DIS: Wow, I'm really psyched that everyone is really connecting with this story. It makes me giddy!

Thanks to xxxSasuSakuxxx4ever (Yeah, I had a feeling that everyone was in the dark about Yami's parents, so I figured it was only fair to put something about them in there), Koragirl, SwordMasterZ, kaibasgirlx (I knew that Malik was still really out of place in the story to the readers and needed to clarify that bit. Actually, I killed off Isis and Marik, who I always personify as Malik's brother, since Rishid is kind of a dull character...lol), Arana Is, LilyMaple (Thanks! With his canon character, Malik turns into a really goody-goody, but I wanted to show both sides: before Marik was banished and after because it seems like that's the real Malik to me), DaAmazingMeepers, LivingLegends (I'm trying to take Anzu and Yami's relationship slow, especially since they are both dealing with a lot of emotional drama right now, Anzu especially. Besides that, realistically, things don't happen that fast and I want this story to be as realistic as possible), Tater Tots (lol, I try to keep my stuff as original as possible so the readers can't find anything like it from another author. Thanks!!), Secluded Sapphire, shadow-fox313, Atem-Tea love 4ver (I usually make Mai a total witch in most of my stories to keep with part of her canon characters, but with this story, I held with the other half of her character, too. Wow, thanks for reading my profile, lol. I thought most people didn't even care!), arashi wolf Pup, dancers of the night, and Midnight Chamber.

I hope I didn't forget anyone. If I did, thank you for reviewing, too!!! With all that said and done, here is the next chapter!

X

Chapter Twenty-One, Uncomfortable conversations

Seto Kaiba was, if nothing else, a business man. It was one of the reasons that he was not married and why he had no friendships. To him, dealing with life was like dealing with a business transaction. The good memories were money, the bad memories was the debt that you accumulate. The sad thing was that Kaiba had never been very good at working with life. The only good memories that he could remember was when his younger brother, Mokuba, had been alive. Ever since then, he had never really been able to take joy in the things that he was doing. He had moved on, continued with Kaiba Corp. and dealt with every idiot Tom, Dick, and Harry that was thrown on him. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that his relationship with life was an unpleasant one; it seemed to him that he spent more time fixing other people's relationship with life and never truly dealing with his own.

He was reflecting upon this as he drank his coffee in his hotel. The newspaper was spread out on the table before him and he was barely reading it. The headline on the front page had been, "President Higuchi's reform of Japan fails," which was hardly going to be something that he wanted to read about. And, turning to the inside, there were more depressing article titles, none of which he wished to read. He had plans for today, revolving around Yami and his girlfriend-who-really-isn't-his-girlfriend. Once again, Kaiba was endeavoring to fix someone else's problems. It was his ideal way of dealing with things: ignore his own issues and deal with someone else's. Generally, people would be annoyed by this. However, when Kaiba threw himself into something, the result was always pleasant. And he had every intention of making this result pleasant, even if the little hellion caused some injuries on the way to that result.

Kaiba sighed and drained his cup of coffee and set it on the table. He pulled his sleeve up and checked the time. It was a bit past nine. Yami should be awake by the time I get to his house, he decided, rising to his feet and collected his keys, cigarettes, and lighter. He tucked the latter two in his pocket and after a pause, grabbed the keycard for his hotel room. He left his room, making certain the door was locked, and when he passed through the foyer, the desk clerk called a cheery farewell to him that made his mouth turned down irritably. And of course the only reason the greedy scum do that is because I have money.

He had bought a car for his time in Domino that he would sell back before he left. Kaiba enjoyed being driven around in his limo like any other wealthy man, but sometimes it was nice to have control of one's own car. And, with his good taste, naturally he chose a Jaguar to drive around. It was just as conspicuous as a limousine.

Parking in front of Yami's home, he shifted the clutch into first gear and then pulled the emergency brake for extra measure. After extracting the keys from the ignition, he locked the car and strolled leisurely up to the door and rang the doorbell. He was beginning to feel a craving and so while he waited for the door to be answered, he dug out his pack of Marlboro's and took a cigarette and lit it. Kaiba returned the lighter and cigarettes to his pocket and rang the doorbell a second time, taking a drag from his cigarette. He heard the lock being turned and then the door was jerked open. He raised an eyebrow at the person at the door. "This is unexpected," he commented, eyeing the ruffled blonde blinking at him groggily.

"What the fuck do you want?" Malik growled and then turned to look at something in the hall, adding, "And at ten in the morning, too!"

"I didn't come to see you, Ishtar. I wasn't even aware that you were here." He eyed him, querying as an afterthought, "You don't like men now, as well, do you?" Malik's brow furrowed in mild confusion. His mind was slow from sleep and he didn't understand the implications at first. When he did, fury suffused his face and he made a move to attack him, but Yami stepped out from behind him, shoving an arm between the two.

"It's a little early for that, don't you think, Kaiba?" Yami mumbled sleepily, rubbing his forehead.

"I've been up since six. I would hardly call ten too early for anything, Yami. Now, am I going to just stand here on the porch or are you actually going to let me in so I can discuss why I'm even here?" Yami shrugged lazily and stepped back, giving Malik a small push so that he moved. With obvious reluctance, Malik stepped away from the door, folding his arms across his chest moodily. He glanced outside after Kaiba was in the house and then his eyes widened when he saw the car that was sitting out there. He eyed the shiny exterior with pure lust on his face. "Try not to drool," Kaiba said in a smug voice. Malik whipped around and glared hatefully at him.

"If my circumstances were better, I would be able to get one myself," he stated snootily.

Yami rolled his eyes at them, shutting the door with a distinct snap. He ushered the two glowering enemies away from the door and towards the kitchen. As both Malik and Kaiba had somewhat of an ego problem, they made themselves at home in a house that was not theirs. Yami could forgive Malik, as he had slept there the night before. Kaiba's behavior, however, caused him to raise his eyebrows slightly. He had settled himself at the table and had dug out his cigarettes and lighter. If he noticed Yami's look, he did not acknowledge it, let alone care what Yami thought. Sighing, he turned to the coffee pot and emptied the filter from the day before and started to make a new pot of coffee. "So...Why is it that you are here, Kaiba?" Yami asked, turning slightly from the counter to meet Kaiba's gaze. Malik was at the window near the sink, leaning against it languidly.

"I wish to arrange a meeting with your little Anzu Mazaki," Kaiba stated plainly, lighting a cigarette and tossing the lighter on the table. "Better sooner rather than later. I have things to do and the auditions that you two are practicing for are in a week. I intend on being gone by then. I have better things to do than sit around, waiting on some girl." Yami's mouth turned down worriedly and he opened mouth to say something, but then closed it, unsure of what it was that he had intended on saying. He wasn't all too certain what he could say in the circumstances. Kaiba stared at him unfeelingly, tendrils of smoke floating around him, stinking up the kitchen. The put-put-put of the coffee pot abruptly stopped, leaving the room in total silence. When Yami didn't move, Kaiba took a drag of his cigarette and said, "I'm not interested in what you have to say or think about this, Yami. You don't want to stress her out and think she has enough on her plate as is. Fine, you can think that. However, once she enters the real world there is going to be an unending amount of stress. She ought to learn how to deal with it now." He rose to his feet and stepped towards the sink. Malik obligingly moved aside as he flicked his ashes in the sink and ran the water.

Yami raised his eyes from where Kaiba had been sitting to see Malik boring holes in him. He remembered what Malik had said last night, that he wasn't willing to help him bring light upon the situation until his finances were more stable. The look on his face seemed almost contradictory, as if he was encouraging Yami to allow Kaiba to do what he wished on this matter. "Listen," Yami quietly spoke up, turning his eyes to Kaiba, who was still by the sink and smoking his cigarette. He appeared to have no care in the world, which was quite misleading. "I understand what you're saying, Kaiba, but Anzu just dealt with her mother yesterday. I really do not think it is wise to throw more information on her that she may not be able to handle. You know that she could collapse from all this stress."

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit, Yami," Kaiba sighed irritably. He turned his back to him, jerking the window open. After putting his cigarette out in the sink, he flicked it out the window and turned round to face him again. "If she was going to collapse from stress, she would have done it yesterday. As it is, you never mentioned her being upset or weak or anything like that. I'm not going to tell her your whole life story, let alone her mother's. That is Sakura's responsibility. I am going to explain to her the seriousness of what's going on because you want to protect her so badly and Malik, I am guessing, doesn't want to get involved because he has his own problems." Kaiba moved from the sink and collected his things from the table. "I don't care what you want right now – it's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned. I'll be by the opera house later to talk to her, whether you approve or not."

Yami watched as Kaiba left the kitchen, finding his way through the house and out the door. Despite Kaiba's mood, he shut the door quietly. Convinced that he was gone, Yami leaned heavily against the counter and ran a hand up his face, pushing his bangs off his face. His head was pounding dully and all he could think was that he should have said something, rather than simply let Kaiba run over him the way he did. When he looked to Malik, he saw that his companion had sat at the table and was appearing thoughtful. "I think he's right, Yami," he said at last, raising his eyes to Yami's. "Anzu can handle it. If she could handle everything that went on yesterday, she can handle the little that Kaiba wants to tell her. Let them be alone and talk. This way, Anzu won't turn to you for help. You know that she'll do that if you're there," he added when Yami opened his mouth to protest. "She trusts you and depends on you for some things. Let her fight this battle...She'll learn better."

"Learn what?"

"The life of a dancer," Malik answered simply.

X

"...and have a nice day." Anzu smiled at the customer that returned the smile, raising his coffee cup slightly in a salute. Once his back was turned, she sighed and settled in her stool, listened to the murmur of conversation around her. There was a hum of soft music above the conversations that they had begun to play at the café in order to give it a soothing atmosphere. Anzu barely paid any attention to the music anymore; it was background noise, just like the customer's voices at their tables. Instead, she dwelled over everything that had been happening in her life. Last night had given her a lot to think about, not only with meeting her mother, but her conversation with Mai, too. She wanted to erase her mind of everything so that she might continue forward with only her auditions to think about, yet she knew that was impossible.

I guess its best to deal with it now rather than later, she thought, leaning her forearms against the counter and staring ahead of her at the door. If I do get the part of Odette, I can't have these things on my mind all the time. They'll replace me in an instant. Of course, mother will probably want to see me at the worst possible time. She closed her eyes for a moment, sighing again, and then straightened. Yami and Malik were both involved in the same kind of activities that Jiiro Hanazawa was and he was my mother's lover. From what it sounded like, he was one of the most unpleasant men in the drug world. But it also sounded like it wasn't just drugs that he was involved in. Mother loved him enough to leave a respectable lifestyle...I wonder what he was like, to be able to manipulate so many people without even seeing them face-to-face? She looked up just as the door opened and two of her friends entered. Enough of this. I need to get it out of my mind. "Hello, Jounou – " Anzu was almost knocked out of her chair as Miho came rushing over to the cash register. Anzu grabbed onto the counter just in time, snapping a leg out to brace it against the floor. She turned her head to look at her companion in wonder.

"Hello, Honda," Miho said breathlessly, her face lighting up.

"Hey, Miho," Honda answered, beaming in return.

After that, neither of them said anything, just staring at each other as if they had never seen someone so glorious. Jounouchi looked uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his head and exchanging an exasperated look with Anzu. The endearing silence had carried on too long for Anzu, so she shoved Miho to the side and raised her eyebrows pointedly at the female. Miho flushed, clearly humiliated by her behavior, and meekly went back to the flavor bottles and machines. Honda watched her all the way until he was staring at a wall of bottles and could not even see her. Needless to say, the entire event was embarrassing to behold.

Anzu cleared her throat, which caused Honda to turn and look at her, rubbing his arm nervously at being caught in such a situation. "What can I get you guys?" she asked, sharing a small smile with Jounouchi.

"Well, when Romeo here decides what he wants, I'll be ready," Jounouchi said, sarcastically rolling his eyes to Honda.

"Hey, man, you just – " he began and then halted, turning abruptly. Anzu and Jounouchi also turned to see that Miho had peeked over the flavor bottles. She hastily ducked again when all three pairs of eyes settled on her. Anzu and Jounouchi looked at each other in disbelief. Honda turned red and a silly grin formed on his lips.

"Ugh...Just get us both twenty ounce vanilla granitas, Anzu. No whip cream."

"Right," she said and rung up the total, sending the order back to Miho. After they had paid and received their coffees, she said, "I'm almost done here. I'm supposed to get off in ten minutes, but I can clock out early if you guys aren't busy. We could hang before I have to go to practice."

"Oh, I'm sure you know where he's going to be," Jounouchi said, jerking a thumb at Honda. Anzu laughed. "But that'd be cool with me. I'm on my way back home, anyway."

"Great! Just let me get my purse." He raised a lazy hand while Miho took her place at the cash register. Rika took one look at Miho and Honda talking to each other and rolled her eyes, flashing a wry smile to Anzu as they passed each other. Anzu tossed her barista apron away and grabbed her purse, returning to the front and exiting the stand to follow Jounouchi outside. Thankfully, Rika and Kanna were sharp enough to keep Miho going if any customers came in so Anzu did not have to worry about that. "Geez, those two are really hooked on each other, aren't they?" she mumbled to Jounouchi once they were outside. He gave a sad shake of his head.

"He acts like a fool around her. I guess they're dating now. It's the first time Honda ever got a girl that he really liked before. As long as it's not my sister and he doesn't dump me for his girlfriend, I'm good with it." He blew out a long breath, rubbing his shaggy hair. "I just wish he would get over the whole lovesick phase. I feel embarrassed for him!" Anzu laughed slightly.

"Yeah, I feel the same way for Miho!"

They fell silent, leaning against the café's window. Anzu's smile faded as she remembered Mai's sad recollection of her time with Jounouchi. She slanted a look up at him and could see that Jounouchi was still his normal, carefree self, but there were shadows in his eyes that hinted at some worries on his mind. She had never spoken all too earnestly with him about his problems or hers, even. It had always been Shizuka that she had spoken to, perhaps because she was a female. It had always seemed like anything to do with Mai was a subject that ought not to be breached with him, especially as he had been the one directly hurt in the relationship.

"Is...anything on your mind, Jounouchi?" she hesitantly queried. He blinked and seemed to rouse himself from his thoughts. He looked ashamed to be caught so deep in thought and gave a nervous chuckle, looking away from her. "Because, you know, you could tell me anything if you just need someone to listen to you." She paused, uncertain what was going through his head at her offer. His eyebrows had drawn together, his mouth tightening slightly. He appeared to be battling with himself. "Or...if you can't tell anyone else," she added as an afterthought.

"I was just thinking...," he began and then halted for a second. He shrugged, as if assuring himself that it didn't matter and continued, "I was just thinking that...you and Mai are close and...Have you talked to her lately, Anzu?" Jounouchi turned to look at her, his face set in a grim expression that she had never seen on him. "I don't really care, but she's been acting weird lately and I don't want that to effect how she is with Rena. That's all." Anzu didn't say anything for a short time, sensing the defensive position he had taken in the last two sentences. She gently touched his arm and he glanced down at her, startled.

"She loves Rena just as much as you do, Jounouchi. I can't tell you what's wrong with her. It wouldn't feel right. But I can tell you that she's not going to let it bother her so much that she'll forget Rena." Anzu gave a reassuring smile. "Okay?"

He gave a lopsided smile in return. "Yeah, okay." However, when he turned from her again, there was no smile on his face and he still seemed to be brooding. "I bet she told you everything about our marriage, huh?" He flicked a look to her and whatever he saw in her face seemed to support his assumption. "Mai has always been really open about herself. When she finds someone that she can trust in, she tells her whole life story, even if it hurts her. She's just sociable like that. I'm not expecting you to tell me anything that she tells you, Anzu, but I still...I love Rena. She's my daughter and I want her to grow up right. This divorce wasn't something I wanted her to ever live through. I never even imagined that it would happen." Jounouchi faced Anzu and sighed, saying, "If you think that Mai needs a break from Rena to collect her thoughts, just tell me that I need to get Rena. That's all you have to say. It would be good for both her and Rena. Can you promise me that, Anzu?"

Anzu heard the door open and Honda calling out a farewell to Miho. There was a collection of laughter from the café from the customers. "I promise, Jounouchi," she said quietly. He smiled and was honestly relieved.

"Great. Thanks." To Honda, he said, "Come on! I want to get home at some point today!" Honda came trotting to them, looking like a little boy that had just finished cookies and milk in his mother's kitchen. Anzu giggled at him, but made no comment. She suspected that Honda was a little sensitive when it came to relationships. Jounouchi's lack of sarcasm was a further indicator that this was true. "You have to go to the opera house, right, Anzu? We'll walk you there."

"Oh...You guys don't have to."

"Might as well," Jounouchi said with a shrug. His earlier attitude had vanished.

He hides so well, she thought as the three of them began to walk down the sidewalk to the opera house. He hides everything so well...And that only causes him to deal with his suffering alone. Maybe that's best for him, but I would think that he would want someone to lean on. Anzu raised her eyes to his face and felt a wave of depression for him. Oh, Jounouchi...You're always hurting because you both hate and love Mai. She looped her arm in his and hugged it to her side. He sent her a puzzled look, but did not pull away or say anything.

X

Yami waved a hand to Anzu when she arrived in the auditorium. If he had called 'hello,' she would have been unable to hear him with the way that Malik and Ryou were bickering. Generally, Ryou was the quiet one and could care less what happened around him unless it involved him or the people he loved. Malik's disappearance had caused him some upset as he knew that Malik had no real way of traveling, what with his reluctance to spend money on anything, and had suspected that someone had come in his house and killed the dancer and dumped his body somewhere. Otogi was smirking at the argument, once remarking that he would think they were gay if not for Malik's promiscuity.

"What are they fighting about?" Anzu asked Yami once she had arrived beside him, sending a troubled glance towards the two. He put a hand on her arm before she made any move to intervene.

"Nothing important. I'm allowing them to ride it out, especially since Ryou rarely ever gets to fight about anything. Besides, it looks like Malik is about to end it anyway. Watch."

"I don't have to deal with this from you!" Malik snapped at last, whipping away from Ryou and storming across the stage. "I'm not here to deal with your bitching at me. You're not my fucking wife and I don't have to tell you where I am!" He paused and gave a sly smile to Ryou. "Or maybe you really are a fag and love me, hmm? That would make some sense. I would love me if I were you, too!"

"Well that was the most arrogant thing I've heard someone say," Otogi said after a long silence was drawn out on the stage. Anzu had covered her mouth to halt any laughter. Ryou was just staring at Malik as if he were out of his mind. Malik shot a dirty look to Otogi after he spoke and then turned to glare at Yami, who simply raised an eyebrow in question.

"Aren't we supposed to be practicing?" he snarled. "Why aren't you at the piano?!"

Ryou had clearly given up on the argument and after everyone took their places as Yami called out a place number, things seemed to go smoothly. At first, Anzu had difficulty dancing with Malik because his body was so tense from irritation. He apologized to her once under his breath so that only she could hear. Gradually, however, his body unwound and he was able to focus more on her dancing. She noticed that he did less corrections; it only took one day of dancing with him for her to learn to do better.

Nearly two hours later when Malik said that it was time to stop for the day, Anzu's body was aching. "You'll want to take a bath with some Epsom Salt," he told her when he noticed her arch her back, rubbing near her hips. She sent him a skeptical look. "It will help a good deal. Trust me on this one."

"I trust you," she said plainly. His brow furrowed.

"That makes one person," Malik said and then turned towards Ryou. Anzu watched the two of them leave the opera house together, surprisingly quiet after arguing so much earlier. A touch came on her shoulder and she turned to see Yami. He gave a slight smile.

"You have a visitor, Anzu," he told her, nodding to the doors. It was the same snooty business man that had demanded to see Yami some days ago and the same that he and Malik had visited only yesterday. Her original opinion of Seto Kaiba had definitely not changed. "He wants to talk to you. Don't worry, he's not going to hurt you or anything. Just...talk with him for a minute. I can't be with you this time." Anzu turned, surprised by this. He shrugged helplessly and averted his gaze. "I'm sorry. This is something he wants you to do alone and Kaiba's logic never fails when it comes to these things." He gestured towards the doors. "Go ahead. I'll wait in here with Otogi."

"Alright...," Anzu cautiously said. "Let me get dressed, though. I'm not going to talk to him in this outfit." She swept a hand towards her tights and ballet outfit. His eyes lingered a bit longer than necessary and when he realized what he had done, he nodded his head quickly like a bobble head. She hid a smile. She had acted as normally as possible around him, pushing their kiss to the back of her mind. She grabbed her back and went to the back dressing room that was used for the actors. After locking it, she hastily changed into her clothes and shoved her hair into a bun. It's not as if it was unpleasant, but I think that having a relationship with Yami will complicate things. She paused in front of the door and placed a hand on it, sighing. It's just...I like him. A lot. And I can tell that he likes me. But I feel that there's too much about each other that we don't know. She reached down and pulled open the door.

Leaving her bag with Yami and Otogi onstage, she continued down through the seats to where Seto Kaiba was standing. His arms were folded over his chest and he was leaning against the doors, looking as though he had all the time in the world. When she was almost to him, he pushed off the doors and left before. Such a gentleman, she thought to herself with a sarcastic twist of her mouth. She followed him through the opera house and outside. Twilight was beginning to fall on Domino and the traffic had thickened with people rushing home after work. From the busier parts of town she could hear honks of impatient drivers and as she paused beside Kaiba's limousine, a wide bus flew by, turning into the deeper part of downtown Domino. Her eyes narrowed as Kaiba lit a cigarette and slid the lighter and pack of cigarettes in his pocket. The ashes burned bright orange as he inhaled from it and then released a stream of smoke. "So," he said at last, "you're Sakura's daughter. I guess that would make you Jiiro Hanazawa's stepdaughter, to some effect."

"I have nothing to do with that snake," Anzu coldly told him.

A humorless smile tilted his mouth upward. "I can believe that." He inspected his cigarette thoughtfully and then met her gaze with his own, icy blue eyes. "Listen, girl, I'm not here for idle chit-chat or anything stupid like that. Yami enjoys protecting you like his precious china doll, hidden behind some glass case. Eventually you're going to learn some unpleasant details, whether it be from me, or your mother, or someone else that you don't even know. Yami thinks I'm here to warn you – and I am – but I'm also going to give you some information that he doesn't realize I know about him. You two are practically in a relationship, especially with the way he feels about you. Ryou talked to me before Yami even visited me yesterday and urged me to intervene before things got out of hand."

Anzu blinked, startled by this sudden information. Kaiba leaned against the limo, comfortably smoking his cigarette. "Yami thinks he has everyone fooled," he continued, tucking his unoccupied hand in his pocket. "Mostly, he does. Malik knows things and he wouldn't admit it, but he and Ryou have always been best friends and what Malik knows, Ryou is sure to know. I know things through my resources. I can throw every tentacle of my corporation into any dirty underworld and they wouldn't even know it. Now that I've given you a sort of prologue, let me get on to why I wanted to see you. First, your mother is still heavily involved in the underworld. She has a lot of money from her current dealings, and from what Hanazawa left her. She's dangerous. When she was with Hanazawa, I assume that she was a courtesan to lure in his enemies so that he could finish them. I wouldn't get too close to her, but try and make peace between her. The sooner you do that, the sooner I can leave this alone and the sooner she'll leave you alone."

"Do you honestly think that she'll just give up that easily?" Anzu demanded. "My mother wants to be in my life permanently. She doesn't want an of-the-moment thing. She wants to try and make up for the time that she lost. She wants to be forgiven. I couldn't even pretend to forgive her. I hate her."

"I don't care what you feel for her. Hanazawa wishes were that she make peace with her ex-husband and daughter. That's the only reason I'm still in this goddamned city." He drew a last drag from his cigarette and flicked it on the ground, stepping on it to ensure that it was completely out. He crossed his arms and continued, "But I feel obligated to tell you one other thing, as Ryou was particularly worried after Malik told him about it."

"And what's that?" she asked moodily. She really wanted this meeting to be over.

"Yami's parents have been after him for years. They want to kill him. If you get in a relationship with him, you could be killed, too."

X

DIS: Phew. I wrote most of this chapter in one day when I skipped work. I know, bad me, bad me. I hope you guys liked this chapter. I felt I owed it to you after how mellow the last chapter was. Anyway, please leave a review and tell me how you liked it! Ciao!