Thanks to kaibasgirlx, fantasia-49, SwordMasterZ, :3 Stalker, DaAmazingMeepers, dancers of the night, Super-special-awesome Pirate, CraziAznGirl, Arana Is (I actually really like Kaiba, but he is an asshole, so I had to keep to his character. I think the problem I have with Mai is that I adore her as such a flexible character, but because of her character, I write her out as some nasty characters in my stories), Virgo Asmita, Sakura Takanouchi, ANZU&ATEM FAN, Darling Daring Duckie (Thanks for the book suggestion! I definitely need something to read. I've been re-reading things lately. I definitely do not edit my chapters as carefully as I should, so thanks for the heads up on that, too), Secluded Sapphire, Ari (Problem is that when I get writer's block, it's that I know where I want to go, I just don't know how to get to that place. Thank you for the advice nonetheless), and super-rat for reviewing.
For the question a few people mentioned: "Did Anzu's mom run away with Yami's dad?" The answer is, "No." Jiiro Hanazawa was Yami's close friend and mentor, but not his father, and Anzu's mom fell in love with him. So, for those that are freaking out, thinking I'm going to do something like in Korean dramas, Yami and Anzu are not step-brother and step-sister. Not even I would be that cruel. ;D
And, after leaving you guys with a killer cliffhanger, here is the anticipated chapter sixteen! Enjoy!
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Chapter Sixteen, Attaching the strings of fate
"Jiiro Hanazawa," Seto Kaiba 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, their eyes wide. "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. Yami felt a shiver of dread travel through his body, knowing too well that Kaiba was about to put his two cents in as he always did when it came to his life.
"Well...Looks like we have something other than your finances to discuss, Yami." Kaiba leaned leisurely back in his seat, flicking the ash from his cigarette in the ashtray and raising it to his lips, the smoke drifting above him in steady, gray swirls. Yami drew himself up and controlled his face as well as he could, glancing at Otogi uncertainly, wondering if he knew about any of this. Clearly he did not. His expression was as baffled as Yami's.
"It would explain why Anzu never mentioned her before," Otogi murmured to Yami faintly. Yami felt a pang of guilt at having never told Otogi about the ordeal between him and Anzu's mother. It seemed that not only would he have to tell Otogi that, but in front of Seto Kaiba no less. This was about to become a very complicated discussion between the three of them. "Does your oh-so-powerful file over there give the names of her family, Kaiba?" Otogi queried, raising his voice slightly so that the man in question could hear him. Kaiba stared at him with a black gaze for a pause and then turned again to look at the papers.
"A daughter, Anzu Mazaki, and a husband, Seiji Mazaki. The girl was only six when Sakura left." He turned his gaze back to them, a slight tension at the corners of his eyes. Yami stared back, his mouth twisting a bit. He understood too well why Kaiba mentioned the age. No one but Yami knew that Kaiba's secret weakness were children. The wound from his younger brother's death was still quite fresh and painful. Because Yami's own financial interests were controlled by Kaiba, he knew that behind the selfish, arrogant exterior Kaiba held, there was a man that cared dearly for children. A good majority of his money went to charities to help with that.
Funny, because Kaiba always denies that he is kind. It's almost as if he wants to be a bastard, Yami mused. Dismissing that, he softly said, "I see...You realize that Anzu and Seiji are in Domino City, Kaiba, don't you?" Kaiba's brow furrowed and he lowered his hand from his face.
"Explain yourself."
"The girl that told you off was Anzu Mazaki," Otogi answered for Yami. "She moved here some time ago with her father, if I'm right. They don't live in the same apartment, but they came here together. It would make sense if Sakura came back to the family she abandoned."
"No, you're only basing that on assumption," Kaiba snapped, pointing a warning finger at Otogi and then directing it towards Yami. "He, on the other hand, knows something. I would bet my company on it." He stabbed his cigarette into the ashtray, putting it out. "Have you talked to the mother, Yami?"
"Yes," he replied simply. "She came to the opera house looking for her daughter. Anzu was upset and ran off stage. I told Sakura to leave and she thought it would be amusing to hint at some...unfortunate details of mine." His pointed a look towards the CEO that he knew Kaiba would understand. Kaiba's had his resources and had discovered Yami's somewhat marred background on his own without using the records his father had made. Clearly that someone but himself and Yami knew of this disturbed him.
"How the hell did she find that out?" He grumbled, standing up and jerking the window open to clear the room of the smoke. "It isn't exactly well-known."
"I suppose Jiiro Hanazawa told her," Yami stated nonchalantly. "He and I were close colleagues once. He taught me the essentials of what I know and helped me get through school and become a pianist. Don't ask me why he would have confided this to Sakura. It has been years since I last spoke to him. We had a disagreement. I can only give you so much information." One of Yami's eyebrows rose. "Why are you so interested in their family affairs, anyway? I was under the impression all you had to do was take care of the will and that was the end of it."
"If only," Kaiba darkly responded, crossing his arms and leaning against the windowsill. "Hanazawa and my father had a very personal contract. He must have changed it at the time when he and Sakura officially got together because he has requested I fix up the problems in her family. He wrote on the thing that he doesn't want her to be alone in the world." Kaiba's mouth curled in utter disgust. "As if I really give a damn what he wants." Kaiba glanced at Otogi in annoyance. "Are you still here?"
"Obviously," Otogi sneered in return. "I intend to stay by Yami until the end of the meeting even though I have no idea what either of you are talking about."
"But you are going to heed the contract anyway, aren't you?" Yami queried, ignoring their interaction.
"I am a man of business," Kaiba said, "and an honorable one, unlike the others that prefer to corrupt their position." He sighed, looking to the pack of cigarettes on the table wistfully. It was clear that he was cutting down smoking as he simply looked away from them with a twist of his mouth. "I may have a proposal for you, though, Yami." Kaiba flashed a smirk to the pianist. "I have no particular desire to get closer to that little hellion of a girlfriend that you have – "
"She's not my girlfriend," Yami interrupted quickly.
"As if I care. Like I was saying, since you are closer to her, I want you to try and heal the rift in their family. Personally, I think her mother can fuck off for what she did, but I can't pick and choose when it comes to contracts." Kaiba uncrossed his arms and braced his hands against the windowsill behind him. "If you can do that, I'll ignore the insult you delivered to me by giving your financial deals to your weasel of a friend." He nodded towards Otogi to indicate just who that weasel happened to be. Otogi raised his eyebrows mildly at the name he had been given, not at all ruffled by it. "We won't have to fight with each other over this. Frankly, I'm not in the mood for one of your piss fits anyway."
"One of mine," Yami repeated.
"Yes, one of your piss fits," Kaiba growled.
"You seem to be mistaken."
"I am certain that I am not mistaken."
Otogi, sensing that any type of agreement between them could be vanquished in less than a minute, hastily intercepted by saying, "Gentlemen, enough of this animosity, eh?" He had been hoping to see a showdown between the two, but the eagerness for that had passed after learning of Anzu's family drama and that Yami had been involved in it. He was hurt that his pianist friend had not bothered to tell him about him it. From what he had gathered, though, Sakura had mentioned something about Yami's family. He suspected that was what had sent him into his drinking episode earlier when Anzu had called Otogi. But I suppose he wouldn't tell me as it is not really his place, Otogi reluctantly admitted to himself.
"What if the rift cannot be fixed?" Yami questioned Kaiba in an undeniably cold voice.
"Then at least we can say you tried and my conscience can be put at ease," Kaiba returned with an unpleasant leer on his lips.
"I suppose we have an accord." He stepped forward and extended a hand. Kaiba pushed off from the windowsill and grasped Yami's hand in agreement. Otogi watched as they glared at each other, their hands clasped so hard that their knuckles were turning white. Both of them held false grins that were more malevolent than friendly. A moment passed before they jerked hands away at the same time. "I will call you later in the week, Yami," he said as Yami and Otogi started towards the door.
"Do that," Yami suggested, opening the door and waiting for Otogi exit before him. As he stepped out, Kaiba took hold of the doorknob. Yami paused, turning to look at him with a puzzled frown. "You'll be staying in Domino?"
"For awhile," he responded. "I have a company here that I want to look over. I'll stay a bit to see whether mending the rift in the Mazaki family is possible. Once I'm satisfied I'll be leaving."
"Sounds lovely."
Kaiba smirked, as though having been just challenged and shut the door on them without so much as a farewell. Otogi raised his middle to the door, scowling, before following Yami down the hallway to the elevator. He could tell that Yami was - understandably - brooding about his and Kaiba's conversation and remained respectively silent, thinking of the information he had gathered himself. He had intended on passionately defending Yami about being put in control of his friend's finances rather than get a ton of blackmail material for Anzu.
As the two stepped into the elevator, Otogi's cell phone went off. Yami blinked and looked to his friend questionably while Otogi dug in his pocket to retrieve his phone. Glancing at the name flashing on the screen, he punched 'Send' and answered amiably, "Hello, Mai. What's happening?
"Literally or figuratively?" came his friend's dry voice. An alarmed look crossed his face, hearing the exhausted, almost hoarse sound to her voice. He had been friends with her long enough and had rode through a good deal of hard times with her to know that she had been crying. He could tell, also, that she had not wanted to call him, which was strange unto itself. "Otogi, I know what's going through your head right now and I'm going to tell you that yes, I have been crying." She paused and he patiently waited for her to explain why it was that she had been crying. In a none-too-subtle manner, she blandly said, "Jounouchi came over to pick Rena up."
"How did that go?"
"We didn't fight if that's what you're asking," she replied with a soft sigh. "I was...Well, I was going to call Anzu before you, but I don't want to bother her with my problems and we've only just become friends. I don't want to seem like just another blubbering blonde twit to her. That would hardly make a good impression." She sighed again. "Rena misses Jounouchi a lot."
"Mai, Jounouchi's hours are erratic," he said as the elevator came to a halt and he and Yami exited. Beside him, Yami glanced at him at the mention of Jounouchi. "Rena does miss him – I mean, it's obvious that she does – but with his hours, he can't perform as a single dad, you know that. She would see more of Shizuka than him because of his working and I think he knows that himself, that's why he doesn't insist on more time with her. This works out best for you two, even if it doesn't for Rena." Otogi did not feel, either, that Jounouchi was entirely responsible or at least not responsible in the way that Mai was. She was in control of everything around her, but barely had any control on her own life. He worried that if she was not careful, her life was going to come crashing down around her ears and she would lose control of everything else. Her footing was far too precarious at the present time.
"I feel so awful about myself, Otogi," she murmured quietly on the other line. "Seeing how her face lights up whenever she sees Jounouchi...She's never greeted me that way – ever. Even when we were married, she favored Jounouchi over me. Am I an inadequate mother to her? Do you think I've been a poor mother?"
"No, you've been a wonderful mother to Rena," Otogi assured. "It's just...I don't know, it's just how things sometimes are. Don't let it bother you. She's a kid, her feelings are conflicted between you and Jounouchi. That's how divorce is."
"But it's my fault."
Otogi blinked, startled at this confession. For the time since Mai and Jounouchi had been divorced, Mai had never admitted that she was at fault, that it was her witless actions that caused the divorce to unfold as it did. She had always claimed it was Jounouchi who had caused the problems in their marriage, that her affairs had nothing to do with their marriage falling apart. It was odd to see that she was experiencing honest clarity in such a personal manner. He had always known that Mai's heart still lied with Jounouchi; was it the so-called power of love?
"Maybe," was his vague response. "Do you want me to come over?"
"No. I just wanted to talk to someone. I'm going to sleep. Thank you, Otogi."
"Yeah...Sure."
"Goodbye."
"Bye." He hung up, his brow furrowed as they exited the hotel. Yami eyed his friend as Otogi tucked his phone away, his mouth turned down in a puzzled expression. "Marriage is a strange thing, Yami. I see no reason why it should appeal to you. Hell, relationships in general are confusing." He glanced at Yami to see that the pianist had given a tiny smile, appearing thoughtful. "But I think you already know that last bit of information."
"If you're referring to Anzu – " Yami began.
"Who else? I don't think either of you could muck up a relationship like Mai and Jounouchi have theirs, though." Otogi reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as they moved down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace. "I'm not saying that relationships are bad – I love Shizuka and am happy as her boyfriend – but some people just can't handle it. Mai is definitely one of them, seeing as how she has only enjoyed flings and never had any permanent relationships before Jounouchi. He, on the other hand, had no relationships before Mai and fell head over heels in love with her. After the initial lust, of course."
"It isn't the relationship part that they are poor at, Otogi," Yami calmly told him. "They don't understand each other and neither of them were willing to try and understand. From what I can tell by meeting them, they are polar opposites."
"They are," Otogi sighed. "For the longest time, Mai said that was why they divorced, but today she finally said it was her fault. It was the first time she had ever been honest about that..." He trailed off and then shook his head, saying, "Well...She doesn't like when I get involved in those kind of issues of hers, so let's talk about what happened between you and Kaiba. What's this about meeting Anzu's mother, Yami? You never told me anything about that. By the way, I'm not too outraged, as it's not really my business."
Yami grimaced a bit. "Anzu's mother threw the disgusting truth of my blood in my face, so I wasn't really in the mood to bring the wretched woman up anyway." One of Otogi's eyebrows rose in surprise at the term he placed upon Sakura Mazaki. "Apparently she thinks she can just skip back into her daughter's life as if she didn't run away with Hanazawa. Anzu was upset when Sakura showed up at the opera house, so I tried to get her to leave." He sighed. "I really don't want to bother Anzu with these kinds of things right now with the auditions getting so close. I need her mind clear and focused on the auditions."
"No kidding," Otogi muttered. "It's starting to piss me off how everything is swarming around her. You think it's a sign of fate attempting to intervene?"
"There is no such thing as fate," was the response he received.
X
Anzu knocked on the door before entering, calling, "Anyone here? The door was open..." Jounouchi came ambling out of the living room, a lopsided grin on his lips. Smiling in greeting, she said, "I was hoping you were home. I brought some ice cream." Anzu had, in fact, just come from Miho's after the girl had invited her to her apartment to question her about Honda, searching for dirt on him. Anzu had thought that it was like Miho wanted her to say something bad about Honda Hiroto. Thankfully, she had nothing to say about him to dissuade Miho's affection for him. Personally, Anzu had yet to figure out what it was that Miho found so attractive in Honda. "Honda's going out on a date with one of my friends," she said as Jounouchi led her to the kitchen and she set her two plastic bags on the counter.
"A date?" Jounouchi repeated, his brown eyes widening incredulously. "Him? Anzu, ya really shouldn't make jokes like that." He set a hand on her shoulder, a solemn look on his face. "No girl wants Honda's ugly mug." She scowled and knocked him over the head with her fist - hard. "Ow! What was that for?"
"For talking about your friend behind his back! Besides," she undid the knot on the plastic bag, throwing a smirk his way, "whoever said you were good looking?" He put a hand to his heart in a pained gesture.
"Now I'll never be able to tell you about the crush I have on you if that's what you think about me," he said in a mocking tone. She laughed and after a second, he joined. "But seriously! Who's Honda goin' on a date with? I never heard about this. That bastard...Not keeping me updated on things, why I oughtta – " The door opened again and he frowned, turning in confusion. The subject of their conversation came hurrying down the hall, his face flushed excitedly. "EH?"
"Jounouchi, you wouldn't believe – " Honda spotted Anzu taking out a half gallon of Bunny Tracks ice cream and said, "Oh, hi, Anzu. Did you - ?"
"I already told him," she affirmed with a smile and then turned back to the ice cream as Jounouchi interrogated Honda about who the girl was, where he planned on taking her, etc., etc., etc. Anzu took out two litres of Root Beer and a half gallon of vanilla ice cream from her other plastic bag. She was thinking back to her own day. Things had never been as eventful in her old home as they were in Domino. There were no grand entrances by wealthy CEOs, setting up dates between friends, or even mild arguments between herself and other men. It had been dull, with the same things occurring over and over again: school, work, dance classes, work, dinner, sleep, and then repeat.
It seems that everyone has a love interest except for me, Anzu noted with a sad twist of her mouth. I know that Miho and Mai both suspect, but I don't think I could plainly tell them that I do like Yami. It's not just because of how nice he is and how willing he is to help me in any problem outside of dancing, either. It's his...I don't know, his aura. It's like he speaks in half-sentences and never lets himself say everything he's thinking. I can't help but wonder if that bad drinking habit is because, inside, he's really broken? I want to help him the way he helps me, the way he helped Otogi, yet I'm afraid of getting that close and I know he would never let me. She almost sighed aloud. I do like him. Do I like him enough to want to date him, though? He's my accompanist and we should only have a professional view. If I lost him as an accompanist, I don't think I could really get through my career as a dancer...Not even if I had a different accompanist.
"What? Seriously? That girl from the café? Isn't she the same one from the corner store that you lent money to?" Anzu raised her eyes from the ice cream she had been staring at, grinning at Honda's blushing face. Jounouchi was acting – and looking – like a fourteen-year-old teenage boy, hopping from foot to foot, his face flickering between astonishment and humor. "Man, she's like your personal little stalker!"
"Shut the hell up!" Honda cuffed Jounouchi in the side of the head. "She's beautiful..."
"You said that about my sister, too, ya floozy!"
"You can only call girls floozies, idiot!"
As they begin to bicker, a young, high-pitched voice cut through their masculine voices, calling, "Daddy!" Both men halted, turning to Shizuka and Jounouchi's daughter that had come downstairs to investigate the noise. Her mouth spread into a grin as she added, "Uncle Honda!" Honda knelt down and lifted the girl up into his arms. She giggled, clasping her tiny arms around his neck fondly.
"How are you, beautiful?" Jounouchi rolled his eyes at the word and one of Honda's eyes twitched warningly. "Haven't been flirting with any other guys while I've been away, have you?" He winked at Rena, who laughed delightedly.
"Noooo," she crooned, smiling at him. Her eyes caught yet another person in the room and she thrust her arms out towards Anzu insistently, demanding, "Anzu!" and Honda obliged the girl by handing her to Anzu. Rena did not need to be cooed to or even spoken to when it came to Anzu. She simply curled up against Anzu and popped her thumb in her mouth, closing her eyes. Anzu absent-mindedly stroked Rena's dishwater blonde hair, raising her eyes to Jounouchi, who was looking at Rena with a fatherly affection.
"What have you got there, Anzu?" Shizuka inquired, pushing through the two males blocking the doorway and peering over her shoulder at the ice cream. With a groan, she put a hand on Anzu's arm and briefly slumped against her in relief. "You're a goddess, bringing me something fattening." Shizuka pulled away and clapped her hands. "And you bought stuff to make Root Beer floats. I could not thank you more!"
"Ice cream?" Honda questioned, crowding over to the counter. "Mmm..."
"Glutton!" Jounouchi teased behind his friend.
"Wouldn't be talking," Honda sneered. Anzu laughed and Rena raised her head to look at what it was that everyone was making a fuss over. Soon, everyone was maneuvering around the kitchen to gather bowls, spoons, tall cups, and ice cream scoops to dig into the dessert that Anzu had brought for them. Anzu was glad that she had ended her day at the Katsuya household, even though a small portion of her stomach reflected dread for the next day...
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DIS: (rubs hands together) Hmm...What is so mysterious about the next day? Maybe nothing, maybe everything! Well, sorry for the long wait. (bows pathetically) I will not give excuses – I had plenty of time to update it – but I will try harder to update it faster next time. Please leave a review telling me how you liked it. Sorry there isn't a lot of Yami/Anzu, but I'm still getting into their relationship...Ciao!
