Wow I'm on a roll lately. Though knowing my luck it probably won't last long, better get as much done as I can before it runs out :p
I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did...I don't know, I'd make Azureshipping canon maybe? Hmm, than again that would probably piss the Puppyshippers off to no end XD
Kaiba walked calmly through the shambles that was once his greatest pride. Kaiba Corp was nothing now; just a ruin of the past that no one would bother to remember. A legacy that took years to build, wiped away just a few months into Marik's reign of terror. It wasn't enough that Marik stole his Blue Eyes and ensured that he would never be able to duel again; the maniac had destroyed his entire life. All he had left was Mokuba.
A discarded and dusty pen snapped beneath his shoe as he approached the huddled form in the corner, alerting the sniffling teen of his presence. Mokuba stopped crying but didn't look up as he spoke.
"I don't want her to leave Seto." he whispered, his voice muffled by his position. Kaiba said nothing, waiting for him to say everything he wanted. The black haired boy shifted slightly, peeking up with swollen red eyes "Please. Say something to make her stay," he lowered his eyes once more, voice pleading "Please." Kaiba remained silent, stepping forward until he was standing over the younger boy. Crouching to his level, Kaiba met his brother's gaze with cool narrowed eyes. To anyone else it would look like Kaiba was disgusted or angry with him but Mokuba knew better. He knew his big brother was never very good at comforting people but he did try; which is why he knew what looked like a menacing glare was in fact his brother telling him he didn't know what to say.
Mokuba stared back at him wearily before sighing quietly and turning his head to the side. A moment of silence passed before Mokuba spoke again. "Damn it." he cursed. Kaiba frowned, this time his glare was one of disapproval.
"Don't swear." he scolded. Mokuba turned back to him in mild surprise before his eyes narrowed to match Kaiba's own glare perfectly.
"I'm not a child." Mokuba protested in annoyance. Kaiba raised an eyebrow, the side of his mouth quirking up in a playful smirk.
"No you're a fifteen year old boy who throws temper tantrums." he countered teasingly. The teen blushed angrily, turning his face away again in an embarrassed scowl. A few scattered pieces of paper flapped gently against the breeze that blew in through the shattered windows. The rain had finally ceased, leaving the air cool and fresh. The atmosphere suddenly felt a lot calmer and Mokuba couldn't help feeling embarrassed for his outburst; it was a great relief to let everything out like he did but he probably could have handled it better than he did.
"We can't stop her from leaving can we?" Mokuba asked dejectedly. Kaiba helped him stand, giving him a rare reassuring smile
"No. But we can make sure she's prepared"
Meanwhile Anzu was lightly banging her head against the back of the couch in a steady rhythm, hoping it would somehow ceases Malik's constant tingling. She had tried to ignore it and think of a way to convince Mokuba what she was doing was necessary but the feathery feeling only grew stronger and more persistent.
"What. Do. You. Want?" Anzu grumbled; speaking in perfect timing with her head hitting the couch. Of course her only reply was more tingling. Growling in frustration, she gripped the sides of her head. The tingles didn't hurt but it was similar to someone constantly poking you; you can put up with it to a certain point before you snap at them. Unfortunately since Malik had no physical form to speak of and she wasn't sure if he could hear her thoughts or not; she could do little else than put up with it and hoped he stopped before she gave herself a concussion. 'Why is he even doing it?' She wondered 'Does he want me to go to sleep or something?' Still the tingling persisted. She growled, ready to scream when there was a knock at the door.
"Mazaki" Kaiba's voice called out from the other side "Open the door" The tingling abruptly stopped and faded at Kaiba's voice, further confusing her of Malik's intentions. Pondering this she stood up and walked to the door, searching for some kind of handle or button that opened it. Finding said button she pushed it and was greeted with a solemn expression from Kaiba as the door opened. He brushed past her silently, revealing a tear stained Mokuba staring at the ground right in front of him. Anzu felt a lump form in her throat from the guilt of making him cry but pushed it down. She had to be strong if she was going to do this. Getting to Marik wasn't going to be easy and she was bound to face painful decisions along the way; she didn't have the option of being sentimental.
"Mokuba, I-"she began but Mokuba raised his eyes to her and cut her off
"You have to go, I know. I'm sorry I acted like a brat earlier" She stared at him a moment, her mouth still open from the beginning of her attempt to convince him she had to leave. Mokuba smiled bashfully at her dumbfound expression, scratching his cheek as he laughed lightly.
"How long do you plan on standing there with your mouth open Mazaki?" Kaiba asked curtly from behind her. Anzu closed her mouth slowly, still in awe of Mokuba's words. She was grateful, had she left thinking he hated her for going it would have crushed her. She smiled gently and wrapped her arms around him, whispering a thank you into his messy black hair. Mokuba nodded and hugged her back. Pulling back, she turned to see Kaiba standing behind her with the deck she selected in his hand. "If you're going to fight Marik at his own game you're going to need to know how to play first" he explained handing the deck to her. She nodded but frowned as a thought occurred to her
"You really don't mind me taking your cards? I mean they seem pretty important all things considered"
Kaiba gave a brittle smirk "And how pray tell would I use them Mazaki? With a duel disk fastened to my nonexistent arm as I draw, hold and play each card with the only hand I have?" he drawled bitterly. Anzu winced and muttered a quiet apology as he turned and motioned for her to follow him out of the doorway and back into the room. Mokuba patted her on the back, assuring her Kaiba wasn't actually upset by her question. Goody for her.
The next few hours passed as sort of a blur. A pleasant blur mostly; with Kaiba going through each card in her deck and explaining how to use them and what strategies suited them best. Anzu listened intently, trying to absorb all the different ways each card could be utilised to the best of its ability and how she should play them as she draws. Mokuba offered his own advice whenever he could, warning her about the tricks and traps your opponent could lead you into. The sky outside slowly darkened as they talked and when it became too dark to see the cards in front of them, Kaiba suggested they continue in the morning. Mokuba offered another helping of soggy cardboard noodles which Kaiba declined and Anzu realised weren't so bad so long as you held your nose and devoured it all before your brain could even realising you were eating them.
Soon it was night and the only light source was the silver rays of the half moon shining through the cracked windows of the bedroom. Anzu was sitting at the top of the bed, the pillows pushed up between the wall and her back and the blanket thrown over her bent knees. Beside her Mokuba snored lightly, snuggled up in his own blanket facing her while she gently stroked the top of his head soothingly. Kaiba had offered her the bed, choosing to sleep on one of the couches inside instead. Mokuba had originally chosen the other couch for his bed but Kaiba had refused the idea and told him to take the bed with Anzu.
It was a perfectly innocent idea, Mokuba loved Anzu as a sister and nothing more and the same was said for Anzu, who was not at all un-comfortable with him lying beside her. Truthfully she had been afraid to sleep alone and she liked to think Kaiba had sensed this and suggested Mokuba sleep beside her for her benefit. More than likely it was the other way around; that Kaiba wanted his brother to have some sort of closeness to her before she left. She smiled softly, drawing her hand back as she watched the young boy sleep. She would miss him. Him and Kaiba both.
The door to the bedroom clicked open and Anzu looked up to see Kaiba standing in the door way, regarding her with his usual blank mask. The gentle moonlight seemed to heighten his features and give him an almost spiritual appearance; his eyes shone like cool blue ice, he wasn't wearing a shirt so his pale lean muscled chest gleamed almost white. Anzu stared at him in awe; he stood with such poise and perfectly chiselled features she almost thought she was staring at a marble statue. Sub-consciously her eyes roamed to his left shoulder, a small bump of what was once his arm clearly visible. She looked back to his face to see him studying her with the same intensity she had used on him. Her cheeks warmed slightly; since she had no pyjamas or sleeping clothes she had used his. The royal blue cotton shirt hung on her petite shoulders and showed much more skin than they were meant to, since they were of course nearly twice her size and the buttons only went up to a certain point.
"Can't sleep?" Anzu blinked at his question, maybe it was just because he was tired but his voice sounded so soft, lacking its normal cool edge. She shook her head softly and slid off the bed, hoping the pyjama bottoms she'd tied so tightly around her hips wouldn't slip off as she walked over to him.
"No. If I wanted to sleep I probably could" she whispered, standing close enough for their bare feet to touch. Kaiba raised an eyebrow
"You don't want to sleep?" She shook her head again
"Not really, it's more like I'm afraid to"
"Why?"
She hesitated
"It's complicated, I can't really explain it"
Kaiba didn't look convinced but didn't push the subject, nodding his head in understanding. Relief filled her when he didn't question her further, it would be difficult to explain she didn't want to sleep since Malik would no doubt be waiting to talk to her when she did; something she was not looking forward to. She smiled up at him in thanks and got caught in his gaze.
Something seemed to ripple between them, an unspoken longing that compelled her to let him slip his hand into her hair and tilt her head back as he leaned down, their lips meeting in a feathery light touch before pressing and moulding together. They stayed like that a moment before both separated with half lidded eyes. Kaiba was the first to recover, withdrawing his hand and stepping back just for good measure.
"Sorry" he muttered half-heartedly. She shook her head for the third time that night
"It's fine. I understand" And she did; they were both lonely and wanted to feel something more, something deeper to ease their solitary hearts. They both knew they wouldn't go any further, the kiss had been a mistake; a second of intimacy for an eternity of questioning what could have been if the circumstances were different.
"Go to sleep Mazaki, you're heading off on a mission to face something more feared than death. Sleep should be the least of your fears" Anzu nodded and Kaiba turned and left the room, shutting the door softly behind him. She stood there a moment before heeding his advice and returning to bed. As she had thought, sleep came easily and she drifted off into a peaceful slumber quickly enough.
Also as she expected, she awoke moments later to the feeling of warm sun light on her face, shining down through the open window in the sky as she lay on the divan. Reluctantly she pushed herself up to a seated position and turned her head left and right to find the uninvited guest who was interrupting her rest. She found said person sitting in one of the corners of the room resting his forearms on his knees, staring at her with a mixture of relief and unease.
"What do you want?" she asked sharply, cutting straight to the point and being in no mood to be polite about it. Malik blinked; mildly surprised she was being so harsh. Yes he knew he wasn't exactly high up on her list of people she was happy to see but at least she wasn't alone right?
"I just thought you'd want someone to talk to" he explained, shifting uncomfortably when her eyes narrowed at him
"Why?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. Malik fidgeted with his hands, clasping and unclasping them nervously before shrugging his shoulders lightly
"You seemed ...lonely" Anzu's glare faltered a moment before looking away from him completely.
"I am lonely, but I'm not that desperate"
Malik winced at her words. This was going to be a long night.
Yeah. I think I've made it pretty clear Anzu hates Malik's guts. But will that change? And why did Malik choose her in the first place? If you want to know, you know what to do. Review! (hey that sort of rhymed :D)