This chapter covers the events of the fourth chapter of the manga/second episode of the Toei anime.
Anzu was relieved to find herself waking up in her own bed. The fact that she had yet again blacked out and had no idea how she'd gotten home was concerning, but at least she hadn't found herself at Yuugi's again. Her parents were going to start asking her questions if this kept up, and she wasn't going to be able to answer them…
Anzu pushed herself out of bed and glanced at her clock. Good, she had enough time for a shower before school. She took notice of the Puzzle lying on her desk before heading to the bathroom. She tried to focus on showering, trying to push off the worrying lack of memories about the previous night, to no avail. Just what had happened? This was the third time, and the second had only been the day before…
She remembered going to the karaoke bar with Yuugi to confront Sozoji. And she remembered awful, blaring "music" forced upon them as she struggled to remove her headphones. And then Sozoji had brought out poor Hanasaki – she and Yuugi had been angry about that – and then…and then what had happened? That was where she drew a blank.
Was there something wrong with her? Some sort of medical issue? It wasn't like she'd been drinking or anything, and three times was far too many to ignore these lapses in memory. As she returned to her room, picking up the Puzzle and her school things, she wondered if maybe she should go see a doctor about it. But then, hadn't Yuugi also had the same lapses, at least the previous times? If they both had this problem, then it probably wasn't a medical issue.
The Puzzle swung against her chest as she walked down the stairs. She stopped midway as it occurred to her that the Puzzle was constant in all this. Yuugi's grandfather had said something about it having dark power. Was that it? No…no, she was being silly. She shook her head and continued down the stairs.
"Good morning, Anzu," her mother greeted as Anzu sat down at the table with her parents.
"Good morning."
"You know, you gave us quite a fright last night, calling to say you were at the hospital!" her father said.
"Oh…sorry," Anzu said, confused, but not knowing what else to say. Hospital? Why had she been at the hospital? She wasn't injured as far as she could tell. Maybe a little bruised, but that was it. Maybe there was some medical issue causing these blackouts after all.
"It's perfectly alright," he said. "I was just so relieved when you explained that you had taken a friend there – but when you started off the call with 'I'm at the hospital', it made my heart jump! I was so worried something had happened."
A friend? Yuugi? Is he…? But no, if it had been Yuugi, her parents knew him, they would have used his name. So, who…?
"You and Yuugi had fallen asleep by the time we got there, so you probably don't remember, but we dropped him off at his house before bringing you back home," Anzu's mother said.
"Thanks…sorry for the trouble," Anzu said. At least that explained how she had gotten home, but it didn't quite explain how she had ended up at the hospital.
"Not at all. You're our daughter, we'll come get you no matter the time or place, you know that."
"Thanks," Anzu said again. "Ah, at least it's Saturday," she said, changing the subject to something more cheerful. "I'll be able to help out with the restaurant this afternoon after school." Her cheerfulness faded as she saw her parents exchange a glance with each other. "What?" she asked, uncertain if she wanted to know.
"About that…" her mother started.
"Your grandmother…" her father said.
"What? What about grandmother?" Anzu asked, apprehensive. Her grandmother was the owner of the restaurant, the family business. And she and Anzu didn't really get along, her grandmother being a much more traditional woman who didn't approve of Anzu's interests.
"She..." Anzu's father said, "…well, you know how she feels about you pursuing dance. And she's decided…well, she's decided that she doesn't want any of 'her' money going to that." There was a long, awkward silence.
"Grandmother doesn't want me working in the restaurant anymore," Anzu said flatly. That was certainly a problem…waitressing there was her main source of income and savings for going to dance school in America. If she was denied that, then she was going to have to look elsewhere for money.
"Yes," her mother said.
"But you know we support you, Anzu. So I went and found some part-time job listings that you can look through…"
"But my school forbids that," Anzu said, trying to keep the note of hopelessness out of her voice. "If I got caught, I'd be in big trouble."
"Well…just be discreet about it. We want to see you succeed, Anzu, but what my mother says, goes," Anzu's father said.
"If you have to bend the school rules, that's fine with us," her mother added.
"Okay," Anzu said uncertainly. "I'll look around."
She continued eating her breakfast, then took off for school with a short goodbye to her parents. As she approached the school, she heard Yuugi greet her.
"Good morning, Anzu!"
"Good morning, Yuugi," she said with far less enthusiasm. Not that she was unhappy to see him - in fact she was relieved that he seemed to be okay - but she was still thinking over what her parents had said. Was it worth risking it to get an after-school job?
"Hanasaki's dad called me this morning to thank us for taking Hanasaki to the hospital," Yuugi said. "Only…Anzu, do you…?"
"Remember taking him to the hospital? No. I can't remember anything after Sozoji brought Hanasaki out," Anzu said. "So you don't remember anything either? This is getting concerning…"
"No…I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, though!" Yuugi said, but Anzu could sense that his cheer was false – he was just as worried as she was. "I've heard that people's brains block out traumatic experiences – guess Sozoji's music is that bad!" he joked.
You know it wasn't just Sozoji. This happened before… Anzu thought. But there was no point in saying it. If it made Yuugi feel better to pretend that nothing was wrong, then maybe it was better that way. She would try to put it out of her mind, herself. Maybe it wouldn't happen again, and there really was no need to fret over it. Besides, she had a more pressing concern.
She had to get a job. There was no other choice – giving up on her dream was not an option. She was going to earn the money, whether the school allowed it or not.
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"Finally!" Jounouchi said as the bell rang. He stretched as he stood up. "Why does school have to be so boring?"
"That's why I always bring some games to school with me – it makes it a lot less boring!" Yuugi said, smiling.
"Yeah, but then the teachers get mad at you and try to confiscate your stuff if they see it, so you really can't do anything."
"Then you make up your own games based on the things around you! It's fun, we should do it together sometime, Jounouchi!" Yuugi said.
"You can turn anything into a game, can't you?" Jounouchi asked, shaking his head. "But I doubt even you could make tomorrow's exam fun."
"Well…maybe not…" Yuugi said, his smile wavering at the thought of that exam. He needed to study…but that wasn't much fun either.
"Hey, how about we get something to eat on the way home from school today?" Jounouchi asked.
"Sure!" Yuugi agreed, his enthusiasm perking up against instantly. "I've been wanting to try the new Burger World, I've heard their burgers are amazing!"
"Heh, you really like burgers, huh? Sure, let's go there," Jounouchi said.
"Um, Yuugi?" Anzu said hesitantly, "A…about Burger World…" Yuugi turned to her.
"Do you want to come too?" he asked eagerly, hoping she would say yes. She hadn't been hanging out with him much lately. He hoped it wasn't because of Jounouchi – she had seemed to be getting along with him so much better, but…it was undeniable that Anzu had been taking off right after school, not walking home with Yuugi and Jounouchi much at all the past couple weeks.
"NO! That place is terrible! Everyone who's gone there has gotten terribly sick! You absolutely can't go there!" Anzu said in a rush. Yuugi frowned. He'd heard that the place was really good! But Anzu wouldn't lie to him…even if she had been acting a little strangely.
"Well, if that's the case, I guess we'll go somewhere else," Yuugi said, a little disappointed.
"I'm sorry, I've got to head right home," Anzu said, sincere apology in her voice. "I'm going to take off now, you should take this." Anzu pulled the Puzzle off and handed it to Yuugi. He took it and put it over his own head. It was routine by this point. Anzu turned and left, waving goodbye as she did so. "See you later!"
"Don't you think she's been acting strangely?" Jounouchi asked after she had gone. Yuugi nodded. So Jounouchi had noticed too – at least it wasn't just him. "Heh. I bet I know what it is," Jounouchi said, suddenly grinning.
"What?" Yuugi asked. He had no idea why Anzu was acting so strangely, so it was a surprise to him that Jounouchi, who had not known Anzu nearly as long, would know. Unless…had they really had some sort of argument when Yuugi wasn't around?
"I bet she's dating rich old men for money! I hear some girls in other classes do that to get spending money."
"WHAT?!" Yuugi shouted, angered by Jounouchi's accusation. No way…no way would Anzu do something like that! "Anzu isn't that kind of girl!" Besides, Anzu had her family's restaurant. She didn't need to do something like that to get money.
"Ha, your face is so red!" Jounouchi laughed. "Don't tell me that you two are…?"
"It's nothing like that!"
"Heh, if you say so. Hey, if we hurry we can follow her. That'll settle the matter."
"I don't think we should do that…" Yuugi started, but Jounouchi grabbed him by the arm.
"Come on!" Jounouchi said, pulling Yuugi out of the classroom much too quickly for his liking. Unable to protest, Yuugi resigned himself to the situation. Hopefully Jounouchi would calm down once he realized that Anzu was probably doing something completely ordinary.
Still…she had been acting so strangely lately. Taking off far too quickly after school with hardly a goodbye. But if it wasn't a disagreement with Jounouchi, and if it wasn't…what Jounouchi thought it was (and Yuugi was quite certain that it wasn't), then what was it?
Could it be… Yuugi wondered, that she's scared of more blackouts happening? She had been very concerned about it the last time it had happened, and come to think of it, that had been about when she had started acting like this. Yes, that was probably it. Each time they had blacked out, it had been when they were together after school. She was probably trying to avoid it happening again. The thought saddened Yuugi – did this mean Anzu was never going to hang out with him again? A lump rose in his throat. If only he knew what had caused those moments...he wasn't terribly concerned about them, if they didn't happen too often – and so far they hadn't, only three times in about three weeks – then it wasn't something he was going to let himself be worried about. But if it kept him and Anzu apart, he needed to do something about it.
Yuugi had only an instant to see Anzu start to glance back towards him and Jounouchi, before he felt himself aggressively pulled by the ear into the edge of an alleyway.
"That was close!" Jounouchi said, finally releasing Yuugi. "But I will not give up! I will uncover the truth, and expose the questionable activities of a teenage girl!"
"Jounouchi! This isn't a porn movie!" Yuugi admonished, before Jounouchi dashed out into the road again.
"Quick, before we lose her!"
Yuugi sighed, and followed Jounouchi. He really didn't want to be doing this. Especially if it really was because of the blackouts that Anzu was avoiding hanging out with them after school. It would be embarrassing to tell Jounouchi about it…and he would probably start worrying about Yuugi more, and that was the last thing he wanted.
"Shit. Where'd she go?" Jounouchi asked, looking around frantically. There was no sign of Anzu.
"Jounouchi…let's just drop it, okay? Anzu's not 'dating for pay' or anything like that," Yuugi said. Jounouchi looked gloomy, disappointed over his plan failing. "Hey, since we're in town anyway…let's go visit Hanasaki in the hospital!"
"Hanasaki? That kid with the glasses who's about as short as you?"
"Yeah," Yuugi said, trying not to get annoyed at the comment about his height. "Sozoji beat him up a couple of weeks ago, I told you, remember? And then he got an infection while he was being treated for that, so he's had to stay in the hospital for a while…he's almost recovered now. I'm sure he would be happy if we went to go visit him!"
"Yeah, alright…we'll just have to resume 'Operation: Trail Anzu' tomorrow!"
Yuugi suppressed a groan.
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Jounouchi was not fond of hospitals. For one thing, with the amount of people that died in those places, there was no way that they weren't haunted. But mostly, he remembered a good portion of his childhood being dragged along from hospital to hospital, from specialist to specialist, each one an expensive visit, that in the end, all said the same thing.
"Sorry, we can't help her."
Those had always been the nights with the most fighting. And drinking.
But Yuugi didn't need to know any of that. Not even Honda knew about it, for the most part. And if Yuugi wanted to go visit an injured classmate, then so be it. Jounouchi was not going to bring up any complaint – even though he knew that Yuugi wouldn't make him explain his reasons. He just hoped Yuugi wouldn't notice that he was on edge.
Yuugi, for his part, seemed to be perfectly at ease. He greeted the receptionist with a smile, and told her who they were going to visit. She waved them on, and Jounouchi had a feeling that Yuugi had already been to visit Hanasaki several times in the past couple of weeks.
He didn't quite get it – doing so much for someone you barely knew. But Jounouchi supposed that Yuugi was different than most people. Considering how their friendship had started out…it probably didn't take more than a short conversation with someone before Yuugi considered them a friend. And once Yuugi considered someone a friend, he was going to treat them with all the devotion and kindness he had in him – which, Jounouchi thought, was probably about a thousand times as much as any other person, or maybe even more.
Seriously, the guy didn't have a mean bone in his tiny body. He was so sincere, and genuinely nice. Jounouchi found it hard to believe that only a few weeks earlier he had found it annoying and even pathetic. And now, it was hard to not be almost in awe of it every time Yuugi displayed his unwavering kindness. Guess that's what happens when someone takes an undeserved beating for you.
Now if only Jounouchi could get Honda to come around. Honda had not been awed by Yuugi's actions…in fact, he seemed to be under the impression that Yuugi had some sort of ulterior motive, and that Jounouchi had been "taken in" by it. No matter how many times Jounouchi had tried to dissuade him of that absurd suspicion, it was to no avail. Honda just did not trust Yuugi, and refused to hang out with Jounouchi when Yuugi and Anzu were around.
"Hi, Hanasaki!" Yuugi said cheerfully as they entered the room. Hanasaki looked up in surprise from where he sat on the bed.
"Yuugi! I didn't know you were coming by today!"
"Jounouchi and I were in town, so I thought we'd drop by," Yuugi answered, smiling widely. "Have you met Jounouchi, Hanasaki?"
"Not really…I mean, I know he's in our class, but we've never really talked before. Hello, Jounouchi," Hanasaki managed, before falling into a short coughing fit.
"You're not contagious, are you?" Jounouchi asked warily.
"No…in fact, the doctors said I'll be able to go home soon. I'm just…a little frail," Hanasaki said, with a little reluctance.
As Yuugi launched himself into conversation with Hanasaki, Jounouchi found his attention wander, trying to keep it away from the unpleasantness of being in a hospital. It was soon caught by the television on the wall, playing the news channel.
"…Police advise the public to stay inside, lock their doors, and do not open them for anyone you do not know. If spotted, call the police immediately and get to safety. Do NOT attempt to confront or engage. He is highly dangerous, known to be carrying a weapon, and was convicted seven years ago for the murder of…"
"Escaped convict?" Jounouchi muttered as he watched the broadcast. Well...that didn't happen every day, but it wasn't all that surprising either. Domino City was absolutely infested with crime – everything from the mundane to the bizarre to the horrifying – and the powers that be were next to useless at keeping it in check. Worse than useless, more often than not.
"Jounouchi, is everything alright?"
"Huh?" Jounouchi turned, startled. "Oh, yeah, of course! Nothing's wrong!" He grinned sheepishly.
"Ah, alright. You've just been very quiet, that's all…"
"I guess I just don't have much to talk about with you two…"
"Well I'm sure there's something we can all talk about," Yuugi said cheerfully. He looked back and forth between Hanasaki and Jounouchi.
"No, it's fine. You guys talk about what you want," Jounouchi said.
"No, I don't want to leave you out…" Yuugi was interrupted as his stomach growled loudly.
"Oh yeah! We were going to get food!" Jounouchi said, suddenly reminded of how hungry he was as well.
"Don't let me keep you," Hanasaki said. "You should go get your food."
"Sorry for the short visit," Yuugi apologized to Hanasaki, standing up. Hanasaki waved it off.
"Don't worry about it, Yuugi. You've been to visit plenty of times, already."
"Yeah…see you around, Hanasaki," Jounouchi said as he and Yuugi headed out of the room.
"Bye! See you in school again soon," Hanasaki waved.
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"Sorry," Yuugi said. He had been visiting Hanasaki regularly, so it was perfectly normal for him – he hadn't thought about how awkward it might be for Jounouchi, who didn't know Hanasaki much at all. But during the visit he had certainly noticed that Jounouchi was ill at ease. "I didn't mean for you to be so uncomfortable…I guess you two didn't really know each other enough."
"What? No, it's fine," Jounouchi said, back to normal since they had left the hospital. "So, where we gonna get food? Burger World's nearby."
"Well…I'd like to try it, but Anzu said…"
"Ah, she just makes a bunch of noise," Jounouchi said dismissively. "I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the place." He stopped and looked suspiciously at Yuugi. "You know, she's quite the mother hen over you, isn't she?"
"I suppose," Yuugi said, trying to ignore the implications behind Jounouchi's words and trying to keep the heat from rising in his cheeks. He didn't know how Jounouchi had gotten the idea into his head that Yuugi and Anzu were…well, that they were a couple or something – but it was hard to dispel that notion when he kept blushing at the thought! "People just worry about me more than they should, I guess."
"If you say so," Jounouchi said, unconvinced. "Come on, there's Burger World." They approached the building together, the automatic door opening as they closed in, and to Yuugi's immense surprise, revealing…
"A…Anzu?"
Her mouth half open to launch into some rehearsed peppy greeting, she froze, her expression quickly changing to shock, then mortification. She snapped into a stiff, alert position.
"What are you guys doing here?" she hissed, glaring with the intensity of the midday sun.
"Uh…getting food?" Jounouchi said, seemingly unaffected by Anzu's anger, while Yuugi shrank back, frantically racking his brain for a way to placate her.
"I thought I told you guys not to come here!" she continued to hiss at them. "…Never mind, you're already here, I suppose I've got to seat you. Come on, then!" she snapped.
They followed her in silence, Yuugi looking worriedly back and forth between his friends. Anzu had a tight forced smile, a twitch at the side of her eye. Jounouchi, meanwhile, was grinning and looked quite satisfied with himself. It only made Yuugi more nervous – Anzu was already mad, and Jounouchi had a habit of pissing her off at inopportune moments…he didn't even seem remotely fazed by her anger, and if he didn't know when to stop…Yuugi really didn't want his friends fighting again, especially not out in public.
"Here are your seats~" Anzu said with a strained cheer, then quickly turned and started walking away before they'd even sat down.
"Hey, don't you have to take our order or something?" Jounouchi asked, throwing himself down onto the booth seat. "We want a couple of burgers!"
Anzu gave the barest acknowledgement, and kept walking. Jounouchi leaned back, grinning wider.
"Jounouchi…can't you see that we made her mad?" Yuugi asked quietly, taking his own seat. How could Jounouchi not realize that trying to bicker with her now was a very, very bad idea? "We really shouldn't have come here…"
"Heh, what are you so gloomy about? We found out what she's up to after all – a bit more boring than what I thought, but still…I know her secret now!"
Yuugi repressed a sigh. Jounouchi wasn't going to let this go…hopefully this didn't end badly. Yuugi would just have to apologize to Anzu later, and make sure Jounouchi didn't say anything about this to anyone else.
"I'm surprised she didn't tell you about this, at least. You've been friends forever, haven't you?" Jounouchi asked. "Of course, she could get in a lot of trouble if the school found out about this, so maybe that's why she didn't."
"Yeah," Yuugi said. It was odd. He had long known that Anzu was saving up her money, though she'd never said what. He'd never pressed her on it either, there was no need. But he knew that she worked for her family so that the school wouldn't find out (much as Yuugi did too, working for his grandfather when he had the time) – he couldn't figure out why she would take this risk when she didn't have to.
Yuugi was startled as a tray was slammed onto the table. Anzu had returned with their food, upon which a threatening message was written in ketchup. At a loss for words, Yuugi just shrank back again.
"Anzu, what the hell?" Jounouchi said, finally becoming concerned about her behavior. He glanced at the message, and back up to her. "We're not going to tell on you, honest. Can't blame you for wanting to earn a bit of money, right?"
Anzu looked at him warily, but appeared to calm down significantly. Yuugi gathered his voice again.
"Yeah…we wouldn't tell on you, Anzu."
"I wasn't really worried about that from you, only blabbermouth over here," she said, but there was much less venom behind her words now.
"Hey, now, would I do that?"
"Yes."
"Please don't fight. Hey, Anzu…what happened with the family restaurant? Why are you working here?" Yuugi asked.
"Long story," Anzu said. "But I can't work there anymore, and…well, I still need the money, because…" she paused. "Promise not to laugh?"
"Uh, sure?" Jounouchi said, confused. Yuugi nodded.
"I'm saving up to go to New York after I graduate. It's…It's my dream to become a dancer, and there's no better place to study it." She looked slightly embarrassed, and partly defiant, as though she expected them to start laughing at any moment.
"That's…that's really cool! I never knew that's what you were aiming for!" Yuugi said. Anzu smiled sheepishly. In the back of his mind, the thought occurred to Yuugi that this meant that Anzu would eventually leave him behind…maybe that's why she had never told him. He shook away the thought – it didn't matter, that was a long way off, and besides, Yuugi had more friends now…
"Yeah, why would we laugh at that? Gotta follow your dreams and all," Jounouchi said. "But I can't eat these burgers! They're little more than ketchup!"
"Sorry," Anzu said, looking guilty, but relieved at the same time. "I'll replace them, don't worry." She took up the tray and disappeared.
Yuugi stared after her, thinking about how cute she looked in that waitress uniform. She looked good in her dance outfits too, thinking on it. He had known forever that Anzu had loved dance, and he'd often gone to her practices when they were little, but he'd never realized it was something she meant to pursue professionally. She was so driven, he thought admiringly, so ambitious and hardworking…she would certainly achieve whatever she put her mind to…
"New York, huh? That's pretty neat…" Jounouchi said, snapping Yuugi back to reality.
"Yeah…"
"But you really didn't know about it? Seems like you'd be the first person she'd tell," Jounouchi said. Yuugi shrugged. He had his suspicions why Anzu never told him, but that didn't matter.
"She's always liked to dance. Did lessons when we were younger – tried to get me in on them but," he laughed, recalling his futile attempt, "I didn't really do well with it at all. I didn't know about New York and all that…but I guess there's always more to learn about your friends, right?"
"I suppose so, but – "
Screams rang out across the restaurant, cutting their conversation short. Both Yuugi and Jounouchi jumped to their feet, looking for the source of the commotion. Yuugi's blood ran cold as he saw Anzu muffled and held at gun point. She was struggling against her captor.
Yuugi heard Jounouchi swear under his breath.
"Do as I say, or the girl dies!" the man shouted. No one in the restaurant dared to move, and he put a blindfold over Anzu, dragging her over to a booth. He looked up and around at the terrified crowd. "You, shrimp, bring me some booze and cigarettes," he said, gesturing towards Yuugi with the gun.
Yuugi was terrified, but if he didn't do what the man said, Anzu could get hurt. Carefully, he began walking to the back of the restaurant.
"Yuugi, don't…the guy's a death row convict!" Jounouchi said quietly, moving to stop him.
"No one else move!" shouted the gunman, waving the weapon around threateningly. "In fact, all of you get on the floor – try anything, and I shoot the girl first, then you."
Yuugi slipped into the kitchens as everyone else moved to do as the gunman demanded. He searched quickly, hoping that Anzu would be alright. He touched the Puzzle that was hanging from his neck lightly, wishing that Anzu hadn't handed it off to him, thinking that it somehow might have protected her. He knew it couldn't do anything, really, but the superstitious thought wouldn't leave him alone. Yuugi tried to steady his hands as he placed the vodka, cigarettes, and a lighter on a tray. Gripping the tray tightly, he carefully made his way back out to where the man was sitting.
He was silently relieved to see that Anzu was still okay, but as he approached, Anzu suddenly stood up.
"No, Yuugi, stay away!"
The gunman slapped her and forced her back into her seat. The last thing Yuugi was aware of was an intense sensation of rage as he called out Anzu's name.
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He was furious.
How dare this man hurt part of him! How dare he lay a hand on Anzu! Though he could not feel the blow, he still felt every bit as angry as if he had. And perhaps more – the anger of one part at seeing the other hurt amplified his desire for revenge. And he would make sure to answer to that.
He found with some relief that he didn't have to be in control of both bodies at the same time. He had feared that he would be helpless as long as the parts were separated, as it was impossible to get Anzu safely in contact with the Puzzle in this situation. But he was able to take over just one, after all – he wondered why he had not tried it before. It was easier to move a single body, and more reliable – as it was rare that both parts had contact with the Puzzle at the same time.
The only disadvantage was that the Puzzle's power was split between them – he could not make full use of it when controlling only one body. But, he decided, he didn't need to use the Puzzle to punish this man – he had everything he needed on that tray.
He slid himself into the seat across from the gunman, who did not react well.
"Did I say you could sit down, brat? Just leave the items and piss off!"
"I thought you might like to play a game with me."
"A game? What sort of game?" The gunman asked, putting a cigarette in his mouth. "I'm a lucky guy, I bet I can win your game."
They never could resist, could they? He didn't even have to goad this one.
"A simple game. We each pick one finger, and once the game starts, we can only move that finger. We can do anything we like besides."
"Interesting," the gunman said, pouring the vodka into his glass. "I'll pick my trigger finger, and blow your brains out."
"I will choose this thumb." Unperturbed by the threat, he held up the thumb in question. "Game start."
The gunman started to press on the trigger, but stopped as he saw the lit lighter held out to him. "Fine, I'll let you light my cig before I kill you…what?" The cigarette lit, the lighter landed on top of his hand that held the gun.
"Fire that gun and that lighter will land in the vodka, and you'll go up in flames," he warned, then smirked. The game was over and won now. He stood up and grabbed Anzu's hand, pulling her away from the table as the cigarette fell from the gunman's mouth into the liquid. They got away just as the table went up in flames.
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Anzu pulled off her blindfold uncertainly, expecting to see the person who had saved her. Instead, she just saw Yuugi's concerned face.
"Anzu, are you alright? Are you hurt?" he asked, clearly worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine…but…who saved me? Did you see?" she asked. The voice had been so familiar – it was almost like Yuugi's, but Yuugi didn't talk like her rescuer had. He certainly wouldn't play such a dangerous game. It couldn't have been Yuugi, right?
"No, I…I didn't. I'm glad you're okay, Anzu!" he said. He seemed as though he wanted to say something else, but remained silent.
Anzu was disappointed. She really wanted to know who had saved her, to thank him, see what he looked like. But if Yuugi hadn't seen him, then no one else – living, anyway, since the convict was now nothing but a burning corpse – could have. She looked around, and saw no sign of anyone who could have saved her.
"Hey, you're alive!" Jounouchi said cheerfully, coming up to them. "Can't believe the idiot lit himself on fire."
"Jounouchi! You're okay too!"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Jounouchi said, confused.
"Well, I didn't know what happened while I was in the back there…"
"Anzu, you doing alright?" Jounouchi asked suddenly. Anzu blinked, torn away from her thoughts.
"I'm surprised you're concerned for me," she said lightly.
"Well, you did get taken hostage and all. And you were staring into space just now," he said, trying to play it off. But Anzu knew better – he had been worried, too, and not just about Yuugi.
"Do you think we'll still get our food?" Yuugi piped up. "I never got my burger!"
"Me neither!"
"Geez…a guy gets killed and all you two can think of is food…"
"Miss, may we speak with you a moment?" Anzu turned to see policemen, arrived at last. "We've been informed the suspect took you hostage. We'd like you to tell us what you can about the situation."
"Ah, sure…" Anzu said, uncertainly. "But I don't know how much I can tell you, he blindfolded me…"
"That's alright, miss. Anything helps."
"Well…" Anzu relayed her account of what had happened, the police, Jounouchi, and Yuugi listening quietly.
"No way…so somebody else made the guy light himself on fire?" Jounouchi interrupted. "But where'd he go? He couldn't have gotten in and out of here so fast."
"I don't know…" He had led her away from the table, hadn't he? Jounouchi was right, there was no way he could have disappeared between when he had let go of her hand and when she had removed the blindfold…
"Search the area," one officer told the others. "Without a visual, we're at a disadvantage, so investigate any suspicious persons. If they attempt to flee, take them into custody."
"Even though he saved me, you're still going to arrest him?" Anzu said, alarmed. Though she didn't know her rescuer, she felt a sense of wanting to protect him in return – at any rate it would be an awful way to repay him by getting him in trouble. After all he had done, swooping in out of nowhere to save her, risking his life in that game…it was…quite romantic, even…She shook the thought away.
"He acted outside of the bounds of the law, miss. Even if his intentions were good, vigilantism is a crime, especially when it results in the victim's death – even if the victim is a criminal himself. If it was a case of self-defense that would be one thing, but your account clearly outlines that his actions were deliberate and intentioned."
"I…I see."
"Now, if I could have your names, please. For the police report…"
I'm not entirely satisfied with the pacing and flow of this chapter, I think I felt more restricted with what I could do with it (since Atem couldn't take over both of them in this situation, it ended up being pretty similar to canon). Still, I hope my additions made it interesting enough and didn't feel forced. I like adding more to Anzu's life.
I got really stuck on this one - I actually had up to midway through written before I even published the first chapter, as I wanted a backlog (so much for that), but I got stuck, and didn't make much progress with it for a long time. But here it is, and now that it's done, I think it'll be easier to do the next few chapters. I probably still won't be terribly quick with chapters, though - I'm busy with school and another fic idea is just EATING at me right now, so you'll probably see some of that before long.
