Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh. Sorry.
Author's Note: Yeah…this took forever. I'm very sorry about that, but fluff just doesn't flow as easily for me as horror/angst does, and I've agonized over this for quite some time. I hope everyone finds this adequate. Thanks to everyone for their support and their review!
Anzu pressed her ear against her bedroom door in disbelief, the silence of the house almost cloying. She held her breath, her fingers curling against the wood lightly. She could hear the kitchen clock ticking, the sound of wind blowing through an open window and scattering papers, her cat meowing to be let outside; but of voices?
Nothing. No arguing, no screaming, no shattering china. Absolutely nothing.
She backed away from the door warily and pulled her curtains aside, flinching at the sudden onslaught of bright light in her otherwise dark room.
No car in the driveway.
Her luck could not possibly be better. The one day when she wanted her parents as far away from her as possible…well, that constituted most days, but today especially. Though it was rare for her parents to just up and leave without telling her, she was not about to complain. A part of her wished they would do this more often.
A smile found its way across her face. Tonight was her date with Otogi – she still could not believe he had asked or that she had accepted – and her parents likely would have found a way to complicate matters. As it was, the rest of the week had been almost unbearable; the only time she did not almost ache from waiting was when she threw herself into her dancing, drowning her anticipation in sweat and music and the graceful movement of her body. Classes had dragged, homework seemed to never end, and her parents had gotten on her nerves more than usual. Her father had not gotten over her returning home in Otogi's shirt.
She still had his shirt draped across her computer chair, and not once in school had he asked for it back. In fact, he had not acted any different towards her, and she was not entirely sure how to feel about that. On one hand, it was just a date, and it wasn't as if they were a serious couple; but on the other hand…
She shook her head and pushed away from the window, letting the curtains fall. A brief image of mou hitori no Yuugi flashed through her mind, bringing with it emotions that she desperately tried to repress.
He's gone and there's nothing I can do about it, she told herself firmly; but no words, no matter how rational, seemed to be able to kill the pain. The only thing she seemed to be able to do was push everything as far away from her as she could, cram it into a dark and desolate corner and pretend that nothing was wrong. Sometimes she even convinced herself. Sometimes.
"Here I am, getting all upset!" she exclaimed suddenly, glaring across the room at her reflection. "Cheer up and get ready for your date!"
Feeling slightly better after her brief pep talk, a determined light reignited deep within her blue eyes that had not appeared for months. The day mou hitori no Yuugi had returned to where he belonged, something in everybody died, but she knew, deep down, that he would not want her mourning. A piece of herself was missing, it was true, but there was another piece that had been awakened, a mature realization that when one found something precious, one must hold it close and cherish it for as long as they can. His presence in her life had been like a whirlwind, sweeping her up and taking her places she never knew existed, opening her eyes to the world and teaching her its darkest secrets. He had shown her what love truly was, with all the pain and happiness and sacrifice that came with it, and it was a lesson she would hold close to her heart for the rest of her life.
Her eyes flickered to her clock. She had plenty of time to prepare, so there was no real reason to rush around. Lazily, she opened her closet and poked around until she found a suitable outfit. Amazingly enough, she only changed her mind a few times before settling on a casual blouse and pair of black pants; there was no reason to go all out, but he might be offended if she showed up in blue jeans. She pulled the hangers out and laid the clothes on her bed, eyeing them critically.
"Maybe I should wear that other blouse instead," she mused, but before she could change her mind again the phone rang.
She scrambled about her room, trying to find where she had left her phone after Yuugi's late night phone call. She growled in exasperation, finally discovering it lodged between her bed and the wall, and hastily clicked it on.
"Hello?" she asked a touch breathlessly. How in the world had her phone been stuck there?
"Anzu-san!" a distressed voice cried out.
"Shizuka-chan! Are you all right? You sound upset."
Sniffles met her question, before the girl finally stammered out, "Honda…b-broke up with me!"
Anzu's jaw dropped. "He what?"
The girl continued to sob into the phone, and Anzu barely made out a few random words that made no sense by themselves. She had a feeling she would not get a coherent story out of Shizuka for quite some time. Chewing her lower lip, she sat down on her bed, careful to avoid the clothing sprawled out on her comforter, and settled down to the slow process of consoling the girl.
She glanced at the clock again, and then mentally berated herself. Not only did she have a good portion of the day in front of her, but this was her friend, and she obviously needed a shoulder to cry on! The fact that her anxiety about having enough time to get ready had taken a front seat to her friend's distress sickened her. More than a little irritated with herself, Anzu stubbornly focused entirely on Shizuka, ignoring the steady ticking of her clock.
It was mid-afternoon by the time she hung up the phone, having successfully calmed Shizuka down. Apparently, Honda's eyes had wandered as soon as Miho had returned to Domino City, and it had not taken long for her to steal him away. Shizuka was absolutely devastated, feeling worse than betrayed, and even more worried about what her brother would do when he found out. He was almost obsessively overprotective and had been against their dating in the first place. Anzu speculated he would either give his sister the "I told you so" lecture, beat up Honda for hurting her, or a combination of the two.
Then again, Jounouchi rarely did what was expected.
Anzu sighed as she put her phone back in its cradle. She had little time now to prepare, but if she was late…well, Otogi would understand, especially since Shizuka was involved.
She was surprised at the stab of jealousy that ran through her at the thought of Otogi being worried over the younger girl. She rubbed her arms briskly and shoved the uncomfortable feeling away, focusing instead on her sudden time constraint.
"First thing's first," she declared to her stuffed penguin. "I need a shower." And without further ado, she snatched up a towel and threw herself into the bathroom with a burst of nervous energy. After dropping both the conditioner bottle and her face wash on her foot, she began to wonder why she was a walking bundle of nerves.
She closed her eyes, losing herself in the feel of the warm water rushing down her skin, and tried to calm herself down.
It's just a date!
She eventually returned to her bedroom, hair dripping and skin still damp. Her cat had found his way to her bed and was happily curled up on her black pants, shedding fur everywhere. Anzu blinked at the cat before letting out a wail and shooing him out, the cat glaring at her contemptuously as he sauntered away. She held up her pants and sighed, brushing at the legs ineffectually.
Anzu made a disgusted sound as she flung her pants forcefully into her hamper, glaring at them. It wasn't as if she did not have other pairs of black pants; for some irrational reason, she had wanted to wear those pants, and had the sudden childish urge to throw a tantrum.
"Get ahold of yourself," she murmured softly, striding back over to her closet. Trying to make less of a fuss than she wanted to, she plucked out another pair of black pants and examined them critically. She knew she was just trying to find a small flaw that would cause her to angst over the loss of her other pair, and luckily she was interrupted by the phone ringing once more.
Exasperated with the interruption, she snatched up the phone and said in a less-than-friendly tone, "Yeah?"
"Anzu-chan! Why, that was borderline rude!"
Her cheeks flared. "Otogi! I'm sorry, I didn't think it was you…"
"It's all right," he said magnanimously, his voice practically purring. "I just wanted to make sure that six o'clock is good for you. I have not had the chance to double check our plans for tonight."
"Six is perfect!" she chirped, tightening her grip on the pants.
"Great," he said smoothly, and she could just imagine him tossing his hair over his shoulder in delight. "I'll see you then!"
Feeling giddy, Anzu tossed her phone onto her bed and giggled, feeling immensely cheered up just by that brief phone call. She no longer felt irritated at her cat, or the fact that she did not have time to blow dry her hair, or that she cold not seem to find her favorite pair of sandals. For the first time in a long time, her heart felt light and unburdened.
A mere half an hour before their scheduled meeting time, Anzu practically flew out her front door, clutching her purse tightly and mentally deciding on the quickest way downtown. She was pleased with the outfit she had thrown together at the last minute after deciding she really did not like the way her blouse had looked, falling back on a simple dark blue knee-length skirt and a pale blue spaghetti-strapped shirt with a black cardigan. Her favorite pair of sandals – which had inexplicably been found in the back of her closet beneath discarded dancing clothes – was nearly silent on the pavement. She more or less ignored the various passersby as she hurried down the sidewalk, glancing anxiously at her watch now and again.
She was beginning to grow nervous once more, her confident energy waning with every step. The last time she had felt this anxious was when she and mou hitori no Yuugi had spent the day together, going to the arcade, looking at Duel Monsters cards, and visiting the museum exhibit. It had been that day that had made her realize that her grasp on mou hitori no Yuugi was slipping, no matter how tightly she held on. He had not really been a part of this world, depending entirely upon Yuugi and the Sennen Puzzle for his half-existence, and she imagined that after 3,000 or so years, he had grown tired. The look on his face when it was all finally over…
Cursing softly, Anzu dashed away tears. She really could not seem to outrun the Pharaoh's memory, no matter how hard she tried. Her pace slowed almost to a stop as she passed by the arcade, both in surprise at how swiftly she had traveled and in reverence to the memories that place brought up. Dancing, competing against that man, having him practically stalking them after she had publicly humiliated him; the way mou hitori no Yuugi had stood up for her, his confidence, his nobility…
Stop it! She pressed a hand to her forehead and growled beneath her breath wordlessly. Go away, leave me alone!
After a few moments the memories fled, departing to that cobwebbed space she kept for the sole purpose of locking things up. How they managed to escape so frequently was beyond her, but she would devise a new method of containing them. Taking a deep breath and regaining control of herself, she smoothed her expression into smiling complacency and continued on, a light spring to her step.
It really would do no good to dwell on the past, on what might have been. The best thing for her now, she knew, would be to look to the future and to grasp her present.
She came to the diner and glanced inside, spotting Otogi already seated and waiting patiently. According to her watch, she was still a little early. She took the opportunity to watch him for a few moments, taking in his casual form, the way he rested his chin on his hand, the way his emerald eyes sparkled as he spoke to the waitress. Everything about him screamed "PLAYBOY", from his carefully tended hair to his color-coordinated clothing; from his easy smile to the way he seemed to give each girl he spoke to his complete and undivided attention; from the self-assured way his eyes trailed up and down the waitress' form to the nearly lewd grin that followed. He had quite the reputation around the city, and for all she knew, this waitress was one of his prior flings.
He was almost everything she tried to avoid in a man. He definitely did not fit the typical mold of someone's noble knight in shining armor. If anything, he was the rogue who knocked the prince down and stole his horse before kidnapping the princess.
Her heart was pounding in her chest, her palms felt sweaty, and her nervousness increased tenfold. She ran a hand through her hair, smiling as she watched him turn away from the waitress and watch the other patrons.
Look to the future and grasp the present.
Squaring her shoulders, she opened the door and strode into the diner with a sunny smile.