A Doich, a Café, and a Pharaoh
Summary: When Anzu confesses her love for Yami, and is rejected, to whom can she turn when her best friend is the source of her misery? And, of course, her day only gets worse as she realizes that her only enemy is sitting in her favorite café.. [Seto/Anzu]
Author's Note: Say what you like about Anzu, I was prompted to write this by one of my muses, and she wouldn't shut up until I did. I'm not sure how I feel about the pairing, but I think I might get a better idea after some reviews.. (Hint, hint.)
Also, any asterisks are for footnotes at the bottom of the fic.
Not to mention the fact that I realize this fanfic was ill-titled. I've never been particularly talented at making titles.
Tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks, tracing a glistening pattern across the faintly flushed plains of her features. Each crystalline jewel glittered momentarily, offset by the rose that colored her visage, but was swiftly chased away by the alacrity with which she stormed away from the small park at which she had met him that day.
What possessed me to think that it was a good idea to tell him? She demanded of herself, but there was no reply to suit her- no reply at all, despite the thousands of excuses that she automatically provided him. When end came to end, the matter was simple enough- he did not love her, and never had.
She had hoped..
But then, she always had.
Verdant and lustrously beaded with the previous night's rain, the park was a vision of glittering splendor and majestic magnificence. Willows draped their wispy tendrils over the ornamental stream that drifted down the center of the newly opened park, and beneath the murky olive surface, curls of orange-gold could be perceived- feeding koi. Tangible remnants of the sun twirled lazily throughout the skies, dipping ever lower, towards the horizon, into which it would eventually sink in a magnificent sunset that was coming all the more swiftly..
Ordinarily, Anzu would have paused to admire the view- her personality was very much one that sought the simplistic things of life, and derived enjoyment from the most natural of pleasures. But her sapphirine eyes- as translucent as that stone, and as scintillatingly precious- kept sliding away from the magnificent panorama, searching for the clash of amethyst against azure that would betray his presence.
Her breath caught within his throat as a flash of indigo cloth ensnared her gaze, and automatically, she turned to glance at the bearer It was, of course, precisely whom she had been expecting- though she could not remember whether he had seemed so imposing before; nor so tall.
Blinking somewhat as that last realization filtered through her thoughts, she stood up from the park bench she had been seated upon for the last half hour, and automatically, a smile alighted upon her features- a smile both sheepish and vividly besotted.
"You're here!"
He arched a brow- an expression that Yugi rarely adopted. But then, it grew so easy to forget that he was not her best friend, but another entity altogether. "Of course I'm here." He responded, amusement lacing his voice. "You called me here, didn't you? And I would hardly refuse the request of a friend.."
His phrasing made her feel awkward- he wouldn't refuse a friend? And she had hoped to see more than the casual poise that was his mien with the world as his audience- she had hoped to see something less formal. Less Pharaoh-like.
It was part of his imposing nature that had first drawn her to him- Anzu was not, by nature, a leader, though many a leader would pray for someone such as her to aid them. But swiftly, in the view of his other facets, her fascination with his differences from her best friend dimmed, to be replaced by a burgeoning seed of something more than mere admiration.. He was everything that she had ever sought and never found- arrogantly skilled, with confidence, and the ability to lead others through times of tribulation, into the peace beyond.
He was everything that she had ever wanted.
"Anzu?" His concern filtered through her thoughts, and she blinked automatically, raising a hazy gaze towards his concerned features. Abruptly, the brunette realized that she must have drifted off into her ruminations, leaving him blinking at her empty shell. 'And sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't have been truer to my nature as a blonde..'
"Oh.. well.." She fiddled uncertainly with her hair- a sign of anxiety. "I suppose you're wondering why I called you here.." She laughed embarrassedly, never once meeting his incisive gaze, lest he see the truth within her eyes and turn away from her.
As acutely attuned to his movements as she was, Anzu felt, more than saw, him nod. "I would have to be a fool if I thought that you called me here for no reason other than to speak with me randomly- conversing about the weather, perhaps.." He said, and his voice poured a velvet shiver down her spinal cord. Glancing towards his features, she saw that his mouth was twisted into an amused curve, though his eyes were as focused upon her as before.
"Well.. erm.." In her dreams, it had never been this gauche a situation- she had never been so acutely aware of his proximity, and so disturbed by it. In her dreams, he had known of her thoughts before she'd needed to speak them, and there had been no need for words.
It was a terrible pity that it was only in her dreams.
Steeling herself against all possibilities of rejection, she took a deep breath and raised her glance to meet his- nearly staggering beneath that clash of jeweled gazes. His eyes seemed far more heliotropic than usual, their content all the more ambiguous- all the more desirable. For all that the light-haired boy was an enigma, and that she'd never been talented in solving puzzles, she could only wish that he would permit her to undo the mystery that surrounded him..
"I think.." she murmured inelegantly, her voice beginning to abandon her at the moment of truth.
"I think that I love you."
It was only because she was watching him that she saw that minute change within his expression, transforming his composed mien infinitesimally- but that subtle difference altered the emotions reflected within his visage altogether. She turned her stare elsewhere, refusing to acknowledge the emotions that lanced across his face in rapid succession, each one as comprehensible as the next- and each one as loathsome. From friendly curiosity.. to a profound look of..
No, it couldn't be.
Pity?
"Anzu.." Yes, there it was, his voice laden with that odious, repulsive emotion- a poor substitute for what she had sought of him. Nevertheless, numbness seemed to have enveloped her form from the moment that she had grasped the meaning of the emotion lingering within his eyes, and she could not move to reject his kindly-meant words. "I didn't realize you felt this way- I suppose you should know that I'm.. flattered by your statement.." For the first time, the Pharaoh seemed at a loss for words outside of a battle situation- or at least, a battle that involved Duel Monsters.
The brunette drew some small, vindictive pleasure from his uncertainty, however diminutive that was.
"But I'm afraid that I just don't feel the same way about you.." Something within his voice prompted Anzu to meet his gaze again, and dully, she obeyed it. "You'll understand, won't you?" Though the King of Games could not plead, this was as close as he could come- that minute spark of emotion that asked her for a forgiveness that she could not help but grant him, despite his refusal of everything else she could bestow.
Forcing a false smile upon her features, Anzu was surprised at how easily it drifted to her lips. Her eyes glittered with a radiance that had nothing to do with joy. "Don't worry about it." She said, with an off-hand shrug, still smiling brilliantly. Nevertheless, the brunette was faintly disgusted by how readily the Yugi-who-was-not-Yugi absorbed her façade, and accepted it, though she permitted nary an inch of that emotion to drift across her features. 'It's only a lifetime obsession, after all.' She added mentally, bitterness tinging her voice. 'Don't worry, I'll get over it.'
Relief shot across his features. "I'm glad you understand, Anzu." He said gratefully.
'But I don't! I don't understand at all..'
"Oh, of course," She said aloud, her smile becoming tighter, less simplistic a pretense. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have.. I have to go and meet a friend." Her excuse was fumbled, and she was almost certain that the perceptive King of Games would see through her charade immediately. But if he did, he gave no indication of his realization, merely regarded her with enigmatic composure, his own façade of emotionlessness having returned to him.
"I'll see you on Monday, at school?" He offered, and for a moment, sounded like the boy that had been her best friend all throughout school.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Anzu promised, before walking away. Privately, she admired her own equanimity.
After all, it was all she could do at the moment not to break into a run.
Blindly, instinctively, her feet located a path that her mind had not yet acknowledged- a path towards the only solace that she had ever known. It was the only shelter where she could hide away from both friends, family, and enemies alike. As far as she knew, none of her acquaintances, from the most distant to the most intimate, had ever located the Lunatic Café- the sanctuary to which she automatically scrambled when times were troubled, and not even her friends could aid her.
It was a diminutive opening that sat at the corner of an all but deserted street- hardly noticeable, even by the most astutely observant person's standards. And from what Megumi had told her, it had been designed that way- to keep out all but a chosen few. The café itself had always been small- with an informal, homely air that had immediately drawn Anzu inward from the first time she'd espied it. Though she had never been particularly inclined towards caffeine, they made a superb hot chocolate that seemed ever appropriate- particularly since the caf's temperature always ranged through the low 70's in Fahrenheit.
She had never spoken of its existence to Joey and the rest of her friends- had never felt the need to tell them of her last retreat. Though Anzu was ordinarily one who gave everything of herself to her friends, there was some part of her that retained the narcissism characteristic of humankind, and it was that which prompted her to keep the location of her sole, favorite café to herself. It was, she had been told when she had first entered its bell-adorned doors, a place with a "tasteful and select clientele"- but then, she wasn't particularly sure if Megumi had been joking when she'd said that. Particularly considering the sentence that had followed it afterwards.
"The café chooses the people." The raven-haired girl confided with a wink as she set Anzu's hot chocolate down.
Anzu blinked, uncertain as to whether she had heard the other girl correctly. Thoughts of insanity drifted across her mind, to be firmly quashed beneath the boot of the brunette's utter trust in her friends- she'd known Megumi for approximately a hundred hot chocolates now, and the girl had never before uttered a concept that seemed even remotely unstable. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said." The girl responded easily, beginning to turn back to the counter, a tray wobbling with empty cups poised for disaster atop one hand. "Want another cookie? On the house, since you left us a sizeable tip the last time that should more than cover a cookie."
"Double-chocolate, please." Anzu responded gratefully- double-chocolate was Megumi's one specialty, and Anzu had made a point of ordering one whenever she entered the café. Though the two were little more than friendly acquaintances, Megumi's easy manner of adopting anyone who entered the café into her "family" had ensnared Anzu as it had a thousand before her- it was precisely the demeanor that she herself wished to maintain, after all. "And you still didn't answer my question."
"Yes, I did- you just didn't want to understand it." At Anzu's uncharacteristically meaningful look, Megumi gave a long-suffering sigh. "Look, some people just don't see the café, you get me? Maybe it's just because the entrance is unassuming, and so small, but only some people get in here. Watch the window and you'll see people walk, squinting at the café, only to look alarmed and be swept away by a tide of people." She shrugged, a simple movement that expressed far more than words. "I call it the destiny factor.. only people who are fated to meet come in here."
Now, recalling that conversation with the raven-haired server graced her lips with the slightest taint of a smile, for all that the sentiment was bittersweet. Translucent beads of saltwater glittered still upon her cheeks as she pushed the door open, ignoring the cheery peal of the bells above the door. A blast of cold air rushed over her form as she exited the mildly oppressive summer's heat, and discomfited, she shivered, though even that surprise didn't obliterate the aberrant bitterness from her features.
Megumi, of course, noticed a regular customer's presence immediately. "Hey, Anzu! Over here!" She called cheerfully, her manner buoyant with good humor as she greeted the brunette. Abruptly, however, her expression altered as she took in the slight acrimony that smoldered within Anzu's gaze, and the tear tracks that glittered still upon her features. "My God.." the girl breathed. Never before had Anzu appeared so haggard- for all that she had merely dashed across a quarter of the city without bothering to clear her face of tears, she seemed as though she had survived a multiple-day's trek across a desert. "What truck ran you over this morning?" Before the brunette could form even the remotest reply, Megumi had draped an arm over her immobile form, and all but dragged her to a stool.
"You're lucky I just made a new batch of hot chocolate." She informed Anzu in a mock-stern manner, and was rewarded with a tremulous smile for her efforts. "It's still newly hot- don't have to keep rewarming it or anything. Now tell me about the truck driver. Or was it just a truck?"
"It was a truck driver.." Anzu sighed, sliding onto the leather stool as she fell into Megumi's odd metaphor, smiling with wry gratefulness as the girl automatically pushed a steaming cup towards her. "But I think it was partially my fault- I wasn't looking when I crossed the street.."
And she proceeded to tell Megumi about her encounter with Yami.
"'Flattered by your statement'?" Megumi inquired skeptically, her voice echoing from the back as she began to wash the cups. Her disamusement was reflected within the manner that she scrubbed them- every so often, Anzu thought that she caught the sound of a porcelain cup banging against the sink's metal side. Megumi's shift had been over a while ago, but she'd continued to work overtime both for the money, and so Anzu wouldn't feel as though she were imposing upon the raven-haired girl's time. For someone as radiant as the brunette, she didn't seem to know her worth.. "Is this guy a human or a wind-up robot?"
"He's human!" Anzu retorted, feeling as though she needed to defend Yami- though he had become to feel more of a duty than the love than she had first imagined during the hour that she had unburdened herself to Megumi. "He just isn't really diplomatic.."
"Huh." Unseen, Megumi puffed a gust of air upward, sending a strand of hair sliding out of her way. "You're telling me. Now, since we've wasted enough time talking about this idiot who doesn't know anything about anything, why don't we discuss my life?" Her voice was innocently meaningful, and automatically, Anzu laughed at Megumi's prompting- the girl lived to talk, it seemed. And at the moment, the girl would take anything that would distract her from Yami's rejection.
"So tell me about your life."
"Well.."
Today had been an uncharacteristic day for Seto Kaiba.
Ordinarily, all a weekend meant to the young CEO was the fact that he would possess more time to dedicate to the more imperative subjects of his life, such as Mokuba and his company, rather than squander time in those ineffectual projects that his school constantly assigned him. Today, however, a restless spirit seemed to have seized his form, and he had gone aboard, walking, without Mokuba. Admittedly, he had taken his favorite trenchcoat with him, but after a few moments in the sweltering heat, along with the curious stares he was beginning to attract from the city's other denizens, he had abandoned it in favor of the slightly less heated black shirt beneath it.
That, however, had not been a particularly large reprieve, and he found himself wishing that he could abandon that layer of clothing as well, had it not risked his dignity. Dignity, unfortunately, was still of more importance than being of a cool enough temperature to think at that time- but he had not possessed the temperament to test his persona further, and so, had strode to the nearest door, wrenching it open and striding inside.
A blissful cool had fallen over him, enveloping his sweat-drenched form in a hallowed chill. Silently, the dark-haired CEO gave a grudging blessing to whoever had invented air conditioning, and cursed his impulse to take a walk outside in the summer heat. As though to detract his thoughts from a litany of his precise stupidity, his gaze fell upon the chalkboard that stood by the door upon an artist's canvas-stand.
It read:
WELCOME TO THE LUNATIC CAFÉ. PLEASE SEAT YOURSELF, AND NO SERVER WILL BE BY TO TAKE YOUR ORDER SHORTLY. AFTER ALL, THERE IS A COUNTER FOR A REASON.
SPECIALTIES TODAY:
- Hot chocolate
- More hot chocolate
- Double-chocolate cookies
- You people, since Megumi's going to be serving you!
Blinking, Seto wondered precisely who this lunatic 'Megumi' was, and how her manager permitted her to get away with such signs. No doubt her other customers found it simply hilarious- one of the reasons, he recalled, that he rarely ventured from his mansion, save for school. He simply didn't possess the low-grade mentality required to comprehend the minds of his so-called 'peers'.
At such a time of day, the dim lights of the coffee bar revealed few other than himself within the room- indeed, he rather doubted that they possessed more than so many customers at even the busiest time of the year. Steeling himself for the taste of low-quality coffee, he ordered a cup while speaking in a low, unrecognizable voice. The last thing that he needed was for the publicists to latch onto his visit to this café, and try once more to present him as an ordinary adolescent to the world. He could imagine their pathetic attempt now.. "Seto Kaiba Turns Out To Like A Small Café Strictly For Teens!" And no doubt they'd try to turn him into a hyperactive teenager in the eyes of the media for the second time this week. And he couldn't even fire them yet- they were the best in the business, and it was currently of too much an inconvenience to rid himself of them.
A steaming porcelain cup was pushed across the counter towards him, and he dug in his pocket for money.
"You look like a sci-fi-er to me." The girl across the counter told him, smiling cheerfully. He answered with a noncommittal grunt- he did read some slight science-fiction, but had given it up a few years back as too distracting. "If you are," she continued, reminding him of Mazaki with that irritatingly sprightly attitude, "face your back to the counter and turn left- sci-fi section's over there. Third seat to your right, near the window, should be Orson Scott Card- you look like you might enjoy his books."
Opening his mouth to inform this girl- Megumi, it read, on her nametag- that he'd been reading Card before she'd ever attained her algebra credits, he was interrupted by another customer's arrival. Immediately, Megumi bustled off to aid them, leaving Kaiba with his lips parted, about to speak but incapable of retorting, since she'd already abandoned him.
With something akin to sullenness, he shut his mouth once more, and grudgingly followed her directions to the science-fiction section, noting with slight appreciation that with the caf's.. unique design, a certain seat gave him a perfect view of all that came through the door, and almost every other table in the café. A slight smirk permeated his inscrutable mask- at such a seat, he would be able to espy any who might be likely to report to his publicists and get away before they could discern him from the other beings within the shadowed café.
Nevertheless, he doubted that anyone he knew would ever enter this particular café- it hardly seemed like the place to appeal to the infuriatingly energetic high schoolers who were technically his peers, and it wasn't sophisticated enough to charm his colleagues.
Having satisfied his suspicions, he reached towards the cloth pockets on the other side of the table and plucked a book from one. Sphere it stated, in blazing silver Arial across the cover. By Michael Crichton.
With a sigh, he regarded its cover for a few moments with barely concealed contempt, before delicately opening it and settling down to read.
So absorbed by the novel did he become that he barely noticed the passing of the hours- nor would he have noticed the entrance of a certain brunette, had she not so vigorously slammed the front door, as though to deliberately attract attention to her presence.
Exasperated by her interruption, Seto arched a brow as he sought to glimpse the features of the intruder.. only to find them oddly familiar.
It can't be..
Her face turned slightly towards the illumination within the café, glittering tracks were illuminated upon her visage, and the cynical twist to her normally lilting lips could not be mistaken for any emotion other than the one that Seto Kaiba felt all too often. The slashing cut of her hair fell forward to mask her expression, and so he could not observe her mien as Megumi rushed forward to greet her, murmuring sympathetic words that Kaiba could barely hear.
Not Mazaki?
And inevitably, a bubble of anger gushed upward from somewhere deep within him, though a darker emotion roiled within the pits of his stomach- an emotion he refused to give a name to.
What the hell is she doing here?
Shifting to a seat closer to the counter, fragments of their conversation drifted to his ears, filtering through his consciousness to become comprehensible portions.
"-then.. Yug- I mean Yami-"This voice alto, feminine, and strained with the uncertainty and weariness that Seto found all too often lingering within his own mind, probing him for a weakness that it could exploit.
"Wait, THE Yugi? You don-"Murmur murmur- an infuriating sound that tantalized his audible range with words that were barely beyond his comprehension. Curiosity prompted him to move closer, but he was stoic against its persuasions- to move closer would satisfy his curiosity, yes, but it would also broaden his chances of being discovered. And so, the young CEO was forced to settle for second best as he strained his hearing to focus upon their conversation, never noticing that the coffee he had bought was so cold that it was beginning to congeal.
"..And then this complete bastard-doich comes strutting in like it's his café to begin with, and he's probably about to get really annoying on my arse, so I shove his coffee at him and rush off to the next customer before he can get a word in edgewise." Megumi finished smugly, though her expression abruptly changed to one of wariness as another thought occurred to her. "Actually, he's probably still inside here, so I'd better be careful as to what I say.." She said confidingly, and Anzu had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. In another person, Megumi's mannerisms might have been irritatingly childish, but upon the easygoing, chatter-y girl, they suited her, and rendered her all the more charming.
"What section did you send him to?" Anzu inquired languidly, leaning a single elbow upon the counter as she glanced idly through the café, searching for the one that even carefree, tolerant Megumi had dubbed a doich. Typically, Megumi didn't swear- she'd hardly need to, with the variety of words that the girl had a tendency to invent. More than once, Anzu had sat through her anecdotes of how this or that new term had been born, and had laughed herself silly. Today, however, was an event of more solemnity, and so she restrained her laughter.
The girl waved a dismissive hand. "Sci-fi- he was holding a silvery trenchcoat in one hand, and dressed all in black. It was either that or mystery, but most of our mysteries have romance in them, and I didn't exactly think he'd appreciate characters getting all smoochy-smoochy on each other in the middle of a murder or something.."
Though Megumi's mention of a silver trenchcoat rang warning bells within Anzu's mind, she ignored them, and gave a startlingly loud peal of laughter.
The dark-haired girl looked mock-terrified. "Ssh!" she cautioned Anzu. "You'll scare away the customers! Anyway.." She continued imperiously, waving at Anzu for silence as she resumed her narrative. "I sent the doich to Card. Which was probably a bad idea now that I think about it.." she added, with a slight frown. "Card tends to slip some romance between the action."
Abruptly, she leaned over the counter, craning her neck to glance at the Card section. "That's odd.." Megumi added with a deepening frown. "He's gone, and I didn't see him leave. I know there's no backway.. which means.. he's switched seats. And since I know he looks like the Card type.."
"Maybe he's fallen in love with you and decided to stalk you for the rest of your life?" Anzu suggested, blue eyes shimmering with vague innocence.
Megumi gave her a pointed look.
"Come on.." The brunette coaxed her friend. "Tell me what he looked like. At least this way, if I see anyone matching his description on the way home, I'll know that it's me he's stalking, and not you."
"You're just trying to see if you can pick up a guy." Megumi retorted with a withering look, but relented as the slightest mention of romance caused Anzu to flinch. "All right.. he was dark-haired—dark brown, mind, not the sable-black you get with some people—and had these dark blue eyes. Normally, those look like a night sky, but if this guy's eyes are a night sky, then you're looking at 'em from the Arctic or something. And--" She glanced at Anzu curiously, for the girl had just dropped her cup.
It lay, shattered, in portions of porcelain, across the floor, glittering like chocolate-smeared stars.
"What's wrong?" Anzu heard Megumi say as though from a great distance, but she was no longer focusing upon the other girl's anecdotes. Instead, her eyes were narrowed as she sought the figure from Megumi's description.
For she had just comprehended precisely who the girl was describing.
"Kaiba." She said sharply, no trace of her usual softness in her manner as her eyes searched the darkness of the café futilely. It was, Megumi thought, as though this afternoon's encounter with her Yami had obliterated the softness that had formerly characterized Anzu- as though her tender trust within the world had been shattered at last. As though she were no longer the pleasantly contented being that Megumi had first known when Anzu had strode into her café a hundred hot chocolates ago. "Come out, Kaiba. I know you're there.."
Yes, come out. And tell me what the hell you're doing at my last sanctuary.
Seto Kaiba blinked in coolly mild surprise as the realization that she had comprehended the clues that had led to his discovery, and had pieced them together sufficiently to realize that he had not yet left- that he might, for all she knew, still be listening to their conversation. And though part of him demanded that he leave her curiosity unfulfilled, that he slip out of the café with the curious tidbits about the brunette's life whilst he still possessed life enough within himself to do so, nevertheless, he was entirely unwilling to abandon her. This had turned into a game, he realized slowly, mind assimilating the puzzle-pieces with a curious torpidity.
And Seto Kaiba had never found it bearable to lose. Particularly when she was transforming from the two-dimensional persona that he had always assumed her to be into a multi-faceted being who seemed entirely unlike the sprightly Mazaki that he had known all through high school as a cheerful smile, and little else.
Gradually, he permitted the illumination to fall across his figure as he moved forward, as though melting from the darkness, being forged into a human being, though the icy amusement held within his gaze was far from what others termed human.
"My.." He drawled softly, amusement etched across his aquiline features as he faced her solidly. "I didn't know you had such an interesting love life, Mazaki.." He felt, rather than saw, her stiffen, her cerulean eyes narrowing into some semblance of anger that he'd encountered rarely. But there was a newly born aloofness to her demeanor that seemed familiar, rather than off-putting. It reminded him of..
Himself?
Though his contemptuous words had not yet faded from her hearing, still Anzu could hardly believe that Kaiba would say something of such caliber to her. It was as though this episode within the café were all a dream- for it possessed that curious, ethereal quality that indicated this could hardly be reality. Kaiba could hardly have heard her entire conversation with Megumi- he was not standing before her now, blatantly disdainful of her weakness, and the mass of pitiable emotions that she felt herself to be at the moment..
"How dare you." She said, but contained within her monotone was a barely stifled snarl. "You bastard, don't tell me you were listening all along?"
His arrogant smirk was the sole reply that she needed.
"You.. you.." Search though she might through the extensive vocabulary that Joey had taught her, the brunette was unable to find a word sufficient to describe the emotions that were beginning to build within her. Nevertheless, through whatever means possible, it had to be given a release.. for all that some more primitive parts of her mind screamed for her to simply kick him and be done with it. "You doich." She snarled at him, and was mildly pleased to see him take a step backwards. "You stupid asshole, how could you listen to the conversation? What does it matter to you anyway? You've never loved- nor will you ever be loved. I see your contempt, Seto Kaiba," and her voice was venomously withering, "but to tell you the truth, I'd rather be in my position than yours. All the dedication that humans give to other human beings, you give to your company. Even your brother comes second to your company. And the thing about your company is that it'll never love you back- its only way of giving love is through money, and even if you have an infinite amount of yen, you'll never have true feelings."
During each word she had spoken, she had moved forward with an aggressive anger that had no doubt been derived from the three cups of hot chocolate she had downed- and Kaiba had surprisingly retreated. With each word, they moved further into darkness, until she could barely discern his outline, let alone his features. Megumi, she noted sourly, had turned out the lights in the abandoned section towards which they moved- no doubt the raven-haired girl felt that it would be better for Anzu to employ her anger now, rather than letting it bottle up and destroy her.
Seto, meanwhile, felt the slightest sting glitter within his eyes- she who made all these accusations, and yet knew so little of him, in himself. "And what do you know?" He answered softly, voice rich with derision that he couldn't be bothered to disguise as anything save that. "Little Miss Jovial, who's probably never had a single moment of excessive sadness in her life that wasn't immediately blanketed by a warm fuzzy friendship.." He found the words spilling from his lips automatically- there seemed to be a seductive sense in the darkness, prompting him to speak, to bare his soul to a girl whose features he could now barely see within the shadows.
"Why do you think I come here?" Anzu shot back. "To get away from them whenever they don't understand me." There was some slight despondency that colored her words as she spoke thusly- how long had it been since she had drawn the circle upon the backs of their four hands, and declared them all part of that circle? How long had it been since she had stopped trusting them- and stopped trusting herself?
"Still. You've always had someone to turn to. Have you ever thought of a life that doesn't have any of those commodities? I may not cover everything with a smile, Mazaki, but my life hasn't been all cake either." Now he turned away, towards the window. Memories were refracted within his gaze, a thousand minutes of agony, where he had writhed with the concept that he was unworthy of his own name- of the only possession in which he could rest any certainty. They were not memories that, even in darkness, he would unveil to her. He'd been to psychologists before her- though he had halted such visits after he took over KaibaCorp, lest they declare him unstable and thereby unfit to command- and even to them, he had been unable to unburden himself. Seto Kaiba had been born with the innocence of the rest of the world, but his life had forged into him the ability to do nothing save distrust—and it was too late to remedy that trait.
"So why don't you tell me about it?" Anzu challenged him, and the contempt that had been within his voice was echoed within her eyes- her skepticism over his life's difficulties, though there was something else lurking beneath her challenge- something more profound.. Kaiba was a cold bastard, but she could never recall a moment when he had been anything other than the coolly untouchable CEO.
But people can change..
The brunette heard him sigh within the darkness, felt him move closer to her, as though deliberately trying to intimidate her. "Mazaki.." He murmured, voice soft with derisive amusement, and she realized that he couldn't more than a few centimeters away. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"
"I wouldn't know." She responded dryly, with a touch of her old spark. "It's too dark to tell."
Caught off guard, he spared a brief, wry chuckle, before resuming his former enigmatic mien, though she could hardly see through the impenetrable darkness. "In any case, I can safely assure you that I'm not an idiot-"
"Regardless of the fact that you might be biased in that direction.." Anzu finished sweetly, but there was a barbed, wicked edge to her voice.
"-and that if I were, I wouldn't have gotten where I am today."
"Two inches away from me?" The brunette breathed, amused by his words now. All the sugar that she had consumed within the hot chocolates was beginning to catch up to her mind, and she could feel the giddy wave sweeping her upward.. Faintly, she thought she could smell the smoky scent of coffee upon his breath- it was a faded scent, and one not at all unpleasant.
It was only then that the menace dissipated from Kaiba's veins, replaced by the stuttering incoherence that gathered within the minds of all adolescent boys as they realize their rather compromising circumstances. He was, however, of steely enough composition to prevent himself from being reduced into gibbering rubble.
"I-" He began. Impulsively, Anzu pulled him closer, hand reaching up to grasp the silky strands of mahogany hair as she pulled his head down upon hers. Her lips met his in a surprised clash, soft against the unyielding touch that he provided. Even Anzu was uncertain as to precisely why she had embraced him- only that he wouldn't be quiet, and that for these few moments, she could pretend that he was Yami; Yami whose arms reached automatically to wrap around her waist, pulling her closer before he realized the circumstances, Yami whose silky hairs she still felt curled within her fists, Yami to whom she pressed so closely..
But Yami would've never tasted of coffee and tears- nor was there a bittersweetness to his scent. Yami was a creature of dust and quills- of all the aromas that combined to say "Ancient History"- while there was an almost metallic smell to the being she clung to so desperately..
And while she still had the nerve, she could seriously disturb Seto Kaiba. It was a hyperactive adolescent's logic, but for the moment, it was logic that possessed more sense than simply standing there and arguing with the infinitely frustrating young CEO.
He was, of course, the first to break the embrace, all but stumbling away from her.
"Mazaki, what the hell do you think you're doing?" His voice was rough, but there was a shaken note to his voice- a fact that did not escape the brunette. "Are you mad? Or very possibly drunk? I didn't know they served alcohol in a coffee bar."
"Unnerving you." She retorted, feeling quite pleased with his response. "And no, I'm not drunk- you can't get drunk off of hot chocolate."
"Hyperactive, then. You had an overdose of sugar. And it's late- some people develop some madness close to midnight.." No doubt he was glaring at her, from within the midst of the darkness, but as long as she could not read the accusing look within his stare, she was safe from the guilt that would assault her once she finished riding this wave of energy.
"It's not midnight yet." Anzu pointed out again, perversely pleased by Kaiba's apparent inability to collect his thoughts.
"It will be if you keep distracting me like that." There was a coy, loaded pause between them as he realized the implications of his phrase. "And that was a bad distraction." He added warningly, moving away with all the alacrity that he could manage without seeming fearful of her.
Faintly, Anzu thought that she could hear someone giggling at the counter- Megumi was, no doubt, having a terribly good time. "I can do better.." She murmured
Distracted by her friend's laughter, she didn't notice Kaiba heading into a fold of the carpet- and only noticed his predicament once he had tripped. Moving forward, she noticed that the dim lights had returned- Megumi's perverse sense of timing. "Here.." She said, offering a hand to the fallen Kaiba. "Let me help you up."
He regarded her with a distinct coolness. "I would have thought that your primary interest would be to keep me down here."
A smile curved her lips upward. "Well, if you'd prefer that-"
"No." He muttered, and the brunette was pleased to see a flush beginning to permeate his visage. "Just help me up." Grasping her hand, she didn't notice his trick until her feet had been swept out from under her, and she, too, had fallen to the floor.
Rising with a groan, she glanced up to meet the CEO's smirk. "Thanks a lot.' She muttered, and deliberately refused his offered hand, rising to her feet on her own. "So tell me what the hell you were doing listening to Megumi's conversation with me?"
He shrugged expressively- upon another, it might have been regarded as an informal gesture, but there was a curious elegance to the manner with which he performed it. "You mentioned Yugi." Kaiba responded, in the composed, husky voice that was his characteristic. "Yugi has useless morals, and would be a rubbish duelist if only he would follow them- and for that reason, he's important. I would have stopped to listen to the conversation whether you were the one speaking or not." He added coolly. "It's nothing personal."
"I'm glad." Anzu responded, with an irony that Seto did not miss.
"Why, did you want it to be personal?"
"Well, you aren't exactly the most horrible-looking monster in the Duel deck, you know." She responded, and was treated to one of his thinly dry smiles. Beneath that veneer of pleasantness was the knowledge that she had deliberately avoided his question- a fact that both frustrated and amused him.
"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." He retorted sardonically. "I'm not the most horrible-looking monster in the Duel Deck.. What am I, Jinzo?"
"Yep." Anzu nodded in satisfaction. "Though if you work hard, you might be ready to attain the status of a Kuriboh."
He shot her a glance, which she responded to with an expressively innocent look. And though nothing had been resolved between them, she felt considerably more at ease within his company- at least for the moment. Here, where no one would judge the pair of them together.. "Come on—I'd better walk you home."
"I don't need your help, An- Mazaki. I'm not an idiot."
"Oh really?" And I suppose you can tell me how you got here?"
"I thought so- now come on."
"You owe me for this, Mazaki- double if any of your little friends see us together."
"I could just leave you here, you know, and hitch a ride home with Megumi. So I'd say it's more like you owe me."
There could be no response to her faintly amused words- and for a moment, silence dominated between them. Eventually, however, there came a sigh, and beneath that, tentative laughter. And still further beneath that amusement, the first stirrings of something not akin to animosity.
The scar forged between them by Yugi's competition with Kaiba had finally begun to heal.
End
Author's Note: No, I'm not mental. Yes, I have been inside a real café before, and I know what it's like. I know that they don't provide free books for people to read while they're enjoying their coffee or hot chocolate or cookies. But the Lunatic Café is what I'd like a café to be- the epitome of all cafes, to be brief.
This is a one-shot, unless I receive reviews that tell me it should be otherwise.
Since I highly doubt this'll be so..
-is lazy beast-
This is also my first Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction, so please tell me what to fix- particularly since I've only seen twenty or so of the episodes, in no particular order.
And in case you've never heard of midnight madness—stay up for twenty hours straight, talk to other people, and you'll start feeling drunk, even if you haven't tasted a single drop of alcohol in your life. It's an automatic sensation.