Sniff, cry, sob! I only got one new review, by the way Kassie thank you. Oh, well I guess reviews aren't that important, but they do encourage me to write and I know how much you guys love it when I write! School is over in two days and I couldn't be happier-this means I can stay up till the wee hours of the morning writing and not feel like crap the next morning. Also voting officially starts with this chapter as to who you want this to be a romance with. I will rewrite chapters if need be, or make it into a triangle type situation cause for now it is a Yami/Anzu romance. Right now the votes are at one for Y/A and one for Y/M. Want anyone else? Let me know. I'll also be asking your opinions on what story to begin next after I really get 'Thinking Over' started. All good then? Ok, enjoy your summer vacations and the third chapter of 'Thinking Over'.
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Rory stood outside the Mazaki residence less than twenty-four hours after her encounter at Yugi's house. Since then Rory had been extremely busy reopening the Gardner file. She had called in more 'favors' than she liked to think about in order to get updated information on the six underground adoption agencies she thought might have something to do with Tea's disappearance and had narrowed it down to just three at around 3:30 in the morning. Rory rubbed here eyes, exposed without sunglasses, with a sleepy groan going over the information in she had dug up on the Mazakis. From what she discovered it was a single parent household, the girl Anzu's mother had died of breast cancer when she was nine. Her father, an investment banker with a squeaky-clean record, had raised his daughter on his own since then. 'Squeaky-clean record?' Rory thought again in her head. 'Well besides aiding in kidnapping and illegal adoption.' If Anzu really was in fact Tea, her father and the agency had done well to hide it up. They had moved to Domino recently after the time Rory estimated that it would take little Tea Gardner to get to her new pre-destined home after she was stolen off the playground. Pressing her knuckles to her forehead Rory sighed. Though she knew little about these underground adoption rings she did know that they never randomly took in a kid, it was too risky to hold kids for too long. It was a sickening thought that some parents sold their kids to these agencies, while some stole children for the money. 'But why would Mazaki and his wife want a four year old?' Rory wondered. She had many theories, each more outlandish than the next.
Sitting on the porch steps to the Mazaki household Rory thought of the perfectly forged birth certificate and other documents in the lock box she had broken into while examining the inside of the two level house. To the untrained eye everything would have seemed fine but Rory had been at the 'game' since she was 16 and knew a few things. The paper used in Anzu's birth certificate was known to have a serious defect in it because of a disease that had struck the trees owned by the paper company that sold paper to the Japanese government. I caused a slight greening of the paper the worsened as years went on; Anzu's looked as if it had come off the printer yesterday. 'It is always the simplest details that give away the biggest mysteries' Rory thought as she watched two girls in a Domino Public High uniform walk by signally the end of school 'You have to watch for everything.' Rory had arranged it so that Anzu would have to come home before going to the dance studio. By hacking into the dance school's computer system Rory had confirmed that if Anzu didn't have rehearsal but common knowledge told her that with a show recital coming up in just over two weeks she would be practicing non stop especially with a free style solo to finish up the performance, again Rory took pride in knowing every detail. 'This isn't going to be easy,' Rory thought fiddling with the sunglasses that hung from her pocket. And as if on cue, as soon as she finished that thought Anzu Mazaki walked up the path.
Anzu had been in a hurry to get home after realizing that she left she dance shoes at home when she turned to walk up to her house and she saw Rory sitting on her steps. It took Anzu a moment to recognize her from Yugi's the day before and with this recognition she got slightly nervous. Coincidences like this just didn't happen she knew this from experience. "Can I help you?" Anzu trying to look casually around for anyone to help her if she got into any trouble.
"Actually you can," Rory said trying to sound comforting yet firm at the same time. She had to stay in control of this situation if this was going to work out to her liking. "I was just wondering if I could talk to you for a minute about something." Anzu looked nervous as Rory stood before her.
"Um, I don't think so" Anzu said trying to be polite and move around the redhead who had taken a step off the steps towards her. "You know the rule, not supposed to talk to strangers and such" Anzu jumped past her and up her wooden steps toward her door. Rory let her go knowing that trying to grab her out in the open like this would not end well for her. She watched Anzu struggle for the keys nervously when Rory interjected.
"The door is already open," she turned toward her "I've already been in there." Anzu looked positively terrified. She tested the door and sure enough it was unlocked.
"Who are you and what do you want?" She asked.
"Like I said before, all I want to do is talk."
"About what?"
"You," Rory told her simply. That took Anzu off guard.
"What could I possibly have to tell you that you want to know? Now get out of here before I call the cops!" Anzu yelled running inside and trying to slam and lock the door. But she couldn't even shut it. The woman was there, holding it partially open despite Anzu's full weight trying to shut it. 'How did she get up here so fast?' Anzu thought now terrified. As if reading her mind the woman spoke again.
"Believe me Anzu Mazaki, if I wanted to I would be in this house right now."
"I don't care! Leave me alone!" Anzu shouted trying once more to shut the door on her. This was just too much, all she had wanted was to get her dance shoes and now she had a psychotic woman on her doorstop.
"My name is Rory Waters and I just want to talk to you, ask you a few questions. Is that too much to ask?" Rory told her trying to keep her temper in check.
"Funny, yesterday I thought you said your name was Ami Kayamori" Anzu shot back. Rory looked thoughtful.
"Good memory," she admitted hearing Anzu give a hollow laugh. "Like I told you before, if I wanted to be in that house right now I could be," she started pushing the door back a little proving her point, "I'm not armed and I certainly won't hurt you. Now please can we talk like two civilized adults?" Rory felt Anzu's weight move ever so slightly off of the door.
"What do you want from me," Anzu murmured.
"Just to talk to you. I've got some questions," she paused "ones I think that you have the only answers to at this point in time."
"Listen, if this has anything to do with Yugi and the others you should know that when they find out about this you are so dead" Anzu sputtered out thinking that that was the only logical thing that the woman, Rory, could be interested thing. It wouldn't be the first time that this had happened; Battle City was still fresh in her mind. (AN: I know that I said that this was going to take place as if Battle City never happened but if I need to work Malik in than that has to have happened. I don't know all that happens at the end of Battle City, I've heard a couple different versions. So if someone could bring me up to date so my story is somewhat accurate I'd appreciate it!)
"This has got nothing to do with them. I said I have to ask you some questions. Not those half wit friends of yours." Rory nearly feel in when Anzu pulled the door open suddenly. 'Now that I did not expect,' Rory though looking at a now fuming Anzu.
" They are not 'half wits' and leave them out of this" Anzu scolded.
"Fair enough" Rory said putting her heads up. "So is this," she nodded her head toward the now open door "and invite in." Anzu suddenly looked meek again.
"You promise you aren't a physco killer or anything like that?" Rory shook her head no. "Ok then come in" Anzu said stepping back to let her in. As Rory brushed past Anzu suddenly thought of how stupid this was and the option of bolting out of the door and screaming for the police seemed very inviting. But Rory seemed to read her thought once more.
" If you go running I'll just keep coming back. I will talk to you Anzu, even if I have to chase you all around this city. Now why not do it in the comfort of your own home?" Rory gave her a serious look with her gray-green eyes to show her that she was serious. Anzu gave a small 'gulp' before reluctantly closing the door and following Rory into the living room. Anzu stood in silence while Rory pulled a manila folder from the depths of her jacket and through it so it slid across the coffee table to where Anzu stood on the other side. Curiosity over took Anzu and she sat half down on the edge of couch to examine the contents. But before she could open the folder Rory spoke once more. "Tell me Ms. Mazaki, what do you know of a girl named Tea Gardner?"
"Tea Gardner?" Anzu asked looking up with her innocent blue eyes. "Never heard of her. Why?"
"Tea Gardner is now a young woman from Western Connecticut in the U.S who went missing when she was four yeas old, eleven years ago. She was stolen off a play ground while a man pretended to ask her mother for directions, distracting her so the she could be carried off and sold into an underground adoption agency. I have reason to believe that she is in Japan. That is where you come in." By this time Anzu had done the math and looked back up at Rory from across the room.
"She'd be just a year younger than me. But I already told you I don't know her."
"Of course you wouldn't, her name was changed of course. And also she'd be sixteen, not fifteen. She just had her birthday a month ago." Rory looked out of the corner of her eye to watch Anzu's reaction to the birth date but the teen kept her face in a mask. "Little brown haired, blue eyed Tea Gardner celebrating her sixteenth birthday away from her real mother and father, sad huh?" She could see that she was starting to get some effect on her now.
"What are you imply…" Anzu started, a hand clenched, but was interrupted.
"Ever wondered why you look nothing like your mother or father Anzu?" Rory asked pretending to inspect a photo.
"I look just like my father's mother!" Anzu shot back. Rory smirked.
"How lucky that all of the photos of her as a girl were lost in that fire all those years ago," she looked at Anzu cockily unable to help herself "just in case you got at all curious."
"You need to leave," Anzu said standing. "Now!" But Rory didn't leave she walked over and flipped open the file marked Gardner, Tea in big green letters.
"This is a computer aged photo of Tea," she through the print to Anzu "cut the hair short and she is you. You are Tea Gardner!" Silence filled the room as Anzu looked at the photo of herself with longer hair. Her shoulders shook with unknown feelings.
"You are completely crazy" Anzu told her. She looked up at her with a fury uncommon to her lit in her eyes. "Get out!"
"You are allergic to peppermint, even the smell of it gives you a head ache. You were terrified of bees as a young child because you were stung on the foot. You," Rory began again but Anzu put her hands to her ears and shouted at her to stop. "I can't Tea,"
"Anzu" Anzu interrupted. "My name is Anzu Mazaki! Not Tea Gardner! I was born in Japan to my mother Yoko and my father Kenji! And you are wrong."
"I am very rarely wrong Anzu and I don't think I am this time either. I could list for you every bit of information that I've collected to suggest that you are Tea Gardner. I've had leads like this before but never have I had so much coincidental proof before. But if you'd like I have a very easy way to confirm or disprove everything that I've said. A DNA and fingerprint test would," but Anzu cut her off again.
"No! I won't because I know that you are wrong!"
"Or are you scared that I'm right?"
"But I know that you aren't, so what does it matter?"
"Because you and the Gardners back in the U.S have a right to know if you are their daughter. You have a right to your true life."
"I don't want to hear anymore of this" Anzu said storming out of the room.
"You have a scar on your right knee from when you feel in a pumpkin field" Rroy started again as Anzu stormed past.
"Its from when I feel off of my bike" Anzu shot back before realizing that she admitted that she even had the scar.
"You had a habit as a young child of putting spaghetti on your head and couldn't say the hippopotamus to save your life."
"What are you my stalker or something?" Anzu called slamming the bathroom behind her. It was the first door she came to and at that point in time she only salvation. As she leaned up against the now locked door she heard Rory's steps on the hard wood. "Would you just leave already?" Anzu pleaded through the wood. Silence met her at first and then Rory's cool voice spoke again with no emotion.
"Alright, I'll leave. But you need to know that this isn't over." Anzu expected to hear her walk away but she spoke again after a moment's silence. "I'm sorry that I had to come into your life like this. If it could have had it any other way I would have. Again I am sorry and I, I" she seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say next "I want to be your friend through this. I left my card on the coffee table. You can always reach me on my cell phone." The sound of boots on hard wood came next followed by the opening and closing of her front door. And Anzu was left in her bathroom with nothing else to do but cry.
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Hey all!!!!!!!! I wanted to make this chapter longer but decided to get this chapter out instead of making you wait for a longer chapter. I've got my Graduation and Party coming up this week but I have promised myself to get a new chapter out by Tuesday or Wednesday so look for it. Also I've decided to change the genre from general to general/romance because I decided to add a really cute scene in a later chapter. Okie Dokie everyone! Good luck with finals and such and then enjoy your summer. Lots of love always,
-Star_Chan