Cheyenne: Weee! Here we are, Chapter One! Yami?

Yami: Disclaimer, Cheyenne does not own (or claim ownership to) Yu-Gi-Oh! or Phantom of the Opera.

Cheyenne: And now onward!

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//Sabine//

"Lift those arms, come on girls!" Sabine looked up as the dance instructor, Madame Giry, walked through the ranks of dancing/chorus girls, who were practicing their steps for the upcoming performance of an opera.

"Mothers!" Sabine heard her friend, Mai, mutter behind her with a giggle. Sabine gave a small laugh, to show she had heard.

"They're really nice sometimes, but then they go into drill sergeant mode!" Mai continued with a snicker. Sabine smiled, but said nothing as Madame Giry had approached them.

"Mai! No talking," the dance instructor said, though Sabine could detect amusement in her eyes. Sabine couldn't help but laugh, and soon all the others girl were laughing, too.

Sabine was just happy. Her parents had tried to force her into a marriage she did not want, and as an act of rebellion, she had ran to Mai's for refuge. Shortly after, however, her parents had died when they had suddenly taken ill. Sabine had visited them in those short hours, and they had released her from the engagement. They had died peacefully, and Sabine had felt horrible. After that, she had truly decided to do something useful with her life. Something she had wanted to do since she was a little girl. Sing at the Opera Populaire. Sabine had resided here, dancing and singing in the chorus for a little less than two months.

"Sabine?" She heard Mai whisper, and Sabine lifted a finger on the bar she was holding to show she had heard.

"Sabine!" Mai called again to her friend, causing Sabine to look over her shoulder with an annoyed expression.

"Wha-"

"It's time to go!" Mai said with amusement. "Thinking again, were you?"

"Mayyybe," Sabine said, looking down in embarrassment as her cheeks flushed.

Mai gave a short laugh, but her smile was kind. Her eyes turned serious, though, as she said: "Have you heard about the new rumor?"

"Rumor?" Truth be told, Sabine had been so preoccupied with the oncoming production of Hannibal, that she hadn't really been paying much attention to anything lately.

"Yes!" Mai sighed, rolling her eyes in a teasing form of exasperation. "Really, Sabine, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Of course!" Sabine smiled in a reassuring comportment ((AN: comportment=manner)), nodding her head.

"Well, I hear the current manager of the Opera Populaire, Mr. Otogi, is retiring! And soon!"

Sabine's icy sapphire blue eyes widened as her blonde friend relayed this information. "Wow… I wonder why?"

"Beats me, but-" Mai covered her ears briefly as the wails of the lead soprano, Anzu, who was practicing her scales, hit her ears. "My guess is that it has something to do with stress... and a certain banshee." Both girls engaged in a fit of giggles before Mai tucked a piece of long golden hair behind her ears, saying: "I have to go help my mother with some stuff. She'll be awful mad if I don't!"

"Have fun!" Sabine said with a desultory wave, watching her friend go. Soon the whole stage was deserted, and Sabine began making her way back to where her own quarters were. Stepping behind the stage, she made her way to the narrow, wooden spiral staircase. Ascending it quickly, she then proceeded to move down a somewhat constricted hallway until she got to her own room. Stepping in, Sabine closed the door quickly behind her, and walked over to her bed. Sitting down, she didn't even bother taking off her ballet stuff before drifting off into a blissful sleep, but not before hearing a soothing voice sing out to her.

"Angel…"

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//Yami//

Save for the creaking of the opera house itself, no sound could be heard. In fact, the opera house seemed almost too quiet.

This didn't bother Yami, though. In fact, he had grown accustomed to it over the years. This was the time when he could roam freely, not having to watch his back every three seconds for someone who might spot him. He, too, had heard the rumor of Mr. Otogi's evident retirement. Of course, he knew Anzu was probably at least one third of the problem. That girl had issues, real issues. She seemed to be obsessed with his very existence, every time something went wrong she'd point in some random direction and declare: "It's the Phantom!" Couldn't she just accept that some things actually WERE accidents? It didn't help that her singing sounded like someone tromping on a cat. Why did Mr. Otogi even keep her? Oh yeah. Because she was the only one who could reach those high notes? That and the fact that she seems to have an obsession with threatening people ought to do it. Yami sighed. He was wearing a pair of black pants, black boots that went up to just below his knees, and a black cloak. He also wore a black mask, which covered the top half of his face, eyes and nose included. His bangs were like blonde lightning, settling around his face in a way that made him look striking. Sexy, some would even say. The rest of his black hair spiked upwards, and was tipped with crimson. Streaks of blonde ran up into the black parts of his hair, making him look even more attractive. The bane of his existence was his eyes, which were colored crimson. People thought he was a demon from hell, and he had been forced into hiding because of it. Still, Yami had made the most of his situation. Sometimes he poked fun at the management, but most of the time he kept out of their business. He was paid a monthly salary of about twenty thousand dollars a year, which helped him keep himself financed, and ensured that he wouldn't mess around with things… that much. Hey, a guy had to have fun sometimes, even if said guy was classified as both "Phantom of the Opera" and "Opera Ghost".

"Hey, Yami!" The Phantom turned around to see a youth will long, white hair, who was holding a candle. "Bakura and Marik are looking for you!"

"What do those two psychopaths want?" Yami asked. Ryou gave a short chuckle.

"They're wondering why you're so late! A bunch of the cast members are getting together for a small party. Or at least, Bakura and Marik thought it would be fun to host a party, and invite the whole cast." Yami groaned as Ryou said this.

"You know I can't go," The Opera Ghost snapped.

"'Course you can! Bakura and Marik thought of that, too! Everybody will be wearing a mask, sort of like-"

"A masquerade?" Yami asked with amusement sparkling in his crimson eyes.

"Yes!"

"You already know there's a masquerade scheduled!"

"Well, yes, but this is different. More like a half-masquerade. Only requirement is that you wear a mask! No costume is needed, none at all! And guess what? Bakura and Marik even went as far as to invite the new chorus girl. Sabine I think her name was…" Ryou's brown-almost-black eyes sparkled with excitement as he spoke, which made him oblivious to the fact that Yami had frozen in place, doing a stunning impression of a stone column.

"Well… That's great, I suppose," Yami shrugged as he tried to act nonchalant.

"I know, right? Mai is coming, too, and so is Malik!"

"That's hardly surprising. If Marik's there, Malik is bound to be somewhere nearby," Yami said with a smirk.

"They ARE married."

"Speaking of marriage, where's Bakura?"

"Oh…" Ryou blushed, and shrugged. "He's around."

"Define around?"

"I don't know, just around." Yami smirked even more at that, but he shrugged. One of his black-gloved hands reached out to take hold of one of the doorknobs, twisting it until he heard a click meaning the door could now be opened. Ryou, Malik, and their husbands the ever-so-troublesome-yet-somehow-loveable Bakura and Marik, were the only people who knew of his existence. Well, that was not entirely true. Everyone who worked here knew of his existence, but only Ryou and the others actually knew who he was, and where he resided most of the time. In a way, he was thankful to have at least some people to talk to… besides Sabine. But of course, she had no idea who she was talking to. Not that he had told her; of course, for he knew she might tell Mai without realizing the danger she could put him in. Therefore, he settled for listening to her sing, and teaching her, as he had been doing for the past two months. Despite Mai's constant friendship, Yami had stumbled upon Sabine crying softly in her room a couple of times during her first weeks here. He couldn't stand seeing her so upset, so he had taken to singing her gently to sleep each night afterwards. He was known simply to her as 'Angel', he knew.

He almost preferred it that way.

"Ryou! Ryou, come quick!" Yami looked up as Malik raced down the hallway, his sandy blonde hair ruffling as he moved. His light lavender eyes were sparkling in amusement, but you could tell he was distraught.

"What is it?" Ryou asked, turning towards Malik.

"I just got word that Anzu heard about the party!" The sandy-haired male responded. Yami uttered a small curse. He leaned up against the wall, crossing one of his legs over his ankle in a relaxed-looking fashion, though he was obviously anything but.

"That crazy-?" Ryou breathed in deeply, and Yami found himself chuckling. He knew the young albino didn't like swearing if he didn't have to, as he was usually the calmer and collected one out of them all. Malik had a tendency to be unpredictable at times, and Marik and Bakura could be just downright insane.

"Bitch?" A new voice offered, and Yami looked over at the new arrival with a disinterested look.

"Bakura, how nice of you to join us!" Yami clapped his gloved hands together derisively.

"I aim to please, Pharaoh!" Bakura said with a grin as he walked over to Ryou and gave the startled other a kiss.

Yami tilted his head to the side, and crossed his arms. Since he had Egyptian ancestry, his friends had taken to calling him Pharaoh. "You're hilarious," The Opera Ghost said dryly.

"Don't I know it?" Bakura smirked as he released the other albino. Yami smiled. Bakura and Ryou could pass as brothers; save for the fact that Bakura had sharper features, and stood taller with wilder hair.

"Bakura knows something? That's new!" Yami turned his head to see Marik standing in the hallway holding a candle. The flame flickered, and you could see his point, untamed sandy hair. He and Malik could also pass for brothers.

"Be nice, Marik!" Malik told his partner with a slight pout.

"Yeah, right. Marik being nice is like saying Anzu's a good singer."

"You mean she isn't?" Ryou said with fake shock.

"You're right, that was mean of me." Yami snickered.

"Quite," Malik said with a dignified sniff, though he was obviously teasing. He grabbed the candle from Marik and held it up to his face in a dramatic fashion. The light from the candle lit up parts of his face, making him look spooky and mysterious. "Once upon a time, there was…"

"A slightly depressed man living under an opera house!" Bakura called out, earning him a scorching gaze from Yami.

"Okay. Anyways-"

"One day he found that the crazed lead soprano was obsessed with him!" Marik suggested.

"Quite!" Malik smirked. "Anyways-" Crash!

"What the hell was that?" Marik said, frowning. He started moving towards the sound, only stopping when Malik ran to catch up with him, holding the candle. Ryou held his own candle tightly, and Bakura moved behind him in a protective manner as he gently nudged the other to move forward. Yami frowned. He would wait here, slightly behind Bakura and Ryou. It could just be a prop falling, but if it wasn't…

"Oh, god! I'm so sorry!" Yami froze as a new voice–obviously female-rang through the dark hallways.

"Sabine?" Yami heard Malik ask, but the young man sounded relieved that it wasn't someone else.

"Hello, Malik… Umm… Marik?" Yami swore he could see Marik laughing inwardly to himself.

"What are you doing down here, Sabine?" Ryou asked gently. Yami ducked back into the shadows so he had a clear view of the others, but they could not see him.

"I-I slept for a bit, and then woke up and I couldn't sleep again. I was getting up to go find Mai, when I heard voices…" Yami could see Sabine clearly now. Her wavy dark chestnut hair flowed around her shoulders, and she clutched the gold-plated handle of a candle holder, from which a white candle glowed in the dark. She grasped a faded woven shawl around her shoulders, which was a dark pink-white color. Her nightgown was plain, merely a white shift with some frills around the wrists. It fell just above her feet.

"We're sorry to have startled you, Sabine," Ryou said with a smile, before elbowing Bakura in the ribs until the larger albino also apologized.

"Yeah. Marik and Bakura are really loud when they're exited about something," Malik added with a roll of his lavender eyes.

"Oh!" Sabine smiled, and Yami watched in slight awe as it lit up her whole face.

"You exited for the party?" Marik asked.

"You mean the half-masquerade?" Sabine inquired. "Yes, thank you for inviting me. Though it's a pity Anzu found out about it…"

"Check it out!" Bakura put an arm around Ryou and squeezed once before letting go, walking over to Sabine and placing a hand on her shoulder. "She even thinks like us!"

"Is that a compliment?" Sabine asked.

"It depends how you take it," Malik said with a laugh.

"Alrighty then!" Sabine smiled again. Her icy sapphire eyes were sparkling. "I suppose I'd better take it as a compliment."

"Damn right!" Marik smirked.

"In the presence of a lady," Malik said as he reached up and gently swatted the back of Marik's head.

"No, it's alright." Sabine shrugged as she said this. "I've heard a lot of the male cast members cursing a lot when they think I'm not around."

Beautiful, Yami thought to himself. It was really the only word he could think of that would accurately summarize Sabine.

"You must be tired," Malik said suddenly.

"I'm sorry for startling you all…" Sabine apologized again.

"No, we shouldn't have been so loud. Hear that, Bakura?" Ryou eyed his husband, who merely shrugged.

"Bye," Sabine called as she turned around, walking back down the hallway, unaware of Yami watching her as the flickering candle light finally disappeared around a corner.

"That was close, hey Yami?" Bakura said with an evil smirk.

"Shut up!" Yami growled, stepping out of the shadows. His cloak billowed around his feet, and he scowled at the other man, though the only way you could tell was because of his mouth. His hands crossed over his chest again, and Malik stepped forward.

"We should all head off now," the prop-master said.

"Yeah. Malik has me on a tight schedule for the props." Marik rolled his own lavender eyes as he said that.

"I see," Bakura said with a smirk.

"And you! You need to help me with the orchestra!" Ryou pointed at Bakura, with his other hand on his hip. Bakura smirked, but he nodded.

"But first…" The albino said huskily before pulling the young boy into a tight embrace, and kissing him deeply… again. Yami rolled his eyes and looked away only to see Marik and Malik doing the same thing.

"Get a room!" The Phantom said with an angry wave of his hands.

"We intend to!" Bakura laughed, before both he and Marik dragged their others away, leaving Yami alone in the hallway. Yami smiled. He didn't feel deserted, not one bit. This just left him the opportunity to go do something else. Slipping away, the young man walked down the corridors, blending in with the light as he disappeared from each and every view.

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==The Next Day==

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//Sabine//

Sabine drowsily opened her eyes as a light spilled onto her from the direction to the doorway.

"Sab! Sabby! Wake up! Sabine!" Mai rushed in, shaking her friend until the girl sat up, rubbing the remaining sleep from her eyes.

"Mmrf…Whadda you want?" Sabine said, blinking rapidly until she felt awake enough to pay attention to what Mai was probably going to tell her in a rush.

"We've just gotten word; the new managers are coming today! They're brothers, Mr.'s. Seto and Mokuba Kaiba. Their new patron will also be attending. Hurry up and get ready, or my mom'll have your hide!" Mai finished as she giggled and tossed Sabine the customary dancers' outfits for Hannibal.

"Fine, fine!" Sabine laughed as she shifted so her feet we hanging over the bed, touching the wooden floor. "But you need to get out so I can ready myself!" Sabine stood up, and pointed to the door with a smirk.

"Alright!" Mai said rushing out into the hallway as Sabine closed the door behind her. Sighing, Sabine then made her way back over to her vanity table stool, and sat down. As she changed her attire, her mind raced over the events of last night.

Flashback

Sabine opened her eyes, only to be met with the pitch blackness of night. Shifting on her bed, she rolled onto her left side, which faced the wall of her room. Closing her eyes again, the chorus girl attempted to be swayed back to sleep, but found she could not.

"Angel?" She whispered into the black, sitting up, but was met with only silence. She was oddly disappointed, realizing how much her angel's visits had meant to her. She lay back down onto her bed and tried to sleep again.

Sabine didn't know how long she had been lying there; only that it had been at least thirty minutes. She knew she wasn't likely to get back to sleep at this point in time. Letting her legs dangle over the edge of the bed, she felt her feet meet the cold wooden floors of the Opera Populaire.

Maybe Mai can help me… Sabine knew she shouldn't wake her friend in the night like this, but she couldn't think of anything else. Standing up, she moved towards her vanity table and grabbed a golden candle holder, which had a white candle in it. Striking up a match, Sabine lit the candle before shaking the match itself so it would extinguish. She moved towards the oak door to her room and pushed it open, wincing as it squeaked. Sabine suddenly stopped, and moved back to her bed. An old, faded, dark pink-white shawl lay there, and she quickly wrapped it around her shoulders. It was autumn, after all. Holding the candle in her left hand, and clutching the shawl around her shoulders with her right, Sabine moved down the dark hallways. She was approaching Mai's room, when voices reached her ears.

"--Marik being nice is like saying Anzu's a good singer." Sabine heard one voice say, and she noted that it was a deep, rich baritone. It almost sounded… familiar… and very enthralling.

"You mean she isn't?" Another voice said.

"You're right, that was mean of me." The first voice replied.

"Quite. Once upon a time, there was…" Sabine shook her head as a third voice sounded. They seemed to be coming from below her! She knew there should be a staircase around here somewhere, and she made it her goal to find it. Arriving at said staircase, Sabine couldn't help but feel nervous. What if these people were burglars, thieves, or fugitives? Either way, they could be dangerous… Sabine shook her head. No, she knew she had heard these voices before, she just couldn't place it. Hoping that her shawl would stay in place, Sabine grasped the railing of the spiral staircase with her hand and gingerly made her way down the narrow flight of steps.

"--crazed lead soprano was obsessed with him!" A fourth voice laughed.

"Quite!" The third voice from before stated, and Sabine could tell whoever it was, was smirking. "Anyways-"

Crash! Sabine leapt back as she walked into one of the props for the opera they were going to perform. Oh for-! Sabine thought to herself in frustration.

"What the hell was that?" Sabine heard the fourth voice say, and the girl closed her eyes. She would have to reveal herself, she knew.

"Oh, god! I'm so sorry!" Sabine called out, before they could come after her.

"Sabine?" Sabine heard the third man call out, and she sagged in relief as the flame from her candle allowed her to see the faint outline of Malik, the prop master. He must have been doing some late night work… and she knew that Marik was probably with him.

"Hello, Malik… Umm… Marik?" Sabine found herself asking tentatively.

"What are you doing down here, Sabine?" Sabine turned slightly until she saw the second voice.

Ryou! She thought in belief. "I-I slept for a bit, and then woke up and I couldn't sleep again. I was getting up to go find Mai when I heard voices…" Sabine was clutching her shawl again, holding the candle up a little bit more as she answered.

"We're sorry to have startled you, Sabine," The young orchestra maestro said, and Sabine watched as he elbowed the fourth figure, Bakura, in the ribs until the other man apologized, too.

"Yeah. Marik and Bakura are really loud when they're exited about something," Malik added as he rolled his lavender eyes. Sabine couldn't help but smile. "Oh!"

"You exited for the party?" Marik asked suddenly.

"You mean the half-masquerade?" Sabine queried. "Yes, thank you for inviting me. Though it's a pity Anzu found out about it…" She trailed off. She didn't like the lead soprano, in fact she found her insufferable. She wished she could take the words back, because there was a chance that these four men - wait, four? Sabine peered around the area. What happened to that other voice?-might like Anzu well enough to tell her what Sabine had just said, and Anzu was not known for being merciful to those she did not like.

"Check it out!" Sabine watched as Bakura put an arm around Ryou and squeezed once before letting go, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "She even thinks like us!"

"Is that a compliment?" Sabine asked carefully, not quite knowing.

"It depends how you take it," Malik laughed, making Sabine smile again.

"Alrighty then!" Sabine's icy sapphire eyes were sparkling. "I suppose I'd better take it as a compliment."

"Damn right!" Marik smirked, slapping a hand on his knee.

"In the presence of a lady," Malik said as he reached up and gently swatted the back of Marik's head, causing Sabine to laugh, and then shrug.

"No, it's alright," she said. "I've heard a lot of the male cast members cursing a lot when they think I'm not around." Sabine yawned once as she said this, feeling drowsiness creeping back into her body.

"You must be tired," Malik said suddenly, causing Sabine's pale cheeks to color slightly. Had she been that obvious?

"I'm sorry for startling you all…" Sabine apologized again, as she stepped back a couple times and made to return to her room.

"No, we shouldn't have been so loud. Hear that, Bakura?" Ryou eyed his husband, who merely shrugged. Sabine could see him smirk, but she merely waved once and said: "Bye!" Before she turned around and walked down the hallway, turning the corner until she couldn't see them anymore. All the while, she was wondering where that fifth voice went. She knew she hadn't imagined it…

This thought haunted Sabine until she came up to her room. She doused the candle and flopped down onto her bed, waiting for sleep to come again. Though she was insanely tired, she found she still couldn't sleep.

"Angel…"

Sabine couldn't help but gasp as the voice she had come to expect for the past few weeks rang out.

"Angel of Music," she whispered, giving a melody to her words as she drifted off to the sound of her sweet Angel's voice.

End Flashback

"Sabine!" Mai knocked impatiently on the door, and Sabine ran over to open it.

"Sorry!" The girl said to her blonde friend, who merely smiled and grabbed her arm, whisking her down the hallway.

"We're going to be late," Mai grumbled good-naturedly as she dragged her friend down hallways and staircases.

"You're going to rip my arm off," Sabine laughed, but she sounded slightly distracted. For her mind was off task. She kept thinking about the identity of both the one voice from last night, and about her angel.

"Sabine!" Mai hissed as they approached a box containing a bunch of powdered white-stuff, which were for their shoes. Mai stepped in it, twirling once before stepping out and letting Sabine follow her suite.

"Right!" Sabine said with a smile, before they rushed to where the final practice for Hannibal was going on. Today would be their last practice, for it was later that night that they would be performing this very opera. Taking a deep breath, Sabine tried to push all other thoughts from her mind as she and the other dancers stepped onto the stage at their cue, unaware of the two new people watching them.

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Cheyenne: I hope you guys liked it! The ending was weaker than I wanted, but I couldn't really think of anything else. I also apologize for the long wait!! I am SO sorry! Again, I hope you enjoyed it!