Moralshipping (Mahad x Anzu)

He was looking out at the world from...wherever exactly he was. It was hard to tell where. The pharaoh had locked the dimensions apart from each other about three thousand years ago, and he had still been in this world when it had happened, so he had been unable to pass back into the Shadow Realm. But as a spirit, he couldn't exactly remain in the physical world, either, so he was trapped in some form of between world within this small slip of paper that people called the Dark Magician card.

"Anzu-chan, do you want to play a game?"

"Yeah! But not that puzzle one from before. That one's too hard."

"Okay, we'll play this one instead!"

Someone bumped against the table, and cards spilled across the floor. The Dark Magician found himself fluttering towards the ground, and landing face down.

Someone giggled.

"Yugi-kun, you're so clumsy!" a little girl's voice laughed.

The Dark Magician was lifted up off the ground. It was the first time he saw her.

She was small, then, no more than seven, with a round, child-like face. She sported a short hair cut with two mini pigtails held with barrettes, and the bangs fell lightly over her big blue eyes.

"Wow," she said, staring with big eyes. "This one is so pretty!"

"Which one?" Yugi said, still picking up cards. He peeked over her shoulder. Then he beamed. "Oh, that one's my favorite! The Dark Magician! He's really strong!"

"Cool," Anzu said, staring at it. At him.

He remembered thinking that he was glad to see a new face.

He didn't see her again for a long time. How long? It was difficult to tell. Time didn't seem to pass normally for him.

The next time he saw her, they were in a forest. He was standing on a field, facing against a line of insect monsters.

She was standing there, almost out of sight in the corner of his eyes, her hands clasped over her heart. She had grown, he realized. She was a young woman now, her hair in a short bob without the childish pigtails, nearly twice the height she had been the last time, with curves in her slim frame. But more than anything, he could see the fierce determination in her eyes. The strength that pulsed through her slender frame, an unshakeable confidence in the boy that commanded him. He could feel her strength adding to his master's; her presence like a battery. That energy transferred to him, as well, through his master.

He chanced to give her one more glance, even though he was on the battlefield.

He remembered thinking that he was glad that she was watching him in this battle.

There were other times he saw her. Many times. Every time, she had that same burning passion in her eyes. The same strength. There was no quenching it, the faith that she had in his master. And in him...by extension.

Please.

He could hear her. She was calling for help.

Please...please, let me draw the card I need.

He could feel the cold, seeping through him. She was calling. She needed help. He could feel the magic of his apprentice calling for him. Where was she? Where was Anzu?

This is my last chance.

He could see her – standing on a field of ice, practically frozen inside of it. He could feel her trembling, hear her icy breath as she gasped for air. Was that determination in her eyes? He didn't know – he couldn't see her face.

"This duel is just about over," the Nightmare Penguin cackled.

Dark Magician could hear his master screaming – he could feel his terror as he watched the one he cared for suffer.

For the first time in a long time, Dark Magician felt his heart miss a beat. Would she give in? Would that fire in her eyes go out?

Her icy fingers reached shakily for her deck.

Please.

He tightened his grip on his staff. And he answered her call.

The bright light of the Sage's Stone cut across the icy field. The magic of his apprentice lashed out and pulled him from his in-between world, whipping him onto the field and between Anzu and her icy fate.

For a moment, his heartbeat matched hers. He was her servant right now. At this moment, his soul was bound to hers – for just this battle, he could stand in front of her, instead of watching her from far away.

A smile came to his face.

I'll protect you.

His magic whipped across the field. Nightmare Penguin screeched as the energy dissipated from its body. It was over.

He had only a few moments. The space of a few heartbeats where his rhythm would match with hers. He turned to face her, to look straight at her for the first time. There was a warmth growing in his chest, something that he had forgotten in the years spent lingering in the worlds in-between.

She stared up at him with her blue eyes, her mouth hanging slightly open. It was the first time that they had ever looked at each other, face to face, and both of them knew that they were looking at each other. He thought he should say something. But what? He didn't have any words. He didn't think what he was feeling could be expressed in words.

So he only put a hand to his heart and bowed.

Then he faded back into the world in between, returning back to his master's hand.

But she had smiled. She had smiled at him, before he disappeared. He would treasure that moment...a spot of sunlight in this dark world he remained in...until he could finally return home.


A/N: This one gave me a world of trouble. I literally started it over about...oh, eight times. I finally switched POVs from Anzu to Mahad/Dark Magician, and suddenly, it all worked out. You know, I actually kinda like this pairing. I would never ship it myself, because it interferes with my Pleashipping and Peachshipping fantasies, but I can see the appeal, and I wish there was some more love for this out there. As it is, there doesn't seem to be any at all. ^^; Next is Monarchshipping (Atem x Yami no Yugi). O...kay...?