Dance for Me ––––– By: LinkGirl
Chapter 2: Emotional Locks
Author's Note: I had to delete the song (Butterfly by smile.dk) that was originally inserted into this chapter because of a new guideline about no song lyrics, so I'm sorry if it seems a bit incoherent. (The dashes are where the lyrics originally were.)
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Anzu let the music flow through her, take control of her, and guide her. She knew she would beat Kaiba; she had to, for Jonouchi's sake. Nevertheless, she felt like she was battling for a much bigger purpose, not to defend Jonouchi's honor, but for herself. She wanted to prove her ability to Kaiba. She wanted to shove his face into horrible defeat (with less violence than implied).
—
Kaiba didn't see much point in this match; he had already beaten the pitiful mutt, and in front of a crowd too. He had just taken this challenge to show annoying Anzu a lesson. Maybe after this she would shut up about all that friendship crap she ranted and raved about; he had found that her speeches had gotten quite old rather fast. He hoped to make this quick, he really had to get back to Kaiba Corporation; the arcade was just a place where he could spend time with his little brother, and on the side destroy a few weaklings.
—
It still puzzled Anzu, how did Kaiba know how to dance? This was the only part she admired about the messed up situation, if "admired" was the appropriate word to use. She would have never imagined famous Seto Kaiba a dancer, just thinking about it made her want to break down laughing, and yet, here he was battling against her in a dancing duel.
—
Seto never thought he would be interested in Dance Dance Revolution or any dancing game, but it was a video game and he was determined to be the best, so he tried out the game, and practiced, and practiced, and practiced. It was the challenge that kept him going; the challenge that motivated him to be the master. Eventually, he began to enjoy the game (to a certain extent), but never gave thought to dancing in any other form. Of course, not all credit should go to Kaiba for becoming interested; Mokuba was of some influence, as usual.
—
The crowd watched in anticipation; some wanting Kaiba to win, others hoping Anzu would to win.
The spectators watched and cheered, commenting on such perfect elegance.
"Whoa! They're both getting perfects!"
"And they're both on heavy too!!"
"How is that possible?!"
"They're awesome!"
The two were synchronized; their movements connected by an invisible bond, except neither knew it. Both thought they were outdoing their opponent, but they weren't.
—
Anzu was confident in herself, but there was a thread of doubt in her mind. She had seen Kaiba's ability against Jonouchi, and it had been amazing. He had been perfect, and she was willing to bet even if Jonouchi had known how to play he would have been beaten by Kaiba anyway. As Anzu continued to think about it, insecurity started to gather up inside of her, the confidence in her own ability starting to fade. Until she finally couldn't help but divert her eyes from her own screen and take a look at Kaiba.
—
Anzu let out a scream as she fell to the ground.
"ANZU!" Mokuba cried out, running up to her. The crowd surged forward to see what had happened. Kaiba, unsure what had happened himself, turned to glance at Anzu.
Anzu was on the ground, clutching her ankle, her eyes shut tight. The pain was incredible; she tried to keep the tears from her eyes, but she could feel them slowly leaking from under her lashes. "It hurts..." she managed to murmur.
"Big brother! Anzu's hurt! I think she twisted her ankle!"
Kaiba had stopped and was looking down at the anguished Anzu, "Mokuba, call for the limo, we're taking her to the hospital," he stated, his voice was calm, but slightly shaky.
"Yes Seto!" Mokuba ran off, heading outside.
Kaiba bent down to Anzu, trying to help her from the floor, "Place your arm around my neck." Had Anzu been imagining it? Or had there been the faintest hint of concern next to his cold hearted tone? Anzu quickly brushed the thought away and did as she was told; she was in too much pain for much thinking. Kaiba placed his hand around her waist and helped her to her feet, or at least the foot she could properly stand on. Anzu cringed as she tired to put pressure on her injured ankle.
"Can you walk?" Kaiba asked, even though the expression on her face gave the answer.
"I don't think so."
Kaiba grunted; he had no desire to help Anzu, he saw it as her own fault. But for once in his life he ignored his close-minded opinions, and in one swift movement he had Anzu in his arms. Anzu blinked, totally taken aback my Kaiba's sudden move.
"W-What are you doing?" she questioned slightly turning red.
Kaiba didn't answer, just gave her a weak glare.
He made his way through the chattering crowd that had quickly parted when he had stepped down from the DDR machine. He didn't speak until he reached the limousine waiting outside.
"Mr. Kaiba," the driver slightly bowed at his employer and opened the car door.
"Take us to the hospital."
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba."
Mokuba was already waiting in the limousine; he had a worried expression, and immediately smothered Anzu with questions, asking if she was all right and if there was anything more they could do for her. It had always amazed Anzu that Seto Kaiba's little brother could be so caring.
She smiled sweetly at Mokuba, "No, I'm fine Mokuba," then she quickly added, "But thank you for asking."
The limousine began to move and Anzu leaned back into the leather seating; the pain in her ankle was starting to subside.
—
Halfway through the car ride, which was unnervingly quiet, Anzu timidly took a glance at Seto; his arms were crossed and he wore a solemn expression. He didn't look like he was enjoying himself; of course, when did he ever? It, in a way, discouraged Anzu, as if she was just a thorn in his side, and the more she thought about it, the more this conclusion seemed to be the truth.
—
Seto never let his outside features show his inside feelings or thoughts. This had always been his tactic in business and in dueling; it had slowly become part of his everyday life. The truth was, what Seto was showing on the outside was much different than what he was feeling on the inside, at that moment. He was confused and flustered; he didn't understand what was going through his head. A feeling he had never felt before was waging a war inside of him, trying to tell him something, but he didn't know how to listen.
—
Anzu stared at the ground; her body was becoming hot and clammy even though the air conditioning was running. She tried to believe her hurt ankle was causing it, but deep down she knew the real reason, but she didn't want to admit it. Because even if she did, she knew he wouldn't accept it.
Seto turned to stare at Anzu, her head was down and her auburn hair covered her eyes, almost as if she were ashamed to be in the same car as him; she looked so innocent, yet so sad. He quickly jerked his head away, afraid Anzu might notice him, and took to gazing out the tinted window.
—
The limousine finally came to a stop in front of the Domino Hospital. The ride had felt like an eternity to both of its teenage passengers. Anzu turned to Seto, to find him staring straight into her eyes. In those few seconds, the car ride had been nothing, something lost in wind. This was eternity.
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Thank you reviewers Kikoken and Peneia Teke for pointing out my small grammatical error in chapter one.