Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or anything held herein.
Author's Note: This chapter has to have been the hardest to write, and I think it shows; it is longer than the other chapters, though, to make up for it being so late. However, nothing cheers me up quite like pretty, long reviews, so click that button and get typing!
Silence greeted him as he slipped into Anzu's bedroom. The curtains were drawn, muting the bright sunlight and casting vague shadows across Shizuka's sleeping form. She was curled up on the edge of the bed, hair spread around her like spilled blood, tiny hands clutching at the comforter beneath her. She looked small and fragile, lost at the end of the massive bed, the blankets threatening to consume her.
He tucked the Rod into his belt loop and approached the bed, silent as a cat, kneeling beside the girl. One pale hand extended, a chilly finger tracing her tear-ravaged cheeks. She made a small sound and pressed against him, eyelids fluttering but not opening. Even in her dreams, she sought comfort from an outside source, and he briefly wondered what plagued her behind her closed lids.
Crimson eyes blank, he studied her features, taking in her ruddy cheeks and nose, the few tears still glistening on her skin, the way her lips were parted ever so slightly as she drew breath. His hand slid down, tracing the contours of her slender throat, deftly avoiding a shallow cut healing along her collarbone, before dipping to rest upon her belly.
It felt no different to him.
He scowled, his hand slipping inside of her nightshirt to press against her warm skin.
He, the ever careful planner, had not foreseen this turn of events. He had had everything laid out perfectly, and he refused to allow this to come between him and his revenge. He had been waiting too long, had been planning this for too long, to allow one little girl to ruin everything. There was no doubt in his mind that Anzu would alter her own plans, risk destroying everything they had worked for, all for the sake of this girl's comfort.
The fool.
Despite his resolve and his determination to see prince-sama fall before him, he could see his plans unraveling piece by piece as he watched the girl sleep fitfully, feeling the small tremors that passed through her body. They screamed in his head, prodding him to finish what he had started, to complete the task before him and finally free them, free himself, with Pharaoh's violent death. His hand traced idle patterns along her belly, soaking up her warmth.
It felt no different to him.
As he watched her dispassionately her eyes opened, clouded with sleep and a muted grief. She gasped and gave a start at his proximity, his hand on her belly like a lead weight, holding her down, choking the life out of her. She immediately began to squirm away, her obvious fright amplified by the whimper that escaped. He frowned, an arm snaking around her to hold her still. His gaze dropped to her belly, eyes considering. His hand shifted, lifting the fabric of her nightshirt and exposing her skin.
It didn't look any different, either.
Staring with a childlike innocence behind that detached gaze, he saw his plans crumble into dust and die. He saw prince-sama standing over him, laughing at his weakness as he snatched the Sennen Items from his grasp and banished him to the darkness. He saw Pharaoh in all his self-righteousness take the child – his child – away, laughing at the absurd idea of the ancient spirit being a father. He watched as his revenge slipped through his fingers like water through a sieve, the efforts of the past three thousand years shattered.
They spoke to him, bringing him back to his senses. Nothing mattered more than his revenge. Nothing mattered more than bringing ou-sama to his knees.
Nothing.
"I'm s-sorry," she sputtered, trying to shrink away.
"Don't be stupid," he snapped, irritated that the girl had broken his train of thought.
He couldn't change things; not now, not for this.
He had fathered many children before – some he had even seen into adulthood – but family life had never held him down for long. His mission was too important. It had always been so easy to walk away, to block out the woman's pleas and the child's cries. He had turned his back on so many people in pursuit of his goals that it became second nature.
Nothing was more important than his mission. Revenge was all he was; it was all he had left after all these years trapped in that cold piece of gold, waiting for the right host and the right time when both he and Pharaoh would be "reincarnated" together. Revenge was the only emotion he had left. He knew the best thing to do was to continue as planned, ignore her current state and use her like the pawn she was.
So why did he feel so torn now?
He shifted onto the bed and gathered the girl in his arms, coaxing her head to his shoulder. He felt her tears soak through his shirt and he stroked her hair, leaning his chin on the top of her head and staring at the wall.
He thought of the Sennen Items as he whispered comforting words in her ear. Five were in his possession; prince-sama only had two.
He was closer to destroying him now than he had ever been.
He could not, would not retreat.
Not even his little songbird was worth defeat.
Anzu sighed and enjoyed the warmth of the sun as she wandered the streets, slowly making her way back to her house, grocery bags in hand. The plastic bit into her skin, leaving angry red welts, but she barely noticed. Her blue eyes were focused ahead of her, though she didn't really see the people shifting out of her way, the garbage cans and other various impediments littering the sidewalk and causing her to scoot back and forth to avoid a collision. Her lips were parted in a grotesque half-smile.
She had struck a mighty blow this day, and she had to fight with every fiber of her being to keep from laughing out loud.
Sirens blared and several police cars sped by, dodging traffic and running lights. Passersby stared after them curiously, whispering amongst themselves, trying to discern what had happened. First a teen goes missing, and now this? What was Domino City coming to?
"Too late," she whispered as she watched the police disappear over the hill, giggling softly.
She shifted both bags to one hand and stretched, shrugging out the kink in her shoulder. Killing someone was hard work! It would have gone a lot more smoothly if Bakura had been with her, but it felt so much better doing it with her own two hands. This wasn't like killing Honda, though she regretted the necessity of that act; this had been Yuugi's little whore, the cause of all of her pain and suffering. Anzu even laid Jounouchi's death at the little tart's feet.
Well, she was no longer an obstacle now.
Her cell phone blared loudly, dashing her thoughts and causing her to give a violent start. She plucked it out of her bag and gave an amused laugh as she recognized the number.
Yuugi.
She paused, eyes glittering. Should she?
Heh. Why not?
She flipped it open. "Moshi moshi?"
"Anzu-chan!" Yuugi sounded panicked.
Her mouth tightened. So she was Anzu-chan now, huh?
She only half-listened as he blathered into her ear about Ayumi's untimely demise, sounding on the verge of tears. She couldn't help but think he knew about it awfully quickly; she had left the girl's apartment barely half an hour ago, and the police cars could not have arrived there so fast.
Words of comfort slipped from her lips as if of their own accord, soothing and quiet. She hid the smile in her voice when he begged her to visit him later.
Things couldn't possibly be falling into her lap easier than this.
"I just have to drop something off at home and then I'll be right over, okay?" she asked, pitching her voice carefully. He sounded almost absurdly grateful, and she managed to suppress a snort; barely.
He loses his little whore and suddenly he needs me again? How pathetic.
Anzu hummed to herself as she dumped her phone back into her purse and set off again, veering to take a shortcut. The bustle of the city was replaced by the unnatural hush of the graveyard, and she couldn't suppress a shiver as she eyed the tombstones out of the corner of her eye.
This was the graveyard where Jounouchi had been laid to rest.
She toyed with the idea of visiting his grave, and after a few seconds of inner turmoil, she decided she could spare the time. Breaking into a trot, she slipped through the gates and made her way down the manicured lawns and well-kept pathways. She slowed down and came to a stop when she noticed someone had beaten her to it. A blonde woman was kneeling by his gravestone, head bowed, with a black-haired boy standing by her side.
Kujaku Mai.
Otogi Ryuuji.
Her lips curled; today was getting better by the moment.
He wasn't surprised when Anzu burst through the door, busily shrugging out of her ruined sweatshirt and rummaging through her closet. She was grinning like a maniac, but she didn't say one word to either him or the girl sleeping soundly against his chest.
"Where's the fire?" he drawled, lazily running his fingers through the kit's hair.
She paused to slide into a tank top. "Ayumi's dead," she said bluntly.
He looked amused. "Natural causes, I presume."
"You could say that," she smirked. She threw a cardigan on, buttoning it up hurriedly. "I stopped by the graveyard. Saw Otogi and Mai-san."
He quirked a snowy brow, but did not comment. He really couldn't care less what those two were doing so long as the dice kitty stayed away from his songbird.
"It's all going to be over tonight."
That got his attention.
"What?"
She paused in tying her shoelaces, grinning up at him. "Yuugi invited me over tonight. To comfort him." She sounded disgusted. "And that's just what I'll do."
He shifted his position again, gently laying Shizuka against the pillows. "Don't leave without Me."
"I don't need you."
Silence answered her, crimson eyes piercing her like a blade.
"If you showed up at the door with me, it would be all over. You would only ruin things."
He seethed internally, fighting to keep his features calm and empty; only his eyes betrayed his anger. He stood up but didn't approach her, trying to pin her down with the sheer force of his gaze.
Her eyes flickered to Shizuka and she frowned slightly.
"I need her," she murmured as if to herself. "Damn it all…"
"What's wrong?" he asked coldly. "Afraid to use the little one after all? Are you finally chickening out when you have your best chance at succeeding?" He crossed his arms, his voice dropping. "Are you really willing to leave Me behind and alienate such a powerful ally? Our agendas match at the moment, but if you decide to go off on your own…"
Anzu stiffened, glaring at him. "It wouldn't be right to continue with the plan with her in such a condition."
"Why are you so worried about that?" he snapped, his voice low and menacing. "I will not allow you to interfere with My plans. If you insist on straying from our agreement, then I will no longer consider us allies. Can you really afford that right now? Can you?"
"Don't you care about her?" she cried, one arm shooting out to point at the sleeping kit nestled in the blankets. "If we continue this way, we put her in danger!"
"There are casualties in any war," he said glibly. "If you will not adhere to our agreement, I will proceed without you. I have no compunction about using her. She's Mine to do with as I please."
Neither noticed Shizuka watching them, wide awake, eyes filled with tears.
Anzu fairly quivered. "Then so be it," she snapped, turning around and leaving the room.
She would do this her way, and she'll be damned if that arrogant Tomb Robber got in her way.
