Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any characters and situations presented in the manga/anime. No profit is gained from the publishing of this story, no copyright infringement intended.
Should this story be deemed offensive by the creator, Mr. Takahashi, his solicitors or any of the (unsettling amount of) companies holding licenses to the series it shall be of course taken down without hesitation.
A/N 1: Here we go again. The second interlude and as promised, it is not Anzu but rather a male that Seto really can't stand. Alright so I lied; its two guys but Seto never acknowledged that, hehe.
Originally this was supposed to be only Yami Yugi's point of view but somehow, Yugi wormed his way into it, too; can't have one without the other after all.
Also I remember that some of you pointed out in their reviews that the actual plot is not very creative. You're right, it isn't. In fact it has been done several times already; probably also a whole lot better than this. I am fully aware of that (and not offended by your observation, in case you should worry), but let me ask you this:
How many romance novels or movies have you seen that have a totally original plot, something that hasn't been there ever before? Ad hoc I can name 3 novels, of which I consider 2 to be only semi-original since the general idea has been done before. Fact is, when writing love stories, there are only so many ways to get a girl and a boy together. Fact is also that you need a pretty good reason to force Seto Kaiba to spend more time than necessary with Anzu Mazaki and that, given the character's social position, tricking the media is a fairly effective tool for such a story (because I don't believe that Kaiba will awake one morning in his bed and find he simply cannot live without Anzu and sweeps her off her feet to elope and have a quick ceremony in a run-down wedding chapel in Vegas with some shady Sigfried and Roy doubles as their witnesses) starring the CEO and future dancer.
Another fact is also that I was not looking to present a creative plot: what I am trying to do is to show you bits and pieces of their minds (the way I envision it) and emotions while their relationship changes and whether that is a good thing or not remains to be seen.
I am not saying this to justify or defend this story, but because I want to be honest to you: should you be looking for something that is new and revolutionary, something with a plot you haven't seen yet, this story is not for you. Should you be content to read and explore the minds of the characters pictured (and maybe your own, you never know), then this might be the kind of story you've been looking for, provided you have been looking.
I'm saying this so it is understood what this story is and what not – I'd hate to disappoint you should you discover in the end that this was not what you thought it would be (but things rarely are).
That and I have no desire to receive a flame reading "you're so dumb for using an overused and boring plot like that and you can't even give it a new twist and why don't you quit writing entirely, you're only taking up data-space as it is" because… well I'm sure you can guess why.
To better understand who is speaking when, kindly remember that Yugi's parts are - due to technical limitations - in regular letters whereas Yami Yugi's (aka Mou Hitori no Yugi) arebold.As always italics are the 'omnipotent narrator' putting in their two cents.
And herewith I end my ramblings and let you proceed to read the next chapter. Don't forget that any form of constructive criticism is appreciated and encouraged – I can only learn from my mistakes if someone points them out to me.
Thanks a lot
Acalanthis
This doesn't mean anything – Aftermath; An Interlude
Part Two – Yugi Mutou and Mou Hitori no Yugi
Her first kiss, bestowed upon him of all people, witnessed by the tabloids to document what they have found at last and to herald to the world that what they share is special. Which it isn't, isn't it?
Her first kiss, stolen by him of all people, sold out to the tabloids as if it were nothing special. Which it is, isn't it?
People fall in and out of love all the time. What should make it so special that for now, Seto Kaiba has found his other half in Anzu Mazaki – as she has likewise found hers in him.
A kiss is more than lips touched to lips, more than the gentle pressure of warm flesh, more than ruby crescents parting like a gate to allow tongues to meet, to explore, to taste and to pleasure.
The heart is a fickle thing, is it not? For now it might drift in and out of teenage love's hazy clouds, but eventually, the sky will clear.
A kiss is not a hollow gesture: it is nothing to be given or taken lightly, nothing to be shared with someone who cannot appreciate its worth.
Eventually, the heart will see that what it thought to have found was not there.
No, a kiss is the most soul-appeasing of love's pleasures.
Eventually, she'll return.
A kiss is nourishment; it satiates the hunger lovers feel for one another, calms the raging fires of lust and desire yet ignites a whole different flame that for lack of a better word goes by the same name and which may only be satisfied with other, more physical nourishment. It is the introduction to love; the love woven between a man and a woman, the love that drives them to seek each other out and bask in the glory of one another, the love that forces their hands, bodies and minds to connect and does not allow them to separate.
I cannot deny that her choice has hurt me. Nor will I try to convince anyone that I can understand it.
A kiss, not mother's kiss placed tenderly on your forehead to chase away the monsters lurking in the shadows of your bedroom but the kiss offered by the one who makes your heart beat in heated rhythms reminiscent of wild horses chasing through the Sahara Desert, is the first step into adulthood.
Because I can't.
It is the awakening of the man sleeping within a boy; the rousing of the woman slumbering peacefully within a girl.
I never believed she would fall in love with me over night, but I had hoped that maybe gradually, she would realize that she is my world and then, perhaps, she would try to let me be hers.
It angers them to know that one of her greatest treasures has been wasted like that.
It shouldn't have been him collecting it.
It should have been someone worthy, someone who could lose themselves in the beauty of her eyes or the sound of her laugh.
Someone like – anyone, but him
But what is done is done; a broken mirror cannot be made to shine again (1), as my partner's grandfather is fond of saying. Her first kiss has been taken. Nothing I can do, say or feel will change that, unless I were to turn back the hands of time and find someone worthier to stand in his place.
I never believed she would fall out of love with my partner over night, either, because as long as he had her heart, I was sure that there was also a chance for me to obtain a small part of it for myself.
The image in their mind is painfully clear.
They know perfectly well whom they would rather see by her side.
He hasn't given her any reason to seek the arms of another, just as he hasn't given her any reason to expect that some day soon, she might be able to rest in his.
I thought I knew her well; no, I was certain I knew her well. After all, my knowledge of her is that of two persons: it's his and mine and between the two of us, there aren't many things she can keep hidden and even less things she can count on us not to notice. Still something must have slipped past us. She is a certain kind of girl – the kind that is driven and inspired – but not the kind that would indulge a man for the pleasure only. I know for a fact that he is not that kind of man, either. This sudden intimacy, this understanding between them, befell us rather abruptly.
I thought I knew her well; no, I was certain I did. What I know about her is even more than what my partner knows and yet, he has come to see different sides of her, which I have never had the privilege to. But it appears, neither I nor he know her well enough. Else we might have been able to see this coming.
I expected her to entrust her heart to someone eventually. It is only natural, after all, for a young woman to desire the feeling of being desired just as a young man sooner or later needs the feeling of being needed in the most carnal of ways.
I knew she might fall in love with someone and I was somewhat relieved to find it was the other me that captured her interest. I could not compete with him, but without me he wouldn't have been able to be with her. So in a way, she would have to be with me in order to be with him. That would have been enough for me.
He had resigned himself to loving her through him a long time ago, had accepted that she would look upon him with adoration and love in her eyes only, when she thought she was looking at his other half.
He'd promised himself he'd be content with what little of her that he could have.
He hadn't taken into consideration that she might decide to let someone else entirely into her heart; someone who wouldn't have to "share" her due to the fact that they depended on him.
Someone who would keep her heart all for him self as greedily as he wanted to.
Someone like Seto Kaiba.
I… I can't… no. I didn't want to admit – ever- that part of me had wanted to be the one helping her to make that transition from girl to woman, wanted to make her feel desired. It was not my place and thus, I accepted the fact that Yugi would be the one by her side, the one she needed, seeing as this world is not mine and I am not meant to remain here.
Never before did he dare to formulate this admission, to let these thoughts reverberate through their shared soul, but neither does he deny the accusations echoing through his part of their mind.
Yes, he loves her, just as he loves her. And yet, what makes his metaphysical heart beat faster are not innocent thoughts of holding her hand or gazing into her eyes.
But he knows that what he wants and what he can have are two very different things entirely, even if he detests this fact and loathes his own understanding and acceptance of it.
Yet I wonder…
How did she fall in love with him?
What is it she sees in him?
How come he reciprocates her feelings?
How did he manage to catch her, to entrap her?
Have there been any signs I overlooked?
Why him of all people?
Did I…
We.
Did we,
somehow, involuntarily
pushed her away from us
straight into his arms?
Is it our fault?
What if her hurts her? Her heart is not a trophy, yet he shamelessly presents her as his for the world to see. Her heart will not be mended easily once she realizes that she has been used.
Fear.
Anger.
They can do nothing to protect her of those specters they believe to be a threat; shadows that strike uncertainty even into his brave heart and his partner's unshakable trust in her.
Is he using her? Could it not be…
entirely different? Is it perhaps that he has a hold over her through something of which we do not know?
Panic.
Have they already failed as her protectors?
What can we do?
May the gods help me if that kiss was forced…
No.
No?
May the gods help him if it was.
Their hearts are set as are their minds.
They know no regrets where she is concerned.
But in a corner of their minds a gentle voice
– it sounds like her –
tells them that the damage is already done, that what held them together is starting to tear apart and that it is themselves who are doing the tearing.
It beseeches them to trust in her and her judgment,
the way they always did.
They do not ignore it, yet they are not listening to it, either.
Maybe they are lucky.
Maybe he doesn't mean anything
to her.
A/N 2:
(1) A broken mirror cannot be made to shine again; The fallen blossom will not return to its branch – I found these when I got it in my head to use Japanese or rather pseudo-Japanese for a story of mine. I found this idiom by accident and somehow it got stuck in my head, which is why I used it instead of "no use crying over spilt milk", because I kind of like the imagery and the thought that the Spirit of the Puzzle might take over some figures of speech or speech patterns from those around him is kind of… amusing.
Some of you might wonder, after reading this, why I "had to" write it so that apparently both, Yugi and his darker half, seem to feel more then friendship for Anzu. The reasoning for this is very simple:
1. I agree with "Harry and Sally"; men and women can't just remain friends. Eventually, love WILL get in the way
and
2. I admit thatI'm a Revolutionshipper (Mou hitori no Yugi and Anzu) at heart. I concede that I have a strong liking for Azureshipping (it'll get you, too; just you wait), but it can't compete with YY x A in my book. Of course that means that it would be more beneficent for me to write something that was NOT a Seto x Anzu romance… but err... the muse bit me and I didn't get my vaccination yet.