A/N: Once again a short chapter, I apologize that these first couple of chapters are so simple but I need to introduce all the characters so that I can let them develop for the rest of the story, along with their relationships ;)
In this chapter you need to know (if you haven't read/watched "Season 0") that Miho is significantly less shallow in the manga which I'm basing her off of though she's still pretty girly. Also, by Marik I mean the hikari, not the yami in case anyone couldn't tell. He never appears in "Season 0" so I based him off the other seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh that I'm sure you've all read/watched if you're reading this. I completely re-wrote his past though so he's not an evil tomb-keeper who wants to take over the world mm'kay? Hope we're all on the same page, review with questions if you're confused at all!
Disclaimer: Not Mine!
"Anzu-chan!" A voice giggled in her ear and she glanced over to see Miho standing beside her, deep blue eyes sparkling slightly as she joined her in warming up. Dance was taken very seriously by Anzu so anyone who wanted to talk to her during this class had to come to her and make sure not to distract her too much.
"Hey Miho-chan, what's got you in such a good mood?" She asked with a small smile at the sweet girl who seemed to be all but bouncing up and down.
"I said hi to Marik-kun this morning but then Honda-kun got really mad at him and called him a pervert even though he didn't say anything back to me. I know I shouldn't be happy he was mad, but it was sort of sweet of him especially because Marik-kun was giving me funny looks."
Anzu laughed at her friend's childishly innocent excitement. Despite her usual obliviousness to Honda's advances, even after rejecting him two years ago they had become friends and he hadn't given up on her. Miho was shy and sweet and Anzu knew she would say yes if Honda asked her out again but he had yet to formally try again since his pride was so wounded the first time.
"Hey Anzu-chan do you think Marik-kun is a pervert?" She asked in a wondering voice and Anzu choked as she took a small sip from her bottle. Setting it down gingerly she dropped into a splits position, glad for the flexible dance tights that allowed her to move whatever way she could coax her body.
"Well he, um, certainly has a reputation I suppose," She said hesitantly, blushing slightly at the very thought of his reputation. To put it simply it was said that he liked fresh talent and very few people ever said no to his advances.
Miho was one of the few far too innocent to even approach. The thought of such a union made her stomach churn and she didn't blame Honda for having a serious grudge against the guy.
"I hate to judge someone just off of rumours though," Miho said with a gentle sigh, sincere worry on her face as she glanced across the room to spot where Marik was warming up by himself, a serious expression on his face.
"After all, he also has the reputation as the best dancer. You're lucky to be paired with him Anzu-chan!" Her expression lit up again even as Anzu winced and worked to keep hers.
It was true for the final examination performance which would be graded in front of a live audience she had boldly asked Marik to be her dance partner and he had agreed, causing much jealousy among the other dancers in their grade.
She didn't know him as they'd never had a class together before but reputation or not, it didn't matter to her. Dance was her passion and her dream, it was the most important thing to her and she knew she was the best female dancer in the twelfth grade.
So whether he was a jerk or not didn't matter, she was the best and so was he, and she didn't settle for second place when it came to dance.
"I suppose I am," She murmured humbly but worry was eating away at her insides as she looked at him. His seriousness about dancing didn't distract her from the fact that she still had to actually dance with him and there was nothing reserved about dancing.
I haven't even talked to him since then. My own reputation isn't all that pleasant...who am I to judge?
"You know what else makes both of us lucky?" Miho continued cheerfully and she glanced up curiously from her stretch, breaking off her thoughts about how many times she herself had been called a slut and a bitch just because she was an excellent dancer.
"That we have Mutou-san for a tutor! When he talks all I can do is listen, he's so good at explaining," She said eyes wide with clear respect for the man.
"Don't tell Honda or he'll just be more jealous," Anzu told her with a small laugh as she imagined the fit he would throw if he knew how much Miho 'liked' the TA who had only been around for about two weeks. Tomorrow was her second meeting with him, and the first time they'd actually be doing work together.
"Are you nervous? You don't seem to like him very much." From anyone else it would have been blunt but from Miho it was pure speculation.
"It's not that I don't like him, I just don't really...know him," Anzu replied, putting on a smile for her friends benefit.
"Don't worry about me Miho-chan," She assured her, noting the still concerned look on her face. "I'm sure if anyone can teach me it'll be him," She gave a small laugh and Miho smiled brightly, meanwhile frowning on the inside.
Anzu-chan...You're too cool sometimes. She thought with a small sigh, focusing on her stretch so she wouldn't hurt herself dancing. You think no one will notice how you feel if you work hard enough but everyone can tell you're upset about something. Why won't you tell me?
But her silent plea went unanswered as the brunet girl beside her simply twisted into an even more painful looking position, pushing herself to her limits.
...
"Mazaki Anzu?" A voice questioned and she nearly fell out of her back arch position but managed to catch herself awkwardly despite her surprise, righting herself with a quick flip and pulling herself to her feet.
She had been so focused on the stretch she forgot to stay alert. Very few people tried to bother her when she was concentrating anyways. These thoughts flashed through her head seconds before she caught sight of the person who had called her name.
"Ishtar-kun," She replied, with a small bow which he ignored as he took her hand in his.
"W-what are you doing?" She demanded, trying to pull her hand back but he ignored her as he stretched her fingers and twisted her wrist gently. Dropping her hand he returned his gaze which was some cross between blue and purple to her face unapologetically.
"I surprised you," He said matter-o-factly. "You landed awkwardly and I wanted to make sure it didn't hurt your hand," He continued equally unashamed, though she was grateful at least for a small explanation of his actions. Still, it stung her pride.
"I'm not as weak as you might think," She replied irritably, curling her fingers automatically. Again she reminded herself that there had been nothing creepy about his touch, she was simply judging him off of what she had heard.
"Having high expectations of yourself is just as dangerous as being careless. You're still human after all and if you injure yourself it will affect both of us poorly," His tone wasn't superior, quite the opposite he sounded very serious. Her pride sang again and she tried to shut it away.
"Is there a reason you came to talk to me when class is already over?" She asked instead of arguing with him, knowing it was no way to start their relationship as partners.
"I've noticed that you always stick around afterwards to practice more, I thought it would be the most private time to meet since I wait until the others are gone to change as well," He explained simply although another emotion, like anger or shame had crept into his voice.
"Ah," She said, not sure how she felt about him 'noticing' her although that might simply be because of the rumours again. "Is there a reason you wait?" She asked, deciding to test the waters. He tensed and she recognized the ripple of muscles along his body –like he was about to break into dance...or like he was about to hit something.
"You don't have to tell me," She continued smoothly, leaving herself an escape route just in case. "I just thought that it would be good to know something about you since we're partners and we've barely even talked."
Barely? That hardly covered it. When she first approached him she announced her name and grade and asked straight out if he would consider partnering with her for the final examinations. Practice would of course, begin as soon as possible so that they could do their very best when performance time came.
He had merely nodded and said he'd consider it, so she left it at that. The next day he approached her and said he'd be honoured to work with her. It had all been extremely polite and frankly cold on both their parts as this 'meeting' was also shaping up to be.
"I have made many enemies simply because I am a good dancer and also because of my former...behaviour, that's reputation carried over from my old home. Neither woman nor men trust my eyes near their bodies," He explained slowly, not so much avoiding her gaze as staring broodingly into space.
It was the expression of one who had suffered much but still not given up. She could respect someone like that.
"Well you haven't given me a reason to like or dislike you," She stated breezily and he looked her way in surprise. "But honesty is a good reason for respect, not to mention your dancing skills are admittedly as good if not better than mine. If we practice, we'll do well together."
Gratitude flashed across his face which she appreciated even more then the honesty. After all, she could only deal with so many emotionally detached males at a time.
"Thank you, your respect is all that I ask for. When would you like to practice then, Mazaki-san?" She blinked slightly at his politeness.
"Well, as you already noted I stay after school most days anyways. I have some, ah, other commitments with a tutor after school some days but I can push those back, dance is always most important to me. And please, call me Anzu, I don't want to feel like strangers with someone who I plan to spend so much time with," She rattled off easily, having already thought through her answer when she first saw him, assuming it was the only thing they had to talk about.
His flaxen blue-purple eyes blinked once, an uncertain look sprawling across his face which she noticed was surprisingly awkward. What could give him such a look? She thought back to her earlier words then flushed with embarrassment.
"I didn't mean it that way! I mean, I do plan to spend as much time working with you as possible and I hope we get along but I'm not working with you because I'm interested in you romantically," She quickly corrected in a flustered tone and a small smile curled up in his mouth gently against his tan skin.
"It's alright Anzu-san, I understand," He assured her and she sighed.
Anzu-san?
She'd have to work on this one...
A/N: I love Marik! Sorry but it had to be said. I also love just about every other character on this show. Hope everyone is enjoying, please leave a review containing either constructive criticism or compliments, they help so much with the writing process!
Here's a preview of the next chapter:
"Forgive me if this sounds too forward, but to remedy the nerves we might work better together if we knew a little more about each other. Working with strangers is not nearly as easy as working with friends," He offered suavely.
She sighed internally, heart fluttering...respectfully. Right, respectfully. His wisdom had always been very charming to her. Of course she used to have a crush on him...but that was two years ago. Surely such feelings didn't remain.
No, surely they don't ;)