Pulling up in front of the Ishtar manor Anzu sighed heavily, Malik had acted so differently yesterday from what he had when they had first met for the second time. But as he said, it was part of a test and what did she care anyway she had Yami after all. Sighing again she closed the door to her car and locked the door, looking at it for a moment before turning to the intercom.
"Hello, Isis Ishtar speaking," came the digitalised voice of Isis through the speaker.
"Hi Isis, it's me, Anzu," she replied holding down that annoying golden button and speaking into the mike, loudly and clearly.
"Okay, doors open now," she informed as the gates slid open with a still un-oiled gate. Anzu removed her finger form the button and headed through the gate and up to the large white building. She placed her hand on the large wooden door that barred her passage the Ishtar manor but as soon as she did it was opened and she came face to face with Rishid.
"Good morning Mazaki-san," he said in monotone, freaking Anzu out because of the fact that he sounded like a robot.
"Morning," she replied worriedly as she passed him, heading up the stairs to the room where she knew her uniform was, it was so embarrassing.
She slipped on the dress and couldn't help her hands as the subconsciously reached to straighten the crinkles in the dress, maybe it was just out of habit maybe it was something else but it was confusing.
She grabbed a dusting flannel and a broom and began to dust the floor, under the carpets and everything, sweeping it into a pan and depositing it in a rubbish bag she had brought. She sighed dusting the paintings and artefacts that line the walls of the many different hallways of the mansion.
---13:00---
It was one O'clock and Anzu was on her lunch break except she had forgotten to bring any lunch and she had been working for five hours straight. Her hands and feet hurt a great deal and she'd bumped into a Malik a few times, each time he called her something different, 'bitch', 'Pharaoh's whore' and, well you get the gist.
She knew where the kitchen was and thought that maybe they could give her something; she walked through the halls carefully looking round corners before walking in case Malik was there.
She passed through the dining room that was covered in deep scarlet drapes and a long mahogany table stretched across the length of the room. The small door she'd come through was nothing compared to the huge pair of double doors on the other side of the room that was the entrance to the kitchen. A large window covering at least half the wall from floor to ceiling at one end of the room.
A large crystal chandelier hung from the white ceiling and several unlit candles stood proudly erect in golden stands evenly spaced over the table. No wall lights at all, this was a very old fashioned room in dead, but so was the rest of the mansion.
She paused to admire the room glancing around she could just see the kind of people that used to actually live in this kind of house. Fine looking ladies with their hair up and larger gowns, they were linking arms with men in black suits with white shirts and bow ties or ties.
There stood Bakura, not Ryou but his Yami, in a green open shirt and blue and white striped muscle t underneath. Tight fitting jeans covered the white haired man's long legs and a pair of old looking, worn sneakers adorned his feet. Bakura…hey wait just a minute! Bakura?
Anzu shook her head, auburn hair flying around her; she blinked a couple of times before looking back around the room in earnest. He wasn't there, it must have been part of her imagination, but she had been imagining a whole different time period.
What was going on? She could have sworn, although it is wrong to swear, that she had seen him but why?
Then she realised something, the figures in the black world that was featured in her dream, the voices that she thought she recognised, she did recognise them; they had been Bakura and Malik's Yami. But that was even more confusing, why was she seeing them, they were in the Shadow Realm, that would explain the black in the dream.
Anzu didn't have a Millennium Item though, so how could she see into the shadow realm and through the thin layer that kept the two worlds apart.
Still, Anzu continued past the table and through the large room tot eh double doors leading to the kitchen. She opened the door and was met with a face full of dense steam, droplets of water forming lightly on her cheeks. She shook herself and stepped inside, listening to the many men and a few women bustling around with large and small pots alike, the room was warm and many smells drifted through the air, intoxicating Anzu.
"Who are you child," a rather obese woman roared at her waving a large silver metal spoon at her.
"Um…Anzu," the brunette went cross-eyed to loo at the end of the spoon that was resting on her nose.
"Out child out, we don't need no disturbances here!" the woman bellowed over the noise pushing Anzu in the centre of her chest with the spoon forcing her backwards.
"I'll deal with this Mary, you get back to work," came a loud, manly voice and the obese woman nodded and lumbered off. Behind her had been standing a tall man; taller than Anzu at any rate, with cropped black hair and dark blue eyes.
He smiled charmingly and Anzu felt her knees go weak, smiling gently back, "What are you doing here girl?" he asked, no malice in his voice, no anger, simply charming.
"Well I was wondering if there was something I could eat," Anzu said, she felt the heat rise in her cheeks tinted them a light rosy colour, she looked down and fiddled with her hands behind her back, shuffling her feet.
"Oh okay, follow me," the man said turning and motioning for her to follow over his shoulder with his finger, "what was your name?" he asked as they made their way through the kitchen to a back room where roes of sandwiches were aligned on shelves.
"Anzu, my name is Anzu," she said.
"Mine's Tom and if you want a sandwich then you can have one," Tom explained gesturing towards the racks, Anzu nodded and thanked him, picking one and beginning to eat.
"Thanks, that really kind of you and I'm sorry for any inconvenience I've caused," Anzu apologised.
"It's okay," replied Tom heading back into the kitchens making Anzu smiled to herself, after which she headed off to continue her work.
It was a while after that when Anzu was cleaning the front hall floor with a mop that Malik walked in the front door, trailing mud behind him. Now of course, the front hall was large and it had taken Anzu a long time to get it so you could see your face in it and he just came in and ruined it. She glared at him but he just smirked, as though he found it amusing, no surprise there, "Aw, what's wrong? Is poor little Anzu upset with me?" he then began to walk away laughing.
"You son of a gun," Anzu hissed but Malik spun round to face her.
"What did you call me?" he demanded.
"A son of a gun," Anzu repeated clearly, glaring all the while.
"May I remind you little Anzu, that you work for me?" Malik sneered striding up to her until he was standing right in front of her towering her slightly, she still had to look up to meet his angry eyes.
"Your point?" she growled, but she cried out when his hand darted up and grabbed the hair behind her head and wrenched her head backwards.
"Not only is your job it my hands but," he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, she shivered as his warm breath tickled her ear, "so is your life."
She struggled but he would not give way sop she replied, "But that's murder!"
"Who would know, I could do it so quickly in this house that no one would hear you scream and no one would know would they?" he smirked as Anzu's expression became one of horror, she had to tell Yami.
"I suppose you're thinking of people who could save you, your girl friends are the only ones that know I'm here and they wouldn't be much help against me now would they my dear?" he hissed in her ear making her shiver again.
"Yami would stop you, just like before," Anzu replied wincing in pain.
"Yami? If I'm correct he doesn't even know I'm back in Domino, let alone you here, with me," he moved away from her ear, his lips pressed gently against her neck, trailing down so slowly, talking all the while. "And even if you told him, wouldn't he like to know how you'd come so close to me that I could have threatened you," Anzu's eyes widened, from what he said and the fact that his tongue had just licked her collar bone.
"You bastard," Anzu gasped.
"That I am, but still, Yami doesn't know that you work for me and I wonder what he'd say," Anzu was shaking in fear by now. "What if he didn't hear it from you?" he wondered allowed
"You wouldn't," Anzu gasped again.
"Oh my dear, that's the least of your problems, I mean, just look at our position," he smirked raising his head so he was at eye level with her releasing her hair from hiss strong grip.
She looked around; somehow he'd backed her up against a wall, into a corner no less, one hand gripping her wrists behind her back and the other at her neck. He was barely an inch away from her nose and she was breathing heavily.
"There are two security cameras in this room, one of which has constantly been pointing right at us," Anzu was starring at him in shock.
"One shot from that could tell Yami all the things he doesn't want to know, or I could make him a little home video with some edited sound effects that we both know would make your boyfriend very upset with you and angry or maybe jealous of me," Malik smirked.
Anzu understood know why Isis had trouble finding staff, if this was what Malik was like on a daily basis she didn't want to be here, but that was just it, that was why he behaved so out of character on her first day to test her metal so to speak. Well, she was stronger than that!
"Please no, please don't do anything of the kind," she begged pressing forwards into him, he could feel her chest rubbing unintentionally against his own.
He leaned forwards, "I'll think about it," he whispered into her ear, "but I may want something in return," he said, once more trailing his mouth down her neck to rest at her collarbone. She was breathing heavier now and leaning into him rather than on the wall, it was uncomfortable with her hands digging into her rear and she didn't want Malik to have that satisfaction seeing as his hand was hold her wrists together. It was then that she noticed that he was sucking on her neck and she gasped, struggling a little.
He drew away and licked it once before coming back up to eye level, "Be good now Miss Mazaki, you don't know where the cameras in this place are," and with that, he walked away smirking, but this time carrying his boots so they didn't drop on the floor.
Anzu slumped back against the wall breathing heavily, she gulped for air and felt up to the patch on her neck where it was still wet, she knew there'd be a red mark but nothing that wouldn't fade in a day or two. But that wasn't all she was worried about, her body temperature had increased and she missed the warmth that his body had provided.
"Oh God…"
---Shizuka and Jounouchi---
"Big brother, do you feel anything for Mai?" Shizuka asked looking up at her brother who was walking beside her.
"Yeh," Jou answered looking back at Shizuka uncertainly.
"What then?" she pursued, if Jou wasn't going to realise on his own then she'd have to make him see.
"Well you know," was Jou's hesitant, rather vague reply.
"No," Shizuka replied sternly, "I don't!"
"Well, this and that," Jou replied grinning, pleased with himself, Shizuka wasn't though.
"Out with it Jou, love, like or hate," Shizuka pressed, God, why was her brother so in adept at disclosing his feelings.
"Like," Shizuka raised an eyebrow, "crush," Shizuka raised both of her eyebrows, "oh okay fine, I love her okay, you got that?" Jou cried, attracting quite a lot of attention from his outburst and all the waving his arms were doing.
"Okay, that's enough Jou," Shizuka said sighed and grabbing the front of Jou's shirt dragging him along. People still stared so she stopped and growled at all the people, "Well, what are you looking at?" and they turned away abruptly.
"Sis, weren't you a tad bit mean to those people?" Jou asked as eh was dragged along.
Shizuka turned to him, her hair swaying and grinned, "Nope," it was Jou's turn to sigh, why oh why did he have to have a sister like this, why?
They carried on in silence, Jou had his head hung and Shizuka looked at him confused and upset, not understanding why her brother wouldn't talk to her. This was what she figured was the silent treatment; he was obviously upset with her.
"I have it!" he suddenly cried grinning like a maniac and jumping high into the air.
Shizuka almost screamed and stumbled backwards grasping her heart and breathing heavily, eyes wide she called out, "Jou what is the matter with you?" she demanded.
"I know how to make Mai love me!" Jou cried.
"Well, how?" Shizuka asked, excited that something had actually registered in her brother's brain.
"I'm going to ask her to marry me," Jou stated with determination in his eyes.
"Oh my God Jou, that's fantastic," Shizuka squealed getting excited at the prospects, "we have to go buy an engagement ring!"
She began to drag him along by the wrist but he dug his heels in and pulled against her, being bigger and stronger than her made her stop, "Wait sis," he commanded calming down in the space of a second and going serious.
"Why, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong, it's just that," he grinned, "I've already got an engagement ring," she looked at him in surprise, no, disbelief, "its mum's engagement ring."
"Oh Jou," Shizuka gasped putting a hand to her mouth.
"She told me to take care of it and if, if I ever settled down then, I could use it and I'm going to do just that," Jou said resolutely.
"I'm so proud of you big brother," Shizuka declared smiling broadly and wrapping her arms tightly around her brother, maybe he wasn't so blind after all, pardon the minor pun.
---Yuugi---
The small boy sighed and grinned up at the ceiling wiping his brow of the beads of sweat that had form while he'd been restocking the shop. He went into the back of the shop and collapsed wearily into the couch in front of the T.V. He got a bit of a shock when his Yami materialized beside him, come to think of it; he was the only one with a Yami now.
"Hey Yami, what's up?" Yuugi asked relaxing into the inviting softness of the sofa.
"I wanted to talk to you Yuugi," the smaller teen nodded his head in acknowledgment, "about that comment you made the other day at the beach."
"Which one, I'm sure I made many," Yuugi joked laughing a little but calming down quickly when the expression on his Yami's face did not change. Yami remained scowling which made Yuugi frown in puzzlement.
"When you said 'Do you love her enough, to let her go'," Yami quoted, "why did you say that?" the Pharaoh asked.
"Because, well," Yuugi smiled sadly, "people change Yami she may want to move on and you," he faltered, looking away from his Yami no longer able to hold his piercing gaze, "you've got to be able to let her go, to make her own decisions."
"Are you saying she'd cheat on me?" Yami demanded getting a bit angry now.
"No, Anzu isn't that sort of person, I'm just saying," Yuugi hesitated and in that second Yami interrupted.
"What, you're saying what?" he yelled, "that I'm not good enough for her? Is that it Yuugi? Or are you jealous? Well, are you?" and with that he disappeared into his soul room and Yuugi felt the door in his mind slam shut.
Yuugi winced and said to himself, "Oh Yami, that's not what I meant at all, I just hope you don't go too high otherwise," he looked up as if to emphasis his point, "you're fall may be too great for even you."
---Yami---
Yuugi may or may not have known but still, Yami had been listening to that closing comment and he sighed, "I'm sorry Yuugi, but still," he paused a moment to frown thoughtfully, "what fall, why?" So many questions, so little headspace, it gave Yami a head ache even though he couldn't actually feel anything because he was in his mind but still, the principal was there.
---The Shadow Realm---
"You know we're going to be here for quite a long time," commented a low rhythmic voice from the shadows.
"Marik?" a harsher voice demanded and a tall, lean figure clad in jeans, a blue and white stripped t-shirt, green shirt and sneakers spun around to face the direction of the voice. Long, messy, silver hair floated on the non existent wind and came to rest once more against the figures back, scarlet brown eyes narrowed.
"Who else could be here to torment you?" the first voice came again and Marik emerged from the shadows, blond hair striking up as usual, rogue wisps flowed over his shoulders, forehead and ears. His dark lavender eyes half lidded as usual and focused on the other, pupils dilated to tiny black dots, pin pricks on the horizon so to speak.
"Why are you here?" The white haired man growled balled his hands into fist, his fingers curling and his nails biting into his palms.
"Now Bakura I was just lonely, all I wanted as some company," Marik explained striding up to Bakura until he was right in front of him. There wasn't much difference in their height, only Bakura was about two centimetres shorter and his hair didn't count for much in perspective of Marik's.
Bakura snorted, "Yeh right."
"I was wondering," Marik continued despite Bakura's obvious scorn not to mention hostility, "If you could help me in that department."
"Not in a million years Marik," Bakura growled.
"Funny that isn't it," Marik laughed and Bakura scowled, gritting his teeth, Marik then stopped laughing and continued, "we're beings of eternity, a million years will go by but you don't mean it literally do you?" Marik sneered.
Bakura's eyes narrowed dangerously but he didn't move, he'd learned to wait for the right moment.
"However, it gets kind of boring in this place don't you agree, I mean, we can't kill each other here," Marik suggested but Bakura just continued to watch him, he could feel the blond pressing his chest to his own making him wonder what Marik was up to.
"Why?" Bakura growled.
"Always to the point, no foreplay I see," Marik commented slipping his arms around Bakura's neck, Bakura's eyes widened to their normal size, he raised an eyebrow and gritted his teeth. He shrugged trying to ease Marik off him but Marik didn't budge, he only smirked in what appeared to be triumph.
"Get off of me Marik!" Bakura demanded but was met with no such action.
"But we're both bored I can tell, and we aren't going anywhere for a long time," Marik grinned showing his teeth. "So I though of a way to cure that problem," Marik said pressing his body to Bakura's, making Bakura start and arch his back but this was playing right into Marik's hands.
"And what's that?" Bakura demanded trying to struggle form Marik's grasp but failing, the other hand wrapped one arm around the spirits waist, hooked one leg behind Bakura's own and his other arm was steadying his head.
"You, me," Marik started moving his head close to Bakura's, too close for the spirits liking, "screw."
It was at that moment, just before Marik had his way, that Bakura brought his knee up and into Marik's groin making him double over and Bakura shoved him off.
"No way in hell you horny homosexual bastard," Bakura growled walking away from the coughing and spluttering Egyptian.
Nice long chapter to make up for my abscense, sorry i haven't update din so long. I've hand school and only just got back from Mallorca. And then I had to do my holiday work and get over my writers block and bloody hell it's a miracle I even wrote something let alone post.
BTW, who should Isis be with?
a) SK
b) YY
c) YM (this would b complicated but I could try)
d) RO
e) HH
f) Shadi
g) RB
h) Yuugi
current pairings are
Jou / Mai
Yami / Anzu (will change)
Anzu / ???
and what will become of our dear spirits caught in the shadow realm? Well you'll have to keep reading to find that out!