Hey hey hey! Well, I'm back from Belize, and here to post the next chapter. My Beta, aherocansaveus, convinced me to cut the chapter in half, so I've got Chapter Five here for you, and chapter six will actually be a continuation of five… but not. Anyway, please read and enjoy! I need to go now, I have A LOT of fanfiction to catch up on (like 60 something pages…)! I hope you like this chapter!
RR
P.S. Sorry if there are any dumb spelling errors… Spell Check doesn't catch everything, and I'm tooooo lazy to read through this monster of a chapter again…
Disclaimer- If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, I wouldn't need to write this dumb disclaimer.
Like The Rain by Revolutionnaire Rouge
Chapter Five- Blood and Cereal
Also Titled…
What You Don't Know, Won't Hurt You
Aherocansaveus- It's about time you frigging reviewed! It had better not take you 2 weeks to review this one, especially because you've already read it! And like you said, I cut it in half. Happy?
"Hey! Ryou! Ryou…! Ryou!" Anzu hissed, looking up expectantly. The white haired boy made no indication that he could hear her pleading voice. Anzu sighed, and jabbed a finger in his side.
"Ryou! Come on Ryou, my neck's really starting to hurt!"
Anzu rubbed her neck with her free hand, but she knew that it would do no good until she could get her head out from underneath Ryou's head. She was sitting on the couch, still in her pajamas, and it was already 7 o'clock. Anzu had to be at work by eight, and she was normally up by six, so that she could take her time in getting ready. However, last night she had fallen asleep on the couch, and seeing as Ryou was still seated next to her, he obviously had too. Of course, after last night… Anzu blinked, tears feeling the need to break free again. Last night had been one of the worst she had ever had. She had gotten caught in the rain, insulted by Kaiba, blown off by Yami and totally infuriated by Isis. She was going to have to figure out how to get the large stains out of the dress Mai had given her; Anzu had had to run through many mud puddles to get through the museum, and she was still late. She had been so exhausted after Ryou brought her home, she fell almost straight asleep. Anzu cast her eyes up to Ryou's calm face. In any other circumstance, with any other guy, she would feel uncomfortable, but it was different with Ryou. He was her best friend – the one person who was always there for her, and nobody could take that away.
Amidst her musings, she almost missed Ryou's sleep murmurings…
"No…" he muttered. Although his eyes were still shut, his brow furrowed in a look of anger," No, you can't take her… you can't, no, please, you don't des…" he trailed off into a string of incomprehensible gibberish. Anzu raised an eye brow. She would have to ask him what he was talking about a little later.
"But first," she mumbled," to take care of this dilemma. Ryou! WAKE UP!"
Ryou didn't react, even as she poked him some more. She let out a sigh, and blew a strand of hair out of her face.
"Fine then," she said," I didn't want to do this, but if you refuse to respond…"
She quickly and forcefully pulled her head off of Ryou's shoulder and out from under his head. His head jerked up before it hit his shoulder, and he looked around with wildly awake eyes.
"Wha-" he stopped in mid word, and observed his surroundings. Anzu stood up from the couch and raised her arms in a stretch. Her back crackled slightly, causing her to frown. She turned to Ryou, who was slowly putting last night's events into order.
"I've got to get ready for work," she said.
Ryou nodded, and got up off of the couch too.
"Thanks to you," she teased," I've got to hurry and get ready for work."
Ryou smiled slightly," Hm, sorry. Now you'll only have one hour to get ready rather than the standard two. I feel so bad."
She threw him a play punch," Eh, shut up. You know where the cereal is, help yourself."
"I can't see why you eat that dreadful stuff," he said, shaking his head and tisking slightly," Nothing but fructose syrup and food coloring. I'll make breakfast instead. How do you like your eggs?"
Anzu smiled happily," Over easy!" she said," And thanks." She hugged him tightly, and Ryou could feel a blush slowly creep up his cheeks…
He shook his head, banishing the thoughts of the girl that was his best friend. Nothing more.
"No problem!" he said, pulling away slightly," I don't know how you survive. Mai can't cook and you can burn bread without ever even putting it in the toaster. Oh, do you think Mai will want anything?"
"No," Anzu said, making her way to her room," Mai won't be up for another four hours. She likes to sleep in late."
Ryou watched Anzu get clothes from her room then make her way to the bathroom. He turned and made his way to the small apartment kitchen. Anzu is your friend he told himself as he opened the refrigerator. It was packed with tons of Chinese take out containers and other sorts of leftovers. The sight made Ryou blanch; he would really have to talk to Anzu about food safety. Furtively he moved food products around, searching for something reminiscent of eggs. As he was moving what he thought might have once been a blueberry muffin out of the way, he saw out of the corner of his eye, a Styrofoam container. He grabbed it, and quickly shut the fridge door before one of the molded over food products decided to run for freedom.
"Victory!" he exclaimed, setting the egg container on the tile counter. Ryou opened it, and surprisingly enough found four eggs, non expired and still intact. Next, he set out on a search for a frying pan. After a few minutes, he pulled out a brand new looking pan, which didn't surprise him seeing as the girls never cooked. He set the pan over the stove, also brand new looking, and turned on the heat under the burner. One by one he cracked the eggs into the pan, and watched as they sizzled and began to cook. His maid had taught him some practical cooking back when he, his father, and his sister lived in England, and Ryou saw now that it had come in handy now that he was living on his own and when Anzu forgot to feed herself. Which tended to happen often. Ryou was surprised that the girl even had a hint of an appetite; after last night he had expected her to mope around for the next two days and not eat anything but chocolate and cookie dough ice cream. It almost made him more worried that she wasn't moping – there was now the possibility that she was holding her emotions in, which was never good.
A sharp rap at the door drew Ryou out of his thoughts. Ryou set down the spatula he was using for the eggs and went to the door.
"Who would be knocking at this hour?" he asked himself. Ryou took the door knob and turned it, then pulled open the door.
Ryou wasn't expecting what lie on the other side, and it was quite obvious from the visitor's expression that he hadn't expected Ryou. The knocker stared in open shock for a moment before regaining his composure and allowing a classic smirk to settle on his lips.
"I knew you and Mazaki were friends," he sneered," but I didn't think that you two were friends with benefits."
"Kaiba," Ryou growled," What the heck are you doing here?"
Kaiba moved forward and leaned in the door way, looking at Ryou with a smarmy expression on his face. Ryou knew that the C.E.O. was up to no good.
"Calm down lover-boy," he replied casually, causing Ryou to scowl and take a step forward. Before he could say anything, Kaiba continued," I need to talk to Mazaki. Is she decent?"
Ryou balled his hands into fists, but kept his voice level.
"She's getting ready for work. What do you want?"
With a smirk, Kaiba set a baby blue umbrella down on the ground in front of Ryou," Just wanted to return this to her. She forgot it yesterday afternoon."
"And what are you doing with it?" Ryou asked suspiciously.
"Like I said, she forgot it."
"Where?"
Kaiba rolled his eyes," What are you, the Inquisition? She left in on the sidewalk yesterday, when we were…together," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Ryou growled, struggling to keep his fists at his side.
"Why didn't you just give it back at the museum?" he asked, eyes flashing dangerously," You were there."
Kaiba chuckled evily," I didn't think there was any reason too. She was already soaked to the bone."
"You-"
Kaiba raised a hand up," Don't start Bakura. I've heard it all, mostly from Mazaki. Mean, arrogant, cold-hearted, vile, all of that. You know, she never shuts up about it. I don't know how you can stand her, she runs her mouth 24/7."
Ryou took another step forward, fire pumping through his veins," Never talk about Anzu like that. You have no right. Anzu is a wonderful, beautiful person! She's kind and considerate, and has the patience of a saint, and everyone see that but you!"
Kaiba just stood there for a moment, leaning up against the door frame, before muttering," Yea, me and Yami."
Ryou's eyes widened in shock at the unexpected comment.
"How do yo-"
"Look lover boy," Kaiba said in a monotone voice," I'm not disagreeing with you. Anzu is a beautiful, considerate person, even when she is angry, which believe it or not, she gets often. Contrary to what you might believe, I didn't come here to raise Cain and insult Mazaki. I just came here to return her dumb umbrella."
Ryou was speechless for a moment, Did he just call her Anzu? Did he just call her…beautiful? He stared at the impassive teen for a moment, wondering if there was something that he'd missed. Was it possible that… Kaiba? Ryou shook his head.
"Well then, thank you. Now, if you'd please leave." Ryou said, no hesitation in his voice. It was a command.
"Fine," Kaiba said, moving out of the doorway," I was about to leave anyway. I'd rather not be here when the whole place burns down."
Suddenly, the smell of burning food entered Ryou's nostrils. He turned to the kitchen, where a great cloud of black smoke was pouring out of the pan.
"Damn!" he exclaimed, momentarily forgetting that Kaiba still stood at the doorway and could see anything," The eggs!"
Ryou grabbed a pot holder, turned off the heat in the oven, and took the pan off of it. The eggs were nothing more than blackened, shriveled chunks. He grabbed the spatula and scraped as much of the "eggs" as he could into the garbage can. Then, remembering the visitor, he turned to the door.
"I'm sorry," Kaiba said with a sneer," I didn't realize you were making breakfast, had I known I would have come later. So, is she getting the breakfast in bed treatment?"
Ryou was so angry that he wasn't even shocked.
"Get the hell out of here Kaiba," he said, his voice steely. Kaiba nodded, a smirk still playing on his lips, and pulled the door closed, leaving Ryou in stormy silence. Ryou stood there for a moment, like a statue. Then, as if someone had suddenly flicked the "On" switch, Ryou let out a torrent of curses and went back to scraping the pan clean.
He was fortunate that the fire alarms hadn't gone off, because the burning food mixed with the fire of his own rage would have been enough to burn down the whole building, and he was pretty sure that Anzu wouldn't have been happy with that. Ryou scrubbed the pan until it sparkled, threw away the empty egg carton, and poured two bowls of cereal.
Only a few minutes later, Anzu came out from the bathroom. She had put on the uniform that she had to wear at the restaurant, and she had a towel over her shoulders so that her still slightly damp hair wouldn't cause large wet spots to appear on the back of the uniform. Anzu smiled brightly when she saw what Ryou had set out on the table. She sat down on the side of the kitchen table opposite of where Ryou was calmly eating his own cereal.
"What?" she asked," No eggs?"
Ryou looked up from his bowl and set a smile on his face," Nope, sorry. I, um… got a little distracted when I was cooking, and well, the eggs got a little…crispy."
"Well," Anzu said," That's okay, I like my eggs a little more cooked than normal."
Ryou sighed and shook his head," Anzu, they were crispy. I mean, really crispy. Like, you know, too much time in Egypt crispy."
Anzu, who had been in mid chew, put a napkin to her mouth as a precaution as she shook with laughter. After a few moments of hysterics, Anzu swallowed the food in her mouth and looked to Ryou, a giggle still escaping every once in a while.
"I-heh, see…" she managed, before bursting into laughter again. Ryou smiled fondly. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.
Anzu abruptly stopped as she spotted the blue object lying in front of the closed door.
"Ryou," she asked, her eyes clouding over, which caused the boy to frown," What is my umbrella doing here? I forgot it at the dance studio yesterday."
Ryou raised an eyebrow. Kaiba had said that she had left it on the sidewalk.
"I don't know Anzu," he lied," I opened the door this morning because I thought I heard someone out there, and only found this. Someone from the studio must have dropped it off."
"Yea," she said, her eyes focused on the umbrella but her mind completely elsewhere.
Ryou gulped silently, wondering how much she'd figured out already. Anzu turned back to her cereal.
"Oh well," she said cheerfully," I'll have to find out who did it and thank them."
Ryou nodded and ate the last few bites of his cereal. Anzu gathered up her things, and the umbrella, and headed off to work. As he watched her walk down the stairs, Ryou sighed.
What she doesn't know won't hurt her.
"Hey Anzu!"
Anzu looked up from the order she was writing down. One of her fellow waitresses was waving for her to come from behind the counter. Anzu nodded and finished taking orders for the customers, and then made her way back to the counter. As she walked, she could feel the eyes of the two male customers she had just taken orders from on her back – she silently cursed the uniform she had to wear. Anzu ducked under the barrier and reappeared on the other side of the counter.
"What's up Ichigo?" she asked the friendly red head who had flagged her down. Anzu had been working at Burger World for the past six months, so she had gotten to know everyone at the restaurant very well, especially Ichigo, who was only a year older than she.
"Well," she said," There's a couple in Booth Five who specifically asked for you to wait on them. I told them that you were working some other tables, but they refused to accept that. They said they'd only take you. I wouldn't bother with it normally 'cept for they aren't exactly normal customers. So, I was wonderin' if you wanted to swap tables with me. You can take Booth Five and I'll take the table you just came from – you know, the one with the two total hotties!"
Anzu rolled her eyes, but smiled," Sure, that'll be great. Just be careful the two "total hotties" don't take a look up your skirt – they seem to be the type."
Anzu handed Ichigo the order for the two guys, and then made her way to Booth Five. From where she was, she couldn't see who was inhabiting the booth, which was tucked away in the corner, but she was nervous as to who it might be. If it were Jou and Honda, she knew that they would ask he for a discount, if it were Kaiba, she would flat out refuse to serve him – not like Kaiba would ever come to burger world, and, if it were Yugi and Yami well… she wasn't sure what she'd do. She approached the booth, refusing to look at who sat there. Instead, she held her order pad and pen up near her face.
"Hi, I'm Anzu. Can I take your order?'
"Hey Anzu!" a perky voice said from behind her pad," I didn't know you worked here!"
Immediately, Anzu recognized the voice. Only she hoped that the other person wasn't… Anzu lowered her order pad, and smiled.
"Hey Mokuba, how are you?"
The boy with the wild black hair gave a huge grin," I'm doing great! We were just around, and both were hungry, and since Rebecca had never come here before, I decided to treat!"
Anzu internally sighed as she looked to the other side of the booth and saw Rebecca Hopkins sitting there, smiling brightly. Anzu noticed that the girl had changed considerably since their last meeting – gone were the pigtails and teddy bear. Both of them, in fact, looked older than their actual age, with Mokuba and his dark blue polo shirt and Rebecca in a knee length skirt and white tank top with a collared over shirt. They both looked like college students rather than pre-teens, but Anzu then remembered that Rebecca was a college student.
"Well, I'm glad you guys came. So, what can I get you?"
Mokuba recited his order as if he knew it by heart, while Rebecca pointed to an item in the menu.
"Great, well, I'll go put your orders in and have them out in a few minutes!" Anzu said brightly. She walked back to the counter, a wave of relief having washed over her. When she had heard Mokuba's voice, she had been so afraid that maybe he would be there with Mokuba. Instead, it was Rebecca. Anzu smiled as she saw Mokuba and Rebecca talking and laughing happily. They'll make a good couple she thought. Anzu handed the cooks her order and then scanned the section of tables that she was assigned to cover. A group of four men had come in while Anzu had been waiting on Rebecca and Mokuba. As she watched them silently look over the menus, a strange feeling made her gut twist. They were all dressed identically in navy blue business suits with matching ties. Anzu slipped under the barrier and then went over to the table.
"Hi," she said brightly," I'm Anzu, and I'll be serving you today. May I take your orders?"
They all turned to look at her, and for a moment, her smile flickered. However, she'd dealt with strange customers before, so she tried her best to act normally.
"Yes," one of the said," Thank you. We'd like four ice waters and four double cheeseburgers."
Anzu blinked, and then wrote down the orders. "Would you like mustard and mayonnaise on your cheeseburgers?"
The one who ordered paused for a moment, looked around to the others at the table, and then shook his head," No thank you."
"Alright then," she said," I'll go put your orders in. Your food should be out in a few minutes."
She then turned away from the table, and turned her order into the cook. Mokuba and Rebecca's food wasn't quite ready yet, so she went around to her other tables. As she took orders and got drink refills, she watched the table with the four men very carefully. They were now speaking to each other in low whispers. Every once in a while, one would look up slightly and look around the entire restaurant. The cook called for Anzu to come and deliver the food to booth five, and Anzu sighed. There's no use getting paranoid, she thought, those men are probably just not used to a place like this.
Anzu grabbed the tray that had Rebecca and Mokuba's order and balanced it on her hand. She weaved through the tables and made her way to the back corner.
"One pink lemonade, one Sprite, and two orders of nachos." she said brightly. Anzu set the food in front of the hungry couple. Mokuba smiled," Thanks Anzu!"
"You know," Rebecca said," I've been wondering. Why does a burger place have nachos on its menu?"
Anzu thought about it, and then shrugged," I don't know. I guess it's for the same reason that people order nachos at a burger place."
Rebecca laughed," I guess so." She took a bite of her nachos, and smiled," I can't believe I never came here before. This is really good!"
Mokuba nodded happily," Uh-huh, see I told you so! I come here all the time after school. That's why I was surprised to see you Anzu. I've never seen you or the red headed waitress working here before."
"Yea," Anzu replied," Ichigo and I are both still in school, so we only work weekends."
"Cool! I'll have to convince Seto to come with us one Sunday," Mokuba said, and Rebecca nodded. Anzu paled visibly, as Mokuba saw when he turned to look at her. A look of concern crossed the boy's face, and his eyes clouded slightly. Anzu could tell that he was remembering last night the same as she was.
"Maybe not," he muttered.
"M'zaki!" one of the chef's called," You gunna stand there all day yabberin', or are ya gunna do some work?"
Anzu spun around," Sorry, I'm coming!" she yelled. She turned back to Mokuba and Rebecca," Hey guys, I've got to go. I'll be back around with your check when you're done."
Both nodded, and then dug into their food. Anzu went back, once again, to the counter, and set down her empty tray before picking up a new, loaded one. On it, four cheeseburgers and four ice waters. Anzu set down the drinks and food in front of the four men.
"I'll be back around with your check when you all are finished. If you need me, just call!"
They all nodded, and silently started on their food. Anzu stood there for a moment, and then went around to her other tables.
Rebecca and Mokuba flagged her down when they were finished eating.
"Here's your bill!" she said. Mokuba handed her a credit card with his name on the back. Anzu was momentarily shocked – she didn't even have a credit card yet, and here Mokuba was, toting the plastic. Of course, it made sense, seeing who he, and his brother, was. Anzu went to the register and swiped the card, then came back with the receipt.
"Here's your card and the receipts. Sign this one and keep the other one for yourself."
Mokuba signed one and handed it to her.
"Thanks for coming guys!" she said with a smile.
"Thanks for waiting on us!" Mokuba said. "When do you get off?"
Anzu glanced to the clock at the front of the restaurant.
"Um, in about 30 minutes. I've got the eight to four shift. Are you and Rebecca going back to your place?"
Rebecca burst out laughing and Mokuba started to snigger. Anzu stood there, confused, before realizing what she had said. Mortified, she started," No, I mean, I didn't mean it that way I-"
"Don't worry about it," Rebecca said with a giggle," We understand."
"Act-Actually," Mokuba replied, trying to hold back his laughter," I'm going back to the mansion, and Rebecca's going to the museum."
Anzu suddenly thought of something, and glanced outside.
"I hope you brought an umbrella," she said, looking out the doors," Because it's raining again."
Mokuba sighed," Jeez, will it ever stop?"
"Not likely," Rebecca said dryly," At least not for the next three weeks, until rainy season is over."
"I brought an umbrella, and Rebecca's taking a taxi, so we should be alright."
Mokuba and Rebecca both slid out of the booth.
"Thanks Anzu," Rebecca said," Good to see you!"
"Yea, thanks," Mokuba added," I'll have to come on the weekends more often."
"No problem, good to see you both! Have a nice day!"
The two pre-teens left the restaurant. Mokuba opened his umbrella, and the two stood under it, waiting for the taxi to show up. Anzu went back to business. She looked over and saw that the table of four had stopped eating, their plates empty. All four were now attentively looking outside, at the rainy street.
"Are you ready for your check?" she asked them. Anzu saw the taxi pull up and Rebecca get in. Mokuba waved as it drove off, and then started off in the opposite direction, towards Kaiba Mansion. Another man, different from the one who ordered, nodded. She gave him the bill, and he pulled out his wallet. He handed her a large amount of cash, more than enough to cover the charge. The four all hurriedly stood up and started to the door.
"But Sir," Anzu said," The money-"
"Tip." one of them said. All four walked out the door and quickly walked down the sidewalk until they were out of sight. Anzu stood, dumbfounded, but was roused by the raucous calls of the cooks. She placed the amount of the bill in the register, and placed the rest of the money in the tip pocket of her uniform.
"Bye Anzu, see ya tomorrow!" Ichigo called out before hopping onto her bike. Anzu waved, and set out in the opposite direction, opening up her umbrella as she went. The streets were wet, and the rain was now only coming down in small, driving drops. They barely made a sound as they plinked onto her blue umbrella and slid off. Anzu sighed and smiled contentedly. It had been a good day, even with the rain. She had gotten a good, albeit strange, night's rest, an unconventional breakfast courtesy of Ryou, and had received a good deal in the way of tips, thanks to Mokuba, Rebecca, and the group of strange businessmen.
"It's nice," she said to herself, unashamed as there was no one else on the streets to hear her ramble," to see Mokuba with people his own age. He spends so much time with his studies, and Kaiba – he's such a nice boy, but I can only imagine how much his brother influences everything around him. And, he does so much more than a boy should have to deal with, helping Kaiba with the company, and all of that. He needs friends outside of the Kaiba mansion, even if they're college geniuses. Rebecca's a sweet girl though, I'm sure that her being around will help Mokuba. Imagine what it would be like if Kaiba had a girlfriend!" Anzu suddenly started laughing at the absurdity of the thought," Kaiba- heh- a girlfriend? Ha! That'll be the day hell freezes over!"
She started laughing at the craziness of the thought. Anzu continued walking along, laughing hysterically as she imagined Kaiba with some girl wrapped around his arm, Kaiba, slow dancing at prom…
"Don't stare honey," a hurried voice came from Anzu's side. She turned, and saw a concerned looking mother ushering her small, rain coat clad child past Anzu. The little boy looked up to Anzu from under his umbrella with a look of confusion, but was swept away by his mother.
Anzu sobered up immediately, and tried to keep a blush from rising on her cheeks. Good going Anzu, she thought, no better way to convince someone you're crazy than by talking to yourself.
The streets were devoid of all other life once more, but Anzu kept her thoughts to herself, just in case. She instead thought back to what she had been laughing about before. Kaiba, with a girlfriend! It was ridiculous. She couldn't think of anyone who would actually go out with Seto Kaiba. Sure, a lot of girls at school were attracted to him, but he had a knack of shooting them down fast. Month after month, some new girl came to him with some kind of offering, and month after month, he rejected each and every one. It was equivalent to a primitive tribe offering sacrifices to their god, but the only result was angering it even more. Anzu thought back to Kaiba at prom, dancing with a girl. It seemed impossible – none of the girls at school were right for him. Kaiba was just too perfect for…
WAIT! HOLD THE TRAIN! she thought, her mind panicking This is KAIBA I'm thinking about! The one person I DETEST! The LAST person who needs to be on my MIND!
Especially after last night.
Anzu looked up to the sky from underneath her umbrella. The sky was a flat, slate gray, without a ripple or difference in it. It was a vast contrast to the sky of the night before – that dark, writhing sky that had caused her so much trouble and anguish.
No. The sky caused the trouble. The…people caused the anguish. The only people who didn't try to make my night living torture were Ryou and Mokuba… I just don't understand how Mokuba could be related to such a cold hearted beast like Kaiba!
She came to a dead stop, and mentally scolded herself.
Stop thinking about him!
Anzu started walking again, all the while trying to force the idea of a certain ice-eyed C.E.O. out of her mind. However, all around her were signs of him – Mokuba, the rain, the sky, and, most potently, her umbrella. She shivered, and almost dropped the umbrella as she remembered that he had held it, more than once, and that he had even had it in his possession. Which led her to another thought…
Kaiba had said the she had left her umbrella, and that he had it. Obviously, he had forgotten to return it the night before, but, by some miracle, it had appeared on her doorstep just that morning. Ryou had told her that he didn't know who had brought it, or when it had come, but Anzu wasn't so sure. Ryou had been acting…strange. While she was in the shower, she had been positive that she heard voices conversing. She hadn't been able to make out words, but could tell that the voices were both male. At first Anzu had thought that it had been the t.v., because one of the voices sounded very angry, and Ryou never seemed to get angry. However, Anzu remembered that Ryou rarely ever watched t.v. And then there were the burnt eggs. Ryou was a good cook - something must have distracted him long enough for the eggs to go crispy, but what?
Ryou had sounded angry when she had heard him talking to whoever was there, and after wards, he seemed distracted and distant. Had Seto Kaiba come to her apartment to drop off the umbrella? Had he and Ryou fought? About what? Her?
Anzu shook her head. No way. No one would ever fight about me, not Kaiba, not Ryou, not Yami. No one. People only ever fight against me – never for me.
A jarring howl of rage snapped Anzu out of her pensive state.
…
It took Anzu a few seconds to fully understand what was going on. She stood there and stared, and she watched Mokuba kick and punch wildly at a group of men that had surrounded him. He landed a neat punch right across one of the men's jaw, causing him to reel backwards and curse. It didn't take Anzu long to identify the men as the same whom she had waited on at the restaurant. A silver SUV with tinted windows was parked right next to where the brawl was unfolding – it seemed like the men were trying to shove Mokuba into the back, but they were having a rough time at it. So far, no one, not even Mokuba, had noticed Anzu standing there, dumbstruck.
She wasn't dumbstruck for long. Anzu shut her umbrella, and launched herself at the nearest attacker, who had his back to her. She put all of her strength into smashing the man's head in, and while his skull didn't cave in as she had hope it to, he passed out before he had even been able to register he was being attacked. One down, three to go. The other three and Mokuba noticed as the man fell to the ground with a moan, and stared as Anzu stood there, dangerously wielding her baby blue umbrella. The man nearest to Mokuba took the distraction and grabbed Mokuba by the waist. He tried to hoist the boy up, but Mokuba sent him a fierce kick to the groin. The man dropped Mokuba back down to the ground. Mokuba was by no means little or weak, and as he fought, Anzu could see he'd had training. Suddenly, she felt two strong hands grab her arms and pin them behind her back. One of them had come from behind and attacked, he was now twisting her wrists painfully until she dropped the umbrella. He kept twisting, and she shrieked in pain. The man just laughed, a slow, jeering chuckle.
"Serves you right for trying to interfere you little wench. It's time someone taught you you're place b-"
He was cut off as Mokuba slid in between Anzu and the man and elbowed him in the gut, causing him to curl up. As soon as the man let go of her hands, she spun around, picked her umbrella off of the ground, and whacked him as hard as she could on his back. He curled up even further, and Anzu couldn't help but smile at the cracking sound of her umbrella against his spine. Two down, one to go.
One of the men approached Mokuba, but didn't get far before Mokuba sent him a roundhouse kick. The man slid back slightly, but then growled and flat out punched the younger boy. Mokuba tried to put his arms in front of him for defense, but it did no good. He punched Mokuba again, while viciously cursing. Anzu cried out as she saw blood run down the side of the boy's face, but was distracted as she felt her umbrella being pulled from her hands. The man grabbed her by the collar of her uniform and hurled her back with a strength she couldn't even imagine. She curled herself, trying to protect what she could, and prepared for impact. Anzu felt herself land on the concrete – a large gash on the arm that hit the ground first started to bleed, and she could feel a sharp pain lace up her back. The man laughed, and Anzu watched in dumb horror as he took her umbrella in his hands and snapped it into two pieces as if it were a stick. He tossed the pieces off to the side, and took a step towards her. Anzu scrambled back away as far as she could, but her back soon hit the concrete walls of the store behind her. He came closer, and closer, and with each step, she could feel her demise nearing.
This can't be happening! I can't die, I can't let them take Mokuba! I can't die here! I still need to enact my revenge on Isis for stealing Yami and I still need to figure out who brought my umbrella back and I need to tell Kaiba off for last night and I need to thank Ryou for making the hot chocolate and and-
The man's face loomed above hers, smiling grimly. Suddenly, his eyes bulged out, and he let out a great gasp of air. Anzu rolled away from him before he fell on top of her, so instead the man hit cold concrete. Anzu, still sitting on the concrete, took deep gasping breaths as Mokuba stood in front of her, looking triumphant but weary. The right side of his face was all scratched up, and it looked like his nose was broken, his lip was definitely busted, and his knuckles were scraped and bleeding. Through the tears in his jeans, Anzu could see large bruises forming on his shins.
"We… did…it!" he said, taking shallow breaths. Anzu nodded, unable to speak. Mokuba suddenly lurched forward, and Anzu reached out to catch him. He collapsed into her arms, unconscious.
As gently as she could, Anzu lifted the boy, who was a lot heavier than the last time she had had to lift him during Battle City, and carried him. She walked past the fight scene, leaving the four men there on the ground. She could hear sirens in the distance, Anzu imagined that one of the shop owners must have seen the struggle and called the police. She could stay there, wait for the police to come, explain what happened, get medical attention, but she just kept walking, numbly allowing her feet to guide her. She had to get help for Mokuba, had to get him to a Doctor.
The rain, which had been until then a drizzle, began to increase in intensity. It beat down on her and Mokuba harder and harder, washing away some of the blood that stained their faces and clothes. Little streams of red water trickled down Mokuba's face and Anzu's arms, but both were ignorant of it. Anzu just kept walking blindly, unknowing, unthinking, just trying to overcome the reality of what had just happened. She didn't watch where she was going. She didn't think to whip out her cell phone and make a call, she didn't think of anything but getting Mokuba the best help she could.
Anzu stopped at the gates. She knew this was the best she could do. The clouds had darkened considerably, and the rain got harder and harder. Kaiba Mansion loomed ominously above her.
"Open the gates!" Anzu screamed as she kicked the tall iron gates that barred her away from the safety of the mansion. Her foot protested, but she kept kicking. She was about to lose her voice, but she kept screaming. Her body was ready to quit, but she held on, knowing she needed to get Mokuba to safety.
"Please!" she begged, to whom she didn't know," Open the gates! Let us in!"
Her only answer came from the dark skies above, and it came in the form of harsh, biting rain.
"Please…" she whispered, feeling her legs start to shake. Anzu slowly collapsed to the ground until she was on her knees, still holding Mokuba in her arms. Her tears mixed in with the rain that struck her face, until one couldn't be distinguished from the other. Anzu looked down to Mokuba.
"Please…"
Mokuba's eyes flickered open, and then closed until they were narrow strips.
"Anzu, what's wrong? Are you crying? What happened?"
He's in a state of shock, he doesn't remember…
Anzu put a weak smile on her face and shook her head slightly.
"No Mokuba, I'm alright," she lied," I just need to get you back to the mansion, but the gate is closed and no one will open it. Can you tell me how to get in?"
Mokuba nodded, and opened eyes a little more.
"Go over to the left side of the gate Anzu. There's a small keypad where you can enter the pass code and open the gate up. It's a simple six letter pass code."
"Alright. Can you tell me the pass code Mokuba?"
The boy nodded again, but much to her dismay, closed his eyes. He was silent, the only movement coming from the shallow up and down movement of his chest.
"Mokuba?"
No response. Anzu heaved a sigh, and made her way over to the key pad. Maybe she could guess… She flipped up the cover of the keypad. On the keypad, a series of numbers ranging from zero to nine. Anzu looked at the numbers hopelessly. She had hoped that maybe the pass code would be a word that she could guess, but no, she was left to guess numbers. There was no end to the number of possible combinations, and Anzu knew that there was no time to try them all and hope to get lucky. Anzu took a step back and thought about it. If she knew anything about Seto Kaiba, the pass code would be anything but obvious.
That rules out 1-2-3-4-5-6… she thought ruefully. Anzu stood there in the rain for minutes, staring at the keypad. A part of her told her to go, to turn back, to call Mai or Ryou and get Mokuba to the hospital and stop wasting time, but a larger part of her told her that this was the only option. Anzu looked again at the keypad, running the numbers through her head.
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0
Anzu blinked. It was common sense to place the zero first, before the one, but it this case, it was at the end. She could blame its placement on coincidence, but something told her it was deeper than that. It was as though she could hear Kaiba's voice telling her to figure it out. It was rather annoying. Then, she noticed the placement. The numbers weren't all in one row, but in four, and the placement wasn't even all around. She ran through it again, this time considering how the numbers were laid out.
1-2-3
4-5-6
7-8-9
0
The placement was familiar. Too familiar. Suddenly, on a whim, Anzu pulled her cell-phone out of the pocket of her uniform. Not to make a call, of course, but to look at its key-pad. It was identical in arrangement.
All right, she thought, We've gotten this far Anzu, now what?
Anzu thought back to what she had hoped before – that Kaiba would chose a word as his pass code rather than a set of numbers. As she stared from the phone to the gate key pad and back, suddenly everything clicked. She looked at the small letters above each number of the phone keypad, and cursed Kaiba for making things difficult and so obvious at the same time. It all made sense now, and she even knew the pass code. She went up to the key pad and slowly keyed in the pass code.
6-6-5-8-2-2
She pressed the enter key, and held her breath.
Please work, please work…
There was a near by rumbling sound, and she almost cried out in joy as she watched the heavy iron gates creak open. Anzu quickly ran past them, still carrying Mokuba. She ignored the winding driveway, but ran across the nicely manicured lawn, taking the more direct route.
Anzu ran up the stairs and up to the large front door of the Kaiba Mansion. Surprisingly, there was a large brass knocker on the door rather than a door bell. The knocker, rather than the typical lion's head, had been Kaiba-ized, and was in fact the head of a blue eyes white-dragon, with the KC emblem below it. Anzu took up the knocker, and pounded it against the door. She released the knocker, and waited for what seemed like years. It was killing her. Anzu took the knocker again and pounded the door, then resorted to using her fists. No one answered. Anzu felt her body about to give out again. She turned and leaned up against the door, allowing tears to streak down her face.
So close but yet so far…
Suddenly, the door pulled open, causing Anzu to fall backwards and then pitch forward as she tried to catch her balance. Anzu spun around to face a prim, elderly looking woman. The woman looked Anzu over from top to bottom in one disdainful glance, and then turned her eye to the almost unrecognizable Mokuba. Anzu openly stared at the maid, and she stared back, disgust quite evident. She obviously thought Anzu was some type of beggar.
"I need to speak to Seto Kaiba," Anzu said bluntly.
The woman blinked and scowled, but replied politely," I'm sorry, but Mr. Kaiba is quite bust and will see no one today, especially if they do not have an appointment. P-"
"But I really need to see him! Please! Maybe you can go get him, tell him it's really important-"Anzu said, a sense of deeper dread sinking into her gut.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, but Mr. Kaiba is not available. May I take a message?"
Anzu stared at the woman for a moment, and then looked down to Mokuba, whose condition was degenerating quickly.
"I don't give a damn if Kaiba is busy or not! I NEED to see him now, what's more, if he cares anything about his brother, he WILL come! Mokuba needs him!" she yelled, her voice getting louder and higher with each syllable.
"Please lower your voice," the woman said, acting as though she had not heard a single word Anzu had said," or I will be forced to have security escort you out."
"I'd like to see them try," Anzu replied wildly. She did her best to push past the maid. The maid resisted, but was no match for Anzu.
"SECURITY!" the woman wailed, but Anzu paid no mind, just continued to shove past. Finally, the woman relinquished, and Anzu stumbled forward. She looked around the main hall, and saw four security guards running in her direction. Anzu made a dash for the grand staircase at the end of the hall. She was fast, but the guards were faster. They roughly grabbed her, and tried to grab Mokuba, but she wouldn't let them. They held Anzu by her arms, and she tried to rip away from them, but it was no use, they were too strong.
"LET ME GO!" she screamed at the top of her voice," KAIBA! MOKUBA'S-"
"What in the world is going on here?" a sharp voice came from the top of the stair case. Anzu's eyes widened, and she sunk to the ground as much as she could with the guards still holding tight to her arms. Her prayer answered…
"Would someone like to-"
The elder Kaiba had come into view now, and as his eyes settled on Anzu, he became livid.
"What are you doing here Mazaki?" he hissed. The guards looked to each other, and then to their boss. Kaiba descended a few of the stairs.
"You know her boss?" one of them asked.
"No," Kaiba snapped, causing everyone else in the room but Anzu to flinch," I just know her name by magic. Let her go you dopes!"
The guards released her quickly, and she scrambled to her feet.
"What do you think you're doing here Mazaki, barging in and raising a racket and ordering my staff a- Mokuba!"
Seto raced down the stairs and ran up to Anzu. Anzu handed the beaten boy to his older brother, and then looked around at the bewildered staff. Seto held his brother in silence for a moment before looking up and barking out a command.
"All of you, get out of my sight now! Matilda, get the Doctor!"
All of the staff scurried off in various directions, and Anzu turned to leave.
"Not you Anzu. Stay here."
Anzu turned around, her eyes wide in shock. Had he just…
"What-" Seto stuttered for the first time in front of her," What happened? Why did they stop you? Wh-why…?"
Anzu summoned up what strength she had left and looked dead into his eyes. She had noticed his hair was wet and his chest was bare, as if she had caught him in the middle of changing out of wet clothes. She probably had.
"A group of men attacked him on the way home. I helped fight them off, then carried Mokuba here. Your staff tried to stop me from seeing you – they didn't recognize him."
Seto's ocean blue eyes went wide. Anzu stared into them, starting to feel lost in their depth. She'd found him, delivered Mokuba, she could let go. Anzu was unconscious before she landed in Kaiba's open arm. In one arm, he supported his brother, the other, Anzu. He looked down to them both, and a scowl set on his face.
"Heads will roll for this."
Oooohhh, cliffie… kind of. Anyway, hope you liked it, the next chapter should be up pretty soon, now that I'm back home!
Thanks to all of my awesome reviewers! You all get invisible cookies!
suzieq2005- Hey, it's alright to be reading it at work! I read LuvinAniManga's newest chapter of Beach Bonanza (which was like 20 pages), and my friend EightofSwords new chapter of Subject to Change (I reiterate the like 20 pages) the day before my Physics final… I still passed though (with an A, yay!).
mischiefmagnet- lol, Thanks, but no need to bow! I wasn't very sure about it when I posted it the first time, but I just went ahead with it (I love to write, but I hate grammar). Thanks to LuvinAniManga for correcting me first…I felt so ashamed that I HAD to correct it, so I had the idea of turning it against Kaiba, Anzu had had enough grief that day, she deserved to torment Kaiba some… and Yami and Isis, well…
apsychicswordsman- Thanks! I'm glad you like! smiles and sticks thumbs right back up
BradyBunch4529- Yes! I'm glad that you feel that way about Yami and Yugi, that's what I've been trying to do! I get annoyed at Yami, even though I've made him like that. Kaiba, well, what can we say? He, like all guys, must suffer from mood swings (No offense to any guys, it's just that, well…) I'm glad you like the descriptions, it's something I really work hard on. Poor Anzu, I put her through so much. I love Mokuba, he can be so bad, yet so good! Thanks!
LuvinAniManga- Thanks! Yea, the error thing… I felt so embarrassed to make a mistake like that, and I had to redeem myself. Thanks for catching me… I've gotten a lot of praise with incorporating it. I hope you have a good trip, update when you get back! I'm sure your English teacher would be quite proud. Yup, Kaiba's a character! And Ishizu is… a lot of things. I love Ryou too! He definitely is a great guy! I wish I could have a friend (or boyfriend!) like him! Hope you're having fun wherever you are!
xXxkIkOkEnxXx- I'm proud to say that you have been nominated as having the screen name with the most X's ever in Fanfiction history. Just kidding, I actually don't know that. Yes, Kaiba gets on everybody's nerves… but that makes him more loveable (a mon avis…)
2nd time- Lol. a million kagillion trillion years is a reeeeaaalllllyyy long time. I'm glad you will continue to follow, thanks!
Princess of The Nile- I'm sooo sorry! I NEVER wanted to make anyone cry (although I guess I can say I'm glad it was that powerful…). I'm really sorry! I hope this chapter didn't bother you either… I included a brief mention of Anzu being called beautiful just for you! Don't worry about the parents, they just don't understand, lol. Sorry I took so long in updating, I was out of the country and away from the laptop. Please don't cry!
teenyugiohpotterphantom- Thanks! I did have fun on my non internety trip, but it's good to be back on the world wide web. I love Ryou… and Seto….
xEternal Moonlight Pheonix Magex - Whoa, you guys through me for a loop with the name change, it took me a minute to figure it out, but very cool! Lol, thanks for continuing to read! I don't know… M3, don't worry, a lot of people have mentioned how they feel different about characters now… I have a lot more Ryou supporters, and a few less Yami supporters… It's weird. You sound like my friend, who used to have a Yami obsession before she turned into a Danny Phantom fan. Anyway, glad you liked it, sorry this one isn't as long!
The Cougar- Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! And more than a one word response feels honored!
Sirael Lythling – Yes, reading French counts! Yes, English gets a little boring sometimes…
Well, keep up the good reviews! I' now opening up reviews to anonymous reviewers, so please, everyone leave your comments! Remember, no flames – either let it be good, or constructive (or if you luv me, both!) So, review Chi Hanh! Update soon!
RR