I'm not Japanese but someone used this as my nickname and I really liked it ^^) this is a story I thought of a while back but wasn't sure where to go with it. I've got a pretty good idea of how the story should progress, so if it seems a bit too fast paced (or slow paced maybe) then I apologise in advance.
Also I should point out that this is mainly a Ryou/Anzu story but there will also be a lot of Bakura/Anzu, Malik/Anzu, Marik/Anzu and some small Yami/Anzu. Other pairings: Ishizu/Kaiba, Serenity/Duke, (hinted Yugi/Jounouchi)
Another thing is that I prefer some of the Japanese names over the dubbed versions so there'll be a mix.
To make things easier here's the cast:
Tea Gardner: Lady Anzu Mazaki
Ryou Bakura: Ryou Bakura
Yami Bakura: A. Bakura (or just Lord Bakura)
Marik Ishtar: Malik Ishtar
Yami Marik: Marik Ishtar
Isis Ishtar: Ishizu Ishtar (or Lady Kaiba)
Seto Kaiba: Lord Kaiba (or Seto to Anzu)
Serenity Wheeler (don't think I spelled that right ^^; ) : Serenity Wheeler
Joey Wheeler: Jounouchi Wheeler
Duke Devlin: Duke Devlin
Yami Yugi: Yami Mouto (or Lord Yami)
Yugi Mouto: Yugi Mouto
Anyway relationships will be explained throughout the story, so without further ado...on with the story!
19th century London.
A time of lords and ladies.
Of rouges and rakes.
Of high class balls and gaming halls
The Lady is a Tramp
Prologue
Anzu Mazaki stared out the window at the dreary sky, utter boredom painted on her face. A quiet sigh escaped the young lady's lips as she smoothed out the pure white fabric of her skirts, her gaze now fixed on her lap. Her chestnut brown hair gently fell across her cheeks, while her dazzling sapphire eyes stared emotionlessly at the most hated article of clothing. Oh yes. Anzu hated dresses. She hated the constant swishing noise they made with every slight movement, how hard it was to run or move in the multitude of skirts or how no matter what way she seemed to sit down, the material would bunch up and suddenly she was no longer sitting like a 'proper lady'.
Admittedly dresses had their benefits; they allowed her freedom when she danced, not that she could dance the way she wanted as a 'proper lady'. There was also the way the fabric hugged her slim figure so well that it had made her the object of many young (and some older) suitor's desires, not that she ever cared for such things. At least dresses weren't as bad as corsets. Oh how she loathed the constricting things. Never in her life since she had first been forced to wear one had Anzu ever wanted to be a 'proper lady'. Not if it meant giving up oxygen, no, she was pretty sure being alive was more important than looking like the corpse of a 'proper lady'.
Turning her gaze back to the grey sky that loomed overhead, the young lady wondered if once again she would be dining alone. Her father Lord William Mazaki was one of the most renowned businessmen in all of London, known to all in the business world as a stern and respectable figure. Her mother Lady Elizabeth Mazaki was the crème de la crème of high society, a woman of charm and grace who always held an air of royalty about her. To all of London they were known as the perfect match, the most noble of men happily married to the most beautiful of women.
Anzu however had her own ideas of her parents.
A father who when she was young would cherish her more than any amount of money, now a figure rarely seen at home too absorbed in his work to pay his family any attention. On the rare times she would see him, he only spoke to her about what suitors would be best to support her financially or whose reputation was highest in the society. Her mother, who taught her how to dance and would dance with her, was now no more than a high class whore who was more interested in her string of ever changing lovers than the woes of her daughter. It was almost ironic that her mother would scold her and lecture her on the ways of a 'proper lady' with the same mouth that had met the lips of just about every man in London.
A smirk found its way on to Anzu's lips as she recalled seeing one of the suitors she had rejected, sneaking out of her mother's bedroom at dawn that morning. At first she pitied her mother and told herself that it was her father's neglect that drove her into the arms of a lover. However after about the twentieth new lover she had begun to lose sympathy for the 'proper lady'.
A knock on her bedroom door brought the young lady from her brooding."You may enter" she called out in a bored voice. The door opened with a soft click, a slightly pudgy woman with dark blonde hair tied up in a bun, a long black dress and a spotless white apron walked into the room. The woman was much older than Anzu but she was at least a head shorter with wrinkles lining her soft features and warm caramel eyes.
"Evening malady. How are we feeling today?" Anzu gave the older woman a small smile and stood to talk to her "I'm feeling bored Rose but that's nothing new is it" Rose returned the smile with a kind hearted one and a light chuckle "Ai, I don't think we've had a day yet when you weren't feeling so. Not in a long time" still chuckling lightly Rose gave a small bow "Dinner is severed" Nodding Anzu followed the old maid down to the dining room. As she expected, she was once again eating alone.
In another part of London Ryou Bakura was quietly reading in his brother's office, or he was trying to anyway. It was rather difficult to concentrate over the cries of pain and pleas of the man lying in the middle of the office as Ryou's older brother Bakura and his companions Malik and Marik kicked and stomped on the huddled form without mercy.
The man was a gambler who dared to try and cheat in a game of poker, a foolish thing to attempt in Bakura's gaming hall 'Dark Sanctuary'.
Ryou cringed as he heard the beaten man let out a weak whimper; Bakura smirked and held his hand out to indicate for Malik and Marik to stop. Marik delivered one finale kick to the man's ribs before he and Malik stepped back.
Bakura kneeled down and grasped the back of the man's head, a sadistic smile spread across his face "Now, since this is your first time caught cheating in my hall, I'm going to let you off with this little beating as punishment" pulling the man's head up he forced him to look into his dark crimson eyes "But if you ever show your ugly little head around here again, then I won't hesitate to remove it from your shoulders. Understand?"
The man weakly but quickly nodded his head, a look of pure terror etched across his face. Bakura smirked, how he loved to see that look on his victim's faces "Good. Now get out"
With what little strength he had the cheating gambler quickly trudged out of Bakura's office, never to be seen in Dark Sanctuary again.
Malik gently shut the door after the man had left, a content smile on his lips "Well" his voice sounded highly amused "That was fun."
"Very" Marik agreed with his own satisfied smirk as he shot an amused look to Bakura "Thanks for sharing"
"Think nothing of it my friend" Bakura sank down into his chair behind his desk "After all I've enjoyed my fair share of fun at The Tomb" he replied with a dark chuckle. The Tomb is the second gaming hall in London run by Marik with the help of Malik. In order for both halls to run smoothly an agreement was met between the two where Dark Sanctuary and The Tomb would be open on different days. This allowed gamblers to lose and gain money between the two halls and gave the owners a chance to meet up and discuss business.
"A shame you didn't join us Ryou" Malik remarked. Hearing his name Ryou looked up from his book and gave a gentle smile "I'm afraid I don't enjoy such things"
Marik laughed "It truly is a mystery that you two are brothers"
"How so?" Ryou asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well there's Bakura; a vile, cruel rake who enjoys beating a man to a bloody pulp and seducing innocents into his bed"
"And damn proud of it too" Bakura added with a dark smirk
"And then there's you Ryou; an innocent quiet gentlemen who would rather read than pursue a lady or enjoy life's little pleasures"
Ryou simply gave a small smile" I take reading as one of life's pleasures Marik"
Malik let out a weary sigh "Truly it is a mystery"
"As though you two can talk" Bakura retorted "I've never seen identical twins look so bloody different" The two tanned men shrugged
"We get that a lot" they answered in sync, smiling the same cool smirk. Ryou rolled his eyes and returned to his book. This sort of thing was common for them and he was more then used to being different from his brother and his friends, he was happy to be too. It wasn't that he didn't have any interest in the 'fun' they would have, in fact sometimes he was tempted to join them but it was just easier this way. Women often approached them for their looks and of course they took full advantage of this but always losing interest after bedding them and more often than not breaking a number of hearts.
Ryou didn't like the idea of hurting anyone, physically or emotionally. He was always somewhat awkward around women, ever the gentlemen but careful not to suggest he wanted anything more than friendship. It was this awkwardness that led to many rumours about him preferring the company of men, which in turn led to endless amounts of teasing and insinuations, most of which came from his current company. Clearing the thoughts from his head Ryou released a silent sigh and returned his attention back to his book as the others spoke of their usual topics: money, drink and women.
. Good?, bad? Want to read more? Please review and let me know