Disclaimer: Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. I'm just using his characters for a while.

A/N: This is the last chapter, so thank you for reading and reviewing (and waiting so long) for it. I really enjoyed writing this because it let me express all the ideas that I was having at the moment.

(A funny story of why I didn't update this sooner is that I forgot it finals week last week...and well...we all know what that means. But thank goodness they're over and I can get back to creativity again.)

Also, as a bit of a warning, there's some content in here that makes this a T fic.

Chapter 3 Butterfly

The next day I went to Yuugi's house, only Yuugi wasn't there. Instead I found Anzu tidying up around the shop with grandpa.

We started our idle chatter, Anzu saying she didn't have to work today and I saying I had nothing better to do. When costumers came in, we moved upstairs to talk some more.

Yuugi's house was the same way I remembered it. Which is to say it was oddly spotless. Or maybe his mother just loved to clean a lot.

"What is it you wanted to talk about up here?" I said to Anzu.

"What happened to you and Mai?" She jumped into her sadness, just like that.

"Well I guess she kinda just left me." I said casually, like how someone would tell a short funny story to a friend. Only the story wasn't funny. But I felt I had to lighten the mood a little bit.

"She just left you?" Anzu's eyes were serious.

"Well, no. She told me she was leaving and I let her go, or she let herself go." I said, getting mixed up on my words. I hadn't told anyone this story before actually. "No, that came out wrong. I don't think she got fat."

"I'm sorry she left." Anzu's expression was like a cloudy day with no hope of sun.

"Don't be. Mai wanted to-"

"I'm so selfish." Anzu added. That surprised me. Where was she coming up with this negative outlook on herself?

"What do you mean?"

"How can I think about myself all the time? It's so selfish of me and unfair to Yuugi." She was talking about the conversation we had over coffee.

"I think Yuugi would understand if you wanted to take your time."

She concentrated on this for a bit. Damn! Had I said the wrong thing. I didn't want to destroy Yuugi's marriage, and who knew if Anzu would run away like Mai had. I could tell I was being a really bad influence on her and it didn't help I had a crush on her either.

"Or maybe you're just going through one of those things that brides always go through." But I had lost her. Her face was deep in resignation and there was nothing I could do to pull her out of the deep well my talking had dug for her.

I shut my mouth and just stared at her. Maybe it would be better if she said something to me. Getting things off her chest could be the best thing for her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she said something. She didn't look at me when she said it. It was like she was lost in herself as she tried to fill up the void of silence with meaningless words.

"Do you like anyone now?" Or not so meaningless words.

"Why ask that all of a sudden?" Or rather, why ask that to me all of a sudden.

"You're right, it isn't my business to know."

I couldn't get her out of my mind. Even when Yuugi came home and invited me for dinner I would try to be extra nice to her. Of course, she didn't seem to show those hopeless emotions around Yuugi. It was like I was holding her secrets for her, so she could live her life without them.

Around Yuugi she was always happy, a beautiful and lovely fiancée. I tried to erase the images of her being sad over coffee, but it was hard to think of them at all when she was with Yuugi. It was hard to tell who she really was.

It was close to noon when I woke up the next day. I have a very louzy schedule that has me working the graveyard shift at the convience store around the corner. But I guess I'd rather have that job than some 19 year old girl have it and deal with the drunks and weirdos that come in at who the hell knows what hour of the night. Besides, I only work weekends anyway.

I went to buy food for my bachelor pad. I never expected to find the object of my affection when I was returning home.

We met on the train by some miraculous turn of fate, or whatever my dumb luck was called.

"Good afternoon Jonouchi." She said to me. She was in her same turtle neck from the coffee shop, only with a different skirt. This time she didn't try to fake her happiness. The sadness in her voice was both fragile and tangible.

"Hello Anzu. How are you and Yuugi?" I asked her.

"Fine." She answered and that was the end of our conversation about her and Yuugi. At least, I didn't want to intrude anymore.

The afternoon sun was coming through the windows and making the whole train glow a pretty golden color. Anzu looked so pretty in the afternoon light. I just stared at her for a while, taking it in.

"You know, Jonouchi, I've never seen your house." She said when I was unconciously staring at her.

That should have scared me. I should have just said, 'maybe next time when Yuugi's around I'll show you', but I didn't. She looked so sad now. I couldn't say no.

Together we walked to my apartment from the train station. It wasn't a long walk and it wasn't very scenic either. I was waiting for someone to notice us and tell Yuugi everything, but then I knew that Yuugi would just brush it off as best friend-girlfriend bonding, if there was such a thing.

I showed her my apartment, everything from the silly little plant I was growing to the laundry in my bathroom. Soon enough, we found our way to the bedroom. Even though the sun was blaring outside, the room was darker than I imagined.

She laid herself on my bed, her turtle neck sweater looking too hot for her. I imagined her sweaty body underneath those clothes.

She wasn't lying in a sexual way. Maybe a tired way, now that I thought about it. Tired from emotion and feelings, not physical tiredness. But I, of course, had other things in mind as I looked at her.

I felt a something in my gut wince as I looked her up and down. We couldn't do this. Something had to stop me.

"Do you know what it's like to have no dreams, Jonouchi?" She asked, interrupting my thoughts. Her voice was so fragile.

I didn't know what to say. But that didn't matter.

"It feels like drowning." She whispered it. She curled up on my bed so I could see up her skirt.

I nodded. I knew what drowning felt like. Just going down into blackness without anyone or anything to help you, blackness everywhere. But the worst part was feeling my body. It felt like it was going cold, going empty.

I should have related my situation to her, told her I did know, and told her that I was there to help her. But I was too focused on her black underwear. Damn me!

"Just awful" she said burying her face into the comforter, allowing me a better view of her curves.

I know I really shouldn't have but I touched her. Just her hair, her face, her legs. No! This wasn't happening. I wasn't doing this.

"Jonouchi" she whispered. The sweat on her body felt like a thin film of something I couldn't describe. She must have felt uncomfortable with my hands on her, but she didn't resist, didn't even flinch. I caressed her legs, feeling their warmth. They were just lying there waiting for me, like an invitation to my best friend's wedding.

"When I marry Yuugi, I'll live here still. Yuugi wants to run his grandfather's shop one day. When that day comes he wants me to be there with him. I think that would make me happy" She smiled weakly, thinking of Yuugi. Almost immediately after that, her smile vanished. She spoke in a somber tone, "But I can't get over this feeling that I'm drowning, that it's all some terrible dream and I'll wake up one day and be in high school again. Have my dreams back again."

I was touching her, rubbing her legs in way I knew I shouldn't have. Her sadness was heavy, but my lust must have been heavier. I lied down with her and took her in my arms. I pressed her up against my chest so I could feel her breasts against mine and ran a hand down her back, feeling the curves of her body. Perfect curves.

"So don't marry Yuugi. Go to New York and become a dancer." I whispered, too heavy in euphoria to know exactly what I was saying. "Be a high school girl even. You're the perfect girl. I bet you can be anything."

I was reaching up her skirt now and she still wasn't resisting. I could have her if I wanted to, right here on my bed and nobody would have to know about my sad girl.

My sad girl in the coffee shop, the one I hadn't noticed until now. I could feel her in the ways I wanted to. I might even make her a little happier.

I was so close to the lining but-

But I guess fate just loves me like that.

Her phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered, getting off the bed to reach her purse.

"Yuugi?" Her eyes lit up. It was as if she hadn't been sad at all. I just lay there, watching her animated conversation with my best friend.

It could have been yesterday when Yuugi and I were close to each other, sharing each other's dreams and each other's burdens. But now, I felt farther away from him than I ever had. Maybe because now we were sharing the same girl.

She hung up after what seemed to be forever. What ever I had felt earlier had dissapated into nearly nothing.

"You'll have to excuse me Jonouchi." She said with a smile. "Yuugi's invited me to dinner. Isn't he sweet? I have to go get ready now." She picked up her bag and straightened herself.

"I'll see you later." She said.

And then she was gone. I took my usual three o clock nap. When I woke up it was like she had never been there at all.

Yuugi invited me to his bachelor party. Okay, he didn't really, I kind of threw it for him. Just a drink out. I would have called more people to come, but I wanted to pay the bill on my own. Of course I don't drink much anyway.

"You know Yuugi, you're a lucky guy." I started talking when we were into our second drink.

"Why's that." He asked it like he was totally interested in what I was saying, and he probably was.

"You have Anzu, that's why. When I first met you, I thought you would have no luck with chicks at all. But now look! You're getting married and I don't even have a girlfriend." This kind of talk between old friends felt good. It would have back brought good memories if it weren't for the sinking feeling in my gut.

"I bet you'll find a good girlfriend soon too." His words were encouraging, but I was a world away from Yuugi's pity by now.

"Nah, nevermind about me Yuugi. This time it's about you and Anzu. You're going to have to be there for her." And then I burst into tears. It must have been the alchohol.

"Jonouchi-kun?" Yuugi was worried. "Why are you crying?"

"Yuugi," I said wiping my eyes dramatically, "I've finally taught you how to be a man."

We both started laughing, and it probably wasn't from the alchohol, or at least not that much of it was.

When we calmed down we started talking about other things. I didn't want to talk to him about Anzu. Maybe he would never have to know.

We talked about a lot of other things but my mind was roaming somewhere else.

Time is a funny thing sometimes. It changes some people past recognition and then doesn't change some people at all. I imagine it's random like that, like rolling dice. You never know who's going to change and who's not. One day, someone lifts the cup up (someone like Otogi) and you see which dice have changed and which have stayed the same. People's personalitites, people's lives are in those dice and they all get mixed around on the floor or in some plastic cup. Some even get lost.

"Jonouchi-kun?" He said when I stopped talking my head off. It was getting late. The whole bar felt kind of desolate by now. The time had just been drained while we were sitting still.

"What is it Yuugi?"

"About Anzu," Oh shit. He knew. I bet he knew everything. I don't care how he found out but- "I feel that there are some things that I can't help her with."

"Why's that?" I tried to keep my cool.

"I don't know. It's just this feeling I have." He was pensive now. He stared into the arrangement of bottles that bars always have. Then his eyes lit up. "If there's ever a problem, I can I trust you to help me with it, with us, can't I?"

I nodded.

So my best friend and my crush were getting married, it seemed to hit me just then. It was like watching some beautiful play. I was never supposed to be a part of it at all, only I was. I had a very big part. I would decide the final act of the play.

"Well..." Yuugi said again. "I guess I have a wedding to get ready for."

I walked Yuugi to the train station and then I turned around to go home.

It's weird how things work out sometimes. One day I'm sitting on a couch, listening to my girlfriend dump me and then another day I'm having coffee with my best friend's girlfriend. It should have perfectly understandable in my head how those things worked out, but to me the gears weren't clicking.

When I got home, Anzu was waiting for me. I invited her in almost immediately. Nevermind why she was there. What was important was that I redeem myself. Not just through her eyes, but through my own.

"Look Anzu, about the other day, I'm sorry." I looked her square in the eyes to tell her that I was serious. The alchohol had worn off already, maybe by sheer power of will. I didn't even bother to turn the lights on when I entered.

"It's okay Jonouchi, I know how you feel." She smiled like she was giving some kind of fake apology.

"You do?" I said as she took a step towards me.

"Of course." She sighed, pressing herself against me. She started lifting up her shirt and showed me her bra.

Why was she doing this? She didn't seem to have an attraction to me at all, and yet here she was, exposing herself to me.

The curves on her body looked really nice, shaped perfectly. Her face on the other hand, it was a perfect sadness.

Then it hit me. She was using me to get out of her marriage. It seemed like a farfetched idea, but whatever it was I wouldn't let my emotions get in the way. I wouldn't let myself get in the way of the two of them. I pulled her shirt back down for her.

"Anzu, listen. We can't do this." I consoled her. I wrapped my arms around her tight to make her feel that I was there for her. Not for her body, not because of Yuugi, I was there for her.

I felt wet drops hit my shirt and realized she was crying. I didn't know exactly why she was crying. Maybe it was because she had never achieved her dreams, or that she was betraying Yuugi or even that she actually felt like she was drowning. Or it could have been everything, I didn't know.

I looked around the room like people sometimes do when they don't know the answer to a question. It felt alien to me. There were corners with a darkness that could suck you in if you weren't too careful. For the first time, I felt lonely in my own apartment. The whole atmosphere threatened to take the two of us and drown us into darkness. I wasn't going to let that happen though.

I held her. I wanted to tell her I was waiting for Mai. I wanted to tell her I wasn't interested in having sex with her. I wanted to tell her all we'd ever be was friends. Good friends.

Our relationship could never evolve. It would be like having a Baby Dragon in your deck without Time Wizard, like Yuugi without Atemu . Alright, that was a bad example.

"You need to stop having all these emotional wrecks when I'm around." I whispered into her hair. "People are going to start talking."

It didn't cheer her up. Her face was a mess of tears, but somehow that mess was beautiful. I tried something else.

"Do you want to know something I noticed the other day?" I asked her.

"What's that?" She asked looking up at me. Her voice was so sad. It was almost heartbreaking.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts.

"The other day I saw a butterfly. It was flying on the road, it was so beautiful, you should have seen it."

She smiled sadly. Her breathing was heavy against my chest. I paused to take in the entire moment. This sad Anzu, I didn't know this person at all until now. How much would I never know about her?

I knew one thing though. I knew that I would never be this close to her after this moment and I had to make sure of that. I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of her and Yuugi. I would do anything for Yuugi. And anything for her.

She didn't mind my pause. She waited patiently until I started up again. It was if she was imagining the butterfly on the road.

"Anyway, I didn't want it to get hit. Every car was going so fast and that butterfly was just flying on the road, probably getting blown this way and that by the traffic. I felt bad for it. I felt bad that I was on one of the buses that would probably blow it in a new direction, and I couldn't tell if that direction would kill it or set it free."

I let the words sink in. I could see her sad face, imagining me and the butterfly. I was probably making her feel worse, she probably hated me. Her sad eyes were like Shizuka's when she heard our parents were splitting up.

The memory of that brought back all kinds of new emotions. It was hard for me to speak again. I felt like crying with her.

"What happened to the butterfly?" She asked. Her voice was muffled.

I said the first thing that popped into my head.

"Probably found another butterfly."

She looked up at me to see if I was teasing her. It was like old times again almost. I wanted to reassure her though. I wanted her to know I was genuine.

"Butterflies dance in imperfect, unpredictable patterns." I started. "Remember when you worked at that restaurant. I hadn't really known you up until then and you were really rude to us. I thought 'Are these Anzu's true colors? She must be a really terrible person underneath. Why does Yuugi hang out with such a mean girl. He's too nice to be with her.'"

She was looking up at me confused now.

"Then I got to know you." I started up again. "Yuugi's lucky to have someone like you. Even when he ignored you for other people you were still there for him."

She nodded weakly, probably remembering all those times when I or someone else was the center of Yuugi's attention instead of her. It was sad, because none of those people deserved it as much as she did. I didn't even deserve it as much as she did. But that would change soon.

"Well, now it's your time to have Yuugi's attention. You're gonna complete each other unlike me, or any of the other guys or even Atemu ever could. You two are gonna be beautiful together. I can just tell. Don't turn back when you've got everything right in front of you." I took a breath. This was taking everything out of me. I noticed that I was crying too now. But Anzu, she was still listening so I had to finish.

"I don't know what happened to that butterfly on the road and I guess I never will." I told her. "But I figure if I help you out it would be like helping that butterfly out. I can set you free and be there for you when you fall, but not as much as Yuugi can every moment of your life. You don't have to be sad anymore."

I could feel her heartbeat. It was lovely, fluttering just like a butterfly.

"Try your best not to get hit by the car, Anzu, you're almost there."

She nodded. Her eyes were sparkling.

We didn't say anything for a long time after that. I just grabbed her tighter to reassure her that I was there, but this time I didn't think I needed to.

We stayed in that pose for what seemed like an eternity. My shirt was very wet from Anzu's tears, but I didn't let that bother me. She continued to breath against me and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. Maybe she was asleep.

It was impossible to tell the time but she released herself from my grasp. She slowly walked around the room, focusing on nothing in particula. It was like she was re-assimilating herself to the world around her. Then she faced me again.

"I want to thank you for being a friend to me Jonouchi." Her face was the most pleasant I had ever seen it, she was finally at peace now.

"Well, even you know that's something friends do." I tried to talk casually to her, but my voice cracked a little. I felt like I had just come out of a deep sleep.

"I've made my decision now." She smiled. I reminded me of the smiles Shizuka used to give me when we were children. But more than that, her voice was confident now. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"You don't have to do anything for me. Like I said, that's what friends are for. I'm just really glad for you, that's all."

"I'll think of something." She said.

And with that she left my apartment for the last time.

On their wedding day, Anzu looked very beautiful in her dress. She looked very happy too. To me, it was like she was a dancer who had fallen and was lifted back on her feet again. But to everyone else, she was Anzu, happiest girl in the world at the moment.

It wasn't a very classy wedding, in fact it was more like a get together with friends. I, being the self proclaimed loud mouth that I was, chitchatted away with all my old friends.

"Jonouchi-kun" Yuugi said, coming up to me, "There was one other guest who just came..."

"Really, who is it?" I scanned the room but didn't see anyone who fit that description.

"She won't come in. She's outside. She says she wants to see you."

No it couldn't be. I rushed outside to see the new guest.

"So they got married huh?" She said to me.

"Yeah, they sure did."

"Figures, I always knew they would. So how have you been?"

"Okay I guess."

"Did you meet any girls you liked?"

"No one that I already knew." I was being entirely honest.

She nodded. Her face was some undescribable expression. It was almost unreal speaking to her again after so long.

"Well, if that's all there is to know I guess I shouldn't intrude any longer." She said, turning to go.

Was I just going to let her walk out on me again? Or was I going to try to make things work for good again.

"Hey Mai." I called back to her. "Would you like to hear a story about a butterfly?"

She turned around and nodded.

"I'd like that Jonouchi." She smiled at me. It was the smile I had been waiting for.

The End

A/N: I'm just a sap for cute endings, aren't I?

It makes me happy that this story didn't end up as a tragedy, because tragedies are sometimes just like dead ends. I feel that ending this story with hope makes it feel like it could continue, even if I don't write it anymore.

I also wanted the characters, Yuugi and Anzu, Jonouchi and Mai to settle things in the end. I'm happiest with the scene in the bar because Jonouchi always told Yuugi to be a man.

Well thank you for reading.