Miss Iwakura thank you for your comment. I am glad you're enjoying the story! I hope to not disappoint you. -Lyra
"So how's money bags?" Joey asked teasingly to Anzu. She was sitting with Joey, Yugi, Tristan and Duke at a café centered in Domino City. They had all decided to give up one day every month to meet and catch up. All their schedules had become so busy over the years that they needed this one day to bring themselves back to each other.
"He's fine." Anzu replied while taking a sip of her tea. "Same old grouch." She continued with a wink. Her friends laughed and she smiled.
She looked over at Joey who was playing with his necklace and couldn't believe the man that he had become since that faithful day. He still held that same notoriously cheeky components to him and was definitely still a goofball but he had grown into a great man as well. He had decided to pursue law of all things and was now a first year associate at Tadaki, Kitso, and Yuei Law Offices. It was a competitive firm and she was proud he had made his way in. After ending high school, Joey had gotten very serious about school, studying for his LSATS so he could provide a better life for Serenity and his mother. He no longer spoke with his father. He made his way to a top law school in Japan and had left Domino for four years before returning with a degree in hand. They were all so proud of him. Especially Mai whom he was now engaged to. Anzu smiled as she watched the golden wedding band he kept around his neck glint from the sun escaping from the clear windows of the café. The wedding was getting closer and closer.
Yugi was now owner of his grandfather's game shop. His grandfather had passed away two years after graduating high school. It was a dark time for him and Anzu was there for him all the way. He had continued to compete in various duel monsters' tournaments, having not lost a single game to maintain his King of Games title. He had become a celebrity to gamers all over the world after all these years and started to work with various non-profits to help children from broken and poor backgrounds learn the card game he loved so dearly. He was helping those who couldn't help themselves.
Tristan had decided to become a personal trainer and opened his own gym. He also raced cars on the side and was happily dating a woman he was training named Kiran. Anzu had watched Tristan transform from a boy getting into trouble to a man. A noble one at that always finding ways to help his friends, especially Yugi who had gone into a deep depression after Atem left. He knew Joey and Anzu would be there but he had a way of getting to Yugi none of them could understand.
Duke continued with Dungeon Dice Monsters which quickly became a hit with the help of Industrial Illusions. It was sold and played all over Japan until it finally reached the Western markets and only continued to blow up. He was currently working on a new game and dating Serenity much to Tristan's disdain at first.
They had all grown so much before Anzu's eyes, becoming the men she knew they could be. And it was all thanks to him. She looked away from her group for a moment, aimlessly staring out the window. She noticed a figure outside she recognized and saw the blonde bangs. She could never miss the hair and then the eyes confirmed it was him.
Instantly she gasped and ran to the window. A crowd walked in front of him, blocking him from her momentarily. As they passed she saw that he was no longer there. She looked frantically everywhere for him but he was gone. Just as fast as he came… he had left.
Anzu heard the scratching of chairs behind her and saw Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Duke all walking toward her with concern and confusion.
"Are you okay Anzu?" Yugi asked trying to see what her eyes were frantically looking for.
Anzu closed her eyes taking in a deep breath. She needed to calm down. This was insane, how could she have one dream and start to see him a couple of days later. Was her mind finally losing it?
She shook her head furiously and walked to the small table.
"Yeah I'm fine I just thought I saw someone I knew." She said airily trying to make it seem like no big deal while her heart was pumping viciously inside her chest.
"Was it like a celebrity or something because I've never seen you run that fast." Tristan stated taking his seat once more with a smile. She could see a bit of concern laced in his eyes but he didn't say anything about it.
"No, I guess I mistook him for someone else." She shrugged.
Yugi watched her intently choosing to stay quiet. Duke also watched Anzu not sure what to say. He was shocked at her reaction just as much as everyone else but felt more inclined to believe what she was saying. I mean what else could it have possibly been.
Anzu made the slow trek home opting out of the ride Yugi and the others had offered her. Ever since seeing his face at the café she didn't feel like herself. She wasn't so cheerful. In fact, all her replies to the rest of her friends were fake and artificial. She wasn't sure if they had noticed, she had a feeling Yugi definitely did. Regardless, she decided she couldn't continue being around them. Atem was just everywhere and they only caused more grief over him. They were a constant reminder of his departure. Her heart swelled at this thought.
After a while the streets became more familiar to her. She was nearing her apartment complex near the Okinawa district of Domino. It was where a lot of students and young professionals stayed and housed. The apartments were more affordable compared to those closer to midtown. She made her way to the steely glass doors that posed as the entrance for her building. The lobby wasn't intimidating or a mess of colors, but lightly furnished with neutral colors playing in the background. It was the perfect apartment complex for Anzu and she enjoyed entering her humble abode most days when she wasn't staying at Seto's.
She made her way toward the elevators that were too slow. At first they had posed as a great hindrance to the her, but overtime she frankly enjoyed the slow move up to the tenth floor. It allowed her to reflect on her day's activities such as seeing Atem stand across the street from her. She shook her head furiously as thoughts of him swirled back to her.
No, no it cannot be. It's impossible and yet I saw him. Flesh and bone. Right in front of me.
Her heart started to race. There were two logical answers to what she was experiencing right now, it was either insanity or this truly was her reality and he somehow had found a connection back to their world.
Both thoughts raced across her mind. She examined every aspect of each idea. If she truly was insane surely Seto would have noticed a change in her. Surely he would have said something, he wasn't one to keep things to himself.
And yet he had said nothing. She must not be going crazy so this must be her reality.
But if that were the case than how did he return. How was he finding his way back here and what was the reason for it? It had been five years of silence and now he decided to make a return but as a ghost.
Why?
She thought maybe he was in trouble, but why would he reach out to her when his aibou was just as easily accessible. Anzu knew if she shared any of this with her group of friends they wouldn't believe her. She knew they would remind her of their last day in Egypt. They had all seen him leave their world and enter his heaven. What she was experiencing were hallucinations because she was missing him. She knew bringing it up would only cause more pain on the others as well. For they also owed a lot to the young Pharaoh and bringing in false hopes would only crush the steely backs they had grown over the years.
It was then she decided she would be keeping whatever was happening to herself. She tried to convince herself these were one time occurrences, that it would be impossible for her to see him again. And yet a part of her knew she was lying. A part of her knew she would see him again. She tried all she could to crush that small voice, and yet it still spoke endlessly in her mind, like a small whisper at the end of a boundless tunnel. Never irresolute.
The elevator dinged much louder than she had ever remembered it too, which broke her intense thoughts. She quickly got off entering the floor. She walked along the dark messy wood and made her way toward the brightly colored red door.
12.
She inserted her key and entered the small space. Her apartment held a small kitchen big enough for a fridge, oven, stove top and small dishwasher. A bar separated the kitchen and the living room which was kept mainly bare. Her dark sofa sat with its matching love seat and coffee table. A small T.V. sat on a wall directly in front of it. The living room led out to her small balcony that Anzu would have breakfast on most mornings. She had furnished it with a small outdoor steel table and two chairs. On days Seto would sleep at her house, they would both sit out there sipping their coffees. The thought made her smile. It was lovely.
The apartment held one bedroom big enough for a queen sized bed and a small ensuite bathroom. Although some of the appliances and vanities were outdated and in need of updates she didn't mind at all. She loved everything about her little piece of the city. She had earned it herself and coming home to something she had worked for was truly the best sentiment in the world.
Placing her bag on the hook next to her front door, Anzu made her way to her bedroom. She noticed the door was closed as compared to when she left it open this morning. Slowly she opened it and saw a sleeping figure in her bed. She smiled and quietly entered the room knowing its occupant was a light sleeper. She tiptoed past her bed, looking at the man that lay underneath her covers. His scowl had softened into a blissful stoic appearance and she could hear light snores escaping his lips.
Smiling softly, she continued onwards to her bathroom lightly closing the door behind her. It was there she stripped herself of her clothes and put on her pajamas consisting of shorts and an old Kaiba Corp t-shirt. She placed her longer hair in a bun and washed her face attempting to erase the day she had had. Although she enjoyed spending time with her friends, Atem couldn't seem to leave her mind. The revelation that he might be returning for something or someone was haunting her. She couldn't ignore it. She would certainly try but until how long.
Splashing some more cold water on her face, Anzu stared at her wet reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were still blue, her skin was still a ghost white, her face now completely lost of her childhood. She was here, she was alive. He was not.
It was then she noticed an impassive figure in the background. The figure stood right behind her with its arms crossed. It was almost like looking at a bad projection, with the dust pooling around the random beams of sunlight compensating for the blurring filter of its being.
It was Atem.
His dark eyes bore into her blue and she wanted to scream. Seto was in the other room and she did not want him to believe her crazy. So she shut up and watched him watch her. He said nothing as he faded in and out of her world.
"Wha-what are you doing here?" she broke the undying silence in a whisper.
Atem watched her lips move but held no answer for her question. His gaze was only hard and aloof.
"Why are you here?" she managed to blurt out again. Anzu could feel her throat start to dry, her muscles becoming tense from standing for so long. She hadn't realized she was holding onto her bathroom vanity with a grip so tight her knuckles had turned white.
Atem continued to just watch her. It was then Anzu decided this was all a hallucination.
She broke their gaze and splashed more cold water on her pale skin. The moment her eyes looked in the mirror again he had vanished. The random beams of sunlight still cut around her small bathroom and Anzu collapsed onto her black tiled floor. Her tight grip never left the sink she held onto for dear life.
I have finally lost my mind.