Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

An Azureshipping Fanfic.

Lockdown.

Chapter Thirteen.

"Well, that's to be expected," Yuugi replaced the receiver, met the gaze of Jounouchi. "The line's dead."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we can't make any calls at the moment. The telephone line must have a crack or a loose jumper or something." He walked to the window, looked out. "I'm worried about Anzu."

"Her parent's aren't back yet, huh. Well," Jounouchi rose, dusted his pants. "Want to go check on her? Bet she'll be glad to see a friendly face."

"We can't go out. The streets aren't safe, and what if there's another earthquake? It's better to wait."

"Yeah, that's fun."

Yuugi listened to the rain as it pummeled the roof, watched it as it streaked the windows. "I just hope she's okay."

"Man, I hate the rain." From her corner, Anzu stared miserably out the window, her frown blacker than the clouds. "Makes me think of the heavens crying."

"Looking for conversation, Mazaki? Or are you simply bored?"

"A little bit of both." She propped her legs on the desk, and prayed she didn't tumble over. "Read any good books lately?"

"Just one," Kaiba watched as she folded her arms behind her head. "You're going to fall," he warned, could practically see the chair wobble.

"Don't worry your pretty little head. I've done this a hundred times." Or rather, she'd seen Jounouchi do it. "So what was the book?"

"The Massacred Angels. A man rapes and murders thirteen young girls, dismembers their bodies, then buries their limbs across the country. A fairly good read."

Anzu couldn't help but stare. "Remind me never to ask you to tell me a bedtime story. Okay, so how did it end? Was he caught by the police?"

"No. He moved to the country, changed his name, and married a farmer's daughter. He lived humbly for a couple years, then slipped back into his old habit. He abducted three girls before his wife became suspicious. She went to the police, of course, but it was really a waste. The man hanged himself while she was gone."

"So," Kaiba asked, knowing she'd been caught up in the tale. "What do you think?"

"It's certainly not my taste," She flashed a bright smile that had him lifting his brows. "But I'd give it a shot. Was it a true account?"

"Not likely since I made it all up." He had the pleasure of seeing that smile drop away, replaced by an angry frown, and surprised blue eyes.

"I can't believe you." Anzu slapped her hands on the desk. "That was really mean. I was thinking about buying the thing."

"You're making me feel bad."

"Liar," she grinned. "You enjoyed setting me up. So I guess you don't like reading those types of books, do you?"

"I prefer tasteful literature, Mazaki. Something you're not a fan of since you read about love, and fairy princesses, and happily-ever-after."

Insulted, Anzu folded her arms under breasts, gave her best scowl. "It's inherently female to enjoy a good romance," she defended. "I am not ashamed of my gender. And that book you're referring to didn't have fairies; princesses or any other kind."

"Really."

"I hate that smug tone." She scraped back the chair, searched for said book. "See?" she shoved it in his face. "I was fooling around earlier, because I was pissed. Go ahead. Read the title."

He did, and amused, he brought his eyes back to hers. "The Vampire and the Virgin. You're right. No fairies here."

"Don't laugh." Anzu chided, her cheeks flaming. "Miho leant it to me. And vampires are very hot right now."

"Apparently, so are virgins." Kaiba had to laugh when her face turned cherry-red. "You're such a prude, Mazaki."

"Yeah, well." She admiringly shrugged off her discomfort. "This is nice. We're having a conversation without insulting each other."

He frowned when she dropped into the seat next to his. Lifted his brow when she narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?" Kaiba demanded.

Anzu started to shake her head, then decided to hell with it. "Earlier you implied that I'd never make it as a dancer. One who doesn't take her clothes off. You said," she fumbled for a moment almost choking on the words. "You said something mean. I've been dancing since I was two. I never once thought about giving up."

"For God's sake." He cursed.

"You hurt my pride." She said tightly, her eyes a blazing blue. "You stomped on it viciously. And the doubts that I've been feeling, that I've always felt, came rushing. I don't like inadequacy."

Anzu offered him a lethal glare. "I really don't."

"Let me ask you this." Kaiba turned to her, met her gaze calmly. "When did you start caring about what I think? I'll admit I said something particularly nasty. But you were the one who opened yourself to those fears."

Anzu rose, nearly knocked over the chair. "I want to hit you."

"Why?"

"Because I hate when you're right." She sighed. "I can take criticism most of the time. But right now, with all of this going on, I'm not myself. I just want to go home."

"Who doesn't?"

"How's the arm?" She poked it gently, could've sworn he flinched. "That bad, huh? You look cute when you're in pain."

Kaiba regarded her suspiciously. "Excuse me?"

Anzu laughed, her eyes full of fun. Did he know she liked being with him, just like this? To smile at him, look at him with the kindness she gave freely to her friends?

"Mazaki. You're staring again." He arched a brow. "Are you truly fascinated by my face?"

"Like I said, it's very cute. I would pinch your cheek, but I like having my hand."

Kaiba caught the playfulness of her stare, the way she'd move around. Like a mad fairy, he thought, and bit down on a laugh. He rose, surprising her, and cupped her cheek.

"You're a very interesting woman, Mazaki." His thumb feathered across her lip, and he watched, fascinated, by the way her breath caught, and her eyes warmed. "I'm thinking about kissing you again. I know I'll regret it, but the temptation's too great."

"We both know how weak we are when faced when temptation."

"So we do." He leaned in, barely brushed her lips when he pulled back. Frowning, he said, "Did you hear that?"

She was drowning in lust, and her eyes were fogged with desire. "I didn't hear anything."

Kaiba moved away, and Anzu struggled not to pull him back. "I heard footsteps," he told her, and smirked when he heard Mokuba shout his name. "Well. Looks like we're sprung."

Anzu cursed the timing, laughed. And the sound was carefree and full of relief. "Aren't we lucky?"

Sitting in the back of one of Kaiba's posh limousines, Anzu watched, amused, by the way Mokuba fussed over his brother.

His chatter was bright and animated as she'd remembered. The mothering tone, adorable. It was a rare glimpse into the Kaiba family, and she, the lone outsider, enjoyed the view.

Smiling at the two, Anzu managed to tune back in when Kaiba asked for her address. Relaying the information, she turned to stare out the window.

What would have happened, she wondered, if Mokuba had arrived a few seconds later? Obviously, she and Kaiba were leaning towards another kiss. But would it have been awkward afterward? She had good indication it fairly was. And why was she thinking about this?

"Hey, Anzu. Are you alright?" The darkly concerned eyes of Mokuba Kaiba stared into hers. "You made a weird noise."

"Ah, I'm fine." Anzu purposely didn't bring her gaze to Kaiba's. "I'm a bit sleep deprived. Sorry." She reached out to brush his hair aside. "Thanks again for the rescue."

He did well to hide his blush. "Your welcome. I'd never expected to see you with Seto. Kinda weird."

"Weird is exactly the word I'd use. Say," she cocked her head in question. "How did you find us? You don't, like, have Kaiba bugged, do you?"

"Not exactly." He reached inside his jacket, retrieved a small black device. "There's a tacking device in Seto's phone. Ah. See that?" He pointed to the blinking pink dot. "It's like a little neon sign pointing to Seto's location. Even if the phone broken, and the device is still intact, I'll know where he is."

"That's handy." Anzu turned to Kaiba, aimed a suspicious stare. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I'd forgotten." Kaiba shrugged in that careless way of his, and she wanted to smack him. "You did good, kid." He gave Mokuba a pat on the back, and the boy preened.

"The earthquake delayed us a bit. The power was out — still out," he corrected. "in various parts of Domino. Waiting was the logical and safe decision. Are you sure you'll be alright at home?" he asked Anzu.

My white knight, she thought. "I'll be better than alright." The car came to a stop, and she looked out the window. "Well. This is me."

"Nice house."

She let her gaze wander to Kaiba's, remembered their itty-bitty encounter. "I'll tell my father's realtor you said so." The door opened under her hands. "See you around Mokuba. And Kaiba? Let's not do this again. Once was enough."

"I couldn't agree more." He stared at her a second too long to be considered comfortable. "Goodbye, Mazaki."

"Yeah. Bye." Watching the car drive away, Anzu sighed, felt her shoulders slump with fatigue. And spinning on her heel, she went inside.

Yuugi watched with fascination as Anzu gorged herself on whipped cream and vanilla cake. It was her fourth slice in the last ten minutes. "You're going to make yourself sick." he told her.

"I'd deserve it for kissing Kaiba — for wanting to kiss him again."

"You were with him for some time."

"That only applies to deserted islands." She stared at her empty plate. "I want another."

"No." He smiled when she glared. "You'll thank me later when you've got a tummy upset."

"If I'm going to be sick," Anzu began, licking crumbs. "I might as well enjoy myself. Where's that waitress?" she glanced around, spotted the slim redhead a couple tables down. "Hey! I want more cake. And bring me a strawberry milkshake."

"You're acting like Jounouchi." Yuugi observed, pitying the girl as she hurried away. "Next you'll want to eat pizza and watch a porn flick."

"Ew." Anzu made a sour face. "He does that? Like sit on his couch and…" she shuddered. "Wait. You watch it with him?"

He flushed, and it was a adorable shade of innocent red. "Of course not! I would never."

Anzu smothered a laugh, patted his hand. "It's okay, Yuugi. You don't have to convince me." He only grumbled when the waitress came over. "Oh! Thank you." Saliva pooled in her mouth. "This is incredible."

"Your welcome. Please enjoy."

"I'm so glad I quit her job." She took a bite. "God! I feel like crying, it's so good. Want a taste?" Yuugi refused. "Your loss. Anyway. What were we talking about?"

"You, Kaiba, kiss-kiss."

"Oh, yeah. Is that bad? Wanting to kiss your eternal rival. There should be a rule about that being a big no-no."

Yuugi shrugged, and felt, he could admit, very embarrassed by the conversation. "Maybe you should ask Mai or Miho for that matter. Anyone but me."

"You are my best friend."

"I'm also a guy," he muttered. "One who has no experience kissing other guys. So advice-wise, I'm useless."

"You have a point." Anzu sighed, sipped her milkshake. "Don't tell Jounouchi or Honda about the kiss-kiss. I'm having enough trouble convincing myself it was no big deal."

"You got it. Can we go to the arcade now? I need to wipe the image of you and Kaiba lip-locking from my head."

"Okay." He did look miserable. And wasn't he cute? she thought. With his big violet eyes and pinch able cheeks. "Just one more bite though. This is really god cake."

Three hours and multiple games later, Anzu was home, in her bedroom, brooding like a normal teenager.

She felt tired. Not physically, she reminded herself, but on more of an emotional level. If she could take back the time she spent with Kaiba, trapped in that miserable classroom, she would.

And now, Anzu thought, staring at her reflection in the pretty vanity mirror, it was time to put it aside, forget about it, and move on.

Really. Her sick obsession with it was annoying. She felt sorry for Yuugi, who, despite his best efforts, tried to not to stomp on her feelings by ignoring her.

She should get him a plaque. Something like 'The greatest friend in the world'. Cheesy, but sweet.

"That's what I'll do." Anzu told her mirrored image. "I'll get Yuugi that plaque, quit acting like a girl, and take up a sport. Boxing," she considered. "Perfect for working out aggression."

She nodded, greatly determined. "And I'll never think about Kaiba, his lips, or how badly I wanted them on mine." That great determination wavered. "Easier said than done."

A/N.

Okay. So you may have noticed that I replaced chapter 13 with this. I couldn't see the story going in the 'Anzu falling ill' direction anymore, so I squashed the idea.

I've got big plans for this story, and those plans needed Seto and Anzu out of the classroom, and back to their original lives. Something I didn't touch upon at all.

I'll admit I didn't re-read the previous chapters ( I get embarrassed) so any inconsistencies, blame me for being weird.

Thank you for reading. And TH3 l0sT dR3aM I had no idea it's been so long. I felt really bad for not keeping my promise.

If you want to know when I'm updating, you can check my profile. I change the dates sometimes so you just never know.

Please review.