DIS: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and again, I apologize for all the bloody cliffhangers. They kill me as much as they kill you. Also, to those who feel that Malik doesn't blend with the story – no, he definitely does not, but he's necessary for this part of the story and he will be crucial to the plot later on after the auditions and everything else. For those are wishing he was out of the story, he will disappear for a short while to reappear, though I do not anticipate him to remain very long. He's just one of those characters that are important for certain aspects of the story. In any case, he's here to stay. With that said, enjoy the nineteenth chapter!
X
Chapter Nineteen, One step forward, ten steps back
The air was thick with tension. Malik, looming a few inches above Anzu, glanced from her to Sakura, his brow furrowing in slight concern. She did not even bother to look at him, staring steadily at Sakura with a cold, detached expression. It was one that was foreign on Anzu's usually warm, lively face. Otogi seemed uncomfortable, shifting foot to foot. The silence after Anzu's rather harsh observation had extended to a painful amount of time. Sakura did not have the control that her daughter did, her face contorting in hurt. She seemed to want to say something, but was unable to voice the words. When neither Otogi nor Malik made any actions, both apparently stunned by Anzu's behavior, Yami moved forward and gently clasped Anzu's wrist. She willingly turned towards him, her face softening a bit when facing him. "Let's take care of Malik's problem first, Anzu," he suggested quietly, raising his other hand to cover her hand. She looked down at their hands and raised her face back to his, nodding. "Good..." He glanced at Sakura, who reigned in her emotions and stepped away from the door to allow them entry.
They trooped into the house, Malik sending the woman a menacing sneer that she pointedly ignored. Once the door was shut behind them, she ushered them into the den and settled on the couch whilst they remained standing. "You are not getting that money, Ishtar," she informed Malik without looking at him. "I don't have any interest in you. The only person I want to talk to is my daughter."
"Well, sad to say, but she doesn't want to talk to the lover of a reputed drug lord," Malik snapped in return.
"Anzu didn't come here to talk to you, Sakura," Yami spoke up before Malik lost his temper more than he already had. "She came here so that you would open your doors to Malik to allow negotiations. If you knew anything about Hanazawa – or if he was as close to you as I assume – than you know the rules as well as I do." He folded his arms over his chest, his mouth twisting in distaste. Yami disliked thinking about his life before his career as a pianist, and before he was able to escape the clutches of his parent's. Otogi and Anzu were clueless as to what he was speaking of, something he had not yet decided whether was a good thing or not. Malik, however, was silent and surrendering the reigns to the conversation. He was good at manipulating women, so long as he was in control. As it was, Sakura had complete control of this situation unless Anzu decided to speak again. Then it would be the daughter who would be doing the manipulating rather than Sakura.
"I'm not part of that society that Jiiro was so involved in," Sakura replied in an aloof manner that only made Malik scowl at her. Yami was certain he saw Otogi roll his eyes towards Malik and mouth something to him. His suspicions were confirmed when the blonde smirked widely, amused. "I only inherited what he gave me. And you inherited what he gave you, Ishtar." She turned her gaze from the males to fixate on her ever-silent daughter. "Nothing you say will make me give him that money, Anzu. You don't understand the world that he lives in, the rules that he lives by – "
"But I do," Yami interrupted sharply, "and better than anyone else in this room."
"Because of your worthless parents?" Sakura returned angrily.
"Enough!" Anzu raised her voice above her mother's in a slight scream. Everyone turned to look at her and Sakura shrunk back a bit at the enraged fire spitting from Anzu's eyes. "You'll not speak to him that way, mother, let alone his parents. I don't care if it's true or not, but you've no place to be talking about what worth another person's parents are when you abandoned me and father for some man that, from what I've learned so far, is absolutely horrible. Yami is right. The only reason I came here was to help Malik. If you're not going to give him his money, then fine, but I'll never speak to you as if you're my mother because you're not."
"How can you say that to me...?" She whispered, her expression crumbling as she raised her hands to her throat, distraught. "I did everything I could for you. Would you have preferred that I suffer, Anzu? Suffer and love a man from afar? You never met Jiiro! You would trust what these men have to say? I would never lie to you – "
"You lied all the time!! You lied to me and to papa and you didn't ever give a damn who you hurt!" Anzu exploded abruptly. "And then you just show up and think that everything's going to be alright, that I'll talk with you and I'll love you like I used to? Just because you gave birth to me and were my mom as a child doesn't mean anything to me! You've betrayed the love and trust I had in you! I'm not going to be lied to again, to get stabbed in the heart and hurt. Papa and I suffered for years and all you have to say is that you want to 'talk' to us!!"
"Anzu, calm down," Yami said, raising a hand and hesitantly placing it on her shoulder. After the initial rage, her angry breaths turned into deep, heaving sobs. "Don't cry...Hush." She covered her face, weeping, as he pulled her against him. He flashed a glare at Sakura. She did not even acknowledge it, staring at the ground. Malik appeared uncomfortable, as though he had personally beaten upon Anzu's emotions and caused her tears. "Come outside for a moment. Come on." He pulled her out of the house so that she would not have to be in the same room as Sakura. "Don't let him cause problems, Otogi," he added to his friend, nodding his head towards Malik. Otogi glanced uncertainly at Anzu, but Yami gave his head a firm shake and left the house, shutting the door quietly behind them. The sun had faded from the sky and it was gradually turning into a dark, midnight blue. He settled Anzu on the porch next to him and let her cry in his shoulder, something he knew she needed to do right then. He kept an arm around her shoulders comfortingly, but did not do much more than that; he doubted she was comfortable enough to accept anything else from him.
"I am...so sorry, Yami," she muttered weakly, pulling away and wiping her eyes. He kept a hand on her shoulder, peering at her face in concern. "I always seem to break down on you. I haven't even paid you for being my accompanist. How terrible am I? You might as well be my own personal box of tissues..." She sniffled while he smiled at her feeble attempt at a joke.
"Anzu, it's okay. I like to think that we're friends. If I'm allowed to sulk around my friends and annoy them, you're allowed to cry all over me. Besides that, I expected you to get upset today. I would have tried to stop you, but Malik insisted and so did you. I know better than to try and stop two stubborn asses from getting what they want." He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. We'll get through this."
"Malik has to get his money or he'll be ruined," she mumbled. "And he's such a beautiful dancer, too."
"We'll deal with everything. One thing at a time, though." He stood up and Anzu sat on the porch, staring ahead of her morosely. He tapped her head with his knuckles and when she tipped her head back in confusion, he proffered a hand. "I know you're stronger than this, Anzu, so let's go in and show her that side of you." He smiled warmly. "Okay?" Her face cleared and she took his hand, rising to her feet unsteadily, returning his smile with a genuine one of her own.
"Yeah, let's do it."
X
Sakura felt Malik Ishtar glaring daggers into her; she didn't care. He was the last of her concerns. The third male, the one whose name she did not know, was staring at her with just a little less malice and with a good deal of disapproval. He, too, was not a problem for which she was interested in worrying about. It was her daughter whom her mind was on. To hear those words thrown at her in such righteous fury tore at Sakura's heart. Every word, every sentence she knew was true. Even at that moment she felt the daggers driving into her heart, causing it to writhe with guilt. She wanted to justify that nothing mattered but love, not even family, yet she knew that was not so. She had felt an enormous amount of remorse when she chose Jiiro Hanazawa over her husband and daughter. Throughout the years, she continued to wonder if she made the right decision. After the encounter with Anzu, she knew that she made the wrong decision.
And what about Yami Mutou? she mused. Every time either she or Ishtar got out of hand, he always cut in and took control so easily and they let him. Anzu turned to him when she was crying and let him take her outside. He is from the same world that Jiiro is from, so why does she accept him but will not accept Jiiro? She called my love horrible...How can she say that to me? I am still mourning his loss. I might regret leaving my family, but I still loved Jiiro more than anything in my life. Doesn't she understand what I feel? Doesn't she love Yami the same way that I love Jiiro? She acts like it. The door opened and she raised her eyes from the coffee table she had been staring fixedly at to look Anzu and Yami. Or...does she not realize that she loves him? Does he love her? Sakura wanted to swing into action, to lecture Yami and to ask Anzu questions, to act like, well, a mother. Of course, that was quite impossible with how her relationship with both of them was, if there even was a relationship. She supposed hatred could be considered a type of relationship.
Anzu slowly walked towards her and Yami did not follow. She halted in front of the coffee table, staring down at Sakura with only the wood table separating them. They looked uncannily alike with their physical traits. They both had wide eyes and the same lustrous, chocolate coloured hair. Yet, they were also entirely different. While Anzu's features were set in soft, smooth angles, suggesting at her trustworthy character, Sakura's face was all hard angles. Age and life had caused her skin to form lines and her overall countenance seemed weary whereas Anzu was quite ready to bounce back and fight. "You will give Malik his money."
"Is that an order?" Sakura asked. "You can think of me however you want, Anzu, but giving out orders to me as though I am your child – "
"You act like a child," Malik grunted, "with your fanciful notions of love. Watched too many Disney movies, have you?"
"Do you suppose she sings?" Otogi contemplatively asked.
"Don't know. I wonder if she's tone deaf. Singing about love would be funny, but bad singing would make it even better." They might have gone on if Yami hadn't shot them a warning look. Sakura, meanwhile, had tightened her hands into fists in the skirt she was wearing, trying to ignore their remarks and the stinging behind her eyes. If it had just been her and Anzu facing off without the three men at the sidelines, perhaps she might be able to do something about this entire situation. But they were there and watching her like a hawk, ready to swoop in and protect Anzu if need be. They saw Sakura as nothing better than the scum of the earth, an adulterous woman who left her family to fend for themselves.
And she felt like scum right then.
"It isn't your money," Anzu said, as though the conversation between the two men had not even happened. "You have no right to keep it from him. If he had done something wrong to Hanazawa, then maybe I could understand for him putting his debts on Malik's doorstep. But he didn't and now he's on the road to being homeless and I can't let you do that to him. He has so much talent and has helped me so much. The least I can do is help him."
"It's none of your business what happens in his life."
"It is so when he comes to me, asking for me to take him to you! Stop being so childish! What could you possibly need that money for, mother? To get yourself another drug lord husband so you can get even more money?" Sakura's face paled in horror at the very thought. "Stop lying for him. He's dead. Malik just wants to get rid of those debts."
"Then he can get a job and pay them off himself."
"I can't get a job because my dealings with Hanazawa got out to the public, you old bag!" Malik snarled petulantly. "If I had a job, I wouldn't give a fuck!" Sakura said nothing to this, unwilling to listen to them. Her gaze was focused on Anzu. Her daughter's body gave no indication that she was readying herself for defeat. If anything, Anzu appeared as though she were scheming something in her mind, readying herself for another attack at Sakura's conscience. This was something the elder female of the two could not allow. Already her resolve was breaking. She would be willing to do anything for Jiiro, but now that her life that she had with Seiji and the life she had with him were blurring, overlapping each other, she was not so sure she would sacrifice so much for Jiiro anymore. She could deny Seiji more easily than she could Anzu. Anzu was her daughter, the one jewel that had glimmered in her life, even when she never saw her.
"You've already ruined two lives," Anzu said in the utter silence of the room, her eyes dark and unreadable. "Could you handle destroying another?"
"How many lives do you think he has ruined?" she retorted, thrusting a finger towards Malik without looking at him. "Do you know of his infamous reputation for breaking hearts or did your beloved pianist fail to tell you all of that?" She then pointed her finger towards Yami. She expected him to say something to defend himself, but Yami did not so much as move to deny her claim. Anzu was also unmoving, either because she did not care or she did not believe her, Sakura was unsure. Lowering her arm, Sakura folded her hands in her lap again and coldly said, "I agree that Malik is a good dancer – one of the best – but he went around sleeping with any and every woman that he was interested in, even the dancers that he was teaching. They fell in love with him and he threw them aside like toys. They were devastated. How do you think their lives went from then on? Do you think they could ever trust a man after being so thoroughly used and deceived by him?"
"But were they good dancers?"
Taken aback, Sakura stared at her. "What does it matter?"
"Other men have done that, too. Malik is just another out of the million on this planet. I don't even need you to answer my question," Anzu added with a frown, "because I know how wonderful of a teacher he is. If he did poorly, if he had nothing to offer to the world of art, then I wouldn't insist upon this. I'm confident that he can pick things up after he gets rid of these debts, but he's so focused on them that he can do nothing about everything else, so please just give him the money that he needs so that he can continue with his life. If not, then you're worse than Hanazawa."
"You don't know what he was like outside of that society," Sakura said, desperate to defend the man that she still loved. "You don't understand what drove him, why he did what he did. It wasn't for evil reasons. Just because he was good at it means nothing." Her eyes slid suggestively to Yami. She knew that if she attacked him again, Anzu would get upset. He was a perfect example, though, in comparing Jiiro to those of the society that enjoyed the doings of the drug world of so-called artists.
As if Anzu knew where her thoughts lied, she told her mother in a flat, warning voice, "I trust Yami."
"He is just like Jiiro, Anzu, something that you may not want to admit."
"Yami," Anzu said in a deliberate, slow tone, "would not have allowed another man's wife to up and leave her family with no warning." Sakura stared at her and then rose to her feet, looking at each of the four people in her living room. Her gaze halted on Anzu, lingering there as she drank in the sight of her daughter. She felt as though she were in a remote, foreign place where she knew not the people, nor the language. Those eyes that pierced her made her entire being shrink into nothing and her heart shrivel into a dried husk. It was not only anger and cold determination in Anzu's eyes, but a raw hurt that Sakura knew had been there for many years; it was a pain that Sakura had caused by ripping through her daughter's life when she was a mere child.
"I want to have you as a daughter again, Anzu," she murmured, "Just...let me try and be your mother again. Let me try, at the very least."
"I don't – "
"Wait," Yami spoke up, taking a few steps towards Anzu and putting a hand on the small of her back. She turned, startled by his interruption. "Hold for a moment, Anzu." He turned to look at Sakura. "If Anzu were to do this, would you give Malik the money that he needs and take care of these debts for him? Surely you have some knowledge of whom they are for."
"I was left with all the existing business arrangements of Jiiro's," she confirmed. "I want only a chance and then I will give him the money that is needed. If they fail to drop it, I will speak with them personally. They wouldn't dare to deny me what I wish."
"Hmm. You sound quite certain of this, so I'll believe you." He turned his attention back to Anzu, who was watching this with an expression of disbelief. "I know that this isn't what you expected, but it's become clear that this is the only way that we can conclude these matters, Anzu. Allow her this one thing. It is small compared to some of the greater things she could have asked." For a moment, she appeared that she might argue with him and then looked to Malik uncertainly. He blinked when her eyes touched his.
"It's up to you," he grumbled after a pause. "I'm not going to force you to do something that you don't want to do."
"No...," Anzu murmured, her shoulders slumping in resignation. "Yami's right." She closed her eyes tight for a moment and then said, "Alright, mother...I'll do this, but not for you – for Malik."
The conditions in which Sakura would be able to speak and be with her daughter were not the ones she had been hoping for, yet she knew they were the most that she would be allowed at the present. With an inwardly relieved sigh, she nodded and moved into the kitchen to retrieve her purse. She paused as she turned to return to the den, staring at the picture that was propped on the shelf above the sink. The window above the shelf showed that it was dark outside, the streetlight's orange glow shedding light to the street outside. It was empty safe for a few teenagers skateboarding, chattering to each other. She took the picture and returned to the den with both things in her hand. Yami raised his gaze to her as soon as she entered, drifting down to the photograph in her hand.
"I know you don't care, but this is a picture of Jiiro and I," Sakura said, holding it out to her daughter. Anzu stared at the framed picture and then took it from her, looking down at it. "I loved both your father and him, Anzu. I won't lie to you any longer, much less about this. I regretted leaving you and Seiji. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. But...I don't regret loving Jiiro. He never truly had a woman that he could love and trust. He needed me more than Seiji did."
"He's not what I expected," Anzu confessed quietly after a thorough inspection of the photograph, handing it back to Sakura.
"It was a more sophisticated drug society that Jiiro and I belonged to," Malik explained to her. "Those in it rarely ever looked like they were involved in those kinds of things."
"Were there only certain types that were allowed in it?" Otogi asked him curiously.
"It wasn't that," Sakura responded for Malik, settling on the couch as she wrote out separate checks for each person to whom the debt was owed. "With this society, you couldn't simply go searching for it. If you found it, it was always on accident and you have only two choices once you are aware of it: you either enter this drug society or you don't live to tell others."
"When my dealings in the society were spread to the public, they never mentioned who these dealings were with because it wasn't allowed," Malik added with a black scowl.
"So...Wait." Otogi frowned in puzzlement. "Does that mean...?"
"The drug society of us artists is ruled by a strict code that all must obey," Yami said in his soft, deep voice. Sakura paused in writing the last check, raising her eyes to him. He had been silent about his involvement in the society up until now. "If you do not obey it, you're taken care of and the business is cleaned up very quietly and efficiently. You can leave the society after you fulfill your quota, but you are always remembered and if you go off telling people outside the society, they will always know. Even outside, you have to play by the rules they have set up. There is no way of escaping it."
"No," Malik agreed, looking off to the side, "there isn't."
A long silence fell over the room. Anzu and Otogi exchanged worried looks. Neither of them understood the complex ways of the underworld of those involved in the arts. Sakura seemed to feel that it was time to get them out of her house and hastily wrote the last check and handed them to Anzu. She took them and glanced at the amount, raising her eyebrows in surprise. She had not realized the debt was so much. Sakura closed her checkbook and tucked it in her purse, rising to her feet. "I will visit you at the opera house," she told her, "and we can go out to lunch. I want to explain everything to you privately, even if it makes no difference." Sakura hesitated and then brushed her hand over Anzu's. "I know you don't believe me, but I love you, Anzu. I've never forgotten you."
"We need to go," Yami abruptly said, feeling Anzu's body quake from the tender words.
Sakura nodded and herded them out the door, shutting the door firmly behind them. Yami heard the lock click into place behind them. Malik snorted in disgust at the gesture. She obviously did not care for their presence any longer. The four of them moved to the car and while Malik and Otogi clamored into the back, Yami stopped Anzu outside the passenger door and held a hand out. Her face was drawn with weariness and he knew the meeting with her mother had drained her. She stared at him blankly, not understanding what it was that he wanted. "You're tired," he informed her plainly, "and as I fear your driving when you're awake, I would feel safer driving if you don't mind." She smiled at his joke and ignored his hand, hugging him. Surprised, he drew his arms around her, querying, "Anzu?"
"Thank you for being here for me, Yami," she whispered. Yami gave a slight smile and rested his cheek against her head briefly.
"You're welcome." He pulled away and she dug in her purse, retrieving her keys and handing them to him. He opened the door for her and after she was safely inside, he closed it and continued to the driver's seat. When he was situated and had made his adjustments, Malik made a rude remark on Yami's driving, muttering about how he preferred Anzu's. Yami chose not to say that the only reason that might have been would be because Malik's was even worse than Anzu's. Anzu turned around and handed Malik his checks, which he took with a grateful smile. Yami frowned thoughtfully and asked, "Anzu, would you mind if I made a stop before going to the opera house?"
"Oh, sure."
"Let me just call him to make certain of where he is..." Yami took out his cell phone and dialed a phone number as he put the key in the ignition and turned it. The car obligingly came to life, humming smoothly as it awaited his next action. After the third ring, the person on the other line of the phone answered. "Where are you?" he asked without greeting.
"How rude," came the sarcastic drawl of Seto Kaiba. "Not up to your usual politeness, I see." Yami's face twisted into an irritated scowl. "I'm at my company at the moment. Do you need directions?" There was a fairly short list of things that Yami liked about Kaiba, but out of all of them, the one that he appreciated the most was that Kaiba tended not to ask questions over the phone or when he assumed a person might be in a hurry. Yami suspected it was because Kaiba, himself, disliked when people did that. As a rather serious and overall respected CEO, Kaiba supplied the same amenities to others as he expected to be given to him. "It's in the inner city."
"I'm aware of where it is," Yami replied, "but you'll have to authorize my entrance at the gate."
"Fine. But be quick about getting here." At that, he hung up without a farewell, as per usual. Yami hung up and gave an apologetic smile to Anzu.
"We're going to have to go into the inner city. Do you mind?" She shook her head.
"That's fine."
Malik and Otogi were sending him blatant questioning looks and he ignored both of them. He would explain later. For now, he needed to get downtown. He pulled into the street and drove out of the peaceful neighborhood in which Sakura lived. The drive was longer than he would have liked, even when he took the freeway. Anzu fell asleep, her head resting on the window. The drive through downtown Domino was complicated, but Yami knew his way through it. He had been to Kaiba's company here enough that he was able to navigate his way through the inner city. Otogi leaned forward as they approached the gates of Kaiba Corporation, letting out a low whistle. "It's the tallest building in all of Domino," Yami said to him as he stopped in the front of the gates. He rolled down his window as the security guard approached the car. "Yami Mutou. Kaiba is expecting me."
"I'll need to see some ID to confirm that, sir," he said. Yami took out his wallet and showed him his license. The man took it and then nodded. "Thank you." He stepped away and moved aside, gesturing to the other guard as Yami rolled his window up. There was an unpleasant buzzing akin to that of a mental institution before the gates slid back to allow him entrance. Yami drove through and parked nearest to the front of the building, turning the car off and removing the keys. He turned back and said to Otogi, "Would you mind staying in the car with Anzu?"
"Sure," Otogi answered. "I've had enough of Kaiba for a lifetime, anyway." He grinned at Yami's dry expression, a good indication that he was of the same mind.
"And what of me?" Malik asked warily, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I want you to come inside with me. Bring the checks, too, and stop swearing," he added as Malik released a particularly foul epithet. However, despite Malik's clear reluctance to meet with Kaiba, he exited the car and went to the massive building with Yami. He had folded and tucked the checks in his back pocket, shoving his hands in his pockets and following Yami through the lobby. The woman at the front desk did not even raise her eyes to them. It was a given that if they had made it through the gate, they were welcome here. They went to the elevator and Yami punched in the highest floor number. Malik leaned against the wall, his shoulders hunched sullenly. "I know you and Kaiba hate each other," Yami said, "but he'll be able to help us."
"Help us what?" Malik demanded, tugging his hands out of his pockets and making a wild gesture with his hands. "We've got the checks. All I have to do is transfer them to the bank accounts of the men."
"Is that how they said they wanted them delivered? How are they going to know it was you?"
"The bank keeps track of the transactions and who it is from. They're not going to pay attention to what bank account the money is from, but who sent the checks. They'll know that is was me and it'll be done and over with, so why the hell would we need to talk to Kaiba?"
The elevator came a stop, the doors gliding open. Yami sighed, "You'll see," and exited the elevator. Malik frowned but also stepped out of the elevator. The secretary here turned from the computer and glared at them menacingly. "I'm here to see Kaiba. He knows that I was coming. My name is Yami Mutou." She turned from him and picked up her phone, dialing in four numbers and announcing him into the phone before hanging up.
"Through that door, then," she told them, returning to her computer, the clack of her fingers hitting the keyboard the only sound in the waiting room. Yami moved towards the door and opened it, entering. Malik shut the door behind him, moving to stand beside Yami with the same sullen expression on his face as before. Yami almost rolled his eyes at his pouting. At the desk that was situated in front of a long wall of windows that looked out to the parking lot in front of the building and across the city, Kaiba was settled comfortably in his chair. His elbow was propped on the arm of his chair, resting his cheek lightly against the top of his knuckles. He eyed Malik, his eyes darkening. Yami glanced between the two. They did not hold the respectful hatred that Yami and Kaiba did, but a blazing, furious hatred, something that Yami was still uncertain of the origins.
"I was unaware you were in Domino," Kaiba coolly said to Malik.
"Is that right?" Malik drawled, giving a cocky smirk. "Interestingly enough, I did know you were here. I was hoping to avoid you, though." His smirk dropped into an unhappy frown. "Unfortunately, things never seem to go my way when Yami is involved. Can we get this shit over with already, Yami? If I had known we were coming here, I wouldn't have a decent mood to be ruined."
"It's those checks Sakura gave you," Yami told him. "I wanted Kaiba to make sure that they wouldn't bounce since he has resources that we don't. I didn't want Anzu to go through unnecessary hurt in case the woman did something else with the money that we don't know about. And, because of my soft heart, I didn't want you to get shot because those men didn't get their money."
"How kind of you," Malik said, mockingly putting a hand on his heart. "I think I might be in love." Yami rolled his eyes as Kaiba observed this with a sharp gaze. Yami knew that he had picked up on Sakura's name, something that could prove problematic if he decided to speak about the mission Kaiba have given him. Yami trusted Malik only to a certain point; he didn't want him meddling in this matter, knowing that Malik's methods were not all that successful when it came to families.
"Hmm..." Kaiba opened a drawer abruptly and dug a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out. "Let me see the checks," he said as he lit a cigarette and tossed both things back in the drawer, snapping it closed. Malik took them out of his pocket and approached the desk, handing them to the CEO. Kaiba took them and smoothed the first out. With a few clicks of his mouse, he was typing on the computer, even more rapidly than his secretary had been. After a moment, he frowned and pulled his ashtray towards him and tapped his cigarette against the edge before pressing it between his lips again. "The woman has more money than I would have expected," he said.
"What does that mean for me?" Malik asked. Kaiba sat back in his chair, taking a drag of his cigarette and exhaling through his nose.
"What do you think, you idiot? Your checks won't bounce, but let me make sure that these are valid checks that she made out to you. You won't have a problem with the money, but if the checks are fake, you're going to have more problems than them bouncing back." He leaned forward again, his cigarette placed in his fingers, tapping in numbers from each of the checks and making a few clicks with his mouse. "Hm."
"What?" Malik leaned over the desk anxiously. Kaiba sent him an annoyed look, moving to the side. He raised his cigarette and Malik jerked back, glaring at him. Kaiba's lips curled in a malicious smirk as he took another drag from his cigarette. Yami merely raised an eyebrow at Kaiba in some surprise. It didn't take a genius to know that he was preparing to stick the end of his cigarette somewhere to burn Malik. He hadn't imagined Kaiba to be so...violent, if that were the word to be used to describe such an action.
"Everything's clear," Kaiba said, smashing his cigarette in the ashtray and then typing something. "Even with as much money as these checks are, it's not even going to make a dent in her funds. Hanazawa was clearly an expert at what he did to have been able to leave her this much money or else she was involved herself."
"That's not possible," Yami told him with a shake of his head.
"No?" was Kaiba's reply. "I disagree. No man working in that world can make this much money, Yami, not even if he had done it all his life. That is what is not possible. If he and her had been doing it, though, it would explain why she has so much money unless there was another lover that no one knew about." He met Yami's eyes and although his expression did not change, there was a grim look in his eyes that showed that he knew something but was unwilling to share it with Malik. The blonde male in question had straightened and was staring out the window vacantly, seeming to deliberate over what Kaiba had said.
"Sakura knew about Hanazawa's dealings while he was alive," Malik suddenly said in a musing manner. "She implied that he trusted her more than anyone else. If that's true, he would have told her everything he did, who he did it to, and why he did it. She was inadvertently involved herself. Most of the women in the drug world get their money from seducing men, making the men fall in love with them. So, consider this." His eyes snapped to Yami and Kaiba, both of whom were listening intently. "What if he used her to gather money from men? Once they gave their money to her, to win her over or prove that their affection for her was in earnest, Hanazawa could have easily eliminated them."
"That's what I believe she did," Kaiba concurred.
"She loved Hanazawa enough that she wouldn't have had willingly had another lover," Malik continued, looking to Yami. "But if he requested that she do it for him, she would have slept with countless men to win them over. There's no other explanation, Yami."
"I know," Yami murmured, his expression troubled, "but I'm afraid that would only cause Anzu to hate her even more."
"Who gives a rat's ass about her liking that bitch? The way she was talking today, I would have thought you would want to tear her to shreds!"
"It's an arrangement that Yami and I have that causes him to want Anzu to make up with her mother," Kaiba answered before Yami was able to even consider upon whether he wished to tell Malik the truth or not. "Hanazawa wanted her to return to her family so that she wouldn't be alone. That a man could devote so much to as senseless of a woman as she is beyond me." He pushed his elbows onto the top of his desk, making a steeple of his fingers by intertwining them, surveying Malik and Yami thoughtfully. "I don't care what happens in that woman's life," he said at last, "but I can see that you're getting emotionally involved with this girl, Yami, and although I don't care for her headstrong attitude, I believe it would be more...prudent if I were the one to give her the facts of this affair."
"What are you saying?" Yami murmured in query, an uneasy feeling stirring in the pit of his belly.
"I'm saying that you can deal with getting her and her mother together, but I'm going to explain things to her." Yami opened his mouth in protest, but Kaiba interrupted, snapping, "Don't fuck with me, Yami, because we both know that I'm not someone you want to piss off. You care too much for her and are going to water down everything so that it doesn't seem like such a bad thing. I know how you act when you get attached to someone." He dropped his hands and pushed away from the desk, standing up and succeeding in sneering haughtily down at them. "I'm not going to argue this point. You can come with her when I talk to her, but don't try and make things seem less than they are. Now, I have better things to do than argue with you two."
"Hey! What about my checks?" Malik said as Kaiba gathered them and set them aside.
"I'll take care of them for you. Don't give me that look, Ishtar," he said as an outraged expression covered Malik's face. "I might be a prick, but I'm an honest businessman. I don't need your money. You can trust me in these matters more than you can a stranger."
"Let him do it, Malik," Yami said with a sigh, knowing that there was no way they could overrule Kaiba in either matter. Malik glowered, but let it drop. Kaiba followed them to the door. Yami was frustrated that Kaiba did not trust him enough to be able to convey the information to Anzu accurately, but knew in spite of himself that he was right. Yami would soften the facts and while Kaiba would not be rude about it by adding his own commentary, he would omit nothing and tell it as he knew it. He was accustomed to doing things that way, the only reason that Yami was allowing him to take care of this part. He also knew that Anzu would believe him, even if their initial meeting had been unpleasant. Unlike most businessmen, who gave off the feeling of deceit, Kaiba had a direct way of doing and saying things that made a person believe him. To his knowledge, Kaiba had never told a lie to those of less rank than him; it had always been those in his own class to whom he lied.
He was, as he had stated before, an honest businessman to the common people.
"Yami," Kaiba said, causing the pianist to pause. Malik continued forward to the elevator, as though sensing that they needed to speak alone. "You told me that Anzu Mazaki was not your girlfriend, only that you were her accompanist."
"We're not dating."
"I would suggest you consider very carefully over what you're getting yourself involved in. Men that get involved with business associates...Their lives rarely ever turn out well, especially when you both have problems that are unresolved, family and otherwise."
"You're giving me romantic advice?"
"No," Kaiba calmly answered, "I'm giving you business advice. Life is a business that you directly influence. You apparently have yet to realize that." Yami blinked as Kaiba shut the door in his face, leaving him staring at the door with a touch of confusion. Sighing through his nostrils, he turned and joined Malik at the elevator.
"I really hate him," was all Malik offered for conversation.
X
Anzu stepped out of the car, a bit more refreshed from her nap. She had woken as soon as Malik and Yami returned from inside Kaiba Corp. They had been unusually grim-faced, but neither she nor Otogi questioned them. She suspected that Otogi, like herself, was beginning to see that there was a wide, dividing line between their own lives and Yami and Malik's. Even though she was secretly intrigued by her mother's suggestions as to what sort of things Yami was involved in the past, she chose not to press him because she could see that it was something of which he was proud or comfortable speaking about. When they had dropped Malik off, she waved goodbye to him and he had returned her wave, promising to continue with their tutoring tomorrow afternoon.
Once at the opera house, she got out of the car, letting Yami leave the keys inside. Otogi bid them farewell and drove off in his own car. Yami remained near her car, a small smile touching his lips. "A bit too much happened today, I think," he commented, sighing as he closed his eyes and hung his head back. She said nothing, listening to the play of sounds around them: cars rolling through the streets somewhere nearby and distant club music from the entertainment district of town, only a few blocks from the opera house. He dropped his head back and looked to her with a smile. She returned it a bit uncertainly. She was still reeling from her meeting with Sakura, trying to forget everything about it. "It will get better, Anzu," he assured her. "Just focus on your dancing. Right now, nothing else should matter."
"I know, but I can't help but be worried. I hate that everything is happening now of all times." He eyed her and then moved forward, pulling her into his arms. As she pressed her cheek against his shoulder, she wondered vaguely to herself when she had become so comfortably with touching him, when she had begun to trust him so deeply. She couldn't remember enjoying someone's company as much as his. She had always had her father, but there was something distinctly different in Yami's embraces and touch that she could not define. She closed her eyes as he slid his fingers through her hair, slipping beneath the silky curtain to close his palm and fingers over the back of her neck. She shivered at the feel of his cool hand on her warm flesh.
"Sometimes," he said aloud thoughtfully, "I think it would be better to ignore what reason says simply to satisfy myself."
"And do you?" she murmured, feeling her heartbeat accelerate. She was not certain why and it made her nervous. Her heart thudded wildly when he gently pulled her away from him. She raised her eyes to his and felt her cheeks begin to warm at the tenderness in his eyes.
"Not until now," he answered, tilting her head back with his hand and closing his lips over hers. Her heart stuttered with excitement and she lifted her hands, shaking, to his arms, clasping them as she pressed her lips more firmly against his. She was inexperienced in anything that involved men and was not entirely sure of how to act or what to do. Thankfully, it seemed that Yami knew that and had far more experience than she did. He slid his hand from her neck and smoothed it along her back and the curve of her spine, pulling her closer to the warmth of his body. She obligingly cuddled up to him, her hands moving to his shoulders, insistent. She could feel his mouth curve against hers in amusement and felt a bit of embarrassment at her behavior. It did not seem to bother him in the least.
The earlier soft kiss became less so as he raised his hand, taking her chin and curling his index finger underneath it, coaxing her mouth open with swift swipes of his tongue. She nearly purred, clinging to him as his tongue dipped into the sweet crevice of her mouth. It seemed too warm outside even though she knew it was cool. She seemed to be burning and the taste of him, of cinnamon and some other flavor that she could not identify intoxicated her. His hands dropped to her waist, guiding her back against her car and moving himself closer so their bodies were aligned. She was hot and his mouth was so moist and delicious that she boldly, without thinking, lifted her tongue to his in synchronization, pulling his face closer. This time, he was smirking. And this time, she felt no embarrassment, only a foreign desire that she had never experienced before.
Before she was able to truly act on that desire, her phone abruptly rang, startling both of them. He pulled away and she blinked blearily, gazing at him. Neither of them paid any attention to the ringing for a moment, staring at each other before Yami seemed to collect himself and removed himself from her, putting a few feet between them and suggesting, "I would answer that if I were you." He smiled comfortingly. "You need to be getting home, anyway. Drive home safe, Anzu." He reached out and brushed his knuckles over her chin before turning and moving to his own car. Bemused, she stared after him, pressing 'Send' on her phone and raising it to her ear.
"Hello? Anzu? Are you there? Hello??" Anzu blinked and wrenched her attention from Yami to hurry around her car, answering the caller at the same time.
"Yes, sorry, hello Mai."
"Hello yourself, hon." There was a pause. "I didn't interrupt anything, did I?" There was a subtle hint as to exactly what she thought she was interrupting. Anzu's face flamed as she slid into the driver's seat. It was no surprise that she might come to that conclusion as Anzu had answered the phone in a bit of a breathless voice. She started her car and put her seatbelt on, clearing her throat.
"Um, not at all. Er...So what's up?" Anzu asked, forcing a cheerful tone to her voice.
"I thought I would call to see what was going on," Mai answered in a flippant tone. "It's been awhile since we went out and all." Anzu pulled out on the street, frowning. It seemed to her that both she and Mai were hiding something from each other. Mai was keeping her voice carefully in check, but it was clear that she had called simply to talk to someone, which meant that something had happened that she needed to forget about. Anzu, frankly, was glad that Mai had called. She didn't want to overanalyze what had just happened with Yami or else she would be up all night.
"Mai, what's wrong?"
For a moment, Anzu feared that Mai had hung up or was not going to answer, but then she said, "It's just the same thing with Jounouchi and Rena. She loves him so much more than me, Anzu, and I can't bear it. I just can't bear being so lonely. Otogi now has the girl he's been in love with for so long and I'm jealous. I want to feel that way, to feel loved, and I'm jealous because he doesn't come by anymore now that he's dating Shizuka. I feel...just so awful."
"Oh, Mai," Anzu murmured sympathetically. "Well...Where's Rena right now?"
"In bed. Why do you ask?"
"Well, how about I come over and we can just hang out and talk about the woes of our life, men and everything?" Anzu was exhausted from her day, but she could hear the true misery in Mai's voice. She seemed like such a strong, beautiful woman who knew what she was doing all the time that it was hard to envision Mai broken and depressed. There was no doubt in Anzu's mind that Mai was feeling that way at the moment. And, despite how cruel Mai had treated her before, Anzu felt that she could relate with her more than she could with Shizuka or Miho. The two of them merely had relationship problems and although Mai was having that, too, there were underlying problems, just like with Anzu.
"Are you...sure? I don't want your pity, Anzu – "
"It's not pity," Anzu firmly told her. "We both need someone else right now, Mai, and I think if we shared each other's problems, we might be able to find some solution to them."
"Alright," Mai conceded with a sigh. The mere idea of such an exchange with another woman was new to her; simply having another woman as a friend was new to her. "Why don't you get some stuff from your house and I can prepare my hot tub to relax and you can sleep over tonight because hon – I'm never going to shut up."
Anzu smiled. "Well, it'll take a lot to shut me up, too."
X
DIS: Yaaay...So, I'm never good at kiss scenes and especially sex scenes, but did I handle this one okay? Also, how do you think I did with the meeting between Anzu and her mom? I've been trying to write longer chapters on all of my stories and so far, I'm succeeding. Yesss! Sorry that this chapter only had a few scenes to it. Next chapter will start with Anzu and Mai, but please review and tell me how you liked it. Ciao!
