DIS: Eh-heh...Took me a month. Aren't I a little shit? Hugs and kisses to my reviewers. Here's chapter six!

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Chapter Six, The father and the pianist

Seiji lay in bed, alone. His eyes were closed, but he was awake. He had been for a half an hour since the ringing of the phone had woken him. It had been his daughter, making polite inquiries as to how he and his girlfriend – now ex-girlfriend – were doing. He had only really opened his eyes when she announced to him that she wanted him to meet her accompanist, Yami Mutou. His whole body had gone stiff.

"...was thinking that we could stop by today. I'm sure you'll like him. Call me if you're busy today, okay? Love you. Bye!"

He hadn't liked pianists for a long time and wasn't sure he could control his temper and resentment with his daughter's accompanist. She had spoken to him about Yami Mutou before in a fond voice, telling him that he had helped her immensely with her dancing and that he was a wonderful man. Seiji would have preferred her having someone like Jounouchi as her pianist, but that was asking for too much, of course.

He climbed out of bed and sighed, trudging to the kitchen where the phone was. He dialed Anzu's number and slumped against the counter. It rang twice before she answered in a bright voice. Smiling lightly to himself, he replied, "Hello, angel. How's it going?"

"Everything's doing really well, daddy. How about you and Tsubaki?"

"Oh. Well...We actually broke up." He endured the stunned silence for a moment before mumbling, "It seems that she was only on a business trip and had to go back home. It had been nice while it lasted. I needed to get out with a woman for awhile." He could just imagine his daughter's pretty features twisting in confusion, her emotions flashing clearly in her azure depths, and her hands fiddling with things as she thought over her words.

"...Um...Yeah," she answered awkwardly. "At least you were...doing things...with a woman. It's been such a long time, after all."

"Mm hmm. So, explain to me, Anzu, what you were yammering about on the message machine. Something about me meeting your pianist?" He winced at the slightly bitter tone that entered his voice. He prayed she didn't notice it. She didn't.

"Oh! Yes!" She instantly jumped to the new topic, clearly relieved to be leaving the subject of Tsubaki's departure. "I thought it would be rude if you met him after a rehearsal or ballet, so I asked him if he'd mind meeting you and he was more than happy to do it. He said any day would be good, so I thought today might work. If that's okay with you, that is."

"No, no," he reassured at the tone in her voice. She was suppressing her eagerness. "I don't have work today and I'd...love to meet Mr. Mutou."

"Cool! We'll be around a bit after noon, then, okay?"

"Alright. I'll see you then."

"Talk to you later, daddy. Bye." As he hung up, he felt his shoulders sag with dread. How was he going to be able to handle this meeting?

X

Otogi heard a light beeping and he glanced from his prowling customer to his cell phone on the desk. Glancing at the man quickly, he picked up his phone, seeing that he had a text message from Yami, who had been acting as though the two of them had never argued. He had been planning on going out to lunch with him, but those plans had been dashed when he got a sudden rush of customers, not to mention this man that had been walking around aimlessly for almost an hour. It was almost as though he was trying to keep him there. Opening the message, he gave a puzzled look.

Cant make it to lunch w/you. Sorry. Call you later.

That was the briefest message I've ever received from him, Otogi thought, raising his eyebrows and giving a slight chuckle. When he looked up, the customer was standing at the front desk, his face a mask of utter boredom. Controlling his petulance, he put on a charming smile and queried, "Can I help you? Have you found something you wish for?" Otogi blinked and his smile fell as the man's hand flew up with a gun in hand. The gun gave a roar as he released the bullet from its prison.

X

Jou walked with Honda towards the Java Beans Café. He had been brooding ever since he spoke to Yami a week earlier. He had been surprised at some of Yami's questions, not to mention his personally coming to him to deal with Anzu's issues. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't enjoyed how deep Yami had delved into his and Mai's relationship. He had seen the suspicion in those strangely colored eyes, but tried to reassure himself that it was nothing. Eventually he's going to ask questions, Jou thought sullenly as he and his friend came up to the café. Everyone does. Nobody ever gets answers, though. Not even Shizuka.

"Anzu works here?" Honda asked with a note of surprise. "I never knew that..." Jou glanced at him dryly. Honda didn't know much about Anzu because his sometimes-suspicious nature always tended to get the best of him. Jou appreciated it, but Anzu wasn't about to pull anything on them. Despite Jou assuring the brunette, he merely shrugged it off and continued to keep himself reserved around Anzu. Jou had seen the hurt in her eyes at times and was certain she knew of it.

They entered the café and Jou blinked, noticing a vaguely familiar female at the counter. Her hair was long and lavender, the same color as her wide, glassy eyes. As they entered, her mouth curved in a pleasant smile. He felt Honda shift restlessly beside him and rolled his eyes to himself. The man distrusted Anzu, but instantly fired up when he saw some complete stranger. Well, maybe not a complete stranger...

"Hello, welcome to Java Beans," she greeted, her eyes instantly moving to Honda and locking on him. Jou's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. He had never seen a woman fix herself on his friend like that. "How are you?" She asked Honda shyly, her cheeks going a bit pink. When Jou looked at him, he saw that his face was a bit red.

What the hell is going on here? He wondered, totally bemused.

"Good," Honda replied with the faintest hint of a tremor to his voice. "Miho Nosaka, right?" She bobbed her head in answer, her long tail of silky hair, held by a yellow ribbon, swishing lightly.

"You, um, never gave me your name," Miho told him as a subtle encouragement. Honda swallowed and licked his lips nervously. Jou was afraid he was going to have a break down. This was the first girl that had ever gone after Honda, rather than the other way around.

"Honda Hiro-oto." He flinched at his stutter and quickly corrected himself, "Hiroto. Honda Hiroto." She smiled shakily, giggling slightly as his mistake. Jou stared at the entire scene with a dumb expression on his face, trying to figure out what was going on. He and everyone else knew that Honda wasn't the most attractive man, so he was trying to understand what this girl – who was obviously cute – was doing talking to Honda like this. He tried to assure himself that she was just being polite, but that blush and her nervous manner made him reconsider.

"Well, Honda," she quietly said, her mouth curled upward, "what can I get you and your friend?" He swallowed again and looked at Jou with pleading eyes.

"Uh..." Jou said in a less-than-intelligent tone. "Um, we'll get two vanilla granitas. Both with whipped cream and one with chopped up coffee beans in it." He rubbed the back of his head and cleared his throat, asking, "Anzu's not here today?" Miho looked surprised at his question and a bit flustered.

"H-her shift doesn't start for awhile," she hastily said as she punched in the numbers for their total. "Not until around four." He nodded. "Do you want me to tell her you came by?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Jou replied slowly. "Just tell her that Jounouchi Katsuya was looking for her." His heart dropped when he saw her stiffen and a suddenly furious light enter her eyes. He glanced at Honda nervously and saw that he was looking irritated at Jou, obviously seeing the anger on her face, too.

"Katsuya, huh?" She spat at him. "Sorry, but I don't think I can serve you."

"W-what?" He sputtered, his eyes widening. "Why not?"

She pointed a finger at him, glaring, and said, "Probably because your bitch ex-wife came in and practically assaulted Anzu for you getting her mixed up in your marital problems!" His jaw dropped in shock and for a moment he was dumbstruck. She continued relentlessly, "Anzu was mortified! Do you have any idea what it's like to have some woman that she never heard of or even seen come in her and dump hot coffee on her? She could have gotten severely burned! What do you have to say about that, Jounouchi Katsuya?"

"Listen, Nosaka, I never even knew Mai came in here and did that until a week ago. Besides, I told Mai off the bat that I wasn't dating Anzu. How was I supposed to know she'd come in here and do that?" Miho ignored him and turned back to Honda, her face hard.

"The total comes up to five forty." Honda grimly handed her the money, getting ten cents back in change. Miho gave the order to the Kanna who was working alone at making the coffee. Miho helped her with it, not wishing to speak with either of the two males. She returned shortly with their drinks. Her face softened when she looked at Honda. "I'm sorry...I didn't..."

"It's fine," he mumbled, taking his drink and handing the other one to Jou. "I understand you being mad. Anzu's your friend." He smiled in an understanding manner and her face brightened a bit, smiling in response. "I'll, uh, see you around, Miho." She nodded, coloring a bit as her name rolled of his tongue.

"Sure. Bye, Honda." She reached over and squeezed his hand briefly. He turned and left with Jou, a silly smile playing on his mouth. Jou ignored him, too dazed at Miho's sudden attack at him that he was unaware of his friend's infatuation with Anzu's friend. He sipped on his granita, his eyes a bit wide as he lumbered down the sidewalk with Honda at his side.

"...She could have gotten severely burned! What do you have to say about that, Jounouchi Katsuya?"

What would I have done if Mai really hurt Anzu? Jou wondered to himself, fearfully aware that he had no answer. His phone rang and he blinked, jerked out of his reverie. He grumbled and answered it, mumbling into the phone, "Yeah?"

"Jou, you have to pick Rena up from daycare," Mai gasped on the other line. He frowned. He wanted to give her a piece of his mind, but by the panicked tone in her voice and the way she was breathing hard, he had a feeling that this wasn't the time to bring up things like that when she was in a hurry.

"Fine. I'll – "

"Otogi's been shot!" She interrupted, her voice trembling with tears.

"What?" Honda blinked, stopping as Jou halted in his walking.

Sobbing, Mai stuttered out, "He was shot in the shoulder by a man in his shop! He was almost hit in the chest, but h-he moved just in time. Oh, God, Jou, I was so worried when they called! All they said at first was that he was shot and I was afraid he was dying! And then when they told me he had been attacked at his shop, I couldn't understand what purpose they could possibly have!" He heard her sniffing and was sure she was wiping her face. "He sells instruments, Jou! Instruments! Why would anyone have any need to shoot him?"

"I..." He held no response. His heart was contradicting with what his mind was saying. The former wanted to comfort her, the latter wanted to ignore her.

"A-anyway..." She sounded a bit less hysterical. "He's at the hospital. I have to go see him and make sure he's okay. The police have the other man in custody. Otogi managed to knock him out with an instrument. I hope he'll be okay..."

"Otogi's made of strong stuff," Jou grunted. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Besides, it was just in the shoulder."

"Yes...Yes, you're right." He cursed at himself, realizing he had just calmed her nerves. He wasn't supposed to be nice to her. He hated her. Why should he care what happened to her stupid friend? But he knew the answer to that before the question even entered his mind. Otogi had been his and Honda's friend at one point, was godfather to Rena, and Jou was sure Shizuka had a bigger feeling than friendship for him. He wouldn't admit that a shudder of anticipation had gone through him when Mai had announced that Otogi had been shot.

"Rena will be at my house when you can pick her up," Jou said after a pause of his thinking.

"Okay." She hesitated and then quickly said, "Thanks," before hanging up.

"What was that about?" Honda asked Jou as he snapped his phone shut and shoved it in his pocket. "Who got shot?" Jou blinked, looking to Honda as though he had forgotten he'd been there. He slowly shook his head, clearing away his confusion.

"Oh. That. Otogi was attacked in his shop, I guess. He was shot in the shoulder and Mai wanted to go to the hospital to make sure he was okay." He rubbed the back of his head, blowing a breath through his lips, puffing his cheeks out briefly. "I wanted to tell her off, but Otogi and Rena are all that she got, so I suppose I'll have to wait to chew her ass."

"Yeah...So when do you have to pick Rena up?"

"Around four or so." Honda nodded.

"Alright."

X

Yami tapped his knee as Anzu drove through the hectic traffic. There seemed to be more people out around now than usual. He had almost lost his breakfast when she did a crazy maneuver around some cars to get around them. He was still a bit edgy and having seen him nearly faint, she apologized profusely and didn't try any of those stunts again. They had just gotten out of a traffic jam and he was sure that she could have gotten out if she'd done another of her jerking-the-car-around-the-enemy-cars thing. He didn't care about the waiting. He didn't want to see the side of a car that close again in his entire life, especially if he was in another car.

"My father isn't huge on musicians," Anzu said conversationally as they rolled down an empty street. "He hasn't ever been a lover of dancing or music, but he never missed any of the ballets I did in college." She smiled fondly, thinking of how her father had struggled during the ballets. She knew how much he hated sitting in one place for so long with other people pressing against him. She would have to tell him it wasn't necessary for him to come if she ever became famous. "But I'm certain he'll like you, even if you are a pianist."

"Hmm. If he doesn't like musicians, are you sure it's wise for me to meet him?" He asked, his brow creasing slightly. He didn't want to cause a rift between Anzu and her father.

"He'll meet you eventually," she replied with a tiny shrug of her shoulders. She flipped on her blinker and turned into the parking lot of her father's apartment buildings. She parked in a visitor parking space and waited until Yami got out of the car to lock it. She dumped the keys in her purse and led the way to the entrance. She pushed the buzzer for her father's room and waited, one of her hands on her hips.

After a while, Seiji came and opened the door, smiling in greeting. He ushered them in without saying a word and let the door slam shut. The three of them went upstairs to his neat, clean apartment. "Would you like anything to drink?" He asked them politely. Anzu shook her head.

"No, thank you," Yami declined, giving a benign smile. Seiji returned the smile with his own, though Yami noticed it was a bit forced. The older male shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do or say. Clearing his throat, Yami extended his hand and introduced himself, "Yami Mutou. Anzu's been anxious for me to meet you."

"Oh?" Seiji blinked and took his hand, shaking it. "Seiji Mazaki."

"If Anzu gets the part of Odette and Odile – which I'm optimistic she will – then I intend on staying on as her accompanist," Yami explained, his mouth curved in a smile. He tucked a hand in one of his pockets, gesturing with his other hand as he spoke, "She didn't want me meeting you after a dance. It's better to meet you now when I'm more energized."

"I see..." Seiji mumbled as the three of them sat down, with Anzu and Yami on the couch and Seiji in the recliner. "About your being her accompanist...How exactly does that work? I was under the impression they had a pianist for the ballet." His gaze swept over Yami speculatively. "Isn't that right?"

"No, not really," the pianist answered brightly. He leaned back, a pleasant expression on his face. "What it is, is this: a dancer hires an accompanist. The two of them have to blend perfectly and work together in two different sides of art. They have to be close and be unafraid to criticize each other's work and able to compliment each other. Anzu and I have already improved in the brief time we've been together. Anyway, the pianist is more for the auditions. Depending on how important a part the dancer gets in a ballet, their accompanist might not even be needed. Anzu is trying out for the main part in Swan Lake and so I'll be playing all the pieces of the balletNo one else's accompanist will be needed."

"It's no wonder I didn't find out about this until recently," Anzu commented, beaming at her father, who didn't smile back, his mouth turned down in thought.

"And...what of other relations?" Her father carefully asked. Yami tilted his head slightly in puzzlement. "What I mean to say is, if you two were to get too close," he ignored his daughter's mortified expression, "wouldn't that interfere in the work?" Yami's smile had faded and he looked a bit uncomfortable by the question. Seiji almost sneered at him.

"Er...That is always a possibility," Yami responded with the same carefulness that Seiji had applied to his words. "I wouldn't say it would interfere, though. It could bring on complications, but I don't think you have to worry about anything like that."

"All pianists are lecherous," he instantly spat out as soon as Yami had finished speaking. He inwardly winced, seeing Anzu's eyes go round and her accompanist's expression become cool. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to keep his opinion of pianists bottled in, but imagining his daughter forming any kind of liaisons with the man had set his blood boiling. "They are passionate about every thing they do," he continued on rashly, "and are womanizers. All they care about is their own happiness and passion." He sneered the last word with clear derision. Yami's eyes narrowed to slits.

Before he could get a word in, his cell phone rang, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over them. Keeping his dark gaze on Seiji, he flipped the phone open and answered, "Hello." He drew his eyes from Seiji's, his anger forgotten. "...I see. Where? ...Then he's not severely hurt, is he?" Anzu gave him a worried look, wondering who it was that had gotten hurt. "Okay. Thank you for calling me...No, I'm sure that if Mai came, he's had enough fretting over...Alright. Goodbye." He closed his phone and glanced at Anzu. "Otogi was shot in the shoulder."

"He's okay, though?" She asked in concern. He nodded curtly, looking back to Anzu's father.

"I think it's time we get back to the theater. I know when I've been insulted." Seiji's eyes narrowed into a sulky glare as Yami rose to his feet. Yami brushed his fingers over Anzu's shoulder. "I'll be out by the car." She watched him leave, her shoulders drooping. When he left, she turned to her father, clearly upset.

"Why did you say that to him?" She demanded, hurt by how her father had treated him. "He was trying to be nice and you blew up on him!" Anzu's eyes swept over his face, but he just turned his face away, not looking at her. She had been shocked enough that he had asked about any possible "relations" that might happen between her and her accompanist. His sudden accusation that pianists were lecherous had not only hurt her, but had horrified her. It wasn't something that she imagined she would ever hear her father say and she couldn't understand why he would say something so cruel to Yami.

"You had better go, Anzu," Seiji said at last, his voice quiet. "He's waiting for you outside." She let out an angry breath and got to her feet, storming to the door. He closed his eyes, flinching as she slammed the door behind her. If only you knew why, Anzu, he thought, dropping his face in his hands. If only you knew...

X

"I'm sorry, Yami," Anzu quietly told him as they stood outside the theater. "I don't know why he said that." The ride back had been silent and tense. She could practically feel the waves of anger rolling off him as she drove them back to the theater. "I've never seen him act like that and – "

"I'm not mad at you, Anzu," he interrupted, giving a gentle smile, "so stop apologizing. He obviously has an aversion to my profession. He's entitled to his opinions, just as we all are. It wasn't your fault that he said those things." Yami rubbed the back of his hand over his chin, as though he was wiping something off. "We might as well forget about it. I'll hardly see him anyway." He gave her a bright smile that he hoped reassured her. Her own smile was weak and seemed to be forced. "We'll skip practice today," he continued. "I'm not sure my mind's up to it."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, then, Yami." He nodded and moved towards the theater, waving goodbye. When his back was turned to her, his smile dropped and a brooding expression took over. He didn't know why, but ever since Seiji had brought up the possibility of a relationship with Anzu, he hadn't felt comfortable around her. At least, not in the same way he used to be. Anzu was a good five years younger than him and admittedly naïve. He couldn't find himself engaging in any sort of intimate relationship with her, although he knew she was attractive and she wasn't a stupid twit like some dancers were.

I shouldn't even be thinking about it, he scolded himself as he passed the aisles of chairs in the auditorium, moving towards the stage. We're working partners and that's all we're going to be. I don't need the difficulties of a relationship with her. If it were anyone else, than I wouldn't care, but I have a contract with her. I've been employed by her, for God's sake! Yami huffed out an agitated breath as he settled on the piano bench, pushing the cover back from the keys and pressing on a high C note. Flinching, he drew his fingers back and then played a scale. I've never considered her as a possibility for a lover before, he mused. Damn her father for putting it in my head. And then another question entered his mind. Where did he ever get the idea of pianists being lecherous? There are a few of us that enjoy women, but we're more dedicated to our music than anything else. He sighed, drawing away from the piano and rubbed his eyes. This is too much to think of for me.

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DIS: Poor Yami-kun. Seiji-san has some issues that need to be resolved. And what is the core of these issues? For once, the authoress knows! (cackles) Anyway, please leave a review. I would be much obliged. Ciao!