"The beginning of the journey"

Anzu ran for about fifteen minutes until she could find a place to hide and rest. She leaned back against a tree and took a deep breath. She heard the silence of the woods and felt calm for a moment. But soon she was filled with fear. Where was she?!

"Marik-san?" she called.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Where are we?" Anzu asked.

"Don't worry. Just a few more miles and we'll get to the first town of our journey!" he explained, sounding excited with the idea.

"Journey? Hmm... I thought we were going to Domino City!" Anzu said.

"And we are!" Marik told her, and appeared in front of her. "But we can't take a plane, or a bus... not yet. We have to walk. There are many other things to do before getting there!"

"But Yugi needs help, and I'm not gonna walk for almost a week with no real reason! Cause I don't wanna get there and find Yugi-kun without his... heart!" Anzu cried, putting her hands on her waist. "And you're not gonna tell me what to do!"

"As you wish." Marik answered after a long time. "But... well... figure it out yourself." And disappeared.

Figure out herself? There was nothing to figure out. She just had to take a bus and go to Domino City. And that was what she would do.

Anzu was about to start walking again, when she heard the voice of many men yelling and dogs barking. She hid behind the tree and listened to them.

"She couldn't go this far!" one said.

"Who knows?! She exploded a wall!!" another one protested.

"Well, then maybe we should go back to the hospital e prepare the warnings." the first one said.

"That girl... I knew she couldn't be anything good." a female voice said. Anzu knew that one had to be Mrs. Brown, her good old friend of the mental hospital. "She had friends in Domino. You know, the ones who brought her? I think she wants revenge or something."

"So we have to prepare the warnings!"

"Okay. Let's go back to the hospital." Mrs. Brown said finally, and they started to go away. But things couldn't be that simple. No! Anzu had to move and break a stick on the ground. "What was that? She's here. I know! Go get her!!!"

Anzu started to run, looking back once in a while. But it was just the same: 3 guys with 2 enormous dogs. Her feet were bleeding; Anzu could feel it. What a terrible sensation! And why the hell she had to run in a forest? That leaves cut her arms many times. And that bushes had to be on the middle of the way! Damn…

"Marik!!!" Anzu yelled.

"What's wrong, Anzu?" he asked, grinning.

"You know!!"

"I told you it wasn't that simple. They think your completely crazy and dangerous." he said.

"Help me and I swear I'll do all the things you said I had to do!!" Anzu cried.

"Hmmm... okay. Now, stop running." Marik told her.

"What?" she yelled. "Are you crazy?!?"

"No. You have the powers of the Millenium Rod, Anzu. Remember? I have the sen nen Item, so I have the power. And since I'm in your mind, connected to you..."

"Okay! So I can blow that people up, huh? I don't want to. They'll definitely think I'm crazy!"

"Do you wanna get caught and let Yugi die, Anzu?" he asked, with a calm tone of voice.

"No..." Anzu stopped running and turned back to them.

They stopped as well. One of them laughed and stepped forward.

"Good girl. Now, let's go home. Walk slowly toward us." one of them told her.

"No." Anzu said.

"Don't be stupid! You'll get caught anyway. You're alone!" the other one stated.

"I'm not alone." she pointed a finger to them.

"What are you..." one of them started, but he couldn't speak! His whole body was paralyzed.

"Y-You're..." the other gasped.

"I'm what?" she asked. And Marik appeared on her side, watching the whole thing.

"You're mad!!!" the man finished.

"Yeah, Yeah... shut up!!" Marik said with a bored tone of voice, and the man stopped breathing that second. He was dead.

Anzu sighed and started walking again, with tears in her eyes. She walked for a long time without talking to Marik, who was right beside her all the time. They arrived in the first town and Anzu stopped.

"Anzu?" Marik asked.

"W-What?" she answered looking down.

"Why are you crying?" he asked and stopped in front of her.

"I'm not." she lied. Marik put a finger under her chin and pushed her head up.

"Yes, you are." he said. "Are you feeling guilty? Is that it?"

"Of course!! I killed that man and the other two are hurt!" she cried.

"You didn't!" he said.

"Them who did?!" Anzu asked arrogantly.

Marik didn't answer. He just sighed and changed the subject quickly.

"You're still wearing your pajamas from the hospital. You should get some clothes." he said. "Hmm... See that house over there, there's no one home. Get in and get clothes for you."

"It's not that simples, Marik." Anzu said. "What if a fat lady lives in there? Nothing will fit."

"I'm not stupid! You think I brought you here without planning things?" he asked.

Anzu unlocked the door of the house and got in. Now, who would ever think Anzu Mazaki would be doing that one day? The perfect student, friend, daughter... ironic. Definitely ironic.

Anzu opened the woman's closet and started to pick a few clothes. Shirts, skirts, dresses, jeans... everything she liked. It was so weird. Anzu was almost starting to believe that Marik prepared the whole thing for months! But how could it be?

"I'm finished here, Marik-kun!" Anzu announced, and he appeared.

"I'm not that intima." he said.

"Nani?" Anzu asked, confuse.

"You called me Marik-kun." he told her, grinning.

"I like you. Can't I call you that?" Anzu asked, smiling.

"I'm not so sure...Anzu-chan!!!" he said, grinning even more.

"Well, I don't care. Because we're, if not friends, almost." she said, putting all her stuff inside a handbag, leaving only a few clothes out: the ones she would wear.

"Friends?" Marik asked.

"Yes. You told me about Yugi and helped me to get out of the hospital. Of course you made me kill that guy but... well... as you said, I would to anything to help Yugi." she explained, winking. Anzu took the clothes and locked herself inside the bathroom to change.

When she came out she was totally different. The "insane" style was gone, and the old Anzu was almost back. She was wearing light jeans and black high sandals with soles made of wood. And a short black shirt with a pink kitty drawn on it. And, to complete the outfit, a pink bracelet.

"So, what d'you think?" she asked Marik, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Better." he answered, hiding his surprise. Anzu could...almost...be called pretty. Well, at least her taste in clothes is great, Marik thought.

They left the house and looked for a place to sleep.

"Marik, I hate you." Anzu said, crossing her arms, when they left the third full hotel. "You managed to get me clothes, but not a place to sleep!"

"I don't sleep."

"Well, I do!! If you were real you could control that people and get us a room... wait!" she stopped speaking suddenly.

"You finally started to figure things out!" Marik said, smiling.

"Okay! Let's go get a room!" they entered the hotel again and Anzu hit hard the table of the receptionist.

"I told you we don't have rooms, crazy lady!" the receptionist said.

"Are you sure?" Anzu asked, pointing a finger at him. He looked at the finger, and then at her.

"Sure." he said.

"Marik!!" Anzu said under her breath.

"That's not how you do it!! Look into his eyes and say what you want him to say, I do the rest." he explained.

"Okay." Anzu turned to the man again. She looked into his eyes, which quickly became opaque. "You do have a room, and you're gonna take us there! It's the main suit!"

And it worked perfectly. The man took Anzu to their best room, which wasn't much, and said it was free because she was a perfect and pretty girl. Of course, Anzu did the phrase herself.

"A soft bed!!" Anzu squeaked, sitting on the bed.

"Good for you." Marik said, sitting beside her.

"Why don't you try to sleep, Marik-kun? It would be great to you." she said.

"I don't have to."

"Hmm... Since we're talking about that... what are you?" Anzu asked something that was in her mind for a long time.

"A spirit."

"But you didn't die." Anzu said, hoping that she was right.

"No, of course not! But, if you really want to know, that's a subject for another class." he said, and disappeared.

"Wait! Marik-kun!!" but it was too late. He was gone.

Meanwhile, inside of Anzu's head...

Marik sat on the ground of that cold room. Her head was so confuse. There were three doors with labels on them: People / Anzu / Marik. The first door was made of silver with letters in gold. The second was made of wood, and the letters of "Anzu" were falling. And the third was made of gold with letters in silver, his door.

But he just entered there twice, to talk to Anzu that day and a long time before, when he was placed there, almost two years before. Marik sighed thinking about that and just closed his eyes.

'You're making everything harder, Anzu.'

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A/N: I guess that's it for now! ^__^ What do you think? I like it so far. But I have many great ideas in my head ready to come out! *__* So... what can I say? It's going to get even better! ^.^ Well, I hope so! XD

Thanks for everybody who reviewed! You don't know how much you mean to me. ^_^ Thanks a lot to:

Lady Dragon 636 (my fan! : ), Angel Of Isis, GundamPilot08, Allenby and dark star!

14/04/2003