POISON
Pairing: If you haven't caught on yet I will pray for you.
Summary: One attackers been caught. Kaiba broke up with Anzu. Is this the end? Come on people! What do you take me for?
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh isn't mine. How will I ever live?
A/N: Whip cream for all you wonderful reviewers and readers. You can share it with some one special, like Anzu did, or the kitchen counter. You pick.
I can't remember being called evil so many times by any reviewers and I relish in it. I am surprised though at how caught up everyone became with the break up. What about the attacker Seto caught? Not that he matters anymore. Many apologizes for how long it took to update. My computer crashed and was out of use for ten solid days. The Internet is very addicting. I'm lucky for the little sanity I have left. Evil me.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The ivory keys felt cool to the touch under his fingers. Their crystal melody rang through the still air. Seto sat at a grand piano with his shoulders square and his powerful blue eyes closed. In his mind the notes flew by.
Listening to the music had a calming effect. It took him away from the complications that had entered his life for a short period of time. Piano lessons had been a part of Gozaburo's training and became an accomplished talent. Now it was a private form of comfort when Seto wouldn't share his problems with others. What were those problems? There was a list.
1. Kaiba Corp's stock had dropped, equaling a lose of money.
2. Funds from Kaiba Corp were being stolen from the inside, with the culprits still at large.
3. Suzuki Chika was running free with the intent to hurt those Seto cared for in order to hurt him.
4. Mokuba and Anzu's physical attacks brought about on his account.
5. Breaking up with Anzu.
6. The unshakeable feeling of being alone.
For the majority of Seto's seventeen years the only person he had ever had in his life was Mokuba and he in no way needed anyone else. His little brother loved every perfection and, dare he say it, flaw. In some ways Mokuba idolized him, never leaving his side unless forced to. Though the thought had never crossed Seto's mind up until that moment, he just might be in need of someone else. Mokuba was growing up and would begin to make a life all his own.
The notes became louder and more demanding.
Then he had found Anzu. She wasn't one to quit half way when the goal she was aiming for was miles away. And he was her goal. She saw something in the cold-hearted CEO and worked to show him there was more to life then Duel Monsters and advanced technology. Anzu discovered a side of him that only Mokuba knew about. She even managed to get him to smile. He found himself exercising his facial muscles more often when she was around just to see her face light up in response.
The keys skipped out of his control for a few moments. His eyebrows narrowed in annoyance.
That was no longer possible. To keep her out of harms way he had turned his back to Anzu and shut her out. What was he without Anzu? A short-tempered billionaire CEO with an overprotective streak concerning Mokuba. A childhood genius that couldn't find any way out of the corner he had become trapped in, that didn't cause someone that mattered to him to get hurt. Once again he was all alone in the world. Without Anzu he was lost.
Chopin's Andante Cantabile ended and Seto began to mold the notes to his own will, creating melodies all his own.
The strange feeling swimming around in the pit of his stomach couldn't be guilt. Kaiba Seto never felt guilt. It was regret for the path of guarantied strife he had chosen to take. And dread for how quickly it was leading him downwards. Seto had gone through severe depression years earlier, thanks to Gozaburo. It had been anything but fun and games.
A growl made it's way out of his throat. Classical music was no longer working its soothing magic. It gave him too much free time to ponder over life. Grabbing his coat from the couch, he stood up from the piano bench and left the room. A walk sounded reasonable.
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Many people believed in ghosts. The lingering spirits of the dead come back to reek havoc on those who betrayed them. They would haunt your every step and move, playing on your fears. Just like a little voice itching at the back of your mind. But he wasn't dead and he was still haunting her.
Every day at school they somehow wound up running into each other, in the hall between classes, when heading to their lockers, the cafeteria, even when she had to use the washroom. Her luck had completely dissipated. And yet with the numerable amount of times Seto never once looked at her. Not even a glance. He appeared out of nowhere and continued on.
It hurt to know she no longer merited the slight nod he would give her and her friends even before they got together. They were back to square one – fellow students, minus the respect for one another. Every time Seto's tall figure ghosted past an invisible force squeezed her heart, stopping her breath short. The more it happened the worse it got.
Anzu didn't know if she had developed a split personality or never ending mood swings, that were becoming hard to reign in. Fifty percent of her waking time she wanted to throttle the egotistical bastard and steal his breath away. While the other half of the time she wanted to curl up into a ball and cry until her tears ran dry, over the man who stole her heart and wouldn't give it back.
If she couldn't have him she didn't want to be tortured by the reminded daily that he was still out there. And she definitely didn't want to be haunted by Seto. It was bad enough he haunted her dreams. One nightmare had already come true. Anzu couldn't live through another. She had enough trouble acting cheerful around her friends as it was.
The dancer walked around with a permanent smile plastered on her face. Yugi, Jou and Honda may have witnessed the one show of waterworks being her closest friends, but they were guys and in no way in tune to the female psyche. Saturday wasn't mentioned again. Not even Yugi had tried to figure out why Kaiba made her cry. It was Kaiba. End of story.
The only one to figure out Anzu was heartbroken over a guy was her older sister Aiko. Ben and Jerry's had become a nightly ritual between the two. That simple action alone had brought them closer together. In some ways Anzu didn't know if that would make it harder or easier to tell Aiko the jerk of a young man was Kaiba Seto.
Just having someone to talk to about it was enough. Shizuka Jounouchi even at age 15 was still as naive as before. Either that or it was all a show for Jou. And telling Mai would have lead to who the mystery man was. Then more then likely the blonde would have challenged Seto to a duel. Lose, causing Jou to challenge him, leading to Yugi and so on. The same traditional duels would unfold with the same outcomes. Only this time she wouldn't be able to pick a side because each of the duelists mattered to her. Yes, Anzu still cared deeply for Seto. The bastard wouldn't leave her alone to wallow in self pity and heartache.
Which brought her back to the point of him haunting her. Nothing she thought of, no activities she partook in didn't involve a memory of Seto. He had infected her bloodstream and spread throughout, just like poison.
Much to her relief the weekend had arrived minus the studying for any math tests. Friday was all about having fun and hanging with her friends, anything to take her mind off of Seto. The group had made it to the Domino Park, the final resting stop before everyone spilt to their individual homes. The evening had been exactly what she needed. Seto had only popped into her head half a dozen times in the last hour.
Laughing at a joke with the guys, Anzu lazily scanned the almost deserted park. A tall silhouette stepped into her line of view. Correction. He wasn't haunting her. He was stalking her.
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Tree branches blocked some of the moonlight cascading into the park, but he had already spotted her, and by the looks of it she saw him as well. Anzu stood frozen beside the bench Jou and Yugi occupied with Honda leaning over the back. She appeared to be the only one who had seen him and if he had any say in it, it was going to stay that way. Seto hastened his step down the path past the group of friends. He cringed at the sound of his name.
"Kaiba!" Yugi jumped off the bench and ran in front of him. "What are you doing out here?" His beaming smile was sickening.
"Aww Yug. Why'd ya even bother? Kaiba's a jerk," Jou complained, covering his mouth with his hand as a yawn cut him off.
The only person willing enough to tolerate him any more, let alone welcome him, was Yugi. And personally he didn't see any reason to torture himself by remaining in the presence of the mutt, his sidekick, the never failing duelist champion, but most importantly the woman he had to push away for her own good.
"No," he finally said. Was that the best he could come up with? No? What had happened to his harsh ways of life? Where had his witty insults gone? A rude snort was loud enough to be heard from the bench. Jou and Honda grinned at each other over some joke; he'd beat a million that involved him.
Yugi's smile faded. "Can't you just hang out for a few minutes? We'll all be heading home soon anyway. It won't be very long. Please?" His pleading tone of voice reminded Seto of Mokuba.
The billionaire wanted to be alone, not feel alone. Remaining in Anzu's presence would feel alone with company. Talk about depressing. Seto watched Anzu with a sideways glance. She was hugging herself and staring at the grass around her feet.
"Don't waste my time Yugi," he growled, in a weak attempt to scare the pharaoh away. It didn't work. But at least his cold behavior was returning.
Jou got off the bench and approached them. "Is Kaiba given' ya trouble Yug?" he asked, ready to defend his friend. "Cause if he is--"
Not bothering to listen to another of Jou's rants Seto stepped around Yugi and proceeded back down the path. Unfortunately he didn't make it very far due to unwanted trash blocking the way.
"Hey! I was talkin' to you!" Jou yelled, jumping in front of him. It took every ounce of strength to not roll his eyes in aggravation. Mutts were slobbery and lacking in intelligence. "What the heck's your problem?!" Not to mention slow to comprehend. Well, that might have just been Jou.
"My business doesn't concern you," he sneered, "Go back to your pathetic way of life."
Angry red began to creep up the blonde's neck. His eyes flashed almost daringly. "At least I got a life," he replied, "You prefer machines ta havin' friends. How can Mokuba even stand ya?"
That comment caught Anzu's attention. Her head shot up to watch them. She looked like a fish with her mouth constantly opening and closing but nothing came out. There was no doubt she could already see the vein twitching on his forehead.
"Shouldn't you be taken' care of him," Jou continued, "What kinda person leaves his little brother home alone, in the middle of the night? He could get hurt 'n' you wouldn't even know it."
"Jou!" Yugi's scolding went unnoted.
"What would you know about younger siblings?" Seto asked, clinching his fists. "Your little sister doesn't even live with you. It would appear that she made a wise decision to stay out of your life." He knew the reasons why they couldn't live in the same house let alone city, but that was beside the point.
"If we could be together we would. I've been tryin' everything. But you have all da time in the world and ya still ignore Mokuba. He deserves someone better then you." The vein was beginning to pound.
"Jou! Stop it!" Anzu yelled running towards them.
He continued talking. "Yer a grade A asshole. You always think of yourself first just cause ya got a big company."
The dancer grabbed onto Jou's arm. "Jou! Please! Stop it! Nothing he says matters! Kaiba's only baiting you!" She looked ready to break down herself. Jou was an idiot to do that to his friend.
"Why should I Anzu, he made you cry."
Pleading blues eyes turned to Seto, begging him to just let it go, all for her sake. Everything was for her sake. He held back, causing his hands to tremble.
A smirk made it's way onto the blondes face. "He probably makes Mokuba cry too; yellin' at him, not letting him have any friends, forcing 'im ta have a body guard that doesn't' know how to have fun."
"You don't know that!" Anzu yelled, trying to pull Jou away. She could read every emotion crossing Seto's face and it scared her.
Jou subconsciously shoved her off of him. "It's his own fault Anzu. Kaiba did it to himself. He's even too afraid ta duel me. Right Kaiba? You're so afraid of losing in anythin'. Maybe you should lose Mokuba."
Seto's right fist connected with the side of Jou's face with so much force his head snapped to the side and he fell to the ground with an oof. Seto stood over the fallen blonde breathing heavily. What was wrong with him? He never lost all self-control and made the first physical attack. He had always thought fistfights to be a waste of time.
Honda and Yugi rushed over to Jou to help him up, but no one made any move to go after Seto. Anzu stood behind the blonde with angry tears already brimming in her eyes. Everything that was happening was too much to handle. Sticking his visibly shaking hands in his coat pockets, Seto turned around and walked away.
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So much was wrong and Jou had added wood to the enormous fire. Anzu bit her lip as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. She hurt, not only because of Seto breaking up with her, but because he was hurting on the inside. She hurt for him.
Spinning on her heals she came face to face with Jou, being supported by Honda. "JOU!" she shouted, "What the heck were you thinking?! No wait! You weren't thinking!"
"I-I-I was just….."
Her eyes narrowed. "You what?! He didn't deserve any of that! You have no idea what Kaiba goes through on a daily basis! The two of you are more similar then you'd ever think! How could you?! How?! Could?! You?!"
"Anzu?" Honda cut in calmly, "What's the mat-"
Her furious glare turned on the brunette. "And you! You played the roll of the spectator and sat on the bench letting everything carry on! Why didn't you do anything?!" Honda took a step back, his eyes guarded.
None of them had tried to help. Well, maybe Yugi had once, but everything happened so fast. She still couldn't believe the bruise that was already forming on Jou's face had come from Seto.
"Why'd you care?" the blonde asked, nursing the left side of his face. "I know your all for friends and stuff Anzu, but it's Kaiba. The jerk only cares for himself."
"That's not true Jou," Yugi said, moving to comfort Anzu. "You out of all of us should know were he comes from with Mokuba. You're both big brothers. And all of us have witnessed his actions when Mokuba's on the line."
"Aww, c'mon Yug. He started it."
A sob choked Anzu causing her to shake her head wildly. "No! You started it Jou! Kaiba was going to leave but you stopped him! You should have gotten so much more then he gave you!" He dropped his eyes, admitting defeat.
"You need to calm down, Anzu." The pharaoh placed a hand on her shoulder.
"NO!! Just…leave me alone!" The emotionally distraught brunette took off away from her friends, ironically in the same direction as Seto.
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REVIEWSthefutureMrs.Kaiba: Yup. Seto dumped her all right. But hey, there had to be some drama between them.
Hero Girl Of Brien: The angst factor had to be my biggest concern. You liking it is awesome! cheers
winterwing3000: Believe me, you'll no the end is near when at the top of the chapter it reads Epilogue. Luckily that won't be for a while. All the support you guys give me keeps producing more chapter.
ariesdragon: Stupid disclaimers. grumble Do they really think any of us can afford to take over all of Yu-Gi-Oh? If we could it would already be long gone. That's what fan-girls are for.
Kris Bluesummers: Your poor, poor computer. You've got to remember, 'don't kill the messenger.' Wait until the stories done and then you can have free reign. But I have to admit your reaction did make me smile. Why did Seto break up? 'Cause he cares. Awwwwwwwwwww. How sweet. snicker
Anime-AngelWings: It's so good to see new reviewers. Thank you more then you know. I'm glad you like it. All these death threats need to be equaled out.
Brandybunch4529: Yes! I'm so happy you got why. cheers Not to mention I like giving them problems.
Secluded Sapphire: Get back together? I don't know. Maybe I'll draw it all out to torture everyone. evil grin
Here4TheParty: Why? I enjoy putting my reviewers through such trauma. And cause that's the way of Poison. But no worries. I'll make you all happy again.
Starian Princess: 00 Lots of questions. Wow. Read and you shall find out. I'd hate to spoil it.
LuvinAnime: I have to say I haven't laughed so hard over a review in my life. Ten minutes later I was still trying not to fall out of my chair. Your review shall forever be treasured in my memory. Even now I can't help but laugh.
Quickening-Heart: No biggy about reviewing. At least you're reading my story. Thanks. The inspiration keeps coming.
yoursolastsummer: Yeah! You liked the last line. I had it rolling around in my head chapters earlier. Faith? blush I feel so special.
Twin Of Darkness: So many reviews leave me speechless, like yours. Thanks. I wouldn't have gotten this far without people like you. Hope you made it to chapter eight.
Kineticfairy: gasp don't give up just yet. The flag will never be the same if you aren't waving it.
Meli Connor: Right now I'm trying to finish Poison. After all the death threats for the last chapter I'd be afraid not to.
Alexa.G: What a way to sum it all up. I couldn't have said it any better but things are looking up for the couple.
prettyStupidGirl: Yes! Lash out all you want at him. Kaiba needs a good beating.
Insane Lullabies: I updated! I updated! Can I please have a cookie now? pout
SportZScooby: I have the power to make even Kaiba put on a pink tutu and get in the talent show if I want to, but I figure he's been through enough.
Dark Magician Girl: 00 You have a Seto plushie!? I shall forever honor you.
teal4m: It's not the ending yet. I'd never think to end a story on such a sad note. That and I think a lot of people would hurt me.
Princess of the Knight: Will do.