DIS: Gods, inspiration is so hard in coming to me for any kind of fanfiction these days. It's hard enough with me trying to find some time to myself to read. I hate that I'm always exhausted when I get home and all I want to do is sleep. Anyway, I sat down after a really good Sunday and wrote this. Hope y'all enjoy it. And THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed!!! You guys truly do rock!

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Chapter Fifteen, Friends and enemies alike

"I can see I arrived before you were given a chance to leave, Yami," Kaiba remarked coolly to the pianist. "You have a bad habit of slithering away when I am trying to meet with you." That, Kaiba reflected, was absolutely true. He surveyed each of the people standing on the stage and frowned, noticing the girl who had stalked past him when he was on his way to the auditorium. He had taken an instant dislike to her as she had seemed to be mocking him with a stuck-up look on her face. He recognized Ryou, a close friend of Yami's, but the third male was nobody he knew.

Everyone's eyes had shifted to Yami, no doubt picking up on the tension. Generally, Yami Mutou was a calm, brooding sort of male, as many artists seemed to be. There was very little that could affect him. Kaiba had to admit that he was of the same personality, but the two of them could get on each other's nerves without any help by outside sources. The only other thing that seemed to bother the infamous pianist – that Kaiba knew of – was his parents, a subject he had a broached once and had regretted it. The man had drowned himself so badly in alcohol that he almost ended up in a coma, Kaiba briefly thought to himself, recalling the aftereffects of that particular comment he had thrown out.

"You can imagine why," Yami quietly said, his eyes narrowing the slightest bit, a subtle warning that he did not want to start conflict here. Kaiba, as sharp as ever, saw Yami's eyes flicker to the young female standing between him and Ryou. Her eyebrows were knitted together in slight irritation and confusion. It was clear that she did not think much of Kaiba, which was something he had become accustomed to in his life. It wasn't as if he went around trying to make friends. "I suppose you are here to discuss my finances?"

"It was my understanding," he replied in an icy voice, "that you had given the responsibility of taking care of them to me." His narrow, azure eyes turned darker than they naturally were. "That was the contract you had signed with my father and carried over to me, wasn't it? So then why did I find out that you had some crackpot idiot taking care of some of your finances when you came to Domino?"

"That crackpot idiot," the unfamiliar male chimed, "happens to be right here." Kaiba cut a look to him, his mouth turning down unpleasantly. "You must be Seto Kaiba. Otogi Ryuuji." He gave a cocky salute with two of his fingers, smirking. If the e-mails from earlier hadn't made Kaiba hate him, there was no doubt in his mind that he hated the guy now because of his attitude.

"I don't have time for this," he said, turning back to Yami. "Either you come with me to discuss this or we do it now with those three listening."

Just as Yami opened his mouth to say something, the girl rode over him, placing her hands on her hips as she stated flatly, "Sir, you're just going to have to wait awhile." One of Kaiba's smooth, chocolate coloured eyebrows rose mildly. Ryou nervously looked at her while the other two gawked in surprise. "I am sorry, but I have had an ongoing appointment with Yami. I have important auditions coming up and need to practice. In order to do that, I need Yami as my accompanist."

"Is that right?"

Anzu glared back at him as he set his cold stare on her. Honestly, she was sick of men right now. Maybe it was because she was about to start her period and she was having PMS, but she had a feeling it had more to do with how every male she encountered seemed to think he could just walk all over her. (Sadly, this included Jounouchi, even though he had apologized for being an ass.) And, also, Seto Kaiba was just as she had thought when she saw him: an egotistical business man who seemed to be under the false impression that what he said was what was going to happen. He could stare all he wanted; it was just a stare, after all.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba, that is right. As a business man, you should appreciate that appointments are kept." She tried to raise her eyebrow as cockily as he had, but both went up so that the effect was somewhat off. She could tell by his moody expression that he was displeased with her logic and likely even more displeased that some girl was arguing with him. Nonetheless, she hadn't rushed here just to be turned away or be forced to practice to a recording.

At last, he said, "Fine. Take your time for the so-called prearranged appointment if it means so much to you, girl." He snapped a look to Yami, saying, "Don't try leaving Domino, Yami. It would be...regrettable." At that, he swept away, his black, fancy trench coat flapping around his ankles in an elegant, flashy manner that even Anzu and Otogi had to admire. Once the doors shut behind him, they all seemed to release a breath at once.

"What an asshole," Otogi grumbled and then mimicked, "Don't try leaving Domino! It would be – " here Otogi paused to dramatically throw an arm over his face like holding a cape to cover his mouth and nose " – regrettable! Dun, dun, dun!" Ryou stared at him, stunned, while Anzu covered her mouth with her hands, stifling her laughter. Otogi had made his voice deep and gravelly, making it sound like a saw cutting through wood. It had sounded ridiculous just like that, but when he said 'regrettable,' he lowered his voice even more breathily, drawing it out menacingly. It was a good thing Seto Kaiba hadn't been there to hear it. He might have actually gotten physically violent.

Yami chuckled, his eyes gleaming with amusement, but there was a hint of something in his eyes that made Anzu approach him and touch his shoulder tentatively. "You're not angry, are you?" She queried anxiously. "I mean, for taking that in my own hands? He just really...irritated me with how he was acting. He treated you more like a dog than an actual human being, not to mention the way he was staring at us. He just assumed you would come if he whistled and it..." She released a breath, huffing. "It pissed me off."

"No," he assured, taking her hand and holding it in both of his as he smiled at her. It was a smile she had grown familiar with, one that she enjoyed seeing in spite of her continuous assurances to herself that she did not like him romantically. Every time he smiled at her, though, with that slow, soft smile, her whole body warmed. It was like liquid chocolate, warm and delightful. Even his hands clasping hers caused her heart rate to quicken. Miho had been right about her own secret desire to be with Yami. There was just something...soothing...about him. "It's fine, Anzu. I'm glad you did. I would much rather be here than go somewhere with him. He and I are not friends in the least."

"He only does that work because of his father's contract with Yami," Ryou helpfully added. Yami removed her hand, not even glancing at his friend as he continued to smile. She could feel heat travel up her neck and cleared her throat nervously, looking to Otogi and forcing a cheerful expression on her face.

"Well, at least we don't have to deal with him!" She remarked.

"Lucky, lucky," Otogi agreed. He clapped his hands. "But listen, Yami, I did kind of screw things up with those e-mails, so how about I stay here and watch Anzu practice and then we can go find Kaiba afterward?"

"I wasn't trying to get you involved – " Yami began apologetically, but Otogi would hear none of that.

"Don't worry about it, Yami. Besides, I want to see you kick his ass." Anzu laughed at that, unable to imagine Yami, who was fairly short, knocking Kaiba off his feet. It somehow did not seem possible. She had faith in him, though she wasn't sure it went that far. Ryou, the softest of them and the most focused, gave a sigh and rolled his eyes, shoving Otogi towards the stairs as he protested. "I'm not into the rough stuff, Ryou! If you wanted to touch me, all you had to do is ask!"

"Don't be conceited," Ryou told him, blushing at the implications. "If I were gay, I would go after Yami or Kaiba before you."

"Ouch!" Otogi winced. "Throwing Kaiba in there was a bit too much."

Ryou shrugged his shoulders gracefully and then turned to Anzu and Yami, spreading his arms wide as he suggested, "Shall we begin?" Anzu bobbed her head and as Yami moved to the piano with Ryou calling out the scene and which measure to start at, with Anzu getting into position, she could not help but take note that Otogi seemed much more jolly now that he and Shizuka were dating. By Yami's unsurprised nature, she had a feeling that she was being introduced to the real Otogi. He was just as cocky as ever, simply with a more jesting manner. She loved him for it, as a sister would her brother.

X

Mai stared broodingly out the kitchen window, her hand clasped around a mug of coffee even though it was past noon. Across from her Rena was colouring a picture of a giraffe, crayons strewn over the table, her tiny fingers able to grasp the crayons only so well that she could place the colours on the picture. Since their time at the mall, Mai hadn't spoken to Anzu, but she had been thinking of the girl.

Even though they had opened up to each other, tearing apart fragile stitches in order to reopen past wounds, Mai had still been a bit suspicious of whether Anzu might be closer than just a friend to Jou. After hearing her speak of Yami, however, she was convinced Jounouchi really was nothing more than a friend to her. As soon as Yami was mentioned, Anzu completely transformed, her whole face lighting up, her eyes sparkling like diamonds and her mouth curving into a smile without her even knowing it. The fact that they were supposed to be working partners no doubt lingered in Anzu's mind, causing her to deny any feelings she held for Yami.

But who wouldn't like him? Mai mused, a slightly different version to the question Anzu had asked her that day. He is a naturally closed person, even to me and I can usually make a guy gush things. With Rena, he's completely different. He would make a good father. I can understand why he might want a family of his own. But could Anzu do it? Could she be a mother or would she make the same mistakes I did? She sighed to herself, lifting her coffee mug and taking a drink from it. No, not Anzu, she decided. She realized her mother made those mistakes and didn't want to do the same thing.

The doorbell rang, but she didn't immediately attend. After the second time and the lack of scribbling of crayon on paper, Mai unlatched her fingers from the mug and stood up to move to the foyer. As she walked, she heard the crayon start again. She pushed her wavy, blonde bangs from her forehead. Today was her day off, so she was dressed casually in sweatpants and a white tank top, her hair shoved up in a messy bun. She hadn't even put on any makeup. She was too emotionally stressed to care what people thought what she looked like. It's not as if I'm trying to impress anyone, she admitted silently to herself.

Swinging the door open, she blinked, surprised to see Jounouchi on the doorstep. He frowned for a moment and then offered the tiniest of smiles, the only kind she ever got from him these days. "Hey, Mai," he greeted, not in a cheerful way, but his own sloppy way of greeting. She loved any sloppy mannerisms of his, even if she denied it. "Can I come in?"

She shrugged and stepped aside. The one guy that she was dwelling over and he pops up on her doorstep like a sign from God, as though He was saying, Apologize, try and get him back in your life, and be happy again. That was impossible for her. Mai was bad at expressing her true emotions. It had never come easily to her.

"What's up?"

"Jounouchi, I know you didn't come just to chat, so why not just tell me why you're here?" She sighed, pushing the palm of her hand to her forehead. She was exhausted and had a headache. Mai knew he was just trying to be nice, as he usually tried when they saw each other, as he usually did after a fight to make things easier on them, but she couldn't handle pretending that things were okay between them when they really weren't.

"Whatever," he sighed, pushing his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans. "Listen, I have a few days off, so I figured I could take Rena. That okay with you?"

"Why'd you come over? Why didn't you just call?" She knew she sounded accusing. What's new? was her dry thought.

"Figured I'd save you the trouble of driving her to the apartment." He gazed at her mildly, with no expression on his face or in his eyes. It was strange, this sudden whim he had taken to be a good guy and do her a favor. To him, it probably wasn't a favor, it was just to keep things less complicated. Maybe he didn't want her around his apartment anymore or something along those lines. And even though she knew he didn't give a damn about her or what she felt or thought, she did care about him. She wanted to know what he was thinking right then as he looked at her in her careless attire. In the past, she would be able to see the delight in his face as he looked at her, unadorned of make up, her hair thrown together without hairspray, and looking more deserving of him than when she was glamoured up. And, because Jounouchi had always been an eager lover, she would see lust.

Now...Nothing.

She should be used to it. It was beginning to dawn on her that a person never became used to the hatred of someone that once loved you. Turning away, Mai closed her eyes briefly to shut out the pain and with a steady voice said, "She's in the kitchen. I'll go ahead and pack her some clothes."

"'Kay, that's cool," he flippantly responded and sauntered to the kitchen. She paused at the top of the steps, hearing the cry of joy from Rena and the exclamation from Jounouchi: "And look at who I've found!" She stumbled over to her daughter's room and shut the door, sliding down to the floor and wept silently in her hands. She felt hopelessly lost because Rena was so happy to see Jounouchi when she saw him, but when Mai picked her up from daycare, she only gave the mildest of smiles. Even though she was aware that it was because Rena only saw her father every once in awhile, it still hurt. Needles stabbed her heart where other needles had been stuck, ripping open new holes.

Why do I feel so awful all the time? She wondered. Why does it seem like there's no one there? She answered her own question: Because there isn't. That person used to be Jounouchi. This revelation only caused another wave of tears.

While she packed Rena some clothes and her favorite possessions, she wiped her eyes and afterward, she pressed a cold rag to her eyes for a few minutes before returning downstairs with the bag. She noticed Jounouchi's eyes linger on her face for a moment before he took the bag and said he would call the night before he would bring her home to give her a time. She nodded mutely and kissed Rena goodbye. She watched in the doorway as Jounouchi hustled their daughter to the car and buckled her in, tossing the bag in the backseat. As they pulled out, she hesitantly raised a hand in farewell.

Neither of them waved back.

Mai shut the door and collapsed on the steps, holding herself. Once again, her mind drifted to Anzu, the only girl she had explained her circumstances to. Shivering violently, she walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone, dialing Anzu's phone number. It went straight to voicemail. She paused briefly after it beeped and then said, "It's Mai. I...just thought I'd call and see what you were doing and..." She sighed. "Shit." She punched in three and the female computer voice said, "Message deleted."

She tossed her phone on the table and sat in her seat, staring out the window again, this time in utter melancholy.

X

Otogi, although he did not generally smoke, had taken a liking to cigars. As he and Yami walked along the sidewalk in the bustling city of Domino, he smoked a thick, Cuban cigar with the air of an aristocrat. Despite the fact that they were about to speak to an incredibly unpleasant, egotistical ass, Yami could not help but smirk at his companion. Cuban cigars were hand rolled with a sweeter blend than most cigars and therefore had a sweeter smell and taste and stank quite a bit. Yami was used to the smell because so many fellow pianists smoked them, but the rest of the public wrinkled their noses and kept about a five foot radius around the pair.

"Those who can't stand the smell are those who have no class," Otogi declared after finishing his cigar and they came to the expensive hotel Kaiba had informed Yami he was staying at through an e-mail, adding the floor and room number.

Yami raised his eyebrows. "My friend, you got that cigar for under thirty dollars. Any person in the middle-class could get one. They choose not to because they stink. You can disillusion yourself all you want, but Cuban cigars really are unpleasant to smell." Otogi frowned and waved a dismissive hand as the two of them entered the hotel. They approached the front desk and Yami said, "Tell Kaiba that Yami Mutou is coming up." The woman nodded, batting her eyes at the two men as she did. She gave a coy smile as they walked away, her eyes wandering to their backsides. Yami sighed exasperatedly.

"This probably isn't the time to bring this up," Otogi remarked, "but about you and Anzu - ?"

"What about us?" He questioned in an entirely too casual voice. When it came to women and relationships, Otogi was an expert at seeing things, especially seeing through things and that included any sort of mask that a person could put on. Yami was doing just that, pretending that everything was hunky-dory when it clearly wasn't. Yami had become a bit tense at the mentioning of the dancer, something that Otogi found very interesting, especially after seeing their interaction earlier that day.

"Come on, Yami, it's not a big deal if you like the girl."

"She's too young for me," he stated plainly as they stepped into the elevator. He reached out and punched a number. "Besides that, we're working partners." He looked at Otogi meaningfully as he said, "And she's far too innocent. If she's interested, that's fine, but I'm not going to pursue her." He paused, his mouth turning down unhappily. "I don't want to ruin her chances for a good career. I want a family, Otogi, and she wants to dance. Things can't work out."

"You don't know what's going on in her head, Yami," Otogi retorted, tapping his own head to make a point. "And you just screw things up looking that far ahead. If you only think to the next day or next week, you should be fine. Besides, you said it was interesting to be an accompanist for a dancer. Why stop if you don't need to? It's not like pianist partners haven't become involved with each other."

"And those that I knew always ended their careers because of relationship issues," Yami stated. The elevator gave a ding, stopping, and the doors slid open. The two of them stepped out into the hall. "I just want her to make the decision herself, Otogi, that way I won't regret."

"I don't think that girl's ever been in a relationship and you expect her to make the first move?"

"If she does," he continued, ignoring Otogi completely, "then I'll explain what could happen and make her think over it. It's just...easier on both of us." He gave a small smile. "And I'm not as rash as you are, practically crashing into the Katsuyas' home and causing chaos." Otogi scowled at this, sliding his hands in his pockets and walking with a fluid, swaying walk that was both unintentionally seductive and casual.

"Jounouchi was pissing me off and Shizuka hung up on me because of him. I knew she loved me, so why should I have let her punk ass brother get in my way when he only holds a grudge because of his and Mai's divorce?" Yami opened his mouth to say something, but Otogi removed a hand from his pocket and pointed at him warningly. "Don't go there, Yami. Things are still precarious, coming from everywhere around me. I've got Mai still upset, Jounouchi way upset because of both Mai and my dating Shizuka. Mind you, it doesn't help when I'm friends with Anzu. He probably thinks the whole world is after him." He shook his head. "No, that isn't something we need to discuss. The floor could literally crack underneath me and leave me in a ditch at any moment."

"Jounouchi has some personal issues with his ex-wife that he needs to work out," Yami told him softly as they came to a door and he knocked. Looking to Otogi, he added, "I just don't think either of them are ready for it." Otogi nodded grimly, agreeing to that. There was a thick, heavy poison in Jounouchi and Mai's relationship and it only seemed to make things between them uglier the longer it remained. Otogi was not about to get involved in that particular relationship because Jounouchi wouldn't like him prodding and Mai would never be ready to tell him why the divorce had come crashing around everyone instead of floating down like it should have.

The door jerked open and Kaiba allowed them inside, although he gave a predatory look to Otogi, as though his hand was about to come up with an ax so he could chop him up for dinner. Thankfully, Kaiba's hands were empty after he shut the door, even if the look remained on his face. It was a bit disconcerting to Otogi.

"About goddamn time," the CEO muttered. It was clear that he was used to better conditions than even the highest rated hotel in Domino could offer. "I don't see why he had to come, but that's your choice. I don't really care either way. If you want to be humiliated, so be it."

"You're sadly mistaken if you think I'm going to allow myself be humiliated by you, Kaiba," Yami calmly answered.

Already it gets interesting, Otogi cheerfully thought to himself. He only hoped Yami didn't develop a temper and turn it on him.

"Whatever," Kaiba grunted dismissively, stepping past them to settle at the table near the window. Otogi watched with interest as the multi-billionaire pulling a cigarette out of its pack and lit it with a lighter. Afterward, he tossed the lighter on the table and took a drag from the cigarette, gazing at the two standing in the middle of the hallway that led to the door. Releasing a stream of smoke, he said, "I'm not interested in exchanging irritating banter with you at the moment, anyway. This may be a hard idea for you to grasp, but I did not come to Domino simply to straighten out things with you, Yami. I would have had to eventually come here anyway, although it was not my intention." He smirked, leaning back in his chair, crossing one of his legs over the other. "Some other pianist died some time ago – I don't remember how or why – but apparently my father had some business arrangements with him, too. I have all of the pianist's assets. His girlfriend moved from his home after his death and moved here. I have to pay her a visit." He took another drag from his cigarette, his eyes narrowing on Yami. "Would you mind very much to come in the actual room? It's starting to piss me off, seeing you lurking in the hallway like that."

Yami and Otogi stepped into the room, although the former appeared reluctant. "Which pianist?" Yami asked with a sliver of interest. Kaiba positioned his cigarette between his lips and then leaned over the table to take hold of a file, flipping it open and shuffling some papers. With Kaiba's attention turned to the papers, Otogi took a moment to analyze the male. If not for his lack of a pleasant personality, Otogi could understand the appeal he might have for women. He was not at all unattractive, even rather handsome. It was clear that he had a brilliant mind if he was working on several different financial situations and it helped that he was so wealthy. Otogi was not so sure he would have met the man if not for him being vaguely connected to Yami.

Kaiba removed his cigarette, returning it to being between his index and middle finger, sighing smoke through his nostrils. "Jiiro Hanazawa," he said after a pause. "The girl he was with left her family and got a divorce by herself so that she could be with him. Sakura Mazaki. Know either of them?" Kaiba raised a bored stare to Yami and Otogi, both of whom were looking horrified. "Should I assume that you do?"

"Anzu's mother?" Otogi sputtered in disbelief. Kaiba looked from him to Yami and slowly, his mouth curved into a smirk.

"Well...Looks like we have something other than your finances to discuss, Yami."

X

DIS: A longish chapter to make up for last chapter. I apologize for the cliffhanger, but I could not help myself! Everything is so intertwined in this story...I have an idea of how I am going to untangle it, but we still have to get deeper into everything. In any case, please leave a review telling me how you liked it! Ciao!