Flight 314
Oatmeal.
Pret: I'm back! And I've brought my obscure sense of humour with me!
YamiPret: quite.
Pret: I must now apologise for the long wait you guys have had to endure...I had a decidedly angsty period where all I wrote were death fics :grimaces: anyway, I'm back now, and I'm giving you an extra long chapter- one that I had originally intended to be split into two, but decided you deserved better than that for waiting and reviewing!
Oh, and as a result of my angsty outlook lately, this chapter gets darker as it progresses, and you actually find out what exactly happened to Aiko (Anzu's little sister)
YamiPret: On that note, we would like to thank everyone who has reviewed through our dry spell. Your encouragament and constructive- yet flattering- critique has been like rain in the proverbial desert of our imagination...
Pret: -.-' right-o, YamiPret. Anyway, Disclaimer: We do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, iPod, or the yuckiness that is oatmeal.
Enjoy!
Anzu Mazaki turned up her iPod against the noise of the shower and rolled her eyes,
"He's been in there for at least an hour..." she said aloud.
She looked out the window of their room,
our jail cell. she thought and ran her fingers through her hair, straightening up and wincing as she did so; she had been sitting at the desk using her laptop for a while now, and her back was killing her.
Anzu grinned suddenly at the reason Kaiba was in the shower...
…Flashback…
"Kaiba," called Anzu, they were having breakfast in a commune food hall, the boy genius had his noise-cancelling headphones on- connected to his newly repaired laptop,
"Kaiba," the boy just kept typing, Anzu sighed, irritated that she was being made to repeat herself,
"KAIBA!" he finally looked up from his precious piece of technology, an eyebrow quirked,
"No need to shout, Mazaki." He smirked. Anzu coloured.
"Why, you…" she took a deep breath, "I didn't want to talk to you just to be abused, Kaiba I think,"
she hesitated,
"I think we should…call a truce... I mean hasn't this gone far enough...? we've been fighting and playing these stupid childish pranks on eachother for nearly a week..." She trailed off
Stop babbling, Anzu. she scolded.
Kaiba just sat there, staring at her with his arms crossed over his chest. Anzu gritted her teeth,
"Well? Are you going to answer me, or just sit there looking h-?" Anzu choked. She had nearly said he looked hot…
Aiko appeared in the chair next to Kaiba.
well, she said, he is hot.Anzu just glared, and the little girl vanished.
"Looking…uhhh…"
"Looking what Mazaki?" Kaiba asked with the 'all knowing' smirk that Anzu was all too familiar with by now, "you weren't, by any chance, going to say 'looking so hot' were you?"
Anzu fumed, he was so stupid! She was so stupid! The world was stupid!
"No I was not, you jerk!" she cried, "just because you think that everyone in the world loves to check out your hot body-"
"Ah, so you do think I have a hot body," Kaiba said, he was obviously resisting the urge the snigger, "Don't worry, Mazaki, it's no secret you can't get enough of me."
Anzu finally snapped. In one fluid moment that perfectly demonstrated her skill as a dancer, she stood, and executed a perfect arabesque (1), with her breakfast in her hands.
The tray was balanced on the very tips of her fingers- a credit to all those hours she spent as a waitress in that fast food joint- but just like a slightly imbalanced set of scales, the tray was slowly tipping towards Kaiba's disbelieving face...
---
Seto Kaiba saw the tray slip from Mazaki's fingers in slow motion.
As soon as she had stood up, something in Seto's brain knew exactly what the angered cheerleader was going to do, but he just couldn't believe she would actually do it, couldn't believe she would actually tip her fruit and oatmeal (a/n yeuch, gross) on his head.
A part of him admired the grace with which she crossed the table, the tray teetering precariously on the very tips of her fingers, her body perfectly aligned.
But then again, a part of him wanted to curl into the foetal position and hide after taking one look at the wild expression on the Mazaki's face.
In the last few moments before the milk and mushy, 'healthy' cereal splattered onto his face, Seto almost respected Mazaki. It took a lot of guts (and even more stupidity) to pour your oatmeal on one of the world's most influential, importantand powerful men.
However, as soon as the unappetising 'food' (for lack of a better word) hit his face, the only thought in his head was: "Kill Anzu Mazaki".
...Present...
Anzu thought it was absolutely worth the death glares that Kaiba sent her way the rest of the day just for the sight of the Seto Kaiba after her artistic attack:
his hair plastered to his face with milk and mushy oats, small pieces of apricot and peach scattered over the stiff blue-black trench coat he was wearing.
Anzu had even managed to get a few shots of him on her cell before Kaiba - growling like a wild animal- had knocked it out of her hand and stormed out, leaving behind a gleeful Anzu and a room full of schocked witnesses.
Anzu had returned to her room in time to hear Kaiba muttering under his breath -something about apricots- and gathering his toiletries. Before he went entered the bathroom he shot Anzu a look. A look that clearly said: "I willget you back."
Anzu grinned once more and set about sending an email about the day's events to the gang back home. Joey was going toenjoy this.
She hesitated in sending the pictures That would just be mean. the girl reasoned.
Seto glanced at his towl-clad self in the mirror and cursed whatever force had created oatmeal, apricots and Anzu Mazaki.
He still had fragments of Mazaki's breakfast scattered through his hair.
Too many to even pick out, he thought sullenly, I can't believe she did that!
How will I get revenge on that she-devil? he mused, then it hit him. he was going to use his intelligence and his money to get her back...
Seto smirked at his reflection; this will be good.
(a/n this is where i would have left it, but you guys have been such good readers, I couldn't just leave you hanging like that...)
Anzu yawned and stretched as she flopped onto a bed and curled up into a ball, her iPod still playingYellowCard (a/n, do you really think I own YellowCard or their songs? keh, I wish) in her ears
I haven't been outside in a week, she thought miserably, and I've been stuck in a room with the man who sunk the Titanic.
She sighed and yawned again...she was so tired...her eyes started to close and she started to drift into a dream...somewhere in the real world, Anzu heard a door open and close. She snuggled further into the pillow.
Her last lucid thought was: That's funny, why does my pillow smell like men's cologne...?
Seto opened the door of the bathroom -fully dressed (a/n unfortunately) and ready to start on his vengeance plan. Closing the door with a sharp click, Kaiba glanced around the dark room, and that's when he noticed...
There was a small, vulnerable-looking person curled up on his bed. Asleep.
Mazaki.
Seto sidled cautiously over to the sleeping form of the dancer.
She was looked so fragile, Seto could hardly believe this was the same girl that regularly beat him down -verbally and physically.
Seto felt a surge ofprotectiveness forMazaki, and it worried him. He generally only felt protective of Mokuba.
In a moment of impulsive tenderness that infuriated Seto further, he leant forward and brushed some hair from her cheek,
Why is she sleeping in my bed...? he thought, gently removing her earphones.
I wonder what she's listening to? Against his better judgement, Seto lifted the iPod and listened:
" Don't know," sang the expensive piece of technology, " whatI was looking for when I went home, I found me alone,
And sometimes I need someone to say, 'You'll be alright, what's on your mind?'"
Seto yanked the earphones from their corresponding body parts in haste,
he could feel his determination wavering, his resolve crumbling. His lust forretribution was waning and he really didn't like it.
Before he could totally lose his sanity, Seto walked to the desk and sat with his back to Mazaki.
She covered you in oatmeal, He told himself firmly, She's annoying, and loud, she disturbs your work and undermines your superiority...
You hate her...he thought half-heartedly.
Having second thoughts, Seto? Rang out a familiar -albeit non-existant- voice. Seto shook his head, more to dispell the imaginary voice than to actually disagree, and pulled out his laptop.
Now, it's time to get to work. He smirked.
(I was going to finish it there...but...)
Anzu was dreaming of that again...
She was standing in the park across the road from her house. It was spring, and her sister was standing on the other side of the road, waving at her. Anzu waved back.
Looking closer, Anzu saw that Aiko was bleeding badly from her temple. She stared at her little sister in horror.
"Aiko," she called softly, "Aiko, what's wrong, what happened?"
Aiko shook her head, smiling slightly through the blood that was pouring freely from her wound.
Anzu cried out and tried to cross the road, but as soon as she reached the middle of the road, she found herself in the park again.
Standing right in the centre of the avenue, Anzu started to cry, reaching out for her little sister.
Aiko stepped forward a few feet and reached out too. A centimetre before their hands touched, a black jaguar careened down the road. A second before it hit Aiko, Anzu heard her whisper...
You must forgive them.
And then the car hit, and Aiko disappeared in a plume of black smoke.
Anzu screamed, her hand still outsretched.
As the smoke cleared, an attractive middle-aged woman stood in front of Anzu.
Anzu's mother,
"Anzu" called her mother.
The woman reached out, and Anzu felt a sharp slap across her cheek.
Anzu snarled in anger, and brought her still outstretched hand down on her mother's face.
Whimpering. He could hear the sound of terrified sobbing, a sound he recognised from Mokuba's frequent night terrors. He glanced up from his laptop. It was Anzu, crying in her sleep, calling out for a girl called "Aiko".
Seto's finger's stilled, hovering above the keyboard.
'who on earth is Aiko?' he thought, bemused. Abandoning all thoughts of revenge, and standing up, he crossed the floor and gracefully settled on the corner of his bed.
Mazaki was still whimpering. Seto leaned closer and shook her gently,
"Mazaki," he whispered. no answer, "Mazaki." louder this time. Still no answer.
He brushed her hair from her face (she seemed to calm slightly at this) and- cursing this new-found weakness of his- considered his options; he could just leave her to her nightmares, returning to his work, and remaining blissfully ignorent of his roommate's mental state. But somehow, he couldn't just walk away from the strange girl who was currently weeping all over his pillow.
His
other option was much, much scarier: He could stay, wake her up, but then he would have to face the consequences...
She would probably spill her story to him, cry on him, latch on to him, expect him to comfort her.
However, the worrying thing about this whole affair was the consequences didn't really bother Seto.
And that bothered Seto.
An especially vulnerable whimper from Mazaki stirred him to make his decision; he shook Mazaki a little harder, but she just wailed softly and turned away. Determining that his other angle was a better one, Seto placed his hand gently on her face,
"Wake up, Mazaki," he growled, more to himself than her, "Just wake up!"
She started to squirm in a more agitated manner, her whimpering growing to crying.
In desperation, Seto called out: "Anzu!" and slapped her cheek, ever-so-gently.
The distressed girl bolted upright, as her hand shot out, and a sharp crack resounded throughout the room. Seto fell backwards, a comical, shocked expression on his face.
Anzu sat upright, and glanced around her. Quarantine. Of course.
Wondering where Kaiba was, she glanced down. There, sitting on the ground, one hand on his cheek, a startled look on his face. It would have been funny, if Anzu didn't know exactly how he got down there. She must have slapped him while he was trying to wake her.
Anzu – still shaken and wet-faced from her nightmare- rolled off the bed, and landed with a thump next to a shell-shocked Kaiba,
"Um, are you okay, Kaiba…?" asked Anzu tentatively, sitting up and shuffling closer to the boy, who still had his hand on his face,
"Kaiba?" The boy turned, half-facing her, his 'stunned mullet' expression fading, to be replaced by his standard face.Anzu bit her lip,
"Sorry" she whispered, Seto turned to face her completely, and Anzu, who was expecting fury, was shocked to see he looked concerned.
"Who," said Kaiba, "Is 'Aiko'?" Anzu's eyes widened,
"How…?"
"You were having a nightmare; crying, calling out 'Aiko'"
Anzu's head dropped, tryng desperately to hide the tears that were spilling from her blue eyes.
She wouldn't show weakness in front of Kaiba. She wouldn't have his
opinion of her sink any lower.
He would surely see tears as a sign of
weakness.
That was why she was surprised beyond belief when he grabbed her chin and roughly tilted her head up so she would meet his eyes. Anzu was too shocked to do anything other than stare at him,
"Tell me what happened," he said, and Anzu was further astonished when Kaiba pulled out his own navy blue, silken handkerchief, and dabbed –almost gently- at her cheeks.
Anzu shook her head,
"It's not exactly a happy story, Kaiba"
Kaiba scoffed,
"Do you think I care?" he said derisively, "Tell me, now, Mazaki."
Anzu looked down again, and started her story, considering each word…
"It was three years ago," started Anzu hesitantly, "I was 14, my little sister was 12. Her name was Aiko. Our parents were almost as successful back then as they are now, and my sister and I had to rely on each other in the absence of proper carers.
"Despite that we were good children, loyal to our parents, polite, caring and utterly inseparable."
Seto nearly smiled. Just like himself and Mokuba.
"Then, one Saturday morning, in winter, as Aiko and I were crossing the road for our walk in the park…"
Flashback
"Aiko!" called Anzu brightly, "come on, Aiko! The street performer with the monkey will be performing by the fountain!"
"Sis! Wait up!"
Anzu turned a frowned in mock impatience as her little sister struggled to lace up her big boots.
The younger girl let out a giggle,
"Help me, Anzu!" Beaming, Aiko pointed at her boots.
Anzu grinned and knelt before her sister, lacing the right boot and, seizing her sister's hand, ran down the driveway.
She looked both ways, and – sister in tow- crossed the road.
All of a sudden, Anzu realised Aiko wasn't next to her anymore, and nor was her hand in Anzu's.
Looking around, she saw the girl's bootlace had come undone, and Aiko had stopped in the middle of the road to retie it.
"Aiko!" scolded Anzu, "What are you doing? You know never to stop in the middle of the road!"
Aiko hung her head, and got up, walking towards where her sister was waiting, one hand outstretched,
"I was worried, Aiko!" said Anzu as her sister neared.
"Sorry Onee-san!" frowned Aiko, pointing again to her bootlace, "I came undone!"
Two metres away from Anzu, it happened.
A black Jaguar careened down the road from nowhere, and Anzu called out
for Aiko to hurry over, but the driver was driving too fast.
One second before the car hit, Aiko turned to Anzu, a terrified expression on her small face.
Present
"My aunty called my parents to tell them Aiko had been hit by a car and suffered massive haemorrhaging of the head, they took three days to get here," said Anzu, tears falling freely down her face to pool in her hands,
"It was like they didn't even care They arrived mere minutes before Aiko went into surgery. Afterwards, she was put on life-support, and three months later, the decision was made to pull the plug."
Sobs racked Anzu's body now, the accumulative grief of three years being released in front of her best friend's greatest rival.
Afore mentioned rival - figuring he would comfort her like he comforted Mokuba - wrapped his arms around the distraught girl, and let her weep into his expensive designer shirt.
Anzu was too upset to be particularly surprised.
After a short while, the sobs died away, leaving a very wet Anzu
being embraced by an even wetter Kaiba, both sitting in the middle of
the floor of their shared room.
Things, reflected Kaiba, could not get any stranger.
Something suddenly occurred to Seto, as he sat with Mazaki's face buried in his shirt:
She had seemed so happy whenever Seto had seen her. Happy, or angry, at least.
He would never have guessed the pain she had been harbouring over the past three years.
Pulling away from her, Seto looked Mazaki in the eye,
"How do you do it?" He asked
Anzu glnaced up, bemused by the question,
"Do what, Kaiba?"
With uncharacteristic frustration, Kaiba ran his hands through his hair and gestured at her,
"You're so...so happy!" he burst out eventually, "How can you still be content after this? How can you go out and be a normal person after a tragedy like that?"
Seeing that Anzu had mistaken Kaiba's outburst for an accusation, he shook his head:
"I envy your ability to move on, Mazaki," he said quietly, "I envy you for being able to live some shadow of a normal life, but I just can't understand it!"
Anzu smiled sadly,
"I forgot," she said apologetically, "You have suffered much more loss than I."
Kiaba nearly yelled out in exasperation,
"That's what I mean, Mazaki, even when you are depressed and sad yourself, you still think only of the other person. You try to quell the tears to avoid making others uncomfortable."
Anzu shook her head,
"I didn't talk for four months, you know," she said softly, "after the incident, I didn't talk to anyone. Not even my friends, and certainly not my parents. But eventually, I came to terms with Aiko's death, with the help of Yugi and the others, and I realised she would have wanted me to movc on, instead of recede into myself and forget the girl I was."
Anzu frowned a little,
"Maybe that's why I'm happy, and you're not, Kaiba," she said, "I had the so much support, and it made me very thankful for life. Whereas you..."
Kaiba looked away from Anzu's peircing, knowing gaze,
"I wish I had that sort of support." he muttered, instantly regretting it.
Anzu looked up at the kneeling boy who was struggling to let his emotions out. He had been through so much, and on top of his parents' death, he had to look over Mokuba, and deal with their step father, as well as working for a living and going to school.
Anzu felt a rush of emotions, and- before she realised what she was doing- wrapped Kaiba in a hug, expecting him to pull away, but to her surprise, he didn't move
"Thank you for listening, Kaiba." She whispered, pulling away and rising reluctantly from her position...
Andrew Jones brushed off the doctors and nurses who were urging him to stay in bed.
I feel like finding that young girl he thought with a predatory grin, room 34, yes, this is it...
Kaiba frowned as Mazaki rose to leave, growling, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
It was utterly incomprehensable to him, but he needed to hold the annoying little girl.
Ignoring her silent questions, he enfolded her in an embrace, burying his face in her hair.
"You're annoying, loud, infuriating and I really can't stand you," he said quietly, smirking at Anzu's muffled protests into his chest, "But despite all that, you're alright."
From what he could see of her face, Anzu was bright red. He snorted softly.
A sudden noise broke their comfortable -very comfortable- silence; a door opening.
They both looked up to see the shocked and angry face of Mister Jones at their doorway...
HAHAHA! Cliffy!
sorry, guys... very fluffy chapter, i know... in any case, please review!
now, Competition!
If you want me to send you what would have happened, had Seto decided to go through with his prank, then try to answer this question:
Who is my favourite character in Yu-Gi-Oh?...not as obvious as you think. Every person who guesses right will recieve the deleted scene!
(1) Arabesque: the classic ballerina's pose, in which your leg hands are outstretched and you stand with one leg parallel to your body. Clear?