Authoress Notes: Eep! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for not updating this in like… forever! Please forgive my tardiness! I'm so busy, what with school, other fanfics; my life has pretty much gone hectic… Ahh! Oh, and thank PrettyStupidGirl because she encouraged me (or rather forced me) to get off my lazy ass and update. Though, I thank all of you for your wonderful reviews, and I hope that you'll enjoy this sixth installment!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I would create a sequel like this (Damn YGO GX!) instead, well, for my viewing pleasure!
Pairings: AtemxAnzu and mostly everyone have moved on with one another.
Warnings: OOC-ness, mature themes, strong language… must I say more?
Plot:
A strange encounter while visiting Egypt again, erotic dreams of a certain once King of Games plague her nights, but how will she cope with it when those dreams will soon become reality? And why has he changed? How will a certain ex-pharaoh, gain the heart of the woman he has denied before? Especially if she won't give her heart back to him? Well, the once pharaoh always gets what he wants, and thanks to those dreams that will soon crumble her defenses, he will get it.
Dreams Made Flesh
By: xKuroSeraphimx
((start chapter))
Chapter 6Yugi Mutou sat on the black couch of his living room, lazily flipping channels on the TV in a hurried pace, finding nothing of interest. Letting out a pained sigh, he let his arm fall to his side and stare blankly at some meaningless talk show.
It had been a few days since he and Mazaki Anzu had talked to each other.
And in those days, he wondered how she was and if she actually went to meet with Atem. All possible signs pointed to yes, yet he wasn't sure. When he had spoken to her, she sounded uneasy, even afraid at first to go and meet with the ex-pharaoh. But he had remembered her feelings for him, and knew, by a small inkling, that she had.
At that thought, Yugi frowned. Atem wasn't himself. In fact, he acted just like he did the first time that Yugi had completed the Millennium Puzzle. Dark, cold, vicious and malevolent before they began to know each other in the Duelist Kingdom tournament three years ago. And the power that he radiated when Atem came to meet him again… It was darker, more dangerous…
Why was that?
The question itself popped into his head several times ever since then. Though Yugi had a suspicion that something must have happened during Atem's stay in the Realm of the Dead. If not that, what then? What happened to the other Atem? What had happened to the Mou Hitori No Boku that used to help them during the time of Malik's tirade and protected them from Zorc when he was unleashed again?
Obviously he was gone, and Atem was back for Anzu.
Then Yugi heard the chime of the bell at the front door, signaling that someone had entered the game shop. Turning the TV off and walking to the counter in a hurry, the tri-haired King of Games was about to greet the guest when he found that no one was around. Frowning slightly, Yugi scratched the side of his head. That was funny, he was sure he had heard someone come in…
Letting out an exasperated sigh and muttered something that meant he just needed some rest, Yugi walked back inside, preparing to take a short nap, unaware of the dull blue eyes that stared at him and disappeared.
((scene change))
Atem stepped out of the steaming bathroom while patting his chest dry, wearing nothing but long, black pants that slightly slid a little past his waist in a seductive sort of way. He made his way to the living room of his condo and looked around. It was nothing extravagant, he mused silently to himself. The place was quaint but well furnished. Hell, he hadn't even used the spending money Seto gave him to get the leather black couches and chairs around the living room, the long, blooming plants that stood at the far corners of the living room near the balcony that was covered by black satin curtains. They were all here when he arrived at the correct address, and he was slightly surprised to find all of this in his new home.
Slinging the simple white towel around his shoulders, Atem proceeded to walk to the refrigerator in the kitchen that was cut off from the living room by a black marbled counter. Opening it and taking out a small can of soda from the sparse choice of food and beverages, he closed the lid with a snap and flicked the soda open while a small, cold smile stretched upon his lips.
"So, back again, eh? And here I thought we were rid you…" Atem said to the uninvited guest that stood behind the counter before taking a sip of his drink.
Shaadi stared silently at the back of his former pharaoh who was casually drinking his soda without a care for what he could do to him. He closed his dull, azure eyes. Which was right in that aspect. He couldn't do anything to Atem. Not like this…
"Always the silent one, eh Shaadi? But back in the day, rudeness such as this wouldn't be tolerated in Egypt and I'd have the decision to slit your throat out instead." Atem fully turned to face him, the smile on his face turning into a full, cold and feral smile while the murderous gleam in his crimson-colored eyes glinted maliciously at the sight of him.
"My pharaoh," Shaadi finally said, bowing his head in a respectful bow, causing Atem to snort arrogantly at the old gesture. "So you have returned to this realm at last. We were afraid that something wrong might have happened if the ceremony didn't work well."
"Last I checked, High Priest Shadah," Atem said his name in such malevolence that the sound made the usually unshakeable Shaadi shudder visibly before him, causing a sickly sweet smile to appear on his face. "You were testing me in games that could have cost my life, my vessel's and my friends. You worrying about me were one of the last things I would have thought to come from you. So, what do you want with me? Haven't you already done enough for me?"
"Please, my pharaoh, it was only to test if you were truly the one. I ask that you forgive me on the dangerous games that I had pit you against. Now, as to why I am here before you, is that I was—"
Shaadi's sentence was cut off when a thin blast of Shadow power grazed past his cheek and made a small hole on the mahogany wooden floor, the size of a small ball. His eyes widened as he stared at a grinning Atem who had his left hand open at him, a flicker of dark power flashed out before it retreated back into his hand.
"Checking to see if I had controlled my newfound powers? I think that alone should answer your question, my dearest Shaadi. You have no need to fear, my servant. They are currently at my control." Atem said in a soft croon that didn't fit well with the scene before letting his hand fall back down to his side and take a quick sip from his soda.
The dull, azure-eyed Egyptian bowed his head and shivered again. No need to fear? He had a new reason to fear his pharaoh now. The Shadow powers that he had gained when he went past the doors to the realm of the dead were destructive and not easy to gain control and mastery of.
Yet here he stood before Atem who had only mastered the use and control of his new Shadow powers before the end of a full month.
'My pharaoh, how fearsome you have become…' Shaadi thought sadly, clenching his hands into fists. Then he looked up, just as Atem finished taking another sip of his drink. Shaadi cleared his throat and spoke, "My pharaoh, even if you are in control of those powers now, sometimes they go a bit—"
"Unstable? Yes, I know. It happened several times before I got the hang of it." Atem smiled, remembering all those times he played his games with other people. He held up his free hand and stared at it. "So… This is the power that Bakura wanted, hmm? The power that was hidden behind the doors to the dead, a power he wanted so badly, he'd do any dirty trick to obtain it…" Then the smile on his face widened slightly. "A power that could destroy the world or conquer it…"
Shaadi's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as realization hit him. "My pharaoh, you don't mean to say that you will use this power to—"
Atem glared at him, causing his sentence to die down. "No, I'm not going to use my powers to take the world, Shaadi. I have much better plans than that. Besides, why would I want to rule a world of fools? I think I've had enough days as being a king, don't you think?"
Shaadi was puzzled for a moment then remembered why Atem was sent back into this realm. 'Right… That Mazaki woman that he has been pining for…"
Then Atem's voice cut off his thoughts, but what he said made him chill to the bone.
"… But if she wants it, I'll give Anzu the world. And I'll make sure that she gets everything that the world can offer her. If not," Atem chuckled darkly. "… Then this world will surely have something to fear then…"
((scene change))
This was one of the greatest challenges Anzu had ever faced.
Glaring hard at her opponent, she twisted, she turned, she evaded all his tricks and ploys to pull her down and defeat her. Her eyes slowly widened when she felt that victory was in her grasp as she reached her goal, inching closer and closer, until…
YOU LOSE!
…Was what the TV screen said to her as Jounouchi Katsuya pumped his fists in the air as he won the race as they played Need For Speed Underground 2. Anzu cursed furiously under her breath as the blonde next to her did this weird victory dance before finally settling down back on the carpeted floor of his apartment in front of the PlayStation 2, a goofball smirk on his face.
"Ahahaha! I won, Anzu! Even though you passed college way earlier than us, doesn't mean you reign supreme in the video game ground!" He jeered at her, causing her to glare even harder at him.
"That was a cheap trick and you know it!" Anzu snapped back, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Pushing my car into another one… C'mon! One more round, I'll show you!"
Jounouchi's smirk turned into that of a madman at the prospect of beating her in the video game. In fact, he could be her in any game that she even dared to challenge him at, save for Duel Monsters, but no one didn't need to know that…
"You're on, Apricot!" He said, accepting the bait that Anzu had let out for him by using the old nickname she had back then. Of course, she took his bait when he called her by her old nickname; worked like a charm, he'd always say. Then they began another round of Circuit mode and began racing; Jounouchi jabbing numerous buttons on the poor controller while Anzu took everything in slowly, plotting out her plan to win this round.
"You two…" Shizuka said sadly at the kitchen counter, watching her best friend and older brother race against each other again on the floor of the living room. All the auburn-haired Jounouchi wanted was to have a pleasant chat with her older brother until Anzu suddenly popped up at his front doorstep and asked if she could spend time with them. Not that Shizuka could blame Anzu for wanting to spend time with each other. Ever since the events of two years ago, Anzu had nearly worked herself to death in her studies and refused to do otherwise, even passing up chances to take a break and hang out with her friends.
And before they knew it, she graduated high school, then college.
Shizuka began staring at the stark white ceiling above as a new trail of thought came to her. Speaking of the events of two years ago…
"Hey Anzu…" Shizuka called hesitantly at the brunette that was now on her knees and pressing the button to activate her nitrous on her car while having this wild look on her face that made her think that she would explode the minute she was disturbed.
Anzu quickly glanced at her before she turned her attention back at the screen. "What is it, Shizuka?" She asked rather quickly, turning right on an intersection in the game.
"I was wondering, Anzu, if you had yet to see—"
"HAH! BEAT YOUR ASS, FAIR AND SQUARE, JOUNOUCHI!" Anzu suddenly shouted, jumping up from her seat.
Jounouchi began scratching his head so hard that he was sure that there would be marks on his scalp soon. "NOOO! I JUST HAD YOU, DAMMIT!"
Shizuka, after working around her startled surprise at her brother and best friend's sudden outburst, sweat dropped visibly while slowly backing away and making sure that the counter would give her some comfort as a shield.
Jounouchi then let go of the controller and pointed an accusing finger at Anzu. "ARRGH! That couldn't have happened! You tricked me!"
A smirk, a very EVIL that you wouldn't have expected to come from the brunette slowly tugged at the corners of Anzu's lips, causing Jounouchi to visibly shudder under the dark look Anzu was giving him. "Jounouchi," she said in a too soft voice. "We made a deal before, that if I win this best two out of three game, you listen to whatever I tell you in how to study better. SO LISTEN, DAMMIT!"
"Yes ma'am." The blonde-haired Jounouchi immediately replied back, not wanting to face his best friend's wrath. A wrath that Anzu rarely let out that a person who would dare go against it had already signed their death warrant.
Soon after his reply, Anzu's lips curved up into a satisfied smirk while Jounouchi (sadly and begrudgingly) pulled out his black backpack and brought his textbooks and notebooks along with a pen and pencil. And thus, Jounouchi's tutoring began as Anzu corrected him and pinpointed all the things he needed to improve on in his math. Suffice to say, Anzu was rather annoyed about how the blonde male got almost everything wrong in such simple math equations. But she did her best, exercising the utmost patience it was needed to teach a man like Jounouchi while Shizuka merely scratched her head and watched.
It was five hours into their studying that Jounouchi FINALLY got the hang of everything he needed help on, hugging a tired and rather annoyed Anzu generously. Shizuka was taking a light nap on the couch beside them, finding that she'll learn all this later. Just ask Anzu for help, she noted amusingly. While Jounouchi was stuffing his books back in an unceremoniously way, Anzu ran a hand through her slightly ruffled chestnut-colored hair, letting out an exasperated sigh.
Aside from the annoyed feelings she had for Jounouchi right now, the brunette was quite glad that she was at least around two of her best friends to get her mind off of things the current things that were going on in Anzu's life. She tried her best not to think of what happened a few days ago, but…
"Yo, Anzu," Jounouchi called and she looked at him from the corner of her eyes with a questioning look. "Thanks a lot for helping me in my homework and stuff. Couldn't have understand it better without ya, ya know."
Anzu smiled slightly and hooked a stray strand of her brown hair behind her ear. "It's okay, Jou. But… You would understand the concept if only you would just stop sleeping during class." She replied slyly, earning an annoyed look from the blonde.
"Hey, it's not my fault I stay up late at night, tryin' to understand this crap! I'm doing my very best at this!" he stated quite proudly, only, she didn't buy it.
The brunette rolled her eyes. 'Studying late at night… Riiight…' she thought disbelievingly. Letting out another sigh, she leaned back against the couch behind her and stared blankly at the black TV screen, now lost in her own troubled thoughts.
Jounouchi scanned her from head to toe. Surely there was nothing wrong with her physically, but she seemed too tired and restless, now that he got a look of her eyes. And also, something seemed to be troubling her, gnawing at her conscious and so, being the big brother figure to Anzu, he asked, "Hey, Anzu… Something going on here that I should know about?"
At that moment, Anzu's body went rigid before she shook her head, turning to face him with a puzzled look. "No… Why do you ask, Jou?"
But Jounouchi didn't buy it. He knew that she was distressed, tired, and maybe even a bit… scared at something. "Well… I don't know you just make it seem like something wrong is goin' on with you." He replied.
"How so?"
Jounouchi sat a bit straighter, crossing his legs and arms and staring right into Anzu's sapphire-colored eyes. "Okay then. Reason one: Why did you suddenly show up on my doorstep looking like you were being chased by something? Two: It looks like you've really wanted to let your mind off of something for a while. And three: I would be the last person that you would talk to about problems with guys, in fear that I might just run up to them and kick their ass around. So, I guess my reasons are good enough."
The smile on Anzu's features seemed pained and forced while her eyes twinkled with a hint of sadness and fear. "I guess you can see right through me, but… No, Jounouchi. My problems right now don't concern no… guys or whatever, okay? It's quite small, in fact. You don't need to worry about them." She lied.
Oh, just the opposite actually, Anzu thought sadly. Anzu didn't know how Jounouchi would react if she just told him about Atem coming back. Of course he would be shocked and dumbfounded to have the former pharaoh back, but if the brunette had told him of all the… other things he had been doing to her, no doubt that Jounouchi, friend or not, will try to protect her from Atem.
But from the way Atem had acted towards her, Anzu feared for Jounouchi, and so, decided that it was best to keep it secret.
You know he's going to find out sooner or later… Said her conscious, but she waved it off. Yet her conscious was right. Everyone would notice Atem's presence sooner, but most importantly, how he acted would be the most probable cause for attention. How could he explain of his sudden change of demeanor and lust for her?
The results didn't look too well from her viewpoint…
Jounouchi stared at her long and hard, making Anzu feel slightly awkward that she shifted uncomfortably on where she sat before he shook his head and uncrossed his arms.
"Okay Anzu. I'll take your word for it. But," Then, Jounouchi's warm, brown eyes had changed into a cold, fiery glaze that made Anzu slightly fearful of him. "If anybody's hurting you, Apricot, and I mean anybody, you be sure to tell me. I'll straighten that guy out. I promise you that." He said, his tone hard and serious, not like his normal, goofball voice he normally spoke in.
Anzu giggled slightly. Count on Jounouchi to make up a promise like that. But from what she could tell, Jounouchi never breaks a promise, especially to a dear friend (coughMaicough) and he took his promises seriously. Finally, she nodded her head and smiled warmly at him before she stood up from her seat and looked at the clock. It was a quarter to eight and Anzu cursed her luck. She didn't plan on staying out that long. Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk, as they say…
"Well, got to go, Jou. I'll try and see you sometime soon, 'kay?" With that, she playfully patted his head, which in turn, he angrily swiped her hands away, muttering something like, "I'm not a dog…" and she smiled, walking out of his apartment, and into the cover of night.
((scene change))
"… Yes. I know. Right, you're grandmother helped me come back." Atem replied to the person on the other end in the darkness of his own room, his crimson-colored eyes gazed intently at the closed blinds that let lines of moonlight to filter through.
Another pause. Then, "You're not helping? I see… Well… I should thank your bloodline. Mana has done great things for me, great things… I just wish I could fully thank her for that. Hmm… You do know she is your ancestor, right?" Atem laughed at the answer that was given to him. "All right, all right… I guess this is good-bye for good, huh, Hikaru? Thank you." With that, he hung up the phone and stared back at the window.
Oh, how he reveled being alive again, he mused jokingly.
Suddenly, a slight tingle in his right hand caused a dark spark of power to emerge from Atem's hand and he raised it just in time to see his power lash out at him as if in anger or impatience and back out. He smiled, clenching his fist tightly, trying to leash in his power, all the while, planning out the perfect seduction for a woman named Mazaki Anzu…
((end chapter))
Ahh… I'm so, so, SORRY for not updating this in like… forever! And I must apologize to xXXkIkOkEnXXx! I am really, truly sorry for not acknowledging your birthday soon! Please forgive me! (bows down on her knees) I'll try to update as soon as I can, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! If you want the next, click on that button and review! Again, sorry for the really long delay!
On another note, there is this club called the SAASA (Shounen-Ai Authors Support Anzu). I joined it as well! So please join! You don't have to like shounen-ai to join, this club just shows that shounen-ai authors can support and love Anzu too! Go on Saiya-jin Spice's author profile and contact her to join! Thanks!