Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter 14: An Adoptive Reaction
"Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!" Anzu smiled and hugged her parents happily as they opened the front door.
"Anzu!" her mother hugged her back, "What are you doing here?"
"Yes: this is a most unexpected visit!" her father laughed, "What do you want?" he asked in a playfully accusing tone.
"Daddy!" Anzu hit his shoulder playfully, "Can't I just come to see my parents while I'm still in town? After all, I only have about eight months left in Japan!" Anzu replied, "I wanted to visit. I hope I'm not intruding-"
"No, no, Anzu!" her mother ushered her inside, "Come in! It is a bit chilly outside: come in, come in. I was just about to make dinner. Will you be staying?"
"Why not?" Anzu shrugged, "It's better than the lonely dinners I make at home," she chuckled.
"Say, Anzu, how are you getting along by yourself in that large apartment?" her father sat down on the living room couch and asked her.
"Ah, fine," Anzu replied, "It gets a little lonely sometimes, and I'll admit that I got bored before not being used to such freedoms, but I solved that problem a couple months ago."
"What did you come up with?" Mr. Mazaki leaned in.
"I got a job."
"Someone hired you for less than a year?" her mother called out from the kitchen.
"Yes, actually," Anzu replied, smiling, "And I was most surprised at the offer, due to the way I had known him before I had left."
"Oh really? This is someone you know then?" her father leaned back against the couch and scratched his chin, "What could you be working as…? It's not a big job?"
"Not too big…."
"Anything to do with a store?"
"Nope."
"That rules out Yugi and Rebekah then, doesn't it?" he chuckled.
Anzu's smile grew broader, "Yep. And if you keep thinking like that, you won't even be close to guessing who I work for."
Mrs. Mazaki brought out a tray of drinks: a coffee for her husband, tea for her and water for Anzu. Anzu took the water gratefully.
"Dinner is cooking. So…what are we talking about?" her mother sat down next to her father.
"Dad was trying to guess what I work as and for whom," Anzu replied, gulping down the water, "In fact…I just arrived here from work."
"Well, then, it seems to be a high-class society," Mr. Mazaki observed his daughter's clothing (she had taken off the fake glasses, make-up and let down her hair, however).
"Yes, it could only be that. If I know our daughter as well as I do, she would never wear something like that unless she had to. …Or she was trying to impress a certain someone," Mrs. Mazaki looked slyly over at her husband.
Anzu set down her glass protesting, "Mom! You know I don't do that! I wouldn't do that to my boss!"
"Your boss is single then? Interesting…" her father nodded, "Most interesting…. Don't get too many of those nowadays. I suppose he's rather young then?"
"Oh, please stop this!" Anzu huffed.
"Come now, Ryo," her mother told her husband, "We'll stop badgering her about this…again. She'll find someone sooner or later. It's just beyond me how such a pretty young girl can't have had any romance in her life yet," Rhonda Mazaki sipped her tea.
Anzu looked away and felt a blush crawling up her cheeks. That was NOT true. Why, in the past three months alone she had had more romance in her life than Larry had given her for almost ten years!
The Kaiba brothers sure were doing a good number on her.
But were they meaning to do that number?
"Anzu?"
Anzu snapped back to attention, "Yes?"
"Just tell us dear," Ryou stated, "Who and what? Work?"
"Ah:" Anzu took in a deep breath. Who knew how her parents would react to this? "I'm the secretary for Seto Kaiba. Can you believe it?"
Her parents simultaneously chocked on their drinks and spluttered them back into their cups.
"Is that such a surprise?" Anzu laughed.
"Anzu…I never thought…for just a year?" her mother looked at her father. Mr. Mazaki was just staring at her daughter.
"Yeah, see, that's what surprised me. But er…because we actually know each other to a degree," she swore she felt some red rise into her cheeks when she said this, "He…overheard me say that I was bored a lot and offered me the job. And thinking in the context of this being for a year: why, I do believe he's always replacing his secretaries. Who knows? Maybe I'll be kicked out before the year is up. I suppose I could then try to see if positions under Mokuba or Noa would then be available," she muttered the last sentence.
Her parents heard it however, and gave each other certain unreadable looks.
A timer dinged in the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Mazaki popped up, "Into the kitchen, everyone!"
The threesome filed into the kitchen. They at down and the dinner began in silence, with only the clinking of utensils and plates to be heard.
After a few moments of only eating, Anzu decided to break the silence and say what she had come here to say. "Mom? Dad?"
"Yes, Anzu?" her father answered.
"Is something wrong?" her mother's voice piped up.
"Sort of…actually," Anzu replied, looking up at her parents. "Look…on my last visit…I sort of…got a bit…angry and sassy to you two," she started to explain.
"Oh Anzu, it was just the drinks-" her mother started.
Anzu held up a hand to stop her, "No, it wasn't. It was the way I was becoming. I've been thinking lately that ever since I started becoming…"famous," it's been going to my head. I've been thinking that…it's started affecting me. I get the perception that I'm above everyone else…. I don't want to be like that! But…it slips out sometimes. The money…the fame…the sense of power…it's beginning to control me. And…I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry for the way I acted here last time, and I hope you forgive me." Anzu bowed her head.
Her mother rushed up from the table and came over to Anzu's side, "Oh honey, we forgave you the minute it happened! Don't you worry yourself over something that small! We understand-"
"It's not small to me, mom. I've been really obsessing over it. So…that's why I've started getting help for it. Someone else I know went through the same phase. I'm asking him how he got through it, and he's helping me. So…hopefully, I won't be this way for much longer."
"Oh, our Anzu doesn't need any sort of help! You're perfect the way you are!" her father boasted. "A little rough on the edges, but everyone is like that!"
"I think I'm more than a little rough on the edges," Anzu smirked.
The doorbell suddenly rang.
"I'll get it," Anzu offered. She took off for the door. Her parents, unawares, crept to the threshold of the kitchen and peeked out from behind it.
Anzu unlocked the door and opened it, gasping in surprise.
"Kaiba! W-What are you doing here?"
Seto Kaiba only gave her a seemingly bored look and said, "I hate to be your delivery boy, Mazaki, but you seemed to have left something at the office that I'm sure you want," he held out her purse for her.
"Oh my gosh!" Anzu took it from him, "Thank you! I totally forgot about this…. Geez, I'm stupid." She suddenly looked up at him, expecting a snappy remark. She had just laid down the foundation for something along the lines of, You didn't have to tell me twice.
But none came.
Anzu, surprised, continued her interrogation, "So…how did you know I was here? How did you know where here was?"
"You weren't at home when I checked. And knowing that you probably couldn't go far without that," he gestured to the purse, "I figured you were at your parents' house or a friends' house. Of course, Noa told me where your parents lived, so I decided to check here first."
"Way to go, Sherlock," Anzu nodded.
Seto sighed, "It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."
"Well, you figured it out, didn't you? I would just say that you made an oxymoron before." Seto's eyebrows rose. Had she just…complimented him?
Seto looked past Anzu and saw her parent's heads poking through the kitchen doorway. He nodded in their direction and Anzu looked behind her. She rolled her eyes and gestured for her parents to come over. Slowly, they walked over to the front door.
"Mom, Dad, this is Seto Kaiba –as you might know. He's my boss…which you also know," she added.
"P-Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kaiba," Mrs. Mazaki stuttered.
Mr. Mazaki was looking Seto up and down. He nodded and then turned to Anzu, "He'll do."
Something registered through Anzu's mind from their earlier conversation, "Dad! Not while he's here!" she hit her father playfully on the shoulder.
A strong look of amusement leapt across Seto's face.
"Come dear," Ryo Mazaki took his wife, "We'll leave the two to talk," he snickered and walked back to the kitchen with his wife.
Anzu slapped her forehead. "I swear…. Just because I'm single and have never had a boyfriend…" she muttered to herself. Seto only heard bits and pieces of it, such as 'single' and 'never' and 'boyfriend.'
However, his mind was really on other things: such as something he had noticed.
"…Those were your parents?"
"Yes, who else would they be?" Anzu looked up incredulously.
Seto bit his lip as if deciding whether to say what was on his mind or not. He was deciding against it when-
"Well? Say it already: I know you're dying to say something," Anzu crossed her arms, "What is it?"
And it tumbled out, "Are you…adopted?"
Silence passed between the two of them for a moment. Seto crossed his arms impatiently and still stared into Anzu's eyes, which had widened, and her moth had dropped open.
"I-? WHAT!" she suddenly stomped her foot on the ground, "What the heck? I'm not adopted! Why would you ask something like that!"
Seto stepped backwards, with a cold glare coming over his features, "I was merely asking that because –no offense- but you look nothing like your parents."
"So maybe I got all of the recessive alleles in the gene pool!" Anzu waved her arms.
"Highly unlikely," Seto retorted.
"I…I," Anzu struggled to find the right words, "Argh! You've made your delivery, now go away!" she shut the door in his face, a little harder than she had wanted. She didn't know why that had ticked her off so much. So there were some differences between her and her parents: it didn't mean she was adopted! She would have known if she was adopted!
Anzu stomped back to the kitchen in a freshly angered mood. She sat back down in her seat and started to pound the living daylights out of the food on her plate.
"Stupid Kaiba," she muttered, "Who does he think he is-"
"Anzu, honey? Is something wrong?" her mother noticed the rather familiar behavior," What's troubling you?"
"Ha! Kaiba just asked the stupidest thing in the world, and practically told me he was right about it! He asked if I was adopted! I mean: COME ON! I'm not adopted! But no! He has to shove it in my face that I don't share many physical similarities with you guys-" she looked up at her parents to see their humored reactions.
Boy, was she wrong.
"Mom?" she calmed down, "Dad? W-Why are you staring at me like that? Hello?" she waved her hand in front of their wide-eyed stares. Their tea cups were raised in midair and were stuck there, except Mrs. Mazaki's was shaking as her hand trembled.
Anzu's heart started to pick up pace. No…no it can't be! NO!
"Mom? …Dad? …I'm…not adopted…right?"
"Of course not-" her father started.
"Anzu, honey, you must understand-" her mother replied at the same time. The two parents looked at each other.
Anzu stood up slowly, "Mom? W-What were you g-gonna s-say? I'm…r-right, right?"
"Anzu," her mother stood up and walked over to her. Anzu was frozen on the spot and watched as her mother slowly came over, "Anzu…we did this for your own good," her mother started to explain.
"Wait: hold the phone," Anzu backed away from her mom, "What are you saying?"
"What your mother is trying to say…is…we…we did adopt you, Anzu-"
"WHAT!" Anzu hollered, "WHAT! AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME?"
"Anzu, it was to help you-"
"HELP ME BY DOING WHAT! KEEPING SOMETHING THAT BIG FROM ME! ALL OF THIS TIME I WAS PROUD TO HAVE TRUSTING PARENTS LIKE YOU, BUT YOU'VE KEPT THE BIGGEST SECRET OF MY LIFE FOR-…for…for…." Anzu stopped. "When did you adopt me?"
"When you were twelve," her mother answered quietly; tears forming in her eyes. Anzu smiled. She was getting worked up over nothing! She would remember being adopted, right? At twelve?
"Alright, guys: joke's over. I would remember being adopted, right?"
"Anzu…no, you wouldn't," her father stood up, "You…can't remember your early childhood, remember? You would not remember us adopting you."
Anzu shook her head. This was unbelievable. It couldn't be true! "Y-You're lying!"
"No, sweetie: for once: we're not," her mother walked over to hug Anzu.
Anzu backed away, "No…no…it's impossible…. Y-You said-"
"Anzu we hated lying to you, but it was for your own good and the wish of your father," her stepfather stepped forward.
"No! I don't believe it!" she cried out, "YOU'RE LYING!" tears were steadily running down her cheeks now. "WHAT KIND OF FATHER WOULD NOT WANT ME TO KNOW I HAD BEEN ADOPTED!"
"Anzu Mazaki, calm down-" Mr. Mazaki began.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Anzu retreated to the doorway, "BECAUSE I'M OBVIOUSLY NOT A MAZAKI, AM I! EITHER TELL ME THE TRUTH…OR…OR-"
"Anzu, we did tell you the truth," her mother answered, now crying outright.
"IT'S NOT POSSIBLE THOUGH!" Anzu punched the wall so that the kitchen shuddered, "I mean…I mean…" she took great breaths of air, "Who was my father then? And my mother?"
"We don't know, exactly," Ryou put forth.
"THEN HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WAS HIS WISH, HUH!" she screamed.
"Because-"
"STOP WITH THE LIES! Just…JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Anzu cried running away from them, and wrenching open the door.
"Anzu!" her parents sprinted after her.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Anzu cried dashing to her car, starting it and getting away from the house as fast as possible.
The Mazaki couple stood on the driveway, watching their daughter drive off.
Rhonda was crying steadily into her husband's shoulder," I knew this day would come soon! I could just feel it! And I knew she would throw this type of reaction! It would be just the same reaction he would have thrown! She learned so much from him! No wonder it's instinct! And now…she hates us, Ryo!"
"She'll come around," Ryou Mazaki patted his wife, "She'll come around. Once she gets over the fact, she'll realize that just because we adopted her doesn't mean that we aren't family. No matter how much she thinks she's not a Mazaki anymore-"
"Ryo," Mrs. Mazaki looked up, "She never was a Mazaki…you know that as well as I do."
Ryo sighed, "I suppose you are right…."
Anzu cried herself to sleep, holding Oha tightly. This was the second time in three weeks she had needed this serious comfort.
"It's just not…possible. How could they? How could they not tell me!" she sobbed, holding her bear closer to her chest. "I hate them," she whispered.
In the morning, Anzu groggily woke up, and looked around. She felt some roughness on her face and noticed she was holding Oha still.
The memories of the past day came tumbling back down to earth atop her. Her body jerked in the sheer memory of those painful moments.
"How could they…" she whispered, with a look of pure hatred on her face. "They…they lied to me for seventeen years! Seventeen!" she growled and scrambled out of bed, rubbing away the tears stains that were dried across her face.
She stomped over to her dresser and thrust it open, grabbing whatever work-clothes were on top. She took a quick shower (after noticing that she was slightly late getting started) and got dressed.
"Screw everything else," she hissed, referring to the make-up, hair and glasses. She simply threw her hair up into a ponytail and set off, not caring who saw Anzu Ma- er…Anzu No-Name go into Kaiba Corp.
That reminded her. She whipped out her cell-phone in the car, not caring how late or early or whatever it was in New York and dialed Lar's number.
After the fourth ring, it picked up quickly, "Hello? Lar-"
"Lar, it's me, Anzu."
"Anzu! What a surprise-"
"Save it. I want you to find me a new last name. I'm not going to be Anzu Mazaki anymore. A new last name – got it?"
"Well, er, yes, Anzu, but-"
"Anything will do, okay? JUST FIND ONE! Make one up for all I care!"
Lar was quiet for a moment, then he said, "Anzu. Larry suggests…Marnar."
"Your last name? But-" she stopped, "I know what he's getting at! You tell him NO!" she shouted, "Sorry…. I'm just not in the mood. You won't believe it, Lar! I just found out I was adopted!"
"I-Is that so?" he stuttered on the other side of the line.
Anzu's eyes narrowed, "Did you know about this?"
"Anzu, I was only told-"
"CRAP IT! EVERYONE KNOWS EXCEPT ME!" she shouted into the phone, threatening to use a stream of cusses and curses. She snapped the phone shut and threw it into the back of the car.
"Screw everyone," she muttered, zooming through Domino.
She stomped through the doors of Kaiba Corp. and to the elevator, and stood in the corner as it traveled up many floors.
She brushed past everyone on the top floor – some stopping to look at her new attire – and came to stop at her desk. She threw down her purse and slumped down into her chair. She already had piles of work waiting on her desk.
She sighed. Perhaps the work day would make the tension flow out or at least make her forget the predicament for the time being.
She managed to work most of the day without having contact with anybody. Nobody bothered her: not even her boss.
Of course, a few hours before the workday ended, Seto did come out of his office to speak with her about Kaiba Corp. matters.
"Gar-" he started to speak to her via alias, but noticed her change of wear. "Dumping the act?" he asked.
Anzu didn't look at him, "I'm not in the mood."
"Alright…" he replied. She did sound really ticked off about something. "So…about these files-"
Anzu suddenly stood up and glared at him, thoughts and feelings of anger venting out through her. "You."
Seto looked up confused, "Me, what?"
"You," Anzu seethed, glaring at him inches from his own face, "Why do you ALWAYS have to be right!"
"What are you talking about?" he questioned, starting to get annoyed. What was she playing at.
"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE RIGHT!" she screamed at him. Several heads turned in the hallway.
"WHAT WAS I RIGHT ABOUT! ENLIGHTEN ME, MAZAKI!"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT, YOU IDIOT!"
"WHY NOT! IT'S YOUR NAME, ISN'T IT!"
"NOT ANYMORE! I'M ABANDONING THAT LIE!"
"WHAT'S THE LIE!"
"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE RIGHT!" she was crying now, still fighting to keep herself upright though.
"WHAT WAS I RIGHT ABOUT! WHAT IS THIS WHOLE ARGUMENT ABOUT!"
"YOU'RE RIGHT! I AM ADOPTED, YOU IDIOT! AND I ONLY FIGURED OUT LAST NIGHT THAT MY SO CALLED PARENTS HAVE BEEN LYING TO ME FOR SIXTEEN YEARS!" she screamed.
And suddenly, she smacked his right across the face.
Gasps rang throughout the now eerily silent hall. A couple cups dropped to the floor.
Anzu heaved and suddenly put a hand to her mouth, horrified.
Seto –shock written all across his face- gingerly felt his red cheek where she had slapped him.
I am so fired, Anzu thought slowly.
And suddenly, the pent up tears began to flow, and just barely registering to grab her purse, she flew down the hallway, crying, and rounded down the stairs.
Seto stared after her. So she was adopted? It really must have been a large shock to her if she had slapped him that hard….
Anzu tore down the steps, not caring who she ran into (no one, luckily) and emerged at the bottom of the flight some few minutes later.
She ran right for the door, but was suddenly halted by a pair of strong arms taking hold of her shoulders.
"Anzu? What's wrong!" Noa's concerned voice echoed through to Anzu's brain.
"NOA!" she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.
Noa was thoroughly shocked by this outgoing action, but began rubbing her back sympathetically. Holding her, he led them to a cushioned bench in the lobby, away from prying eyes, and sat down with her. Anzu still cried.
"Anzu, shh…Anzu tell me what's wrong," he asked her gently. For some reason, this whole experience felt oddly familiar…. Something he almost remembered…..
"Oh, Noa," she cried, "I hate him…."
"Who, Anzu?"
Through choked sobs, he understood the words, "Your brother."
Noa furrowed his eyebrows in thought. Which of the two would she come to "hate" so easily? Seto? Probably the best guess.
"Seto? Is it him?"
She merely nodded her head, though in a difficult position to do so.
"Why?" he asked. This was rather strange.
"Why does he always have to be right?" she sobbed. Noa didn't understand at all what was going on, but continued to rub her back softly to calm her as she cried on him.
Seto rushed down the stairs. In this condition, if Anzu started driving, she was liable to kill herself.
He stopped at the edge of the stairs when his eyes caught hold of Anzu in Noa's arms. He was consoling her.
Something gave a sharp pain in Seto's chest when he heard part of the conversation.
"I hate him."
"Who, Anzu?"
"Your brother."
"Seto? Is it him?" Anzu nodded. "Why?"
"Why does he always have to be right?"
Seto backed up and leaned against the wall of the stair way. Great. With that stupid comment last night –he just had to remark about it- she hated him.
This bothered him more than it should have. Normally, it would have hurt him a little, but not this much.
What was going on with him? Why did he care if Anzu hated him so much?
Something flashed through Seto's brain. Could he…be in the same phase as his brothers? Had that really come to pass of him?
That feeling of…love?
Back over on the bench, Noa whispered, "Take your time, Anzu…. Tell you what. I'll take you out to dinner tonight, and we'll see if we can't distract your mind for the time being, okay? How does that sound?"
Anzu nodded enthusiastically through her tears and hugged him tighter. Anything would be better than thinking about this problem constantly.
Anzu looked around the outside of the small café the two were dining at. Noa had afterwards given her permission to go home early and rest up a bit beforehand, after she had cried all her tears (driving with a great emotional problem was not recommended). So, she did so and was now looking for that mop of green hair that would signify her date –er- friend was here.
Date? Since when! These emotional problems lately were starting to go to her head!
And then she spotted that head of green hair. She rushed forward and was about to tap him on the shoulder when someone else bumped into her and she accidentally bumped into him.
"Whoops, sorry N-" she stopped. The man who had turned around was most definitely not Noa Kaiba. "Oh, excuse me…I'm sorry," she blushed in embarrassment. In truth, it was probably a good thing that she had tripped instead of tapped him, otherwise she would have been even more embarrassed.
"A-Anzu M-Mazaki!" the green-headed man with yellow-framed glasses replied, a faint blush growing on his cheeks.
The last name struck a chord in Anzu, but she tried to remember that she was here to get rid of that thought.
"I-I can't believe it's you!" he smiled faintly, with that hint of red still in his cheeks. "And to think I actually know you!"
"What?" Anzu inquired. Knew her? Who was this guy?
"Don't you remember?" he looked slightly hurt. He then piped up, "Well…does that really matter? All that really matters is that you –the homely little caterpillar- have transformed into the queen of all butterflies."
What the! Anzu scrunched up her eyebrows in slight confusion. Wait…. Something was familiar about that voice. A little squeak in it…talking about bugs….
"Insector Haga!" she suddenly cried out. (That's Weevil Underwood for all of you who don't know.)
"Yes! I knew you would remember me!" he laughed, jumping into the air as he usually did.
"Wow…you've changed," she admired. No longer did he have –in her opinion- a bad haircut, but he had swept all of that long hair back into a rather fashionable style. The glasses were thinner, but he still had that slightly buggy look about him….
"So…er…what have you been up to lately?" Anzu asked shyly. She had not had too many friendly experiences with him. However, if Seto Kaiba –she was again reminded of emotions with a jolt in her chest- could change, then couldn't Insector?
"I'm a national er…" bug-studier" now," he replied smoothly, "Among other things!" he added seeing the starting look on Anzu's face. "I'm a great scientist! And…" he lowered his eyes lids slightly, looking directly at Anzu and holding himself proudly, "Surprisingly, I'm still single-"
"Anzu, there you are!" Noa suddenly came up behind her and wrapped himself around her waist, "How are you, now?"
Anzu smiled, looking behind her, "Fine! You ready?"
"I always am," he smirked, taking her by the arm gently and guiding her inside.
Insector Haga glared after them. "So a Kaiba already has her? Curse that family…they get everything! Money: fame: titles…and Anzu! She's a pretty little thing that should be more open to the public! Not already reserved for one of that prat family," he seethed, turning on his heel and walking off. "I swear…the next one of them that I see…oh, I'll…."
Noa and Anzu walked inside and sat down at a table, waiting to order their food. The waitress came soon enough and too their orders. She left quickly to retrieve their food.
"So, Anzu-" Noa started. He was silence by the ringing of a phone.
"What now!" Anzu cursed, digging into her purse to get her phone, "I swear…whoever this is, is going to – Hello? Anzu Mazaki speaking," she put on a false air of happiness as she answered the phone.
Her facial expression dropped immediately when she heard who it was.
"Larry, not now…."
Noa pretended not to be listening, and tried concentrating more on the utensils in front of him, but it was to no avail. Anzu was quite talkative….
"LARRY! HOW DARE YOU!"
Noa's head shot up. What had that man just said to her? His eyes narrowed dangerously. He was in for a world of hurt…..
"Larry!" Anzu sighed exasperatedly, "How many times have I told you? NO! I've given you the same answer tot hat same question for SEVEN years! Seven years you have asked me to marry you, and for seven years, I HAVE DECLINED. Can you not get it through your head? And you have the nerve to ask me while CALLING ON THE PHONE!"
There was a pause as Noa stared in mild shock at the talker and her phone. Anzu looked over at him. "In fact, Larry, I happen to be on a date at the moment…with some other guy. Would you like to speak with him? Just to show that I'm not lying? Sure, hold on for a moment," she covered the speaker part of the phone and handed it to Noa, "It's for you. Larry would like a word."
Noa took the phone. He was going to savor this….
"Hello, Noa Kaiba speaking."
"Listen here, punk, just who do you think you are to be taking Anzu -…. What did you say your name was?"
"Noa Kaiba."
"As in…Kaiba? As in…Kaiba Corp. Kaiba?"
"One out of three, yes," Noa twiddled his thumbs.
"Oh…. Well, you listen good, pal. Keep your money-sucking fingers off Anzu, got it? She's my girl…."
"So I've heard," Noa muttered, smirking at Anzu. She was trying to hide her laughter, "Well, you listen here, pal. Too. Late." And with that, he snapped the phone shut, ending the call.
"What was all that about?" Anzu laughed and took the phone back.
"He told me to stay away from you: that you're his," Noa replied nonchalantly.
"And you replied-?"
"That it was too late for that," he smirked. Anzu looked away and blushed slightly. The way he wound his words together…. It was loveable.
Something triggered in the back of Anzu's mind. Where had she said that before?
Ack, she would think about it later.
Their dinner arrived, and they had a lively conversation. Anzu was kept happy that entire time. As their meal slowed, Anzu spontaneously remembered the reason why they were here. She sighed. She needed to talk about it….
"Noa?"
"Yes?" he attention diverted directly to her.
"Can we…just go walk through the park for a while? I…want to talk to you about something. About…why I was so upset and all. You have a right to know."
"Alright," he nodded. "Let me just take care of the bill-"
"What, all of it?"
"Of course," he replied.
"No! Noa-"
"Anzu, this was my treat. I'm going to pay for it, alright?" he replied, looking sternly into her eyes. Anzu looked back into his. She couldn't accept that….
"Noa…" she started, "I just-"
"Please Anzu?" he asked.
Anzu sighed and sat back, defeated. His overall cuteness and pleading won her over.
Noa laid down the money on the table and stood up, "Ready to go?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," she smiled and stood. "To the park then?"
"Sure thing," he answered, walking out with her.
The park was only a few blocks down. The two walked there as sunset was starting and began their journey across the sidewalk around the pond.
"So…what's this all about?" Noa looked over at her and asked.
Anzu took a deep breath. "Well…I found out that…my parents have been lying about something to me for about sixteen years," she answered, looking at the ground.
Noa' eyebrows shot up, "What? That doesn't sound like your parents! What did they lie about?"
Anzu huffed, "That's the thing. They lied about actually being my parents."
Noa blinked. He was trying to put together the riddle….
"They told me that I'm adopted."
Noa stopped. Anzu stopped as well, looking back at him. He stated, "Would you rather walk, or sit down?"
Anzu smiled, "Sit, I suppose." There was a bench right near them, and they sat down next to each other. "So…after sixteen years of telling me I was their biological child, they come and break it to me that I'm really adopted. And they said that they had kept this secret from me for my own good and that my father wanted it – whoever that jerk might be.
Noa sat back in thought, "Maybe he didn't want you knowing who he was?"
"Possibly. But what happened to my real mother? That's what I want to know…" Anzu stared off at the ground.
Noa looked at her, "Wait though. Wouldn't you have been around twelve when this happened? Are you saying that you have no recollection of being adopted?"
"None, whatsoever."
"…How?"
"Remember I said so before? I don't remember much from my early childhood. I don't know why that's so…" she sighed. "It really bytes sometimes when I can't remember something like that! Something I need to know!"
She put her face in her hands in frustration, and was bent over. Noa bent over slightly as well and put an arm around her back, "Don't worry…everything will work out."
He sat there, consoling her again – this time in a more mild fashion. He looked across the grounds while doing so. Couples walked the sidewalk; kids ran across the lawns and fed the fish.
"Come on, Jonah!" a little girl cried, jumping onto a boy's back, and smiling. The boy caught her and smiled, looking back up at her and stumbling forward a little bit, "Wow, calm down, Annie!" he laughed, walking along with her on his back.
Something flashed through Noa's mind.
"Catch me, Noa!" he felt a load hop onto his back. Noa heard his own laughter and looked around to see who had jumped onto him. A blank and shadowed face looked back.
"Oh, G, look at that!" he heard his mother coo, "Noa! --- Look here!" A camera flashed.
Noa shook his head as he snapped back to reality. There he had gone again – back into an early past memory…or at least, that's what he thought it was. He never really remembered it happening. Something just flashed through his mind at random moments.
Then Noa remembered something even more recent, "But…er…what does this have to do with you hating Seto?"
Anzu looked up at him with anger written in her eyes, "He was the one who influenced it to surface last night. He came to my parent's house last night to return something of mine."
"I know that much," he replied.
"Yes…. So he met my stepparents –who I thought were my parents at the time. When they left, he asked if I was adopted, because he said I looked nothing like them. I became really mad at him and slammed the door in his face. Then, I commented to my stepparents about what he had said and told them it was ridiculous. They then decided to break it to me."
"I'm sorry," Noa replied, "That must be distressing news to come across. Especially after sixteen years…."
"Yeah," Anzu retorted, hissing. "I'd just like to know what else they're hiding from me! If they hid this major matter, I can't imagine what else they could have been keeping from me."
Silence passed between them for a few minutes. Noa decided to break it. "How about we finish that walk? Hardly anyone is out now…. Maybe you can unwind a little, before we have to return to our separate homes."
"That sounds good," Anzu smiled. They stood, and continued their stroll through the park, under the not lit streetlamps.
A little after they had started, mostly in silence, Noa had snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him as they sauntered along.
Anzu seemed just fine with this action.
Well, there you have it! This chapter was going to have a whole different scene in it, but I decided to save it for next chapter. Just remember all that happened in here (especially the Insector Haga thing) for next chapter! PLEASE REVIEW! (Compensation for my stupid account closing is greatly wanted!)