DIS: There are a handful of songs that inspired this chapter. "Leo" by Ludovico Einaudi and "Dancing Spirits" by Steven Cravis are just two. Thanks to everyone that reviewed, you have no idea what it means to authors to have people giving feedback on our work, especially after such a dry spell. With this said, here is the next chapter!
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Chapter Twenty-Eight, Story of two lovers
Kaiba snapped the briefcase closed and finished the wine in his glass, tipping the glass back and swallowing the last bit. He glanced towards the hallway, where he could hear the thrums of the piano. He blew out an impatient breath and glanced at the one simple suitcase that Yami had packed. He set the glass down and moved through the house into the room where the grand piano was situated. He stopped a few feet from the piano, frowning at Yami. His fingers darted over the keys in a quick succession of notes and when he opened an eye to look at Kaiba, his fingers hit the ending notes and he rested his hands on the keys, querying, "What is it?"
"We need to leave soon if we want to meet our flight." Yami nodded, appearing thoughtful and then rose from the bench. Kaiba watched him with a guarded expression. He knew that Yami was worried for Anzu, but as he had been telling the male the entire ride back to Yami's home, she would be far safer here than with him around. After all, Malik was not unskilled in certain areas and would certainly slit anyone's throat if they so much as dared to threaten his student. As the two of them went about locking doors, windows, and shutting off lights, Kaiba could not help but reflect on the relationship that Yami had developed with the dancer. Certainly, Malik or Ryou would not have bothered with Anzu had she not been introduced to them by him, but Yami had gotten himself involved on an entirely different level and yes, it had been due to Otogi trying to help a friend, but nonetheless, it had been Yami who had allowed that certain development to get to the point that it had. I wonder what he will do, Kaiba mused, when he realizes he can't simply slip his way out of Anzu's grasp.
"Alright," Yami said after exiting the kitchen, shutting the last lights off, "let's go." He picked up his suitcase and followed Kaiba out of the house, locking it behind him. "I really do not want to go to Europe right now...They have more people over there than they do in the states."
"A little danger would be good for you," Kaiba grunted, pausing to light a cigarette. His remark earned him a dirty look from his companion, who appeared less-than-amused. Kaiba blew out a sigh of smoke, smirking at him. "Maybe you won't go around senselessly flirting with innocent dancers." Yami's lips pursed and the slightest bit of pink entered his cheeks, as though he had been accused of a heinous crime. "I can only imagine how shocking it will be for her when you two get in the bedroom. Nice, gentle Yami will no longer be the persona that she'll have on you."
"And you would know what persona I have in the bedroom how?" Yami demanded to know as Kaiba popped the trunk, allowing him to toss his suitcase inside.
"As if your former girlfriends didn't gossip about that type of stuff. I had no choice but to hear it."
"Great..."
"Thankfully you piss them off too much at the end of the relationship that Anzu won't have to deal with any of them. I doubt they have any regrets." Kaiba shut the trunk and the two males slipped into the car, with Yami looking far moodier than he had a moment ago. When he remained silent, Kaiba cast a curious look to him, noticing that he appeared deep in thought. "Listen, don't bother thinking about the future of your relationship with her," Kaiba said as he started the car, pulling from the curb after a quick glance towards traffic. "If you'll recall, the majority of the women that you've been with have been dumb bimbos with very little to offer except interest in your money. Anzu clearly has no interest in money and seems too focused on establishing her career to bother with going after your money. She lives in a shanty of an apartment – "
"Shanty? Really, Kaiba?"
" – and has yet to try and go after your assets," he continued, ignoring Yami's sarcastic tone. "If you two ever do end, she'll likely go her own way without any hard feelings, regardless of how you act. She's impervious to people being rude to her, it seems. All she does is put them in their place."
Yami chuckled. "So you admit that the great Seto Kaiba got told off by a small girl?"
"Excuse me?" Kaiba coldly replied, flicking a warning look to the pianist, who simply smirked at him. "Who ever said that I was talking of myself?"
Yami smirked slightly, but let the conversation end there. Kaiba rolled away and Yami stared out of the window, thinking of the female in question. It had been hard saying goodbye to her, with so little time to celebrate her success at the auditions. Malik had not been able to say much to her, either, with how busy he was with the rest of the auditions. Instead, Yami had left Anzu in Ryou's care, who had assured him of her safety. He pressed the palm of his head to his temple as he reconsidered the meeting he had with Anzu.
"Paris, huh?" she said, looking up at him. They were walking around the block, just enough time to give them to say goodbye and all that Kaiba or Ryou would allow. "That's so far away from here...it's in an entirely different continent." Yami looked down at her and smiled, bringing their clasped hands up and kissing her knuckles.
"It is far away," he agreed, "but I'll always be returning to Domino and to Japan." Anzu paused and bowed her head, staring down at their hands thoughtfully. Yami watched her for a long moment and then released her hand, tilting her face up, framing it with his hands. "Anzu...even if we're thousands of miles apart, I'll always be thinking of you."
"I know it's silly," she admitted with a laugh, "but I can't stop thinking of what you said about how you get at social parties...and what you said to Jounouchi."
"Um...well, yes...I can understand that," he told her awkwardly, instantly thrown off balance. She slanted a look up at his flustered face. "But this is different. It's just as Jounouchi said. I think we can rightly say that the agreement we have is similar to his and Mai's. I have no intention or any interest in being with another woman. You're the only one that I want and even if another woman tried to tempt me, there would be nothing appealing in her. You're the only one I want." Anzu offered a tiny smile.
"Well...alright. I suppose."
He gave a relieved sigh and then kissed her nose. "I promise." He took her hand and linked his pinky finger in hers. She tightened hers around it and then turned away, strolling ahead of him. He watched her thoughtfully. She was still in her leotard and tunic sweater from the auditions. She turned to flash a teasing smile at him, giggling a bit. His own lips curved in a smile and he followed her, slipping an arm around her and pulling her to his side briefly to kiss her temple. She beamed up at him and then cuddled up to his side, walking leisurely with him.
Even though he was about to leave, Yami had never felt such contentment in his life. They had achieved what they had meant to in all the weeks of working together and that was all that mattered for Anzu right then. He would miss her enormously, of course, but every time he looked into her face, it only strengthened his resolve to go so that she might be safe from his parents. If he lost Domino as his safe place, he might have to go on the offensive. He would not leave Domino and he certainly would not allow them to poke around and find out his involvement with the people here. There were too many people that he knew that did not deserve to be harmed. Anzu, of all the people, did not deserve to be subjected to their brutality.
As they rounded the block, they saw the crowd of people outside the building and on the edge of the crowd Kaiba was standing, appearing impatient. As soon as he spotted them, he pushed off from the side of the building. Yami paused some feet away from him and said quietly, "I'll miss you."
She gave a tremulous smile. "I know. I'll miss you, too."
As Yami recalled her sweet face in his mind, he found it amazing that in the past days she and him had spent an unending amount of time together, nearly attached at the hip, and yet he would now have to be parted from her. It was such a short amount of time, with them having met each other barely a month ago; yet, in spite of that, Yami had never felt such powerful emotions for any woman. He shied away from the word that kept plunging him into a dark abyss of anxiety and in fact would warp it into another word entirely. It did not, however, change how he felt and the reality of that impacted him more than he wanted to admit.
He shook himself from these thoughts as Kaiba pulled up to the airport. "I can't go inside with you," he told him, popping the trunk, "but your plane will be leaving in a little over a half hour, so I'd hurry and get your baggage checked and through security so you don't miss it."
"I won't," Yami assured. As he got out of the car, he paused and said, "Thank you." Kaiba merely grunted in response, rummaging through his pockets. "You really need to quit doing that, by the way."
"I didn't ask for health advice," Kaiba replied in a bored tone. "If I wanted that, I'd go to the doctor."
"Maybe you should," Yami said, shutting the door before he was able to receive a response. After he removed his luggage, he shut the trunk and left inside to the airport.
"Ass," Kaiba muttered to himself, scowling.
X
Anzu checked her phone, standing alone at the restaurant that Kaiba had told her she was to meet Sakura. She had been unable to partake in the celebrations that Jounouchi and the others had wanted to throw for her, explaining that she had something else to take care of before the night was over. Jounouchi had promptly booed at this, but her father had given her a knowing look, perhaps aware that the only other thing that she could possibly do would involve her mother. Rather than mentioning it, though, he had simply hugged her. Anzu hadn't had the chance to change out of her leotard yet and was feeling particularly underdressed for this meeting. She sighed, crossing her arms and swaying on her feet impatiently. At last, she heard a call of her name and she turned to see Sakura standing a few feet from her, clearly having just entered the restaurant. "Shall we get a seat?" she suggested. Anzu nodded mutely and the waiter, seeing that Anzu's party member had joined her, led them to a table in the back corner next to a window. Sakura murmured a polite 'thank you,' and the waiter then disappeared after serving them water. "I hope you don't mind if I ask how the auditions went?"
"No," Anzu said in a mild tone. "I got the part of Odette."
"I knew you would." Anzu was silent to this, taking a drink of her water. Sakura had her hands folded on the table and was surveying her daughter thoughtfully. She was pleased that she had finally been granted the meeting that she was promised, but she found herself unsure of where to start the conversation. She had been overjoyed to learn that it would be just her and her daughter, but now she found that without the three men there to interrupt, it was almost as though she could not bring herself to draw up any conversation. Sakura lifted her cup to her lips, sipping at her water, her brow creasing with worry.
"What did you want to meet about?" Anzu asked at last.
"I...just wanted to see you," Sakura said after a brief hesitation. Something stirred behind Anzu's cool azure depths, but she continued to gaze at her, waiting for Sakura to continue. "Anzu...I owe you an explanation for everything. I know that it won't make you happy, but I want you to at least understand. I know you've gained a little knowledge from Yami – and Malik and Seto Kaiba, too, I'm willing to bet – but I was romantically involved with Jiiro and I want to tell you more about him." Anzu opened her mouth, perhaps to say that she could care less, but Sakura interrupted, "And more about Yami, for that matter. They were very intimately involved."
There was a heavy silence that Anzu did not break, although at the mention of Yami, her face had softened ever so much.
"Just let me tell you my story. When I met Jiiro, I was still with Seiji and I knew him to only be a pianist. He was at one of the scenes that I was reporting at. I had just finished making a report about a convention that was being held in Shibuya for classical musicians. It wasn't open to the public except for those that were invited. I had just finished my report and it was the end of my day. We were invited inside by the director to see inside and meet a few of the musicians, which was where I had met Jiiro. I had always been interested in classical music, as I had once been a dance instructor. He was charming and informative. In many ways, he reminded me of your father, teaching me things that I never knew. I took the card he offered me and I waited a long time before I contacted him. I was tortured by the thought of being married and with a child, yet I was drawn to him. We met constantly for many months. By the time I knew what was happening, I had fallen in love with him. I knew nothing of his underworld connections when I had fallen for him. I only knew him as a musician, passionate and completely loyal in his work."
Sakura paused, recalling some of the days that she would sneak off while Seiji was at work and Anzu was at school. She remembered one day when she was lying on his couch, listening to him play a beautiful tune on the piano. When the music faded, she hadn't even opened her eyes until he deep-throated chuckle rose above her. "He was beautiful," she continued, his face forming in front of her from the memory, "and I was lost to everything else. When he told me that he loved me, he said that he needed to tell me the truth of his life before he let me tell him my feelings. That was when I learned of the type of world he was a leader of and the type of man he could be. I didn't make my decision lightly, Anzu. I stopped talking to him after I learned that, but I was tortured over the thought of not being with him. I loved your father still, but Jiiro was like an obsession. Even with as much as I loved your father, Jiiro would creep into my mind at night."
"I don't understand," Anzu interrupted. "Is that what made you go back to him? Knowing what type of man he was?"
"He wasn't a bad man, Anzu," Sakura told her softly. "He let me choose rather than deceive me. He let me know something that I should not have been allowed to leave him knowing about. But he trusted me and he loved me and wanted what was best for me. He had a sense of honor that I had never known another man to have. It was this that ultimately made me go back to him. It was a hard decision. I loved you and your father, but Jiiro was offering me so much and after being with him, I knew I couldn't truly be happy with Seiji. I was selfish, I know, but I did not do it recklessly. The most that your father knew was that Jiiro was a pianist."
"How did he know?"
"I put it in my letter that I left him." Sakura sighed. "In any case, everything after that is a blur...I stayed behind the scenes as much as I could, rarely visiting his mansion in the countryside where many of the underworld activities happened. Jiiro needed me for some things, though, and being younger and not as intelligent, I caved and I did what I could to help him. It was so easy. Many of the men were weak to the soft touches or whispers of a woman. I had been hesitant at first, knowing that Jiiro would be killing the men, yet I told myself that I had to do everything I could to help the man I loved. But there were times, late at night, after I had sacrificed my dignity, that I regretted everything. There were times when I looked back and cried and wished I was back at home with my family. Many times, when I would see children or a family while I was entertaining guests with Jiiro at his townhouse, I would think of you. I never stopped missing you, Anzu. I had to give up Seiji for Jiiro, but he understood how much I grieved leaving you. I was a mother. He understood that instinct."
She paused briefly. "I know that you want to hear about Yami, so I'll tell you. He was still working for Jiiro while I was with him, although I never talked to him myself. He was often at the townhouse, being tutored by Jiiro. I still remember him, barely a teenager, intently practicing piano for Jiiro. So few people knew about me that I was content to keep it that way, but I would occasionally peek in on them. Jiiro wanted a child of his own so dearly, but in the environment he lived in, he would never give birth to one. He feared for its life. But Yami...he was as close to a son as he would get. He always spoke so highly of him. At first, all I could remember was what Jiiro would say when Yami had left, but after everything, when I was thinking of how to tell this to you, I remembered all the praise he had for Yami. He truly loved him as a son. Yami caused all sorts of trouble with his own parents, yet Jiiro protected him as much as he could as one of the underworld leaders."
"If he loved Yami as a son, why didn't he stop his parents?" Anzu demanded, knowing that Sakura must have knowledge of Yami's family. "He should have stopped them from pursuing him!"
"He could only do so much. If he showed that type of protection, he could have compromised himself and his position – and me. He cared little for his own life so long as those that he loved were safe, but he valued me more than Yami. He was confident that Yami could protect himself against them, but he didn't want his world unleashed on me, an innocent with little to no dealings with it. The men that had met me had died almost immediately after meeting me. Nobody knew of me." She paused as the waiter came to take their orders. Sakura ordered a drink while Anzu declined, saying she would not be having anything. A moment later, Sakura's martini came and she took a sip of it experimentally. "Jiiro was not a harsh man and for him, the underworld was nothing more than business. He did not play dirty like many of the other men did and because of that, he ended up with many other clients and many others that were willing to work under him – like Yami – rather than the other leaders. Jiiro held to the code while others were willing to overlook it or manipulate it to their own advantage." She halted a moment, allowing Anzu to absorb this. "Anzu, the underworld is not a safe world. After Jiiro died, I eliminated all contact I had with it. I slipped out of the townhouse and I moved here to Domino. Nobody except for Jiiro's musician friends knew that I existed and even then, it was not surprising, for some knew my name because of my days as a dance instructor. I was able to leave easily, yet with a price. I didn't have the protection that Jiiro had offered me. If anyone from the underworld found out about me, they had to track me down."
"But would anyone need to track you down? Malik seemed to do it fairly easily."
"Malik is lucky in that. He had connections with Kaiba and Yami and you were involved otherwise I doubt that Kaiba would had given that information to him. In fact, he is the only one that would be able to link my name to the vague title of Jiiro's 'girlfriend.' Jiiro rarely released my name and those that he did, he made it clear that we were not dating, but were work partners. Instead, he had another woman that was staying at his townhouse in order to cover for me play the part of his girlfriend. He wanted no one to be able to track me to him."
"Then...why did Kaiba know?"
"Kaiba only knows because of a file that he gained when he took over the corporation, along with all of his father's possessions. Jiiro meant for that file to be the only link between me and him so that when he died, Kaiba's father would know where all of his assets, etc. were to go."
"But he wasn't a lawyer!"
"No, but Kaiba's father had many small things set up in order to make more money and because he was such a good businessman, people were willing to trust him."
Anzu fell silent, unsure of what to say to all of this. Jiiro certainly was painted in an entirely different picture than Malik had made him out to be. Yami had been fairly quiet about Jiiro and hadn't seemed inclined to enter the conversation when it involved him and perhaps it was because of Jiiro being his tutor, making it a sensitive topic. At last, Anzu said, "I don't understand why you think this will make me view you any differently. You still abandoned us."
"I'm not trying to persuade you, Anzu, I just want you to hear my side of the story and to know of the dangers that the underworld poses. They may approach you later, when you become more well-known. They love to involve famous dancers and musicians. It is almost their way of controlling competition. I just want you to be careful. I don't want you to be put in the situation that I was and I know...I know that Yami is still tied to that world, even though he loathes it. Even as your accompanist, it can bring you danger. Just please...be careful. That's all I ask of you."
She considered her mother for a long time and while the dislike she felt for Sakura had not faded, she could sense genuine concern and it did touch her the slightest bit. It would never make up for everything that Anzu and her father had to endure in the years after Sakura left, but Sakura was still making an effort to warn her, in spite of everything Anzu had said to her and in spite of all the mistrust she was experiencing from her daughter. Anzu sighed, turning from her and gazing out the window for a long time. Her eyes drifted above the buildings to the night sky that was barely visible above the tall stacks of steel and glass. Even though they were discussing something entirely different, Anzu's mind went to Yami. She wished that he had been the one to tell her this and mentioning him even the slightest made her yearn for him. She wished he was here to smile at her encouragingly and squeeze her shoulder, as she knew he would.
"I'm not stupid," Anzu stated, turning away from the window. "They've already told me about the dangers and I know I have to be on my guard from now on." Sakura eyed her carefully and then slowly nodded.
"So long as you're going to be careful...then I suppose I am satisfied." Sakura took a last drink of her martini and then waved the waiter over to get the check. Anzu was silent as the waiter disappeared with Sakura's card and then reappeared with the check, leaving it with them without any remarks. Anzu watched Sakura add a tip and total the amount, signing her name.
"Is that really all you had to tell me?" Anzu asked her as Sakura slipped her wallet back into her purse. She paused, looking at Anzu with a puzzled expression.
"There's not anything to tell you, Anzu. You know much of everything already." After Sakura had collected her purse, they left the restaurant. Outside, Sakura gave a small smile and said, "Well...again, congrats on the audition, Anzu. You know where to find me if you'd like to talk." Anzu watched her as she turned and hesitated a moment.
"How did he die?"
Sakura halted and then slowly turned back to look at her daughter. Anzu had spoken quietly, as if she were afraid to ask, and her small voice had reminded Sakura of when she was a daughter, innocent and oblivious to all other things. Anzu stood in the middle of the sidewalk, a strange look upon her face. It was a cross between regret at asking the question and uncertainty. Sakura considered her for a moment and then sighed, looking down at her feet, collecting her thoughts. The death of her lover was a hard thing to consider, with it being so recent. At last, she raised her head and said in quiet voice, "He killed himself." Anzu stared at her, her face transforming to horror. Sakura closed her eyes briefly, tightly. "Our entire relationship...he had severe bouts of depression. When I left with the other woman in the townhouse one morning to go to the market, we returned and he was...dead. He had hung himself. It was not an easy thing to come home to. I miss him greatly...and have always blamed myself for not keeping him happy."
"...I'm sorry." Sakura opened her eyes to see that her daughter appeared sincere in her words.
"I am also sorry, Anzu," Sakura told her softly. "For everything." She smiled sadly and this time, she turned from Anzu and hurried down the sidewalk. Warm trails trickled down her cheeks and she wiped her tears away hastily. She was not crying simply because of her daughter, but because it opened an old wound. She missed Jiiro intensely and she remembered all too well the scene that she had walked into, seeing Jiiro swinging around like a ragdoll from the ceiling. The other woman had been shrieking, but Sakura could do nothing but stare at the sight in amazement. Later, as she sat in the middle of the room, she dimly heard sirens and only then did the grief hit. She had slumped onto the floor and sobbed, rocking back and forth.
"It's all my fault, Jiiro...It's all my fault...I shouldn't have left you alone...I wasn't good enough for you..."
Sakura stifled a sob, pressing her hand to her lips as his face swam in front of her vision again.
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DIS: I was going to make this chapter longer with more scenes, but I decided to go a different route for this. I'm glad I finally was able to finish this chapter, though. After forever! I have the content in my head for the next chapter, so hopefully updates should go smoothly. (crosses fingers) I had to re-read the entire story in order to remember everything that had happened and grab some details since it's been so long. In any case, as always I am sorry for my slow update, but please leave some feedback in a review and let me know if you liked it or not and constructive criticism is always embraced! Ciao!
