Chapter 2- A Lesson in Life

The sun was shining brightly through the open windows; the sound of birds chirping could be heard. Anzu rolled her head to the side, eyes still tightly shut, and tried to reach for her alarm clock. She groaned slightly when she couldn't find it. Squinting her eyes, to keep the sun away, she looked towards her night table.

'Where's my alarm clock?'

She then shot up from the bed, rather too quickly, giving her an extreme migraine.

'Feels like I have a hangover' she thought.

Finally her eyes were able to get adjusted to the light and she looked around the room. The room was fairly large, and the walls were painted blue. She had her own bathroom and a walk in closet. At the side was a desk, a television, a couch and a night table beside her bed.

'Shit' she thought.

"This is defiantly not my apartment."

Anzu walked over to the windows and peered outside. Her head was still mushy from the fever and she felt unnaturally weak.

"This is defiantly not New York!" She exclaimed, starting to panic.

Her head was buzzing even more so than ever and just before she thought she was going to hyperventilate, the door to her room slammed open and a blur of black tackled her to the floor.

"Anzu, you're awake!" it exclaimed.

She held her head in her hands for a moment before looking up to see who the voice belonged to. Her eyes widened at the sight. There was a little boy on the floor with her hugging her waist with a big smile on his face.

"Mokuba?" she asked unsurely.

He nodded and hugged her again. After helping her back onto the bed.

"But…where is this place? What am I doing here?" Mokuba looked at her funny, and was about to say something but was interrupted.

"You're in my home, and you've been passed out for three days." Seto said while leaning against the door.

"Kaiba?!" She exclaimed incredulously, her eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"What's wrong with you Mazaki, don't you remember anything?" Seto asked with frustration in his voice, he came into the room and took a seat in one of the chairs by the reading table, staring at her.

Maybe it was her head pounding, or the initial shock of seeing the two Kaiba brothers's the first thing when she woke up, but she was getting scared, and very confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I don't get it."

Seto sighed and pulled the chair closer, rubbing the bridge of his nose. A clear sign that he was stressed and that he didn't have the time and patience to deal with this.

"Do you not remember what happened?" he questioned.

Anzu was thinking hard, only ending up making her head feel like it's going to rip apart.

"Seto, did she loose her memory?" Mokuba asked. "That was a pretty high fever she had".

"No, she just needs a reminder" he said.

"Mazaki, what's the last thing you remember?" He asked, staring at her. It was unnerving. Anzu racked her brain, trying to figure out what is going on, and what was the last thing on her mind.

"I had an audition at Julliard" she replied, starting to remember.

"And then?" Seto probed.

It was slowly coming back to her. And Seto knew right away what's been going on. She's been unconsciously suppressing her memory, in fear that once she does remember, her fragile heart cannot handle it, and she will break.

Not wanting to be the one to remind her, he didn't feel he had a choice in the matter. She was here, in his care, and he felt it was his duty to at least let her know everything. Anzu was no longer smiling; she was looking down at her hands, thinking about what a failure she was.

"Did something happen at Julliard?" Seto asked.

She looked up at him, wondering if he knew anything. "I failed the audition, so now I'm back here." She replied solemnly.

Seto was surprised, but he didn't show it. He always thought she was an amazing dancer; she was graceful and had moves that were obvious she was no amateur. He always knew that her dream was to study in Julliard. Everyone knew. She never did stop talking about it ever since high school.

Kaiba didn't know what to say to her. Never had he ever had to talk to a female about her personal problems. It was foreign to him. He didn't like it. Not one bit. Who would have thought that Seto Kaiba would ever have to comfort his rival's little cheerleader? It was unheard of. But he knew he couldn't think of that right now, he had to get back to the matter at hand. He patted her knees twice and told her that she can always try again next year.

"No, I've given up on dancing; I'll never be good enough for them."

Kaiba was flabbergasted to say the least; even Mokuba had a look of shock on his face. This wasn't the Anzu Mazaki that he knew. The Anzu he knew never spoke like that. She was optimistic and always had a "try again" attitude. The Anzu he knew was annoying, she would never give up, and she would never put herself down. What happened? Did dancing really mean this much to her? I mean, it's just people moving around isn't it? These thoughts were going through Kaiba's head. He didn't understand her, and he didn't want to understand it. Girls were always a problem. Not wanting to discuss this right now, he decided to ask more questions. It was time for her to remember what happened to her parents. But it seemed as though he was saved from that dreadful situation when her cell phone on the night table started to beep, out of low battery.

Anzu reached over to pick it up, and looked through it for any missed calls or voice mails. She found a few and began to listen to the first one, which was from Yugi, not before getting a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

'Anzu, are you okay? It's Yugi! I just saw on the news…I'm so sorry…where are you Anzu? Me and the rest of the gang are so worried about you. Give us a call okay?'

She stared at the phone for a long while, thinking what it could have meant. And then reality hit her. Hard.

Seto heard the message as well, her cell phone accidentally having put on speaker phone and all. He knew exactly what Yugi was talking about, and was relieved that he didn't have to be the bearer of bad news.

He watched her as she began to crack. Knowing that she finally remembers. Her shoulder was slumped and she started shaking uncontrollably. Silent tears made its way down her cheeks and she sobbed into the pillow that she was clutching to her chest for dear life. It was almost heart breaking to watch.

"Anzu! Don't cry" Mokuba ran to Anzu and hugged her, trying to muster as much comfort as he possibly can.

"I found you at the park yesterday. It was raining, and you had a high fever, so I took you back here to rest up." Seto said

But Anzu continued to lie on the bed, crying into the pillow. She was broken. Seto knew that well, but he wasn't sure what he can do about it. It's not like he can bring them back to life, it defies the law of nature. He reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"Yes, let it all out" He said. "You will feel better after. Mokuba and I will be downstairs if you need anything

"Again, Mazaki…I'm sorry for your loss, you really don't deserve it." With that, Seto left the room with Mokuba, closing the door behind them and walking down the corridor, the faint sounds of cries can still be heard from that room.

It was dinner time in the Kaiba mansion, and both the Kaiba brother's were sitting across each other eating their meals. Anzu was no where to be seen. Understanding that she wasn't ready to come down yet and probably wasn't hungry, he let it slide.

The next two days were the same. Anzu would stay in that room, in a fetal position on the bed, with the blinds closed and lights turned off. She would stay like that for the entire day, not moving, and not talking to anyone. Mokuba was getting depressed and Seto was getting a little worried. She didn't eat anything at all; she just pushed away all the food that the maids have left for her. Her friends had even dropped by twice, wanting to see her. Kaiba had called Yugi, telling him where she was so he wouldn't worry so much. Joey, being protective as he was, thought Kaiba had kidnapped her and him and the gang forced their way over, but she still didn't want to see anyone, so both times they were forced to go home, feeling dejected. Finally, Seto couldn't take it anymore.

Seto stomped into her room without knocking and found her sitting on the bed against the back rest hugging her knees. He walked over to the windows and pulled the curtains wide open, illuminating the room in light and blinding her in the process. He slammed the tray of food in his arms down on the table hard and ordered her to eat. She didn't make a sound, which frustrated him greatly. He walked over to her and dragged her up by the arm and forced her to sit at the desk. He shoved a fork into her hands and once again demanded her to eat.

"I'm not hungry" she said weakly.

Seto clenched his fist so hard that his nails almost cut his skin open. Boy, did he ever want to punch something right about now. Too bad Joey wasn't around.

"What the hell is wrong with you Mazaki?" He roared. "You haven't eaten anything for three fucking days, do you want to die?"

"Would it really be that bad?" she questioned, looking up at him for once.

His breath caught in his throat, and for the first time in three days, he got a better look at her. Her eyes were tired and empty- they had no life in them, and they had huge bags under it. She was pale, almost sickly and her hair was disordered. He then noticed how skinny she's gotten. He knew she was skinny before, but this was almost sickenly skinny.

"Eat now, don't make me use force." He said, in a very threatening tone.

"You can't make me eat if I don't want to, I told you I'm not hungry!" she yelled back.

Seto thought his veins were going to pop out of his head, she was being so stubborn. He clenched his teeth and gave her an "I warned you" look. He went over to the tray, and scooped up some food, not before putting her in a headlock with one hand and forcing it in her mouth. He then proceeded to cover her mouth with his hand until she swallowed. When he was sure she did, he let go.

"What's your problem Kaiba, how dare you!" She screamed at him, eyes flaring.

"At least I got a reaction out of her" he thought, pleased with himself.

"So are you going to eat yourself, or do I have to do that all night until you finish your plate?" He asked, still with an angry face.

Mokuba then came running into the room, standing in front of Anzu.

"Big brother, stop being so mean to Anzu!" Mokuba said, with his cute little pout.

"Out of the way Mokuba, I'm teaching her a life lesson."

"Why can't you just leave me alone Kaiba, you don't even know what I'm going through!" She said, crossing her arms.

Seto flared.

"Don't be an idiot Mazaki, do you know how stupid you are being right now?"

"SETO!" Mokuba exclaimed. But he continued anyways.

"You didn't get accepted into Julliard, fine. Try again next year! Your parents are dead, I'm not saying you can't grieve, but please, GET OVER IT! You stay in bed for days, not talking to anyone, not doing anything except crying all day. What good is that going to do? Nothing! Move on with your life Mazaki, what would your parents say if they saw you like this right now? Do you think they want you to be this way?"

Anzu was silent, so he took it as a sign that she was listening, so he continued.

"You think you lost everything? You have no idea how much you have going for you!"

Anzu glared at him. "What do you know Seto Kaiba, you have a home, you have your own company, you are never going to be alone, you have Mokuba. I don't have anyone!"

"What about your friends? Did you forget about them, the people that are seemingly so worried about you that you ignored? You always got them don't you? You are never alone!" He retorted. "And aren't you the one that's always ranting about how wonderful your friends are?"

Now she was silent again. It would seem as though his words seem to have affected her. She knew he was right; she just didn't want to accept it.

"What am I doing here anyways Kaiba; you have no right to say any of these things to me." She said.

"Than leave. I'm not begging you to stay here." He replied, also crossing his arms.

She stared at him for a while, before finally saying "fine". She ran out of the door and surprisingly found her way out of the mansion.

Seto sighed and sat down on the bed, massaging the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be doing that lately.

Mokuba stood there looking at him with a very scary face.

"Big brother, why did you do that for?" he huffed.

Seto sighed again. 'Was I really that wrong?'

Anzu ran and ran, not knowing where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away and that she didn't want to see anyone, and especially not Seto Kaiba. Without realizing it, she had run all the way back to her own house. She stared at it for a while and walked to the back of the house. Taking a deep breath, she broke the back window with the hose and climbed inside.

It was just how she remembered it.

She walked around the house, occasionally stopping to look at something. She wondered to herself why she even left in the first place, this was her nice comfy home. It has been so long since she's been here, but she could remember it as if it were yesterday. Her dad would sit at the couch watching the television and reading the newspaper, and her mother would be in the kitchen cooking and humming to herself. That will never happen again. This house used to be warm, now cold air covers it.

Anzu stopped at the fireplace and picked up a photograph sitting on the ledge. A tear rolled off her cheeks. It was a picture of when she was at the beach with her parents; she was in between them with her arms wrapped around both their shoulders, all smiling widely at the camera. She smiled as another tear dropped to the floor.

"I miss you, Mom, Dad…" She whispered.

She proceeded to walk up to her room. She slowly opened the doors and smiled. They left it just how she had left it. She went over to her bed and hugged her favorite stuffed animal to her chest. It was a white cat with fairy wings. She named it Angel.

Seto was pacing around his room, making his maids outside very nervous. Whenever he did this, it meant he was in a bad mood, and that they should stay away from him if they wanted to keep their job. He couldn't understand why this was bothering him so much.

"Is this guilt?" he asked himself.

"All I said is the truth." He said.

Mokuba popped his head in. "Big brother, maybe Anzu couldn't handle the truth yet."

He pondered about that for a while. Mokuba may be small, and childish, but he was smart for his age. Kaiba genes. He could have easily skipped three grades, but he didn't. Saying that he didn't want to be a "super dorkus".

"Go get her back Seto; you know that's the right thing to do." Mokuba said.

He hated when Mokuba was right. He recently called the police station when Anzu was passed out from the fever, and was talking to Sergeant Kazuki. He informed him that she did not have any other living relatives, except for one that lives in Europe. However, he was known to be an alcoholic. Other than that, she basically has no one. Kazuki had also told him that it would be best if she found someone to live with since she will not be able to live in her own house until she has enough money to support it and herself.

He considered who she can stay with. Yugi lived with his grandpa in the game shop; it wouldn't be convenient to live with them. Joey was always traveling so that is a no. Ryou moves back and forth to England so that wouldn't work. Lastly, he thinks Tristan and Duke is psycho so he didn't think it would be appropriate for Anzu to live with any of them.

'Is it really up to me?'

He actually didn't have a problem with her living in his mansion, seeing as he was the one who found her; it would only be the responsible thing to do. But the question is, would she object to it? He didn't even know why he wants to help her. Maybe it's the guilt, but whatever it is, it was sure bugging him, and Seto Kaiba did not like to be bothered, especially not by an annoying little friendship girl. So he sought to find her.

It was getting extremely late, and he was getting a little worried. 'Where could she be?' he wondered.

He drove around in one of his many cars to look for her, as to not attract any unwanted attention, which he usually does when he's going around in his sleek black limo. He drove past the park and peered inside, she wasn't on that swing she was last time.

He stopped the car and pondered for a bit.

'She wouldn't go to her friend's place; it didn't look like she wanted to talk to anyone. So where can she be?'

Then a thought struck him, and he slapped his forehead for being so slow. 'Could she have gone home?'

He used his computer in his car to help locate her address, and once he got it, and sped there. Once he reached the house, he was almost 100 she was inside because the lights to the house were on. Unless it's a thief. But what kind of thief would leave the lights on?

He parked the car outside the driveway and went to the front of the house.

'Hmm…how did she get in without a key' he pondered.

He looked at the door and the windows and nothing seemed to be broken. Then he proceeded to go around the back to check.

"Bingo"

The window beside the back door was broken, and him having long arms, reached into the window and unlocked the door. He let himself in and looked around.

'Where can she be' he wondered.

He looked around the living room areas but he couldn't find her still. He also noticed that the house was a little cold. Not the chilly kind of cold, but the eerie sort of feeling.

He started to go up the stairs and found a room with the lights on.

He slowly walked to the door and cracked it open a little bit, and he saw her. She was sitting in the middle of her room hugging some sort of cat stuffed toy and was looking through various photo albums. He just stood there watching her for a while, he noticed that she'd been crying again, but he was surprised when he saw her crack a smile when she was looking at the pictures. That was the first smile he's seen from her ever since he found her. Although it was small, it was a big improvement from her lack of emotion from the past few days.

Finally he soundlessly stepped inside. She was so engrossed in the pictures that she didn't even hear him come in. He gently tapped her on her shoulder and she snapped her head around, frightened.

"Kaiba! How did you get in here?" She exclaimed.

"Almost the same way you got in" He replied with a smirk. "Breaking into your own house Mazaki?"

"Humph!" She said crossing her arms.

He actually thought that was kind of cute.

"What are you doing here Kaiba?" She said seriously this time, looking up at him.

Seto swallowed his pride. "I'm sorry for being so harsh to you earlier, but you really can be quite the little bitch you know that?"

Anzu smirked at that.

"Look, I know you are in some sort of rut, and since I'm the one who found you, I want to help you out. Like it or not, I'm already involved in this. Blame it on me wanting to take a walk in the rain that night."

He put his hand out to her, waiting for her to take it. "I'm offering a place for you to stay Mazaki."

She looked at him, trying to decipher if he's being serious or not.

"For how long?" she asked as she took his hand as he pulled her up.

"As long as you need."

"What's the catch?" she asked raising her brow.

Seto held both his hands up. "No catch at all." He said with a playful smile. "I'm not as cold as you make me out to be."

Anzu smiled back at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you Kaiba… for saving my life."

Kaiba Stiffed at her touch but then relaxed. It was an unfamiliar feeling to him, but somehow he didn't mind it much. All he could mutter was "Humph."

"By the way, you should smile more. It suits you much better." Seto said as he turned his back and left the room.

Anzu was shocked, having a hard time believing that Seto had just complimented her. All she could do was stand there and blush.

R&R

A/N- My gratitude to my 3 reviwers:

Princessofthecoast

Lindajrjt

Kate

Thanks for the support! 3