Thanks to iCraft, The Duelist's Heiress, Sakura Takanouchi, CampionSayn, Silential, and super-rat for reviewing. I'm a bit baffled, to be honest. Who would ever think that people are interested in thornshipping, besides myself? Hehehe, so long as I keep converting people...Here is part four! Enjoy!

X

Fingerprints: Part IV

Outside, it was pouring. Rain was clashing against the windowpanes and it was literally the only sound in Anzu Mazaki's home. She was sitting at the window in her room, her body turned awkwardly so that she could rest her arms on the windowsill. Her cheek was pressed against her arms as she watched the droplets of rain slide down the glass of the window. She had narrowly missed being soaked on her way home from her talk with Marik. She had been so shocked by the news Marik delivered to her that her walk home had been slow and she was absorbed in her thoughts the entire time.

I wonder if Marik went home after talking to me, she mused, staring out the window and heaving a dismal sigh. A knock sounded on her bedroom door and she turned her head, calling, "Come in." Her mother entered, smiling in greeting. Anzu hastily pasted a smile onto her lips to smother the miserable feelings that were drowning her. Although her mother had been home when Anzu returned and they were a close combination of mother and daughter, Anzu found that she was unable to confess her problems of the day to her mother.

"A boy is at the door for you, Anzu," she said, pushing her bedroom door open a bit more. "He said his name is Malik." Anzu blinked, surprised. "Do you know him?"

"Yes, but...um...Well, I'll go down and see what he wants, I suppose..." Anzu lifted herself from the window seat and followed her mother out of her room. Why is Malik here? I told him I didn't want to go dancing tonight. But Yuugi never called me back like I expected...And really, I don't want to stay home staring at the rain all night. I think I will end up driving myself crazy if I do.

"How come you've never told me about him, Anzu?" Her mother inquired as they descended the steps. Anzu glanced at her. "He's a very nice boy, but I've never seen him in my life. I'm surprised at you."

Guiltily, she mumbled, "Sorry..."

Her mother had seated Malik in the living room, where he was staring curiously at the pictures on the wall. Not for the first time, Anzu wished her mother would not insist on keeping family pictures hung up on the wall. He must have heard them come in because he turned and flashed a smile at them. Despite Malik's naturally easy attitude and mannerism with other people, he seemed uncomfortable in her living room. When his eyes kept flickering to her mother pointedly, she was beginning to understand exactly why it was. Mrs. Mazaki must have known, too, because she gave a polite smile to Malik and then left the room. Malik released a breath and said, "I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to talk to you in front of your mother..."

"Yes, well, what are you doing here? I told you I didn't want to go anywhere tonight." Anzu kept her eyes carefully averted, staring at his shoulder rather than his face so that he didn't see that she did want to get out of the house. Dancing, on the other hand, was out of the question.

"Frankly, I don't really care," he cheerfully replied. When she cast him a dark look, he became more solemn and said, "Listen, Anzu, I don't think you realize how awful you sounded on the phone. You sound even worse now and forgive me, but you look like you need a drink or something." Anzu opened her mouth to protest that; he simply rode over her, saying, "We don't have to go dancing, alright? I'm not going to push it after your rejection letter. You really do need to get out of the house and stop wallowing in depression, especially on a rainy night. That will just turn you suicidal. Trust me on this, I know."

Her mouth tightened into a thin, angry line as she stared at him. He simply stared back, his eyes narrowed slightly in warning. Malik, just like some of the more notable men in Domino, was as stubborn as a mule. Clearly this was one thing that she wouldn't be able to charm her way out of. It wouldn't matter anyway because she was not feeling in the mood to charm anyone either way. Instead, she blew out a breath in defeat and said, "Fine, but let me get dressed in something else." He frowned and eyed her.

"What's wrong with what you're wearing?"

"It's raining if you haven't noticed."

"Your point?" He held up an umbrella that he was holding that she hadn't noticed before. "We're not going to get wet. Just get a jacket and some boots." She sighed to indicate just how fed up she was getting with his I-am-the-man-so-you-must-listen-to-me act. Honestly, he was reminding her of Seto Kaiba, ordering her about and treating her like an incompetent fool. She reminded herself that Malik's family was about as rich as Kaiba.

She went upstairs to grab her purse and came back down to see that her mother and Malik were talking at the bottom of the stairs. From what she gathered, Mrs. Mazaki was warning Malik about something, though she was unsure of what. By the time she joined them, her mother was silent and Malik looked even more uncomfortable than before. "Have a nice time," her mother chirped, brushing a kiss over her forehead and leaving them to go to the living room. As Anzu was putting on her boots from earlier, she heard the television blasting from inside the house. She took her jacket and shut the house doors telling Malik, "Let's go."

Malik went first to open the umbrella and waited for her to shut and lock the foyer doors. Once she was under the umbrella, they began to walk towards Domino Square. "Since you don't want to dance, what do you want to do?" He queried. As though on cue, her stomach rumbled. She blinked, blushing while he simply raised an eyebrow. "I see...Would your stomach like to elaborate on that a bit further?" Her cheeks turned redder and she nudged him irritably.

"Be quiet. I haven't eaten since before I talked to you on the phone." Malik sent a questioning look, one that she ignored pointedly by staring off to the side. She could not tell him that she had gone off looking for Marik after talking to him and that they had talked about him; that when she got home, she had been too stunned to do much else but stare out the window. No, none of that could be said, not when she had nonverbally promised to keep hers and Marik's conversation to herself.

"That's unfortunate," he said after a pause. "It's a good thing I left before having dinner, then, because I'm hungry myself." She smiled up at him. Malik was not stupid – he knew that she was not telling him something, but was choosing to ignore it because of her aversion of it. Truly, she was not sure what she would do if she didn't have a friend like him. "After that, we can decide what we want to do." She nodded.

"You really didn't have to drag me out of the house tonight," Anzu told him after over ten minutes of silent walking.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You wanted to go to a club," she said, raising her eyebrows, "and now you won't be able to go." He eyed her thoughtfully and turned away, giving a small shrug of nonchalance. "Malik, honestly. You really should just go. I can walk back home – " He heaved a sigh, interrupting her words.

"Dear Ra, Anzu, give it a rest. I could go clubbing any night if I wanted to. You had a bad day and frankly, my day wasn't so great myself. I would rather spend time with you than deal with women throwing themselves at me all night. I wanted to take Marik out to the night life in Domino to liven him up a bit. It had nothing to do with me." For a long while, neither of them said anything. Anzu was unsure of what Malik was thinking, but she could not help but remember the love-hate emotions Marik seemed to hold for his lighter half. It seemed sad that Marik hadn't even wanted to go out when Malik was specifically trying to help him.

It hurts, she realized. It's not even me that the idea is hurting, but would it hurt Malik to know that his efforts would have been unappreciated? "So...Did Marik not come home tonight then?" She ventured

"No," Malik answered quietly, "he didn't. Isis had Rishid come home when it started raining so badly. Honestly? I didn't take you out just because I knew you were feeling bad. I had to get away from Isis. I love her, she's my sister, but she's been getting on Marik's case worse than ever lately. Today she wouldn't stop raging about this and that." Anzu comfortingly twined her arm in his, unable to give any words to his situation. He smiled slightly at her. "In any case, none of us know where Marik is. Rishid is usually able to find him. That he wasn't today is a bit worrying. I wouldn't be surprised if he left Japan altogether."

"I don't think he did," Anzu muttered. Malik looked at her. "It's just, um...there are a lot of really good hiding places in Domino. It's a big enough city with enough people. Rishid might have just overlooked him." She gave a quick smile of reassurance. He nodded slowly, turning her words around in his head. Satisfied that he didn't suspect her of knowing something she shouldn't, she bowed her head and stared at their feet walking in time with each other's. "So...What did my mom say to you, Malik?" He made a strangled sound, as though he were a dying animal.

"That...is not something I wish to discuss," he mumbled. They could hear the roar of crowds and the music from the center of Domino at that time. "Let's just say that your mother is a very...protective woman when it comes to her children." Anzu peered up at him, seeing that his mouth was twisted unpleasantly. His face suddenly brightened and she followed his gaze to the sushi bar just ahead of them. "I'm in the mood for sushi, how about you?"

"I'm in the mood for food," she said with a grin.

The two of them entered the sushi bar and settled at the counter, where a revolving disk was. Anzu peered down thoughtfully at the plates, clasping her hands eagerly. Her stomach rumbled appreciatively at the steaming fish. Breaking her chopsticks, she waited until some squid came by, picking up the plate and happily eating it. Beside her, Malik chose some scallops, seeming to enjoy his fish as much as her.

"By the way," Malik said as they ate and chose plates from the revolving disk, "not to bring up bad news, but now that you can't go to that dance school of yours in New York, what do you plan on doing? - Apply again?" Anzu was silent for a moment, watching the revolving dishes. Having finished her squid, she now chose another plate of sushi. After having some food and getting out of the house, the rejection from her dream college did not feel as bad now. Which, seeing as how there were far worse problems in the Ishtar household, was no surprise.

"No," she answered at last. "Applying again would be a waste of my time. After all, I can't really change my exam scores. I mean, I did want to go there because it's one of the best dance schools and I want to be a dancer, but I don't have enough money saved up to even get through one quarter there. It just seems kind of...useless, I suppose, when I know that I don't really have the means to get into Julliard." She raised her eyes to Malik's, who was frowning, his chopsticks clamped between his lips as a thoughtful expression clouded his face.

"You might be able to retake your exams," he slowly told her, removing the chopsticks from his mouth. He stared across him, as though in deep thought and then looked down to the revolving disk. He sat, silently watching it and then took a plate from it, adding, "And I'm sure I could lend you some money to go to college, Anzu. Ra knows we have enough of it as is."

"No! I'm not going to take money from you, Malik! Besides..." Anzu hesitated, trailing off as he glanced at her. Marik had known that day when Yuugi moved out that she felt the tight strings that held her friends together breaking and had insisted on hearing her say so. She had been able to pour out her worries with him; however, now an added worry had landed in her mind: if she left to New York, not only would she be leaving Yuugi and the others, but Malik, too. She could never accept his money to go to college and then just abandon him in Japan. Now that she thought of it, how could she abandon Marik, too, with the state of things? "...I do want to go to Julliard, but I don't want to go to New York," she admitted quietly and then hastily filled her mouth with sushi. Malik was gazing at her with an unreadable expression that reminded her too much of Marik's expressions. Not even his eyes gave her an indication of what he was thinking right then.

"I suppose not," he commented after a pause, turning back to his own steamed abalone. "Wouldn't want to leave Yuugi and all those memories, would you?"

"I feel like Yuugi and I are in two completely different worlds. He and everyone else except for Honda seem to be in Shibuya while I'm still here." She gave a tiny laugh, saying, "Maybe I'm just being ridiculous. I've known Yuugi since junior high, so we should be able to stick real close, right? He and Jounouchi are closer and here I am..." Anzu sighed and her lips curled into a genuine smile as she turned to look at Malik. His expression was as blank as before, almost on purpose. "You really do seem like the closest person I've got, Malik."

His usual, handsome grin tilted his mouth upward. "I'm glad to hear that. Now...Let's finish this and go do something." She nodded and hastily finished her shrimp while he took the last bite of his steamed abalone. Malik insisted on paying – and she did not disagree, seeing as how he picked out the most expensive sushi – before they left the sushi bar. The rain had subsided somewhat, yet there were still small droplets sprinkling down on them. Malik shook out the umbrella and held it above them as they walked across the square.

Walking close to him and realizing how much she would miss him and everyone else if she went to New York eased the depression from earlier. Anzu knew there were many things that they could go do, but when it came to a night out with friends, she had always enjoyed clubbing the best. Of course, she had never gone dancing with Malik and when she went with Yuugi and her other friends, they danced in a whole group and rather goofily, too. She could not recall ever dancing with a guy, just the two of them. She had danced with Shizuka or Miho all the time, but a guy...?

Glancing at Malik, she thought, It will be a new experience. "You know what? I'm feeling up to dancing after all." Malik glanced at her from underneath the shadow of the umbrella. She thought she saw a hint of an amused smirk on his lips, though she could not be sure.

"Then I'll be sure to find us one of the best clubs in Domino." His eyes glinted mischievously. "I think I might even be able to surpass you on the dance floor, Anzu."

"We'll see about that!"

The dance club they found was crowded and there was a mingling scent sweat, perfume, cologne, and alcohol. It was dim inside, with flashing lights above, giving just enough light for the dancers to see each other. It was an intimate environment with bodies crushing together, an environment in which seduction and heartbreak occurred, where friendship became stronger. Anzu had only been in this particular club once with her friends. They had aspired to go to every club in Domino, an idea that Anzu and the other two girls had come up with. The boys had been more or less indifferent to the idea. For Jounouchi, it was a chance to show off to the ladies, to flirt with him without really meaning anything by it. For Honda, it was also to show off, but not for just any girl, but Miho.

A sliver of uncertainty entered her mind at the thoughts of her friends. Do I really want to come here without them? She wondered, biting down on her lip hesitantly. It has always been us that went dancing together or I went by myself. I know that things are changing, but is this too big of a step for me?

"Don't worry," Malik's voice cut through the throbbing music. She raised her head to look at him, her brow furrowing the slightest bit in worry. He grinned down at her, winking as he said, "I won't let any strange guy steal you from me." It had only taken his familiar grin to calm her and all uncertainties were swept away. Malik was her friend, if not one to whom she had been friends with for an extended amount of time.

"Well, come on then," she told him, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the crowd. "I have nothing to worry about, then, right?" He chuckled in dry amusement at this.

Dancing, in Anzu's generation, was all about body contact. She was no idiot, seeing as how she had been practicing dancing for years. She had danced with guys – plenty, in fact, with how often she used to go to clubs – and it had always seemed the same. They were either very crude dancers, bad dancers – like Jounouchi – or innocent dancers like Yuugi had always been. There were some guys that had the beginnings of good dancing, but not quite. Malik, she learned immediately, was a good dancer. And even more startling was that as soon as his hand was on her waist, an uncommonly uncomfortable heat spread out over her stomach abdomen.

Perhaps she had imagined it, though she could not be sure as the next moment her body was swaying against Malik's, her thighs pressing to his, her hips hovering close to his. She realized that she was terrified. Her entire body was filled with that foreign heat, encompassing her and flooding her senses. She tried to remain calm, tried to look in his face as if they were merely dancing as friends, as they intended. His eyes were intense when she met them and despite the slight tremble in her fingers, she could not look away.

What is happening? She wondered, frightened by the sensations stirring in her body, swirling and bumping against each other. She stifled a gasp as his hands, so slender and strong, slid up her waist, pulling her closer. Her heart was thundering in her heart anxiously, feeling his hips against hers. Her cheeks were burning from such close contact with him.

"I thought you were such a good dancer, Anzu," Malik purred teasingly, "but you look a bit out of focus." There was a glint in his eyes, akin to that of which she remember when he was still misguided about his father's death. "Are you?" He queried, the look vanishing from his eyes, replaced by an honestly curious one.

"Ah...No," she said quickly. She was snapped out of her daze by the conversation. It was normal, contrary to their dancing. She knew how to move her body in time with his, but the friction was causing tiny frissons up her spine and gooseflesh to pop up on her skin despite the warmth of the club. His blinked slowly, likely in disbelief, and his hands slid down to her hips and she released a tiny, breathless sound as he rolled his hips against hers, too provocatively. "Malik – " She was certain he had not heard her, but he flashed a tiny smile. Friends friends friends was repeating in her mind.

She had never been so confused in her life.

The song abruptly ended and the DJ called out something. Anzu never heard because Malik released her and suggested, "Let's sit." She nodded, thankful. They wandered away to the tiny tables that were lined around the side of the room. He settled her at one and disappeared to find them something to drink. Anzu, meanwhile, had shoved a hand through her hair, gnawing on her bottom lip.

I don't understand. Malik did all those things on purpose, like he was trying to... She blushed embarrassedly. ...seduce me or something. But he knows I only think he's a friend, doesn't he? Did I ever imply anything else? I mean...Yeah, he is really good looking and his dancing leaves little to the imagination, but I've never really wanted him that way. I always thought he didn't, either. Maybe I'm overanalyzing things. That must be it. Malik couldn't possibly want anything else from me. Convinced, she gave her head a firm nod and shook her head out, dropping her hand to wait for Malik.

He returned shortly and handed her an opened bottle of water. She cracked the seal of the cap and took a thankful drink of the water. He remained standing, surveying the crowd and tapping his water bottle in time to the music. She set her bottle down and sighed, saying, "Well, I don't think either of us is the better dancer. As much as I hate to admit it, you're as good as me." She was desperate to return her thoughts to normality. The glance he threw her, however, caused warnings to shriek out alarms in her head. Before she could so much as question why it was that he was looking at her that way, he placed his bottle on the table and leaned over, pressing his lips to her.

For a moment, she was too shocked to do anything. A bit mindlessly, she parted her lips in a wordless gesture of surprise. That, if she had considered over it, was a severe mistake on her part. Or it would have been if Malik had been a more inexperienced kisser. Without truly meaning to, she returned his kiss, if only to save the embarrassment of a scene in the middle of a crowded place. That, too, was a mistake. It encouraged him and she murmured a bit throatily, "Malik...," against his mouth. He ignored her and moved his mouth to her throat. She might have simply allowed him to continue if she had not looked up and saw a familiar male eyeing them interestedly. Her eyes shot open and she lurched forward, knocking Malik away. "Marik!" She spluttered.

Malik groaned irritably and muttered, "Of all the times – "

"No!" She pointed at Marik standing behind Malik, his expression as blank as ever. Malik turned, frowning, and then blinked at seeing Marik standing there.

"Well, well," Marik drawled, raising an eyebrow, a corner of his mouth tilting upward, "this is unexpected."

TBC

X

DIS: I am a sad individual. For the longest time, I couldn't continue on this chapter because I was stuck on the dancing part. I was going all fan-girlish at the scene. Anyway, I think Anzu's reaction was reasonable enough. Anyway, please leave a review telling me how you liked it and no bombs under my bed because of the cliffhanger! Ciao!