It was getting colder outside. Fall was halfway through, and winter was going to start soon. Anzu's eyes were focused on the overcast skies on the other side of the window. She hoped it wasn't going to start raining. That was the last thing she needed.

Rehearsal was tougher than usual today. Everyone was putting in their best efforts to catch the director's attention; he was already beginning to figure out who was going to play who for next year's Nutcracker performance, and everyone was itching for the main roles. Being only in the corps de ballet, Anzu knew she didn't stand much of a chance now...but if she was able to get a promotion to soloist in the next few months, a supporting role could be a possibility. Her career can finally take off...

"Anzu?" A soft voice broke her train of thought, and she turned around to face the blonde Russian dancer. "Mokuba...he's outside, for you."

Mokuba Kaiba? What could he possibly want with her? "Um, thanks." She shouldered her bag and zipped up her hoodie before leaving the theatre. As expected, Mokuba was waiting outside. He was casually leaning against the wall with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone. His eyes were focused on the small screen.

"Mokuba?" Her voice caught his attention, and he raised his head to meet eyes with her. His expression lit up significantly, and he immediately pocketed his phone and jogged over to her. "What are you doing here?" She giggled as he gave her a hug, but there was confusion ebbed in her tone.

"What, I can't visit a friend?" He pulled back and flashed a grin. "How are-"

His attention diverted from her to the blonde dancer, who had just exited the building. Anzu resisted the urge to roll her eyes when he jetted over to her. Her expression changed, however, when she realized Mokuba was speaking to her in perfectly fluent Russian.

"I'll see you later, then." Mokuba, who suddenly switched to English, spoke Russian flawlessly, and his accent was almost absent. He waved to her briefly before jogging back to her side; Anzu gave the blonde dancer a small wave of her own. "Sorry about that. How was practice?" Back to Japanese. Just like that.

"Since when did you know how to speak Russian?" Anzu's eyes were wide with disbelief, and they only widened further when Mokuba threw his head back in laughter.

"I know several languages, actually." He nonchalantly ran a hand through his hair. "Nine, to be exact."

"Nine?"

The smug smirk on his face was eerily reminiscent of his brother's. "Japanese, English, French, Korean, Spanish, Russian, German, Cantonese, and Italian." Before Anzu opened her mouth to speak, he continued. "Gozaburo forced nii-san to learn all of these languages because it was imperative as a businessman to be fluent in the languages of his clients. Seto secretly taught me all of these languages behind his back, since he thought it was important I was fluent too." He shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "Anyway, I was wondering if you were free. Looks like I came at a good time."

"Y-yeah, rehearsal just ended." Anzu raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me out, Mokuba?"

The smirk returned. "Did you want me to?"

"Don't push it, kid." She actually rolled her eyes this time. "You're not busy with some other girl - or girls?"

"H-hey, what's with all the personal attacks?" Mokuba was frantically waving his hands in front of him. "I just wanted to hang out, since we never got the chance to. I mean, you got to hang out with my brother before me!"

She cracked a smile. "Okay, you have a point there. Let's go for a walk."

Mokuba glanced upwards. "In this weather? Someone's adventurous."

She winked and patted the side of her gym bag. "I've got an umbrella. We'll be fine."

The pair left The Lincoln Center together and began to wander the city, idly chatting amongst themselves as they crossed streets and gazed at window displays. Even after six years of not seeing him Mokuba was still easy to talk to; she missed his friendly and energetic disposition. All physical traces of the small, long-haired boy he once was have seemingly disappeared: his hair was cropped short (though still messy), his shoulders were broader, and his cheekbones were higher and more defined. He was tall, but not as tall as his brother, and he had a slightly stockier build. He was beginning to look more like his brother, though she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Remnants of his younger self remained in the mischievous glint in his dark eyes and the quirky slope of his grin.

They stopped at a hot dog cart for lunch, and they retired on a nearby bench. Mokuba was having trouble keeping the condiments on his actual food; everything was spilling over his hand.

"So," Anzu suppressed her laughter as Mokuba hastily swept a napkin over the mess he made. "what are you and your brother doing in New York?"

"We come here all the time for business and junk." The younger Kaiba paused to swallow his food. "We've been invited to this charity event next week, but Seto wanted to come early to get some work done." He shrugged. "He dragged me along because he thought it'd help me-" He formed air quotes with his free hand, "-behave."

"He has good intentions, Mokuba. He just wants to make sure you're not getting into trouble." The dancer finished the last of her hot dog and wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin. "You may not make headlines in America as often as you do back home, but the stuff you do still shows up in American tabloids and newspapers every now and then. You...really get around, don't you?"

"You keep up with the stories, huh?" Mokuba rubbed his nose. "Eh, it really doesn't bother me so much. It shouldn't be anyone else's business anyway. Seto tries to keep me within his sight, but he's so caught up with work that it's easy for me to slip away. He's all bark but no bite."

That was unexpected. Mokuba had always looked up to his brother. Speaking negatively about him just wasn't in his character. "You might not see it now, Mokuba, but running out all the time and partying can seriously affect you in the future. You're the vice president of-"

"I know what I am. My brother gives me the same dumb lecture all the time." Mokuba stood up and tossed his napkin and hot dog wrapper in the garbage, and Anzu followed him. "I'm sick and tired of people always defining me as the company's vice president, and Seto Kaiba's younger brother. Contrary to popular belief, I'm my own person with my own thoughts and feelings."

"I know, I know." Anzu shook her head. "I didn't mean anything bad by it. I just...well...the last time I saw you, you idolized him. You followed him everywhere - you were practically his shadow."

They stopped at a corner and waited for the light to change. "Yeah, but that was six years ago." The younger Kaiba's gaze dropped to the ground, and he was mindlessly scuffing the sidewalk with his shoe. "If I was his shadow back then, he's an eclipse to me now." His tone was uncharacteristically bitter.

The dancer furrowed her brow. "What do you mean by that?"

Mokuba shoved his hands in his pockets. "He's blocking everything from view. He thinks he can waltz in here and tell me what to do, tell me how I'm supposed to do things because I'm vice prez and all that junk...but what if I want to be vice president in my own way? I dunno..." He shrugged. "I mean, I got some ideas and stuff, but I don't know if he'll approve or anything. Knowing Seto, he'll probably think they're farfetched."

"Your brother built amusement parks, virtual reality video games, and a jet shaped like a Blue Eyes White Dragon - not to mention he also shut down the entire city just to hold a Duel Monsters tournament. I honestly don't think any idea of yours would be considered farfetched, Mokuba." When she finally elicited a smile out of him, she continued. "Tell me one of your ideas."

He blushed. "Nah, it's stupid."

"No, tell me. I really want to know." The light changed, and they crossed the busy intersection.

"Well..." He paused for a moment, his cheeks slightly pink with embarrassment. "I've had this one idea that's been floatin' around for awhile. In theory, it sounds cool, but I dunno if it'll actually look good when I lay it out and everything."

Anzu playfully nudged his ribs. "Stop stalling and tell me already."

The younger Kaiba chuckled and raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "Duel Monsters is a huge game, as you already know. Millions of people around the world play the game every day. I was thinking...what if there was a place people could go to brush up their skills, or something? Like...a school for dueling, or whatever. An academy of some sort, but just for Duel Monsters. People can take workshops or classes, and they can duel each other as practice. Everyone who wants to play the game should be given a chance to, so I thought this would be a good idea." Mokuba laughed and shook his head, dismissing his own idea. "I told you it was stupid."

"What? No, no! Mokuba, that sounds like an amazing idea." The skies began to drizzle, so Anzu dipped into her bag and grabbed her umbrella. She gestured for Mokuba to walk closer to her as she popped it over their heads. "I think you should tell your brother about this. He'll love it, I'm sure."

He sheepishly glanced at her, rubbing the back of his head again. "You think so?" His voice was uncharacteristically quiet and shy. "Ah, maybe I will bring it up to him someday. He's been in such a sour mood ever since we came here - more sour than usual, I mean."

The dancer cocked her head to the side. "Really? He didn't seem out of character when I was with him." They turned the corner and ended up on her street. Her apartment was just a couple blocks away.

"He's just mad that I haven't been doing exactly what he wants me to do, which is to stay at home and die of boredom." Mokuba snickered and rubbed his nose. "I'm surprised you got him to have lunch with you, though. How'd you manage that? S'about time he was social."

"It didn't take much, to be honest. I just asked, and he agreed. It was nice catching up with him. It's been so long since I've hung out with anyone from back home. He was the last person I'd expect to spend time with - no offense - but I surprisingly didn't want to strangle him the entire time we were together. I'm amazed." There was genuine awe in Anzu's voice, and it provoked Mokuba to laugh.

"That's a good thing. He could use a friend." They stopped by the entrance to her apartment. "Y'know, I don't think it would hurt to hang out with him again. Maker knows how much he's lacking in human interaction. He's been around machines for so long, he's beginning to turn into one himself." Anzu could have swore she saw the faintest hint of mischief on the teen's face, but she dismissed it.

Spending time with Seto Kaiba again? Their lunch meeting from the other day was pleasant, but she never gave much thought into a follow-up meeting. She supposed it wouldn't hurt...I mean, what was the worst that could happen? Even if he declined, she was sure Mokuba would have found a way to convince him otherwise anyway. "Hm...I guess I could call him sometime this week. Hopefully he's not too busy."

"Ah, when is he not busy? But don't worry - I'm sure he'll find a way to rearrange his schedule if the situation calls for it."

She let out a light scoff. "I doubt he'd think I'm important enough to do something like that."

Mokuba shrugged. "That's what you think." She was about to ask what he meant by that, but he continued. "Anyways, it was nice spending some time with you today, Anzu. We should do this again sometime...when the weather's better." His grin returned, and it prompted her to smile.

"Of course. I'd love to hang out with you again while you guys are in the area." She paused to search for her keys. "Oh, and you guys should come back next winter for our showing of The Nutcracker. I'd love it if you came."

The younger Kaiba's grin widened. "Really? I'd love to! And I'll bring Seto too, whether he likes it or not." He bounded forward and enveloped his arms around her. "I'll see ya around, Anzu."

She waved and watched him scramble back out into the rain; luckily he managed to grab a cab so he didn't have to walk home. She made her way up to her apartment, sliding in through the front door and shuffling to her bedroom. As usual, it was deathly quiet. She opened her laptop and booted up her music player, her only salvation from the constant reminder of her loneliness.

After setting her things aside, Anzu flopped backwards on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Even after making new friends at the ballet, she still felt sickeningly lonely. It just wasn't the same without Yugi and the others. Their absence ripped a void in her, and she had spent the last six years desperately trying to fill it - friends, the occasional casual boyfriend, wandering into bars and clubs on weekends - only to fail and feel even more alone than before.

Her fingers unconsciously traced the thin silver chain around her neck, moving downward towards the silver cartouche sitting right below her collarbone. She could feel the dip of the engraving underneath her fingertips, and she sighed. After he left, she bought herself an exact duplicate of the cartouche she gave him - engraving and everything.

She had been wearing the name of an Egyptian pharaoh around her neck for six years. It was feeling heavier with every passing day. At least when she was around her friends, it was a little easier to forget. For being such a busy city, New York made it ridiculously difficult for her to be distracted from things she did not want to pay attention to.

Sighing, she reached for her phone and scrolled through her contacts list. She stopped on Seto Kaiba's name, and her brow scrunched together.

Maybe she will give him a call.

"Mokuba?" Seto's voice trickled down the hallway from his office. "Are you home?"

The younger Kaiba sauntered in, shaking the rain out of his hair with a hand. "Hey, I just got back."

The brunet swiveled around in his chair and crossed his arms. He skeptically eyed his brother and raised an eyebrow. "Where were you?"

Mokuba shrugged his shoulders. "Nowhere important. Why?"

"Nothing." Seto returned to his laptop and clicked through his emails. Mokuba took that as his cue to go, so he spun on his heel to leave the room. Just as he reached for the door handle, his brother's voice piped up again. "Mazaki called me not too long ago."

The teen suppressed his grin. Wow, that was quick. "Oh, did she? What did she want?"

There was a long pause, and the clicking of Seto's keyboard was absent. "She wanted to meet again, for some reason."

"Yeah? Did you plan something?"

"I told her I'd get back to her. My schedule's looking a little clogged up at the moment...but I'll see what I can do." The clicking resumed, and Mokuba left the room with the biggest smile on his face.