Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 4: The First Trip Into Town

August (Year 1)

Anzu was the last one to leave dinner, save the teachers, who were still conversing away at the table, merrily. She dumped her trash into the bin, and set her tray onto the window where it would be picked up.

Anzu walked out of the cafeteria and made her way down the clean hall, towards the doors. She passed an entranceway into a large living room. The boys were all in there, laughing or talking happily. Anzu tried bypassing the doorway quickly.

"Hey!" Valon suddenly jumped off the arm of the couch he had been sitting on, "Come back, here, Anzu!" He dashed over to where Anzu had just disappeared, vanished for a second, and came back, pulling her in by the arm. "You don't have to be afraid to come in the commons area with us: we won't bite!" And as he ending a joke, he started to laugh.

The laugh took Anzu quite by surprise. And then she realized that a great majority of the guys were also laughing – which meant everyone except for the Kaiba brothers. Although Noa and Mokuba did have smiles on their faces.

"Come on, then," Tristan waved his hand towards the group, "We're all family here. After all, our other families all dumped us here, didn't they?"

"I don't know if dumped is the word I would use," Anzu replied.

"It's da one I would use! I was sent ta this place while my sist'a got ta stay in good ol' NY!" Joey lay back fully across the couch, his arms crossed behind his head.

"Yeah, see? We're just one large, secondary family," Alister added.

"Okay…" Anzu answered.

"Yeah: excuse us for not acting so…welcoming yesterday. You presence just took us by surprise. Like Ryou said, we had to get used to someone new –you- like you have to get used to us."

"Now that I agree with," Anzu laughed slightly, sitting on one of the two sofas, next to Alister. Alister looked at her and cocked a small smile.

Anzu blinked. Some sort of emotion flashed through her eyes. She shook her head and looked around, "So…uh, what were you guys doing?"

"Well, here, we just do anything we want, really," Ryou put forth.

"Mess around; watch TV; relax: it's better than keeping ourselves confined to our rooms," Bakura yawned.

"Mess around is really the key thing we do though," Malik answered, laughing. "Just you wait, Anzu. Take a comfortable and innocent position, if you will," he commanded.

"Why?" Anzu lay back against the couch.

"Three…two…one," Bakura counted off his fingers, having spotted something just a tad earlier from the doorway.

A great yell burst forth from the end of the hall. Yugi sighed, and closed his eyes as he continued to lie back against the reclined chair. "Here we go again…already, and not two days into the year…."

"MALIK!" Odion burst forth into the room. He was sopping wet, from head to toe: his clothes were drenched.

"You called, brother?" Malik looked up from a magazine he had snatched up.

"Don't play innocent: you and Bakura pulled that trick, and I know it!" Odion's face grew red.

"What trick?" Joey asked, looking up from the television he had turned on.

"You all know very well 'what trick!' The classic bucket of water over the door, that's what!"

"Wow? Who threw that old one?" Duke laughed.

"Ah, we confess," Tristan sighed, "You got us, Odion."

"Oh, no, no," Odion wagged a finger, "If that isn't the biggest lie I've ever heard! I will find out the exact people who have done this…and oh will you have a sorry detention…."

"Would you really do that, Odion?" Marik cocked his head and looked at his brother pleadingly.

"And don't you start with me either, Marik." Odion grumpily walked away. As soon as they were sure Odion was gone, the room erupted into fits of laughter.

Anzu, though, was quite confused.

"So…who pulled the prank then?"

"Can you guess?" Alister asked.

"Not really…. At first I thought that Malik and Bakura had done it for sure-"

"We're actually innocent this time," Bakura chuckled.

"For once," Ryou shook his head.

"I figured…after Tristan put on that act. I mean…if you really wanted to pull something off and make that person think it was you, you would tell them, so that they don't believe you, right?"

"I dunno whatcha jus' said, Anz, but it wasn't us!" Joey laughed. "Keep guessin'! This is fun!"

"Umm…" Anzu wasn't too comfortable guessing anymore. Perhaps she insulted someone by accusing them? No…these boys were too playful to be insulted when they all knew –save Seto, perhaps- that it was all a joke. "Valon?" she asked.

"What ever gave you that idea?" Valon looked at her teasingly. "But, no, it wasn't me."

Anzu looked around the room. She was positive it was neither Ryou nor Yugi. There was no way possible that it was Seto Kaiba. Possibly either Alister or Duke had done it, but they looked rather innocent today. Her eyes then landed on a pair of smirking faces.

"You two," she pointed down at Mokuba and Noa, "I'm sure of it now."

"Can't pull on over you, can we?" Noa looked up, still smiling.

"Well, not much, anyway. It took a little while for her to get to us, though," Mokuba added.

"Give her a break: she's new," Noa sided, "She has to speculate as to which styles each duo uses."

"True, true," Mokuba nodded.

Seto looked up, "You two: off to your rooms for the rest of the night. That is not a respectful way to act, and you know you're not supposed to mess around like that. Now get going."

Anzu blinked. He took care of them like a father, rather than a brother. Then again, kids did have to grow up knowing right from wrong.

"But Seto, we were just having fun!" Mokuba pleaded his case.

"And you'll get your hides skinned if Instructor Odion finds out who's done this to him."

"Oh, it wasn't so bad," Noa reprimanded, "It was just a bucket of water."

"Besides: Odion isn't ever that strict. He let's the matter go soon enough," Mokuba answered.

"But it wasn't water that was on him, was it now?"

Noa and Mokuba looked at each other, "It wasn't?"

"Now there's where we played our part," Malik laughed.

"Oh great," Marik sighed, "Just when I thought he might actually be getting descent enough to go out in public."

"Bottles of spray-glue really do the trick, don't they?" Bakura laughed.

"Spray-on-glue?" Mokuba's eyes widened. "But…."

Noa looked at him, "He won't care who put in the glue…just who planted the prank."

"It will take weeks for his to get that stuff out!" Mokuba panicked.

"Time to hide?"

"Time to hide!" Mokuba and Noa scooped up their things and dashed out of the room.

Anzu had watched the whole episode with unlimited fascination. These men were surprising her every moment.

"So where did they go? Their rooms?" she asked.

"Heck no," Seto chuckled slightly, "They're probably hiding in the girl's bathroom again." Seeing the look on Anzu's face, he added, "That's where they would always hide before, because no other females attended this school. And they'll probably still hide there as long as you're not in there." He returned back to his book.

Anzu looked down at the floor with a puzzled expression on her face, "Ah, whatever."

"That's the spirit!" Valon cried out.

Anzu woke up to a knocking on her door. She cursed silently and stood up, blinking from the sun shining through the blinds. She unlocked her door and opened it. Yugi stood –fully clothed and ready to go- before her.

"Oh, Yugi…it's Saturday, isn't it? Or is it still Friday?" Anzu asked, rubbing her eyes.

"It's Saturday," Yugi smiled.

"And this week you're already dressed?" That previous Saturday, Yugi had come to her door, still in his pajamas (and it was almost noon). He explained that the guys usually slept late on the weekend, and stayed in their nightclothes most of the day, just lounging around. Saturday was one of those days. Surprisingly, on Sundays, they dressed before coming out of their rooms at noon.

Their ways confused Anzu very much, but she was willing to go along with them.

"Don't you remember? We're going into town today!" Yugi exclaimed, happily. Anzu noticed that not only did he look ecstatic, but he looked downright hungry too. His eyes had that lean and ravenous look in them.

"Have you eaten something yet?" Anzu asked, concerned. Yugi looked totally out of place with those eyes.

"Uh…no, not really. I'll grab a bite to eat in a sec. I just wanted to make sure you were up. We're leaving in half an hour! Hurry up, or you'll be left behind!" he waved and left, running off towards the Rec Hall.

"Thanks!" Anzu called back. She hurried back into her room.

She couldn't miss this day. She could see Kyrie again and tell her everything possible. Of course she had talk to the girl on the phone every day, but twenty minutes wasn't long enough.

Anzu took an impossibly fast shower, got dressed, did her hair, and dashed out the door to the Rec Hall. She too wanted to grab a bite before setting off.

As she grabbed some simple lunch foods from the counter and ran out onto the deck, she noticed something else strange.

Not only did Yugi have that hungry look in his eyes, but most everyone else did as well.

Anzu voiced her thoughts aloud immediately, "What's wrong with all of you? Aren't you eating enough?"

"We're just fine," Valon said, taking a bite of toast. He was bouncing slightly in his chair, as a very excited kid would just before they were about to do something very fun.

"Alright," Anzu sat down. She ate quickly. Everyone stood at the same time to go to the front of the school. The class clambered down the steps to the bottom of the staircase and found a van with many motorcycles waiting. Professor Dartz was standing amidst the vehicles.

"Alright: you all know the drill. If you have a bike, take one. If you don't, come with me on the van. Remember: we all report to the corner of Aku and Norg at five-thirty sharp. Anyone not there on time will receive weekend detentions."

"Those are not fun," Anzu heard Bakura grumble.

"Ready? Hop to it then," Dartz clambered into the van, ready to drive it off. Anzu was about to follow Yugi and Ryou on, when someone grabbed her arm. She turned around and looked up at Tristan.

"Hey, I can give you a lift," he smiled at her.

"Umm…are you allowed to?" she looked at his motorcycle. Indeed, there were two seats, and he had an extra helmet in his hand, as if he had been waiting for her.

"Of course! Come on: I can drop you off wherever you need to go. That van will only take you to the corner of Aku and Norg."

"Well…" she looked around. The other motorcyclists- Valon, Alister, Seto (surprisingly), Joey, Marik and Malik were watching her and Tristan with a hint of…jealousy?...in their eyes.

"Uh, sure, I guess," Anzu replied, not really knowing what she was saying.

"Great!" Tristan smiled and gave her the helmet. Anzu strapped it on, and climbed onto the back of the motorcycle first. Then, Tristan followed. "Hold on," he said.

"Umm…where do you want me to-?" to her surprise, he took her hands and folded them across his waist.

"Here we go!" he cried, revving up the engine. The others put on their helmets as well.

"We usually have races to the town's edge, but I'll go slow, just for you to get used to this," Tristan shouted back to her.

"Thank you!" Anzu shouted back.

"Bytes for you!" Valon laughed, suddenly speeding off. Tristan let the others pass him. It was indeed a race. Anzu vaguely saw them trying to pass each other constantly, before they went too far to see.

"Off we go!" Tristan yelled, pressing down on the pedal. Anzu screeched as the motorcycle went zooming off. She looked behind, just in time to see the van start making its way down the lone road.

Anzu hugged Tristan tightly. She was afraid of what would happen if she loosened her grip anymore. She just hoped she wasn't cutting off Tristan's air supply.

"Where to?" Tristan yelled back to her.

"Kawaii Street!" Anzu hollered back.

"Okedoke!" Tristan leaned forward some, and the motorcycle quickened in velocity.

They arrived on the quiet street ten minutes later. Anzu motioned for his to stop outside of Kyrie's house. He did so, and Anzu sighed, leaning against his back for a second. That had been one heck of a ride!

She pulled herself off the motorcycle, took off the helmet and handed it to Tristan. Tristan flipped up the visor and looked at her.

"Thanks a lot for taking me here," Anzu smiled at him. Quickly, she went and rather difficulty, pecked him on the cheek.

Tristan felt such a strong blush coming on, that he purposely jerked his head back after she stepped away so that the visor fell over his face.

"Yeah…uh…no problem," he laughed a bit, "Just remember-"

"Anzu!" Anzu turned around and saw Kyrie running down the yard to her friend.

"Hey, Kyrie!" Anzu smiled and waved. Kyrie ran up to them. Her eyes immediately landed on Tristan.

"Who is this?" she asked. Anzu swore she heard a hint of fright in her voice. Tristan flipped his visor up, and Kyrie's eyes widened. He did have a rather nice face….

"This is Tristan Taylor," Anzu looked at Kyrie in order to see her reaction.

Tristan smiled nicely, "Hello there."

Kyrie smiled back timidly, "Hello…." She suddenly yelped. Tristan just laughed.

"What happened?" Anzu asked.

"N-Nothing," Kyrie put on a fake smile for her friend. Anzu remained suspicious though.

"Now remember, Anzu, five-thirty on the corner of-"

"Aku and Norg," I know," Anzu waved her hand.

"Otherwise it's a weekend's worth of detention." Tristan shivered.

"Is it really that bad?" Anzu asked.

"Did you not here Bakura's comment on it, back at school?"

"I suppose you have a point. He is the one that can pretty much take anything you throw at him."

"Exactly. Well, I'm off. See you later, Anzu," he flipped down the visor, flashed a toothy grin through it and zoomed off.

Kyrie looked after him, "Is he a friend of yours, Anzu?"

"I don't know…something like a friendly acquaintance, I suppose."

"…You have strange friends –er- acquaintances, Anzu. Very strange ones…."

After a quick staying at the Kohanu's home, Anzu and Kyrie walked down the streets to the mall. On the way, they were chatting.

"So, Anzu, with your quick calls everyday, you never get a chance to tell me about everyone," Kyrie said, "Do you have any…friends, there?"

"Well…" Anzu hesitated thoughtfully, "I consider Yugi and Ryou my friends."

"Yugi and Ryou?"

"Yugi is also from Domino, isn't that cool?" Anzu smiled.

"Neat," Kyrie nodded. "Did you ever meet him in Domino?"

"No. He moved here the year I moved there," Anzu laughed, "Pretty wacky, huh?"

"Yeah, it is rather strange," Kyrie replied.

"You sound like Ryou. He's a nice guy. Very charming. He's British, you know. A very proper young lad," Anzu imitated, puffing out her chest slightly and bending her arm in front of her. Kyrie giggled. "He's very embarrassed by his twin brother, Bakura."

"Why so?" Kyrie asked. This was getting interesting.

"Well, Bakura and Malik –I'll tell you about him in a minute- can be a bit…well…how should I put this?"

"What can we be?" Kyrie jumped and looked around Anzu. Anzu looked to her side.

"What are you two doing here?" Anzu blinked at Malik and Bakura, who were sitting on a bench.

"Oknuhu is a small town Anzu. We go where we please. It's not hard to find anyone here, is it?" Bakura smirked at Malik.

"No indeed," The rough and deep voice replied. "Who might that pretty little friend of yours be?"

"Her name is Kyrie," Anzu affirmed, "Come on, Ky, we should get going. They begin to get…Lord, I don't even know how to describe them!" Anzu tugged Kyrie away, who looked back rather fearfully at the two laughing pranksters.

"I don't like the looks of them," Kyrie whispered to Anzu, even though they were a block away from where they had seen the two men. "I mean…I like their looks, but I don't like their attitude."

"Same here," Anzu answered, "They're troublemakers, the lot of them."

"You're proving me and the others right every minute, Anzu."

"How?"

"Those Oknuhu Private kids really are intimidating. I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind the wacky things that go on around here."

"Oh, don't say that! Some of them are really sweet! Yugi and Ryou are definitely the sweetest of the bunch! Marik is a nice guy too-"

"HIM!" Kyrie gasped.

"No, no, Marik is Malik's brother. We just saw Malik. Marik is much nicer. Alister is a sweetie too…though he does seem to have a rough side now and then, concerning Kaiba-"

"Kaiba? The Seto Kaiba?" Kyrie suddenly stopped.

"Well, yeah," Anzu responded. "It surprised me too, but he goes to that school. He and his brothers do."

"How are they?"

"The little ones are cute, but mischief-makers at times. They like a good laugh. Kaiba however…he kind of likes playing the loner, you know? He doesn't really like company, from what I've seen.

"I see," Kyrie nodded. "Well, we've made it to the mall! "Let's go! I know how much you've wanted some new Hawaiian clothes – with the hibiscus flowers on them? We have more than you could ever possibly want here!"

Kyrie led Anzu around the mall, taking her into her own favorite stores, and some that just looked appetizing. They spent hours, there, shopping. Once, Tea noticed Joey, Tristan and Duke running around on the floor above them, but didn't say anything to Kyrie. The poor girl seemed freaked out enough.

After hours of being in the mall, the two walked down a block to the local Ice Cream Café. Anzu ordered strawberry ice cream, with strawberry syrup, while Kyrie had a Hawaiian Banana Split.

They sat outside, enjoying the nice breeze, and pleasant summer air.

"I'm so glad to be back. Hawaii is such a beautiful place," Anzu said, eating her snack.

"Yeah: I've always loved it here," Kyrie smiled. "I'm glad you're back too. I just wish we could see each other more than once a month."

"It'll have to be that way," Anzu replied, "Well, except for those special occasions, whatever those may be."

"I can tell you! They come down for the holiday parades and such. We have this high school dance every year: all the high-schoolers are invited to the community center, where there's a great dance and all. And then there's always the schools' play-"

Kyrie was interrupted.

"Anzu!" Kyrie sighed. Another one?"

Anzu looked up at the on-comer. She had finished her ice cream some time ago, and the two had just been sitting there, talking.

"Anzu!" the person called again.

"Alister?" Anzu sat up. Alister walked over to the table. Kyrie looked as though she was trying not to be frightened.

"Have you, by any chance, looked at the time lately?"

"No, why?" Anzu took the time to look at her watch. "It's five twenty-seven…HOLY CRAP! We're gonna be late!" she stood up immediately. "Sorry to leave like this, Kyrie, but I've got to run! I'll be in big trouble if I'm not there in time. See you next month, bye!" Anzu said, all in one breath, grabbing Alister's arm and pulling him away.

Kyrie just looked after her, "Be careful Anzu," she whispered.

Anzu ran to the corner of the block and stopped. She had no idea where she was going. She turned around to face a smirking Alister.

"Have we lost our way?"

"Oh, come on, quit the games! We've got to be there in two minutes!"

Alister stepped away from her and walked to the other side of the street. Anzu followed. He put his hands out to the side in a fashion that showed something "astonishing," as magicians do when they complete a trick, "Voila!" His motorcycle sat there. "I bet I can get us there in under a minute-"

"Then get on already!" Anzu cried, launching herself on. Alister put on his helmet and revved up the engine all while getting himself set. Anzu wasted no time grabbing onto him as the motorcycle turned sharply around the corner and sped off.

Sure, Anzu was terrified at the speed they were going, and they were very vulnerable, not being protected by any sort of parts, like in a car. But Anzu just wanted to get there on time.

As Alister had predicted, he had spun a few curves and gotten there just under a minute. He was about five seconds away from not fulfilling his pledge.

The van was waiting, and Dartz stood there looking at his watch.

"Congratulations, we're all here. Now, off we go," Professor Dartz climbed back into the van. Others followed him.

"I think I'll take the van this time, if you don't mind," Anzu said, shakily, taking off the helmet.

"Suit yourself," Alister replied, taking the extra accessory. Anzu climbed in as the last passenger, and the van rolled away.

Yep, that's it. I know it wasn't the most exciting chapter. It didn't come out exactly as I had wanted it…but oh well. Hope you enjoyed it at least a little. PLEASE REVIEW! (PS: More to come on this day next chapter!) Oh, and in your review, might you please SUGGEST, to HELP me, who you think should hook up with Anzu. I really don't know….

Winkwink