Hey everyone! Yes, an update! YIPPIE! Guess what, THIS CHAPTER HAS OVER 9000 WORDS! I CAN FINALLY SAY THE MEME! But i wont cuz you just did :P Anyway, please enjoy this chapter, i have already started working on 15 so yeah. Enjoy!
WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS ANGST!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!
Chapter 14
Anzu and Atem were inside the car, without Yugi however. The young Mutou was taken home since he wasn't feeling well. Atem had called Joey to watch after him as Mai and the others decorated for the party.
"It's a shame Yugi wasn't feeling too good, I would have bought him some more toys if he was here." Atem chuckled at Anzu. "What?"
"Yugi's fine, he just wanted to spend time with REBECCA!" he said in a goofy tone. Atem started laughing to himself as they came upon a red light. Anzu giggled.
"I hardly think you have any room to talk Atem." Atem stopped mid laugh and looked at Anzu with a smirk.
"Oh? And why is that?" he asked coyly. Anzu shrugged with a smile.
"I haven't the slightest clue." Atem chuckled again. "Anyway, where are we going?" Atem turned back to the road just in time to see the light turn green again.
"Hmm, that's a good question. I was just going to go to toysRus but since Yugi isn't here…" Anzu thought for a moment.
"Hey, let's go to the park." Atem blinked and looked at her.
"You sure?" She nodded. "Alright, let me just go get something first." Atem turned the car around to go back to the hotel.
"What do you need to get?" Atem tsk-ed her.
"Uh uh uh, it's a surprise." They were only about two blocks away and when they got there, Atem went into the parking lot and parked the car. He went around and opened Anzu's door right before she did. "Come on now, and close your eyes too." Anzu blinked in confusion and saw Atem hold his hand out. She looked up to him and saw how happy he was, this put her at ease and took his hand and closed her eyes.
Atem smiled when she took his hand and held her hand as she came out of the car. He moved her in front of him as he held her hand with one hand and held her waist with the other. He led them slowly into the private garage and stopped. Anzu noticed he took his hands back and was about to open her eyes.
"Don't open them yet. I'm just checking something." Anzu nodded. Atem walked in front of her and waved his hand in front of her face to see if she was peeking. Smiled once he was sure she wasn't and went over to a covered vehicle. 'I was going to save this for Yugi… but I guess he wouldn't mind. It's not like he can use this now anyway.' Atem chuckled to himself as he uncovered the vehicle and took the keys out of his pocket. Atem put the keys into the ignition.
VROOOOM!
Anzu gasped and opened her eyes with a huge smile on her face. "A ninja bike!" she said with a raspy tone. She looked and saw Atem on it, a beautiful black motorcycle with white neon on the bottom and red outlines all over the bike. Anzu slowly walked to the bike and touched it lightly, she ran her fingers across the paint job and looked to see Atem handing her a helmet. She blinked in confusion.
"I don't want you getting hurt." Atem said with a smile. Anzu looked at him for a moment before she took the helmet and returned the smile. She rubbed the bike once more and saw Atem climb atop the bike and held his hand out to her. "Let's get going before we regret it." Anzu gave him an unsure look.
"Atem… you should know…" Atem raised a brow and showed a worried visage. "I've never really… gone around the city for fun…" Atem went wide eyed but then smiled and chuckled subtly. Anzu blushed slightly upon hearing him laugh at her and she turned the other way. Anzu heard Atem grunt, most likely from getting off the bike. She jumped slightly upon feeling arms wrap around her waist and a chin on her shoulder. She became wide eyed and frozen.
"My dear Anzu, that's why I'm here, to help you have fun." He kissed her cheek gently and Anzu's heart started to race faster than Usain Bolt running laps on a track. She tried to keep calm but… having him make her heart race… that actually felt normal to her. She was calm, but wasn't calm. Oh her head started to spin the longer Atem held her. She turned dizzily and tried to push him off her weakly. Her hands were on his chest again… just like before. This gave Anzu the incredible urge to kiss him, but she used every shred of fiber in her being to push that thought out of her mind. It was good effort, only then Atem grabbed one of her hands and used his other hand to keep them close, as if he knew what she wanted to do. She sucked in some cold air harshly as her blush had increased tenfold. She looked up to meet Atem's gaze and saw something that caused all the wind she just sucked in to disappear. His eyes showed none of the jovial Atem she knew… his eyes showed determination and total domination… Anzu was dumbfounded.
'My lord… is it bad that I think that's insanely hot…? What am I talking about?! Yes that's bad!' She began to struggle against his steel grip but gave up once she saw she was going nowhere. "What do you want from me…?" she finally said. Atem chuckled with a smirk that sent shivers down her spine and leaned in to her ear.
"I want… you and I know what you were thinking." Anzu went wide eyed, she was completely busted. "Do what you were thinking of doing." He gave her a sly smirk that pissed her off. A low, animal-like growl escaped Anzu's mouth as she watched him taunt her. In that moment, she forgot all of her reasoning and focused on her pride as a person. No way can she let him taunt her like that, no way! With that thought in mind, Anzu furiously crashed her lips with his. Atem let go of her hand and placed his free arm around her and met his other hand as Anzu's arms snaked around Atem's neck. Anzu felt Atem's smile in the kiss and questioned why he smiled. It was then that she couldn't feel the ground under her feet anymore, but she felt leather on her butt and that made her blush. She sat on top of the motorcycle as Atem continued to savagely raid her lips. Once they broke apart, Anzu had a faint blush spread across her cheeks. Atem smiled and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs as their foreheads were connected.
"I take it back…" Anzu leaned back and looked at him, confused. Atem smiled gently as he kept his hands on her cheeks.
"Take what back…?" Anzu asked, slightly afraid and she put her hands on Atem's.
"What I want… is to get to know the real you, the real Anzu Mazaki." Anzu went wide eyed as a small gasp escaped her. She pushed Atem away from her and jumped down from the seat of the bike only to find her legs were more like jelly. Before she fell Atem caught her yet again. She gasped and grabbed his shoulders and glared at him.
"Damn you…" Atem raised a brow. "Why… why do you confuse me so much…?" Anzu's pitch started to get higher. Atem watched her in amazement as something unbelievable happened. Tears, actual tears fell from Anzu's icy eyes. He then noticed something that made his heart pound harder than he could have ever imagined, her ice cold eyes transformed into beautiful, warm, oceanic eyes. Her ice has melted, and Atem knew why. Without saying a word, Atem brought her into an embrace that she gave back as she silently sobbed into his chest. He rubbed her back delicately as his heart gave a slight tug with each sob she let out. He leaned down to her ear for comfort.
"Anzu… you don't have to cry because you can't understand something. That's not who you are." Atem said these gentle words and swayed side to side to calm her. Anzu stiffed a sob and replied that was slightly muffled against his chest.
"It's so confusing… I always know what's happening but this… this is stressing me out…" Atem frowned for a moment but then moved back to look her in the face and caressed her cheek.
"Then let's use tonight to find out what's happening." Anzu shot a surprised look to Atem only to see he was smiling with the upmost confidence. Anzu thought for a moment, her mind and all her reasoning said no, to avoid him at all costs, but her heart, her damned heart caused her to say the unthinkable.
"A…alright…" Anzu mentally cursed herself out but noticed Atem's features light up. She sighed in defeat and saw Atem mount the bike with his hand out to her again. Anzu sighed once more and took his hand. Atem helped her up and handed her the helmet she dropped during their shared moment. She put her helmet on and heard a voice in it, it was Atem. She blinked in confusion and looked at him to see he was wearing a black helmet that covered his head while Anzu wore a dark blue on. She noticed he was looking at her through his helmet and spoke again.
"Anzu, can you hear me?" Were the helmets radios? Anzu cleared her throat and fisted her hands that were on her knees.
"Yeah, I can hear you." Atem nodded and turned to face the front and revved up the engine of the beautiful bike. Atem didn't turn but he did speak.
"Put your arms around me." Anzu went wide eyed.
"W-what?!" Anzu blushed again and she heard Atem chuckle. Worst part, his laugh was all in her ears.
"Think of me as your seat belt and you're mine." he said in a deep and gentle tone. Anzu thanked every powerful being ever mentioned by man that she wore a helmet because her whole head was red and steaming. The last thing she needed was more taunting from Atem. Why did he taunt her anyway? Shouldn't it be the other way around? That's how it used to be… and so Anzu sighed in defeat, Atem had her in a corner with no way out. She put her arms around his waist as her head lay on his back. It was true that Atem made her lose her freaking mind… but he has been the first person to make her smile in a while… she felt that she owed him, as much as that bothered her to admit, she had to make it up to him somehow.
Atem began to back up and drive out of the parking lot. Atem knew that since he was the driver that he needed to pay attention to where he was going. But having Anzu with him, on him, it made his mind swirl around. Yes, Anzu is a professional business woman. A C.E.O for fucks sake… but damn she has been the only person to give him a run for his money. She heckled him the first time they met, she never let a taunt go by her, well except today, but most of all… she made him laugh. For Atem that is a truck load of bonus points. Being a comedian, Atem is paid to make people laugh, but when someone, preferably a woman, can make him laugh it's almost like sticking cupid's arrow in him. Atem had been with many women in his time, but none of them were able to make his heart pound against his chest the way she made it. It felt refreshing to him actually… Atem shook his head to bring himself out of his thoughts just in time to stop at a red light. Atem blinked, wide eyed and shocked. He got so lost in thought about Anzu that he forgot where he was going to go! Atem swallowed hard and mentally beat himself up. He had one job, ONE JOB! And that was to be sure to know where to go and he messed that up… but that was when he realized something, what has Anzu been doing? She has been way too quiet for his liking. He wanted more than anything to turn around to talk to her but he knew he couldn't, so he settled for just talking.
"You ok back there?" No response. Ok, now he started to worry. Granted, he still felt her arms around him, and … her chest on his back… perhaps she was asleep? He was about to pull over when he felt her stir.
"Yeah… sorry I was just looking at all the lights. I never knew the city was so pretty at this time." Atem blinked in confusion but took a moment to look around. It was night time. The stars were shining bright with the assistance of the moon, the sky was clear which had that light cascade into the huge city they lived in. They were on the highway, this allowed them to see the bright lights of New York. Atem watched in awe but remembered to focus back on the road. This had him think for a moment. She loved this view, so why not show her more of it? But not yet, he considered saving that for last. "So, where are we going game master?" She giggled. Atem blinked in confusion before he had a flashback to when he mentioned he was an excellent gamer. He smirked and chuckled.
"Oh don't you worry, we're gonna go play some games." Atem said in a very sly tone. Before Anzu could say anything, he sped up off the highway which made Anzu hold him tighter.
"Atem slow down!" Atem chuckled.
"What?! Sorry I can't hear over how much fun we're having!" Atem laughed as Anzu punched him repeatedly in the back.
"I JUST WANTED TO GO TO THE PARK!" she cried.
Back at the Mutou place, Yugi and his friends have begun decorating for the party. Well, Yugi entertained his friends while his friend's parents decorated. Joey and Tristan handled lights while Serenity and Mai did balloons and food. Mai and Serenity were in the Kitchen and gossiped about Atem's new friend Joey and Yugi told them about.
"Ohhh I can't wait to meet her!" Serenity said as she pulled cookies out of the oven. Mai giggled.
"Yeah, it's been a very long time since Atem had a girl. This should be good. Hey, should we bring it back Serenity?" Mai asked with a devious grin. Serenity froze where she was and blushed deeply.
"But what if it goes wrong again…?" Mai turned to her and put one hand on her shoulder with confidence.
"I got an idea…"
Joey was putting up lights over the TV while Tristan held the ladder still. Joey had one more nail to put the lights over but it was in the furthest part away from the ladder and he insisted on not having Tristan move the ladder because 'he got this'. So he was on his toes, the very tips of them, and tried to reach that last nail.
"Joey I swear if you fall over I'm gonna laugh so hard in your face. Not to mention you'll have to buy Atem a new TV." Tristan said with a grin. Joey snorted.
"Don't worry 'bout it Tristan. The only way I could fuck up is if someone scares me!" Joey started to laugh but then someone ran into the living room.
"Hey guys what's up!" yelled Yugi. Joey gasped and shook from the shock until he fell over, but surprisingly didn't break anything. He even put the lights on the last nail as he fell. Tristan started to laugh and fell on the couch and Joey rose up slowly to give him a death glare.
"What's so funny Tristan? I MADE IT! HAH!" Tristan stopped laughing and looked to see nothing was broken and so he blinked in shock. Yugi came over with Rebecca following him closely and they sat on the couch.
"Hey, why aren't you two with the others?" Tristan asked. Yugi blushed and Rebecca giggled as she held his arm close to her. Tristan grinned. "Ohhhhh, I get it. I'll let you have some time, c'mon Joey." He pulled Joey out of the living room and into the kitchen just in time to catch Mai's and Serenity's conversation.
"Mai… I don't think that's a good idea." Serenity said worriedly.
"Oh come on! It'll be fun! Plus, what if it goes right?" Mai said with a cheeky grin. Joey and Tristan walked in with confused looks and Serenity went to hug Tristan.
"Uh… Mai what are you planning?" Joey asked with a stern face. Mai giggled and kissed his cheek.
"Alright, so what if Atem's new friend comes here later?" Joey blinked in confusion.
"Uh, then we'll meet her…?" Mai sighed and shook her head.
"No you moron, what if we brought it back just for this occasion. It's not like Atem's had a girl in a while, so why not spice it up tonight?" Joey went wide eyed and blushed.
"M-Mai… but what if what happened last time happens again?" Mai sighed again.
"First of all, I knew Serenity wasn't going to so I had to and you know that. Second, Atem's gonna have his own little toy if that happens again."
"I guess you're right…" Mai smiled as Joey admitted defeat and kissed his cheek yet again.
"Good! So I'll be going to the store if you need me." she said with flare and attitude. Joey and the others watched her walk out and sighed.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Tristan said and Joey nodded.
"Yeah… I just hope Atem's having fun with his friend." Serenity and Tristan nodded.
Instead of the park, Atem took Anzu to a place they would both love. Atem remembered that Anzu mentioned she was also skilled in games so he figured he could see for himself and go to a place he hasn't been to in a long time. That's right, the casino! Once Atem parked the bike in the lot, he hopped off and helped Anzu down like a gentleman. Once off, Anzu couldn't help but smirk.
"I guess your pay check wasn't enough to satisfy you, or is it that you need money for your hair stylists?" Atem laughed.
"Oh so you admit you think I'm good?" Anzu blushed and flabbergasted.
"T-that's not what I meant! Y-you were confident enough to bring me here so I just thought…" She rambled off and Atem smirked this time which made Anzu go wide eyed at his sudden change.
"Anzu, we're just gonna go have fun. Relax, ok?" Anzu shook her head and chuckled lightly.
"Whatever Atem, just be sure that when I beat you that you don't go crying to mommy." Anzu giggled to herself a bit while fire burned in Atem's eyes, indicating that the challenge was accepted. Before they walked in, Atem took a moment to look at the entrance. Anzu noticed him and walked back to him. "Something the matter?" Atem didn't respond and she noticed that he appeared to be lost in thought. She rubbed the back of her head with an eyebrow raised. She sighed and tilted her head to the side worriedly.
Atem's heart raced as his memories came flooding back. 'I should've thought this through better… I don't want any one of them in there.' Once Atem came back to reality, he noticed Anzu was looking at him. He blinked in confusion and gave an apologetic smile. She shook her head in response and wrapped her arm around his which made Atem blush like mad.
"Come on, we don't have all night ya know." Atem blinked when he heard her tone, she sounded… happy. This made him blink in confusion, was she really this happy just being with him? As she pulled him inside, Atem took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.
'This is for her…' For a second, all he heard were slot machines, cards shuffling, dice rolling, and the 'awwww's' and 'yeeeaaah's!' of people. He opened his eyes once he heard that they were inside and heard someone gasp. He turned his head and saw an old friend. "Mahad, how have you been?" Anzu blinked when she saw Atem talk to the man next to the door. The man next to the door, Mahad, blinked in confusion upon hearing his name but then saw Atem and went wide eyed and ran over to him instantly.
"A-Atem?! Wow! It's been so long! Look at you!" Atem and Mahad shared a bro hug and Atem chuckled.
"I know, I know. It's been a while." Mahad smacked Atem's arm and he grunted in response.
"You're damn right! Next time you vanish like that at least leave a note jackass!" Atem laughed and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. Anzu was shocked but kept to herself…
"I didn't think you cared that much about me Mahad!" he said with a laugh. Mahad chuckled.
"Well, you and I have been through many things. It's only natural I worry for someone I consider my little brother." Atem blinked in shock. "Though I wish to catch up, I have to work, please, enjoy yourselves." Mahad looked at Anzu, but didn't really notice who she was. "And please, keep him out of trouble." Anzu giggled and held Atem's arm closer to her.
"It'd be my pleasure." Atem blushed as he felt Anzu tug on him a bit. Mahad looked at them and smiled.
'Atem's never brought a woman here, this should be interesting…' Mahad smirked to himself and watched the two bicker in a loving way, endearing almost.
"Anzu, you don't have to watch me! Why did you say that?!" Anzu giggled and stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm just trying to have a little fun like you wanted Atem." Atem groaned in annoyance but then saw her expression and couldn't help but smile.
"Right, having fun at my expense…" he mumbled. Anzu rolled her eyes and smacked the arm Mahad smacked. "Ow!" Atem rubbed his arm and pouted. "What is this, hit Atem day?" he said with a smirk. Anzu let go of his arm, which made him feel a little… cold, and ruffled his hair.
"Don't be such a baby. It's all in good fun." She stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled, that gave him the incentive to quickly wrap his arms around her and from it, she squeaked in surprise. "W-what are you doing?!" she said with a blush. "P-people are gonna look!" Atem scoffed and leaned down to her ear.
"They can look all they want. As long as they don't touch I'll be fine." Anzu had gone tomato red the second she felt Atem's hot breath on her ear, his deep voice ringing in her head. Dear lord, why does this man have to make everything so sexual? At that moment, he chuckled and backed away from her with a smile and let her go. Anzu scowled him for a moment and then realized something,
"Atem, I'll be right back. I'm going to the store across the street." As Anzu said this, she ran out of the Big Web Casino. Atem watched her run out and blinked in confusion but quickly shook his head, what could this woman be planning now? But after a second, he realized that trying to predict her actions it futile and just went with it. Atem chuckled to himself and made his way over to a slot machine. Once he sat down he became very nostalgic, he reminisced being in the arcade with his friends in this very casino before it was a casino. He and his friends would go all the time when he was in high school… he sat in that very seat when it happened.
Atem remembered, he sat in that spot and played a fighting game with Joey next to him while Tristan and Duke tried to win prizes from the crane games. It was Saturday early afternoon on a nice summer day, but of all the days in the year this day had to be the one to take away something dear to Atem. Atem clenched his fists tight and gritted his teeth as he growled "The Underwoods…" Without going too far into memory land, Atem recalled the basics of the situation. A family of rich business owners came and bought out the arcade. This outraged the young Mutou and challenged them to a duel.
Atem stood up from his chair and stared daggers at the business man. It was almost as if he glared at the embodiment of everything cruel in the world. Atem's life was bad enough, his parents were never around, all he has is his friends to support him, and a game to brighten his day but with that game, there were always more to discover. Games are his center, and for this man to waltz in and tell everyone to get out is not acceptable! With this in mind Atem pointed at that man and said
"If you want this place you'll have to duel me for it!" The man in the suit looked at Atem with an astonished expression on his face. The man chuckled.
"I refuse," Atem went wide eyed. "But, why don't you duel my son instead?" Now he blinked in confusion but then saw a boy about a year or two younger than him. This boy had green hair that basically looked like an upside down bowl not to mention he wore big yellow glasses that made him look like a bug. "Weevil Underwood, remember that name boy." Atem gripped his deck in one hand and clenched the other fist.
"It's time to duel!" yelled Atem.
Atem sighed and cut away from the memory before he became too unsettled. He's here for Anzu, nothing more, nothing less. With this in mind, Atem lifted his head and watched the slots roll until he saw all three 7's line up and the machine said 'winner!'
"Wow nice going, started to have fun without me. Rude Atem, very rude." said a voice that was right next to his ear. Atem blushed and swallowed hard and turned his head slightly to see Anzu right in front of him. Dear god why does she have to always wrap him around her finger?
"A-Anzu, you're back." He said this while trying to keep their lips a good distance even though he had a firey sensation in his gut. Anzu giggled and moved closer to him but completely missed his lips and kissed his cheek.
"Don't get too excited now. We don't want anything happening, right?" she whispered in his ear softly. Atem's heart raced as he felt her lips touching his ear. Before he could say anything, she backed away and smirked. "And that is what I like to call payback." Atem blinked in confusion with a blush evenly across his face and Anzu tossed a bag onto his lap causing Atem to come back to reality. "It's for you. If we're going to be here we might as well be high rollers." With that Anzu walked off with a bag for herself to the ladies room and Atem went and looked in his bag. That's when he smirked.
"High rollers huh?" Atem chuckled and went to go change into the clothes Anzu had gotten him.
Anzu walked along giddily with a smirk. "It's too easy, either that or I know him too well already." Anzu walked into the bathroom and giggled to herself. As this happened, Atem walked to the other side of the casino to the men's room. He looked inside the bag and saw a note, he took it out and he smiled lightly. The note read 'Don't put it on wrong this time…' Atem shook his head and walked into the bathroom.
"Says the lady who couldn't even speak proper English when she saw me earlier with a suit on."
Once Anzu entered the bathroom, she saw the white marble floor and matching sinks along with grey stalls and gold faucets. She admired the taste of the owners but couldn't stop staring at the insect carving on the window frame.
"Gross…" Anzu shook it off and went to put on the dress she bought and quickly groaned in annoyance. "I just had to get him a suit again… ugh oh well…" She removed her work clothes piece by piece and began to replace them with a red ruby dress that was low cut, yes it was a generic casino outfit for a woman but hey, people know that is the type of woman to have money. Anzu smirked as she began to think of a plan. Trick people into thinking Anzu is no good and pick Atem as her partner to rake in the dough. "Excellent." Anzu finished changing and left the stall with her work clothes in the bag and once she walked out she braced herself for Atem this time but instead something else happened. Once Anzu walked out, she saw Atem but once he saw her it was like a re-enactment of before. "You ok Atem?"
Atem finished changing and made sure not to mess up the straps for his pants and once he came out, Anzu came out shortly after. He was ready to give her a run for her money but all that happened was the opposite. He stared at her luscious curves and beautiful figure which the dress made pop out at him. Her chocolate brown hair that barely touched her shoulders emphasized her thin straps which made his eyes wonder downward to see just how low cut her dress was. Atem had a single thought in his mind.
"Why didn't I take her to my place first? Good god…" he mentally whimpered as this woman completely took over his thoughts. Atem took every ounce of will power he had left to make sure he didn't do anything stupid, but then he saw Anzu smirk and he blushed. "Shut up…" Anzu laughed and went up to pet his head.
"All's fair in love and war." Anzu said before walking off with Atem behind her.
"So what's the plan since I know you have one." Anzu chuckled and turned to him while walking.
"Billiards," Atem raised a brow. "Fake and take." Atem chuckled.
"Try pool or poker, I'm better at those." Anzu giggled.
"Alright then, is this a go?" Anzu extended her hand to him as they walked and Atem gladly shook it.
"It's a go." They both nodded and went different ways to begin phase one, the hook. Anzu went to the pool tables and made sure to find the best player that also wasted the most money on stupid gambles. With her well-trained eyes, Anzu scanned the room in search for such a candidate and came across a man playing pool, yelling and hollering as he kept winning. This man had green hair in the shape of an upside down bowl, yellow glasses that made him look like a bug.
Anzu saw that he had a lot of pride and knew he was the one; she looked to Atem only to see girls dressed as rabbits flock to him. This made her eye twitch and her fists tighten but then she noticed something… he wasn't paying attention to them. He was just… staring at her. She was still pissed off at the fact he didn't tell those hookers to leave him alone, but then a question arose in her subconscious. Why did she care? He's a man, let him do what he wants and if he wants bum women then fine. Anzu puffed and glared at Atem signaling him to the guy she found. He nodded and quickly went to work.
Atem walked slowly over to the man Anzu found and thought to himself, why did she notice this guy so fast? In fact why a guy at all? Atem shook his head quickly.
"Damn I got jealous fast…" he thought. Atem shook his head to regain control over his emotions and went over to the man Anzu found. He noticed Anzu walk up to the man first and asked to play. She bet a hundred dollars the first game and the guy matched her, saying that she was far better at pool than this man. Atem chuckled as he watched Anzu struggle to play, even if it was fake, she did look cute.
Anzu began to play and knew she had to lose and make it convincing. So, she went and hit the wrong colors and even hit the 8-ball in. That was an automatic loss and the guy snickered and cackled his annoying laugh and took the money.
"Why thank you dearie. Thanks for the money!" His voice was scratchy and irritating and Atem felt very uneasy. Bowl-like green hair… annoying laugh… Atem's eyes went wide.
"Weevil… Weevil Underwood." Atem said angrily. Anzu flinched at the harshness in Atem's voice, she almost didn't recognize him. Did she mess up?
The man turned around and noticed Atem, this made him smirk. "Well well, what do we have here? Atem Mutou, in the flesh. I thought you ran away like a baby and got yourself killed or something. What brings you here to my casino?" Atem growled and gritted his teeth.
An entirely new Atem revealed himself and Anzu was speechless. Is this still the man that… Anzu shook her head. She can't say anything like that just yet… But thinking back, Atem was always the one to make her smile and laugh, seeing him in such rage, such pain, it hurt her. Anzu put a hand gracefully over her heart wondering just what happened. "Atem…" She saw rage fill Atem's once jovial filled eyes and felt her heart sank.
"You cheater, this shouldn't even be yours let alone your father's!" Weevil laughed and turned to see him without his back facing Atem.
"Accusing me again are we? Atem can't you just accept you lost?" Atem's hands fisted tightly. This made Anzu's face pale a bit, was she actually scared. At this point, everyone in the casino was watching as the old long lost story of the Big Web Casino was about to unfold. Atem slammed his fist on the pool table.
"You cheated you bastard! You took my Exodia cards! The cards my…" Atem's fist started to shake as his eyes shut tight. "The cards my grandfather gave me!" Atem yelled. Anzu went wide eyed and swallowed hard. She then began to wonder what he was talking about, what cards? His grandfather?
"Atem…" she said softly. She didn't know why, but she didn't like how angry Atem was… Anzu looked at Weevil and glared at him, all he did was laugh in Atem's face and she didn't like that at all. "Prick…" she mumbled under her breath.
"As much as I love seeing you again, I have to get back to work." Weevil went to walk passed Atem and bumped his shoulder hard as he walked. This made Atem turn and grab Weevil's shoulder. Weevil was shocked and turned, and he quickly smacked Atem's hand off his shoulder.
"What's the rush Underwood? I thought you would LOVE to humiliate me again." Atem said with a dangerously angry expression. Weevil returned his glare and raised him one.
"Fine, you name the game. Is this a rematch Mutou?" All the people in the Casino stayed quiet as Weevil and Atem partook in a face-off. Atem gritted and grinded his teeth as he spoke,
"Duel Monsters, and you bet your ass it is. Same deal, I win you leave, you win, I leave. For good this time." Weevil grinned and chuckled menacingly.
"You're on loser, your pride is about to get the better of you again. Come downstairs in thirty minutes, we need to set up the arena." Atem nodded and Weevil then laughed as he walked away. Atem stared daggers as he saw Weevil disappear into the sea of people who were now getting ready to watch the ultimate showdown. Atem was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice Anzu came up behind him.
"Atem…?" she said delicately. Anzu's heart was racing, but not in a good way. Her speech could barely reach high enough for anyone to hear especially in this commotion. "A-Atem…?" she said again, slightly louder. She blinked in confusion but then pouted and became slightly angry. She then went up to his ear and yelled "Hey Mutou!" right into it. Atem cringed and covered the damaged ear. He turned around, eyes wide from shock and looked at her.
"Yes?! How may I frickin' help you?!" he yelled back. Anzu blinked in shock and got angrier. This made her advance in her step, right in front of him, right in his face since he was bent over from the scream.
"Well you can start by telling me what the hell is going on you bastard!" Atem went wide eyed and stood straight up.
"Bastard?! I'm here trying to give you a good time and you call me a bastard?!" Anzu scoffed.
"Oh please, I'd have more fun at a cemetery than here or anywhere with you as a matter of fact!" Anzu silently gasped at what she just said… but then again, she did want to tell him she shouldn't see him anymore… so with this in mind, she went with it. Atem stared at her wide eyed for a moment. His gaze lowered to the floor and he spoke firmly.
"Then leave if you want… I have unfinished business to take care of." Anzu turned to the door, heart aching.
"Fine, have fun with your slaughter fest…!" she said unevenly. This time, Atem turned away, facing the way to the arena.
"Fine…!" After that, Anzu stormed out leaving Atem standing there alone, hurt, and his bangs covering his eyes. Anzu ran as fast as she could, pushing people out of the way and finally reached the outside to see that it was snowing fairly hard. She panted and saw her breath as she exhaled.
"Just great…" Anzu turned and went to walk through the alley of the casino to get back to the main road so she could get Saki to pick her up. As she walked, she held her shoulders and felt that she was shaking. She thought to herself "Is this from being cold… or…?" That's when she realized, her heart was throbbing in pain and… she was tearing up. "Stupid Atem, I never should have trusted him… he's an idiot like all other men…" After she said this, her heart began growing cold to her. Slowly and steadily the pain went away and bitterness had begun to take over. Was this the final push she needed to become the full Ice Queen? Anzu looked up and saw the snow fall on the dark yet beautiful cloudy night. She stopped her walking in the middle of the alley and turned around. "What am I doing…? I at least need to apologize first to have a clear conscience…" Anzu sighed. "I'm such an emotional idiot… then again he is too…" Anzu giggled to herself and began walking back. Just then, Anzu found herself being slammed against the wall and heard men chuckling and laughing as she was pinned by the neck.
"Lookie what we got here. A pretty young lady just ready to be ravished." Anzu growled and gritted her teeth.
"Now to get rid of these guys first before apologizing to anyone." Anzu fought against the tight grip of this thug but couldn't get free, so she did the first thing she could think of. She went right to bite his hand! The guy yelled in agony but Anzu just kept her teeth there and even bit harder. "Heh, just another day…"
Atem stood in his spot for a few minutes and raised his head to show his eyes again. Without saying a word or even making eye contact, he made his way to the duel arena and saw Weevil shuffling his deck on the red side. Atem sighed as he felt his concentration split in half. Atem held his head on his hand and groaned.
"No, not now… I need to focus…!" he mumbled to himself. Even though he knew what he had to do, Anzu was still on his mind. Did she really mean what she had said? Maybe she felt that she was forced to come along with him…
"Atem," said Weevil. Atem was still lost in thought however. Did she only agree to come because she pitied him? "Atem…" Did she… did she ever give him the time of day to amuse herself? Was he just a toy to her? "Atem!" Hearing his name being shrieked, Atem came out of his thoughts and saw Weevil ready to duel. Atem took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he was younger he would think about the monsters, all the possible strategies that his opponent would come up with, but now… all he could think about is the woman who ran out the door. Atem's face scrunched together as memories of Anzu laughing and smiling ran through his thoughts. Them at the toy store, her holding Yugi, all the simple things that brought a smile to his face he thought of. Anzu doesn't know, but Atem had been in a rut since a few years ago after he had a huge fight with his parents. They were going to give Yugi to foster care but Atem wouldn't have it. With that, he took Yugi and ran as far away as he could. He hid his pain through making people laugh, but with Anzu… he was able to be himself, even if his real self was an ass… like he was a few minutes ago… Atem sighed… he needs to apologize, at least to be able to have closure. He opened his eyes and saw Weevil waiting for him and took this opportunity to go.
"Wait, I need to do something first. I'll be right back." This being said, Atem dashed out before the bug boy had anything to say but did leave him confused and wide eyed. Atem ran as fast as he could to catch up with Anzu, who may or may not have already left. "I just hope she'll listen to me…"
Anzu was still fending off those brutes who attacked her, but was now free from their grip. Anzu panted from running and kicking them in a dress and heels, not to mention the snow isn't making this any easier. Just as she saw the two guys come at her at different sides, she ran back and back flipped off the wall causing the two guys to collide, knocking each other out. Anzu panted very heavily now and held her knees as she was bent over and breathing hard. Just when she thought it was over, she stood up and prepared to leave when she heard something clicking next to her ear. Looking with her eyes, Anzu saw that there was a third man… holding a gun.
"You're quite the fighter lady, now come with me quietly and you won't get hurt." Anzu swallowed hard, she was way too exhausted to fight anymore… that was when her heart turned ice cold once again.
"You know what, shoot me… I don't even care anymore." The man raised a brow.
"Excuse me?" Anzu turned so the gun was pointed right in the center of her forehead.
"You heard me. Just do it so you won't have to waste your time with me… it's not like… it's not like I have much to live for anyway…" The man looked at her curiously but then smirked.
"Alright then, you asked for it!"
Atem had just gotten out of the Casino and looked around frantically for Anzu.
"Ok, if I was Anzu, what would I do…?" Atem turned until he saw the alley leading to the main road. He snapped his fingers. "That's it! Go to the main road then call Saki… or call Saki, then go to the main road… or…" Atem shook his head and ran. "There's no time for this, I gotta see her before she goes!" Atem ran until he heard something fall hard on the ground, even if the snow was covering the way, it still made a loud sound upon impact. Atem started walking and listened for anything else. That was when he heard the click.
"Go ahead… shoot me." That sounded like Anzu! Atem's eyes went wide at the thought of Anzu throwing away her life. "It's not like I have anything to live for…" Atem's heart began to beat fast as he began running again, just in time to see the man about to shoot.
"Anzu!" Atem yelled as he ran up and punched the man in the face. Anzu went wide eyed upon hearing Atem's voice and next thing she knew, he was right in front of her, beating the man who almost killed her. Atem was on top of the man, beating him senseless. He punched the man repeatedly in the face while Anzu stood in shock. Atem got up after the smack-down he gave and turned to Anzu, who was still frozen in shock. He walked over to her and quickly went to embrace her and she shook from fear. "Anzu… you have so much to live for…Saki, Tadao, Yugi, and… me." Anzu felt her heart melting again… she can't let him… but every fiber of her being forced her to hug him back and she felt so safe in his arms…
"A-Atem… I… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I…" she said with her strained voice welling with tears. Atem rubbed her back soothingly and went to connect their foreheads.
"No, I should be apologizing, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot what was happening around me." Atem hugged Anzu tighter and brought her head to his shoulder as he leaned his head on hers. "Don't ever scare me like that again, do you understand?" He felt Anzu hold him tighter and knew she was crying.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I just didn't know what to do…" she whispered as tears befell her cheeks. "You've made me so happy… happier than I have ever been… and for it to just break like that… I guess I broke…" she said as she gripped his jacket in the area right behind his shoulders. As she did this Atem rubbed her back with one hand and held her head to his shoulder with the other.
"You make me happy too Anzu… happier than you could ever know…" Atem began to bite his bottom lip as he felt the same strain Anzu felt. He knew she didn't mean what she had said, but it still did hurt him. And to see her like this, was more hurtful to him. "Just don't… don't…" He held her tighter and took a deep breath and Anzu backed her head away to see his hurt expression. His eyes were closed, his teeth were gritting, and she saw he was fighting tears…
"Atem…" Anzu felt her heart tug and she maneuvered to place her forehead on his. She delicately placed her cold hands on his cheeks and watched as his eyes opened slightly to meet her eyes. She then felt his hands leave her body to meet her hands that were on his face and smiled a little.
"Don't ever say you have nothing to live for. There are people that care, so very deeply, about you… If you just went and… left… that would be the biggest devastation to those people. And me… Anzu I have to be honest with you."
"Hm?" she looked at him with curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
"When I'm with you I feel like I can do anything. Ever since I first saw you, I knew you and I would be great friends… I just didn't expect that…" he paused for a moment, trying to think of the right way to word this. Anzu stroked his cheek with her thumb and smiled back at him. Atem watched her in shock, yet another new side of her that had been yet to be seen.
"You didn't expect to go further than just a friendship, I said the same thing earlier. That's why I … earlier I… I wanted to try to stop it before it got too serious. But now I know what's really going on." Atem was surprised. He didn't know she tried to break it off before, maybe that was why she called him to her office. "It's a little surprising." Atem raised a brow.
"What do you mean?" Anzu giggled and made Atem's heart skip a beat and blush.
"I mean us, a CEO and a Comedian. Who knew?" That made Atem chuckled.
"Oh that, right. Us. Well, I guess it's safe to say you found out why you have been so tense." he said as he lowered Anzu's hands along with his own as they intertwined.
"Yeah, you were right. I need to be more honest with myself and now I know what I want." she said with a smirk. Atem raised a brow once again and smirked as well.
"Please, do tell." He winked. Anzu couldn't help but laugh at this man's antics. Just then a very cold breeze swept through the alley making Anzu shiver and get closer to Atem.
"C-can we go back in first. It's like frozen Hell out here…" Atem laughed hard and held Anzu close to him.
"Sure thing." Anzu smiled and mentally thanked everything good in the world that he smiled. He's back to the way she remembered him to be.
"Never change Atem… please." The duo walked back inside and noticed everyone was looking at them. Atem blinked in shock and noticed Mahad running towards them.
"Atem! It's about time you got back!" yelled Mahad. Atem became confused and asked,
"Why? What's going on?" Mahad's eye twitched and stared at his childhood friend in disbelief.
"Gee I don't know, MAYBE YOUR DUEL! You're about to lose by default if you don't go now!" Atem shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and Mahad went wide eyed.
"I don't really care anymore." He then held Anzu's hand which made her blush. "I've got more important things to think about now." Anzu ripped her hand away and stood in front of him causing Atem to go wide eyed.
"Atem Mutou, I don't know what's going on but I do know that you need to do this!" Atem sighed.
"Anzu please, this isn't-"
"No! Listen to me Atem! If you don't fix whatever problem this guy caused you now, it's gonna haunt you for the rest of your life. And let me tell you, that's the real Hell. Living day in and day out with nothing but regret, struggling get back up on your feet from the weight set from the past that follows you into today. It's a hard life Atem, don't set the wheel in motion." Atem watched her expressions carefully, almost as if he was reading her like a book. The pages of her past kept turning further and further into the future through the looking glass of her eyes. Fear, disgust, anger, betrayal, stress, anxiety, and finally ice cold Anzu. This might only be a glimpse in Anzu's story, but it was better than nothing. He saw fire in her eyes and knew he had to do this now. He smiled and raised his hand to caress her cheek. He heard a small gasp and noticed her closed fists open.
"You're right." he said gently. "But," Anzu blinked in confusion, what on this big blue planet could he want? "I'll do it only if you watch." Anzu went wide eyed.
"W-why me?" Atem's smile became nicer and amused even. That was when she noticed it was getting closer, was he really going to kiss her in front of Mahad? Anzu was about to push him away when she felt his arms, his warm arms, snake around her. Damn it, she loved it when he held her. But she could never ever tell him that of course. That was when she noticed his smile turn into a smirk.
"Because, I know want to see it." he said provokingly. Anzu blinked for a moment but then went into her pout. Atem smirked again but this was more cheeky and playful than arrogant. "Gotcha," he said in a sing-song voice before his lips reached Anzu's. Her hands made their way atop Atem's chest as she found herself surrendering to the kiss. Just when her ice heart formed again, he went and melted it all at once.
"Hey now," Mahad finally said with a cheeky grin. "This is a professional establishment." All he got in response was Atem grunting and waving him off. Mahad laughed hard and held his gut from how Atem was behaving. Anzu even giggled in the kiss and back away from him which made Atem whimper slightly.
"Uh uh, win your duel first," Anzu backed away and placed her finger on Atem's following lips. "and then we'll continue." Atem swallowed hard and basically ran to go duel Weevil. Atem ran as fast as he could and jumped up on the platform.
"Alright Weevil," The bug eyed duelist looked up from boredom. "It's time to duel!" he said with a huge smile on his face. Weevil chuckled and grabbed five cards from his deck.
"It's about time you got back, oh is this your new toy?" Atem was stunned by the question and turned around to see Anzu walking up to the edge of the arena and leaned on the wall.
"Do not talk about her like that!" He was about to continue by smashing Weevil's face in until Anzu spoke up.
"Day in and day out Atem, this doesn't bother me. It shouldn't bother you either." Atem looked at her in disbelief and thought,
'She's unbelievable… she deserves so much more than what she gets… and one day I'll be ready to give her the world. I'm going to work at that, I promise.' Atem turned and focused back on Weevil. "Alright, I draw!"
OK! RECAP! ANZU ALMOST LET HERSELF GET KILLED! ATEM MELTED HER HEART ONCE AGAIN! AND YUGI AND REBECCA ARE TOO YOUNG TO LOVE XD! Thanks for reading!
~Until next time!