~Something Precious~
Mika: Yay! I already got 40 reviews. I think that's more than I expected. Well, hope you like this chapter. If you haven't noticed, the first few paragraphs are of the past, then later about the present. So, enjoy, and R&R!
[Chapter 3]
~
It wasn't very hard to tutor someone for Anzu. She would teach students of her grade or from the grade before. She's dedicated herself on teaching students who struggle in their education. That is why her consoler registered her in the tutoring program. She loves to help other students, and she's love to see them get better grades just from her teachings. But, all of a sudden, her pride in tutoring went down when Yami Mutou registered for some tutoring lessons. Their consoler volunteered Anzu to help the freshmen basketball star.
The girl shifted in her seat as she flipped a page. She looked over to her side and saw the tri-haired color boy, slouching in his chair, staring at the ceiling. The two were in the back of the library, hoping that no one familiar would see them together. She sighed out loud and the boy looked up at her. He arched a brow, and narrowed his eyes a bit. Anzu glared and looked at the textbook. "Were you even listening on how to convert this equation?" She growled a bit. Yami shrugged. "Look, I didn't really want to be in this tutoring thing, but my grandpa made me because I'm getting low grades." He said to her truthfully.
"I can see why." She muttered. He looked up at her in question. She shrugged. "Well, if you want to get good grades, you have to pay attention. I'm doing my best to make this easy for you." Her tongue rolling at every word she said. Anger was flaring within. She tried her best not to scream at the dense boy. Yami sighed and sat up straight. He picked up a pen and looked at her. "Fine, I'll do my best to try and listen." He said in a little lazy tone.
Anzu blinked her eyes at him. "High school isn't really as hard as it looks. You got Accelerated classes because you got high grades in Junior High. So try to study like how you studied last year." She paused a bit. She narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Unless… you cheated mostly to get high grades…"
Yami's eyes widened. "I did not! I worked hard to get them." He hissed. He crossed his arms and turned his head away. "It's just that I'm just… slacking off, ok." He grumbled. "Look, are you going to teach me or what?" He started to growl, getting annoyed by this girl.
The brunette picked up the textbook and browsed through to know what to teach him. Her mind was still fussing over the fact she was tutoring the number one guy she hates all her life. She clenched her hands. Once she got assigned to tutoring Mr. Mutou, she promised herself to give him hell. But, she wasn't that kind of person. Everyone knows that. She would just ignore every problem, and never do harm onto anyone, like her motto is 'Forgive and forget.' She sighed mentally. She was a softy, and everyone takes advantage of that. 'Get it into your head, Anzu. If we get to close, you'll end up getting hurt again. I just have to act as cold as I can… or at least try.' She bit her lip.
Yami saw the uneasiness the girl felt around him. All the years he knew her, they were never in good terms. He wondered if she still resents him for what he did to her last year. 'But she's always a forgive-and-forget kind of person.' He frowned. 'But… I think that's kind of sad…' He noticed with her near him, he never saw her eat lunch or at least have a happy conversation that doesn't include schoolwork with anyone. He shook his head. For some time now, he's been thinking of befriending the girl. But… when he's with his friends, they didn't really like her and always make fun of her. He would at times just laugh and pretend to agree with them. But really, he felt sorry for her. He perked his head up when he heard the girl speak. "Ok, let's start over on trying to understand the Pythagorean theorem." Anzu spoke. He leaned in closely to look over the textbook. 'Maybe… I can try to make friends with her… I… should this time…' Yami thought, and suddenly, he felt his cheeks growing warm.
~
Time passes by when you're busy trying to finish your work. The job wasn't hard, but it was a bit different than the last job. It really puts your mind into it, blocking out your surroundings. But there was always time where you can check up on your own son. Anzu's head snapped back and she turned towards the floor beside her. She looked down and smiled widely. Her little son was still busy trying to figure out the present his only grandma has given him. She chuckled a bit, causing the boy to automatically look up at his mother. "You're not tired yet?" She asked softly.
The boy shook his head. He blinked his big amethyst eyes. She smiled and ruffled his hair. The boy scrunched his nose and turned back on solving the golden puzzle. Anzu looked up at the clock on the wall, reading 6:45. She stretched out a bit and looked back at the computer. The mouse clicked as she saved the file she was typing up. 'Well, I think all the errors were corrected.' She said to herself. She stood up just as the door to her office opened. She and Yugi looked up to see Seto Kaiba, her new boss, at the door.
"It's almost seven, so I was thinking your son might be hungry." Seto said lowly. Anzu shivered a bit at his cold tone. There was no emotion in it. But the things he said were a bit caring. 'Right?' She smiled and looked down at Yugi. She bent down to his level. "So little boy, are you hungry?" Anzu asked in a singsong voice. The boy looked up and he smiled cheekily. "Ok, clean up and then we'll be ready." She said as she stood up. She turned her head to still see Kaiba standing there.
When their eyes met, he blinked them and turned his head slightly away. "Would you like to join, Mokuba, Serenity and I out to eat? You can take your son." He asked. "My treat."
Anzu thought she was dreaming, thinking he was a bit shy on asking. 'Get a grip girl, you're probably imagining things.' She smiled widely. "Sure, where are we going?" She asked.
Before he turned and left, he replied over his shoulder. "Somewhere not too far. I'll meet you at the lobby." Anzu smiled and nodded. The door was closed slightly. She looked down to see the boy standing beside his mother. The golden box was held in his hands.
"Here, let me hide this, because people might want to take this." Anzu took the golden box from her son's grasp, and hid it inside an empty drawer. She took a key and locked it securely. She held it out for her son to see that she dropped it in her bag. Yugi smiled satisfyingly. He reaches out his arms towards the air, and Anzu picked up the boy in her arms. She nuzzled her nose with his, as he scrunched up his and giggled. Anzu opened the door, closed the light and lock up her office area. She headed towards the elevator, passing by other workers who greeted her.
When they reached the lobby, they were soon met up to see the Kaiba brothers and Shizuka. The young girl waved at the brunette as they smiled in greeting. Mokuba waved at the little boy in his mother's arms. Yugi wiggled his fingers shyly. Anzu followed the tall guy out through the glass doors. There was a limo parked out and Seto opened the doors. Shizuka and Mokuba went it. Anzu froze. "So, should I… follow you?" She asked shyly.
Seto shook his head, "you can ride with us." He said monotonously. The young mother flushed and blinked her eyes. He opened the door widely and invited her in.
Numbly she climbed in and sat next to Shizuka. The small girl smiled widely at her. "You've never been in a limo before?" She asked. Anzu blushed and shook her head. Shizuka smiled widely. "Don't worry, you'll get use to it." She reassured her. Anzu blinked a bit, 'What does she mean by that?' Yugi was sitting on Anzu's lap, facing the same way his mother was, with her arms securely around the boy. He blinked his eyes as he looked around. Shizuka giggled at the boy. "He's really cute!" She smiled widely. Yugi blush and sank deeper into his mother's arms. Anzu chuckled. "Thanks." Anzu replied.
The door closed as soon as Seto entered the limo. He looked at the occupants. "So where are we going?" He asked casually.
Mokuba bounced in his seat. "Let's go to Burger World! We haven't eaten there for a while." He begged his brother.
Seto looked a bit uneasy on going there. 'That mutt might be there…' He looked over at the younger girl then turned his head away. 'If she heard me say that, she'd kill me…' He crossed his arms and grunted. "Fine."
Mokuba cheered and bounced more in his seat. "Yay!" Seto knocked on the glass where the driver was and told him their destination. Then the dark glass window rolled back up.
Yugi blinked his eyes upon the raven-haired boy. 'He bouncy.' He noticed. He looked up at his mother. "Wha Bugaw Wold?" He whispered.
Anzu looked down upon him and smiled widely. "It's like McDonalds, except more…" She couldn't put a word on it really. "Bigger." She laughed a bit nervously.
Yugi blinked his big amethyst at her. He shrugged his little shoulders and turned his head out the window. He pouted. 'It dark!' Then he started to swing his legs out of boredom. Anzu looked around nervously.
Mokuba and Shizuka were chatting about his schooling and how he was playing basketball and won on his team. 'Basketball…' Anzu's mind whispered. '…No! Don't think of him.' She yelled in her mind. She looked ahead to see a pair of deep blue eyes upon hers. She shrunk into her seat.
"How do you think of your new job?" He asked nonchalantly, trying to make a conversation with the girl in front of him. She was his new assistant. The last one he had, he scared her off. Plus she was old and smoked too much.
Anzu bit her lip and looked above her. "It's a bit different then how I would work back in Harte… but it's great." She said honestly. She really likes being an assistant. What she heard, there were these dinner parties she'd had to attend, and she had to voice out some opinions of her own on a few things. But what the problem is that she can't make decisions that she wasn't sure that might help out on selling products. 'I'm not much of a speaker.' She laughed to herself.
"Well, just to tell you, there will be this convention on Friday at four. We'll be leaving here at three-thirty." Anzu's eyes grew a bit. "I'll pick you up at your place. Shizuka can take care of your son for you." Seto asked in his own way, casually.
Anzu's brows knitted. "Well, ok." She looked over to her side to gaze at the young girl.
Shizuka smiled widely. "I'll take care of him for you, don't worry." Then she tapped her chin. "Should it be at your house? I need to also watch over Mokuba."
Anzu smiled at her. "You and Mokuba can stay over my apartment." The brunette said. Shizuka blinked her eyes, and then nodded.
She clasped her hands and faced the tiny boy. "Don't worry, little Yugi! We'll have so much fun!" She squealed. Yugi sank deeper and shook nervously. Anzu smiled and squeezed him gently.
~
One of the many things that Yugi learned from his mother was to not be mean to others and to be nice to them, except if they are mean to you. He wondered if not trying to be friends with Bakura was being mean to him. A nudge on his arm made the little boy jerk his head towards his friend. He gave his new best friend a questioned look. "Qwit twyin ta be fwendz wit Bakuwa. He no like us!" Marik said. The two sat on top of the jungle gym while the other children ran around.
Yugi bit his lip and glanced at the white haired boy sitting under the shade of the tree. That boy always sits there everyday, watching the others play before him. And he doesn't have any friends to play with. 'I be twyin to be fwendz wit him ebry day, but me can't!' The small boy thought. He took in a big gulp of air and climbed down.
"Ay! Wat ya doin!?" Marik yelled from the top, watching the small boy climb down. He pouted and started to follow the boy. He watched Yugi dodge the other children towards the tree where a certain boy was. "Yugi!" Marik called to protest over his friends doing. He knew that everyday this boy has been trying to make friends with Bakura. But the kid was hard as a rock and he seemed to not like anyone. Marik started to run to catch up with the boy, but a collision with another child sent him falling to the ground. The two sprawled on the ground starting to wail. Isis saw the two and ran up to them. Many children started to gather around to watch the scene.
Yugi turned around and saw his best fiend on the ground crying while holding his knee. He was about to go towards Marik, but he stopped to turn his head towards the tree. He looked back on Marik being carried by Isis and holding the hand of the other crying boy. Yugi took another deep breath and walked over to Bakura. He stopped a few feet away from the boy. The white haired boy was staring at the brave multicolored haired boy. Yugi blinked his violet eyes and moved closer. He put on a tiny smile. He waved timidly. "Hi."
Bakura just kept on staring at Yugi, as the boy felt a bit nervous. 'Me too new at dis!' He thought. "You wanna pway wit me?" He asked shyly and tilted his head a bit.
"He not yaw fwend?" Bakura asked in a low tone. Yugi turned his head to see Marik red in the face being held protectively by Ms. Sissy. Yugi looked back at Bakura and nodded his head. "He me fwend." Yugi said. "Wanna be me fwend too?" He crossed his tiny fingers, hoping that the white haired boy would be his friend.
The other boy just stared at the tiny one. He blinked his eyes a few times. No one has ever asked him to be his friend or go near him. Since Yugi came, the boy has been trying hard to ask, but never did get to. Bakura looked down at his lap. "Okay." He replied.
Yugi's face glowed with joy. 'Me may a fwend!' He said excitedly in his head. 'Mommy be happy!' Bakura stood up and followed Yugi to go and retrieve Marik from Isis.
Anzu looked at her rear view mirror and saw the brightened face of her son. She smiled herself at the boy's face. Anyone who did smile upon the boy's face would have no heart at all. The boy's smile can make anyone bright and happy as he his. "Why so happy, little boy?" She asked as she turned the car a corner.
Yugi glanced up at the reflection of his mother's in the mirror. He smiled cheekily. "Me may new fwend today!" He said slowly, trying to pronounce every word clearly, just how he always speaks with his mother and grandma. "He name Bakuwa." Yugi said cheerfully, and he clasped his hands together while kicking his legs.
"Really?" Anzu asked surprisingly. Yugi nodded furiously. She smiled proudly at the boy. "That's great! Now you have two friends at school, huh?" The boy smiled and nodded his head again. Her eyes softened and she turned her attention back on the road. 'That's good for you, Yugi. You need to move on and… forget about our past.' She clenched at the steering wheel.
She looked upon the mirror to check if she looked too casual or overly dressed. She couldn't decide on what to wear tonight, but a dark blue long sleeve with a v-neck and a black skirt with a belt holding it firmly around her waist. She twirled around to see that her fat gained from being pregnant was slightly gone. Her hips and breast have grown because of pregnancy, but her belly shrunk down. Anzu bit her lip and looked over her self again. 'Is this how an assistant to a multi-millionaire is suppose to dress?' She unknowingly picked up a silver chained necklace and clipped it around her. She looked down upon it and blinked a few times. She froze when she saw the silent pendant. It was a little sphere crystal with two silver bands crossing one another around the sphere. In the middle was a small blue gem with tiny wings at the sides of it. Her hand shakily touched the necklace. Her body felt like splitting apart from her new identity. She shook her head and took the jewelry off around her.
She quickly took a brush and in quick strokes she tried to forget that feeling. Her hair was parted on the side with a blue clip holding her hair. She looked for some earrings and another necklace. Anzu didn't need make up, her face naturally looked beautiful, as her mother says. She secured her watch on her left wrist and looked at the time. When she was done, she walked outside to the shoe closet. She picked out some matching shoes and went in the living room. She placed her shoes besides the couch. She saw her son watching some cartoons on the recliner. She smiled to herself and sat down with the boy. "Hey." She whispered.
The boy's eyes were glued to the screen. "Hi." He answered flatly. 'More like a zombie.' She thought. Anzu narrowed her eyes. She shook her head and sat up from the chair. It was almost three-thirty, and there was a knock on the door. Anzu blinked her eyes a bit then answered the door. She opened it to be face to face with her boss, Seto Kaiba. Her face flushed in surprise to be staring at his deep blue eyes.
"Hello Kaiba, sir." She said meekly. Her cheeks glowed a faint pinkish color. After a week of working with him, she's been developing some type of crush on him. 'He your boss, you idiot! You can't fall for him!' She opened the door wider to see Shizuka and Mokuba. "Hi!" She stepped aside to let them through. "Come in. Make your selves at home." She smiled widely at her guests.
Anzu offered them a seat. They sat down, except for Kaiba that stood near the closed door. "Well, if you need me, just call me on my cell phone. It's on this list on the fridge." She went into her room to get her purse. "Yugi tends to be very quiet, but he listens obediently. If he wants something, just let him get it, but you should help him out a bit. He'll mostly likely fall asleep on the couch, but that's ok." The brunette placed on her shoes. The people in the room all watched her talk on and move about the place. Anzu neared her son and kissed her son. "You be good, ok?" The boy nodded. Anzu smiled again and kissed the boy on the forehead. She picked up her keys from the coffee table and followed Kaiba out the door. "Bye sweetie!" Anzu called.
"Bye mommy!" Yugi waved numbly at his mother. The door closed and everything fell quiet, except for the television.
Shizuka stood up and stretched out. "So Yugi, what do you want to eat?" She asked. Yugi stared at her from the recliner and stayed silent. He looked at the raven-haired boy with his eyes glued on to the television, then to the cartoon. "Well, we'll be having pizza later then." She scratched her head.
Shizuka looked at the two kids. 'I guess this makes my job even easier. It's a good thing we're here at Anzu's house then at Kaiba's. I might lose them in that big house.' She looked around the place and saw a few pictures. There were framed ones with Yugi and Anzu together, two with some other lady. Shizuka thought it might have been Anzu's mother. 'She looks so young as well.' Shizuka picked up a photo album from under the coffee table and sat on the carpet. She flipped through pages, staring at the little boy and his mother. 'They look so happy together. They're so cute!' Not one picture of any guy in it. 'She must have no father or something. Well, I understand Yugi's problem of not having a father.'
She placed back the album and picked up another. As she did, a few loose pictures fell out. The girl freaked and hurriedly gathered them. She looked through them. Mostly baby pictures of Yugi, and pictures of Anzu when she was about five or so. Then one picture made her stop. She stared at it intently. 'This must be the father.' It was Anzu in a photo booth with some guy that looks like Yugi. 'Anzu seems very happy here too.' She picked up another picture of Anzu with Yugi. 'Same happiness when she is with Yugi. The guy is also happy here too. I wonder what happened.'
~
It was dark in the quiet room. They didn't make a sound as they just stood there, watching. The moon shined through the windows, basking its light upon a fragile and precious thing. He neared it and carried it gently in his arms. She watched him rock his arms. Tears were forcing its way out of her eyes. She bit her lip from trying to hold back a feeling that wanted to escape. She didn't know weather she is angry, sad or happy. A soft tune escapes the lips of the guy. Tears fell at the sweet and low song. She felt her voice vibrating, singing with him. He turned to face her. He saw her crying. He moved a hand towards her face to wipe away the tears. "I'm sorry…" She whispered while shaking.
He just kept his hand upon her face. "Why?" He asked softly.
She turned away and stared at the soft covers beside her. "You must… forget about me… us and live on." She looked up at him, tears falling freely from the sides of her pale face. "You have dreams to fulfill, and you still can."
He embraced her with his free arm. "What are you talking about? Don't you have dreams as well?"
She took his hand and squeezed it. "I can take care of him on my own. You don't have to be part of this. You're still young, and you have many dreams ahead for you. This is not the ideal family you wanted. This happened all too soon. This wasn't what you wanted." She shook her head to rid the tears that couldn't stop running. "Forget… that we even met at all. All those memories…were just nothing for you." He shook his head, not wanting to listen to this. A tear was forming within his eyes. She held on to his face, their foreheads touching. "You have to." She whispered. "You have to."
~
Mika: Whoo! Sorry it took a very long time for me to update this. I was in Hawaii for a week, and I had too much homework to do over the weekends. Well, this whole week is my spring break, so I'll be doing a few chapters of my fics.
So what do you think up to now? You're wondering when the father will appear in the present? He won't until I get a few things straightened out. Just to tell you, I'm not dissing on Yami. Honestly I love the guy… but not as much as Seto! ^.^; Other characters will soon next chapter, so don't worry. And I promise they will, ok? Most of you all want a triangle sort of love between Anzu and the guys. Don't worry; I've already cooked something up. Looks like the vote for Ryou and Anzu are winning, but I'm not so sure. Heh. Well, til next time! Hope it's not too confusing. ^.^