Anzu dragged her feet through the halls of her school to her homeroom the following Monday. She rounded the corner and looked up at the classroom number dazedly and sighed. Today was going to be hell for her; she knew it. She entered the classroom, feeling the depressing atmosphere growing ever more present as she approached her desk.

Anzu dropped her backpack beside her on the ground before sinking her head into her arms on the desk. Why? She thought. Why? Why does it have to be her? Why not someone else? Somebody who doesn't have a family to care for…. Who doesn't have a daughter and husband to look after…Why does it have to be my mother? She wanted to scream! This just wasn't fair! Something had to be done about it, but she knew that the situation was out of her control. She wept silently as she cursed the people responsible for making her feel so bad. Damn the KCSP! Breaking up families….

Memories from Saturday afternoon played back in her head. After she had left the gang she went home to file her usual report on the status of the Kaiba brothers. However, when she got home, her parents had some unfortunate news . . . again. When she had gone into the kitchen, she discovered her parents to be engulfed in a deep conversation; so much to the point that they didn't even notice her walk into the room. She was going to announce her presence with a simple: "I'm home", but then she saw a letter . . . with an all too familiar seal on the back of the stationary. She had grimaced, knowing that there must have been a life changing command sent to her parents in order for them to be so involved in the discussion for them to not even notice her. So she decided to ask:

"Dear Lord... what do they want now?" asked Anzu as she stepped into the kitchen and approached her parents that were sitting at the table.

They weren't even surprised to see her walk in or announce herself the way she did. Instead of a sarcastic "Welcome home" like they would usually offer, they simply said. "Something… irreplaceable." Said Konami as he put his hand on his wife's and squeezed it tightly. "Or, rather, someone."

The action and double meaning did not go undiscovered by Anzu. Her eyes widened as she asked. "What would they need with mom?"

Ani sighed and began explaining. "They need me at headquarters in order to help them gather intelligence on the G-Five rumor."

Anzu didn't quite understand. "The G-Five rumor? You mean the one about resurrecting Gozaburo and the Big Five?" Her mother nodded in silent confirmation. "All right. But why do they need you? I mean, don't they have enough agents to help them gather that kind of information, already? Why do they need you?"

"I have a particular expertise in gathering intelligence. They need me to obtain all of the information that I can... It seems that they believe I will be able to do it better with the resources at H.Q. than here…" Ani's shoulders shrank slightly, a heavy burden resting on her neck.

Anzu dropped her bags on the floor and ran to her mother, throwing herself at her feet and embracing her in her chair. "No! They can't take you away! That's not right!"

Ani sighed. "I don't want to leave either, believe me sweetheart! But I have to! I have no other choice!" Tears formed in Anzu's eyes. "You know their rules." She said gently.

"I know! I do know their rules! That's why I don't want you to go! Who knows when I'll be able to see you again!" She buried her face into her mother's shoulder and sobbed. "Couldn't they just settle for someone else? Someone who doesn't have a family?"

Ani had wrapped her arms around her daughter the minute she ran to her and was now caressing her hair. "I wish that there was someone like that out there. But, unfortunately, I'm the only person they know who has this expertise."

Anzu just cried. "It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR! You might as well be dying! I don't know if I'll ever see you again mom! You can't leave when you go to HQ! They won't let you leave!"

Ani shuddered slightly as tears formed in her eyes as the thought of never seeing her family again came into her mind. "I-I know dear. I know. But just think, once this whole ordeal is done, we'll be able to live wherever we want to after this." She said, wanting to keep hope alive in her only daughter. "We will see each other again."

Anzu just cried. She didn't want to lose her mom. She already lost her dream; to lose her mother as well? It wasn't not fair! She clutched her tighter. "Please mom! Don't go! Please!"

Konami, who had been watching the whole scene unfold before him, decided to step in. "Now Anzu, be reasonable. You know that she has no control over this-"

Anzu turned on her dad, anger swirling in her eyes. "Dad listen to yourself! Don't you want mom to stay? Do you WANT her to go?"

Konami clenched his fists as frustrated tears burned his eyes. "Of course I want your mother to stay. You have no idea how much I wish she could just stay here…. But, you must realize that if HQ had to order her there, then they MUST be in trouble. It's not exactly something for us to take lightly. They have some of the best resources and most capable minds already, so if those are failing them, just imagine how much trouble is brewing!"

Anzu stifled her sniffing and calmed down, thinking about what her father had just said. After taking in a deep breath she mumbled, "Y-you're probably right. But I can't be okay with this… I don't want her to leave." She was holding her mom's hand now.

Ani squeezed her daughter's hand and said, "I don't want to leave either dear. But I have to. It's absolute, and I have no say. We have no say."

Anzu didn't say anything; she knew she was right. She didn't have a choice in the matter. The KCSP could be inhumane sometimes. Anzu wouldn't have liked nothing more than to spit in their faces, but she never had the chance. If she ever got the chance, she would do that and so much more… But until then, she had to obey their orders. "A-all right." She said slowly, reluctantly accepting the situation. "So, how are you going to disappear?"

Ani and Konami looked at each other. "Well, we were talking about that when you came in." Ani sighed. "It's not going to be easy, but now I know what we're going to have to do. How exactly we're going to do this, I don't know, but it's the simplest, though most dangerous, thing we could think of. No one would expect me to be alive after this."

Anzu's eyes widened automatically. "Alive? What are you planning?"

"I'm going to fake my own death." Anzu stopped breathing. "I'm going to crash my car. I don't know how or where, but that's what I'm going to have to do. It's going to be dangerous, but I've had practice during training on how to fake my own death. You've probably had to do that as well when you underwent your training… This way I'll be able to completely erase my presence from the town."

Anzu hesitated. "Put what if your plan backfires and you actually end up dying?"

Ani smiled gently. "That won't happen dear. I promise. I won't allow myself to die! I have a family to return to after this whole ordeal is over."

Anzu felt her heart quiver in her chest. She was becoming more nervous than she would have liked. "But mom-" Ani held up her hand to stop her objections.

Konami then stepped up and wrapped his arms around his daughter. "Listen Anzu, I'm nervous about this whole thing too. But trust me, your mother is telling the truth. She wouldn't let herself die, not when she's made a promise to us. Think about it: when was the last time she broke a promise to you or me?"

Anzu didn't have to think on that statement. "Never. She never has." She wrapped her arms around her dad's shoulders and cried into his supporting arms. Konami couldn't help but let a few of his damned tears fall from his eyes as well. Ani felt her heart breaking. She didn't want to leave, but she had no choice. She cried and hugged her daughter, who in turn, hugged her back and Konami wrapped his arms around both of them. This was hard on all of them; their family was breaking up, and they no power to stop it.

A few tears traveled down the side of her face. She really hated KCSP right now, and nothing would change that feeling unless they decided to change their policies. Only when Hell freezes over, thought Anzu bitterly.

Slowly and unsurely, she heard some feet shuffle over to her side. She didn't need to look up to see who it was. "What do you guys want?"

The three boys froze, the atmosphere around her making them uneasy. "Um... Anzu?"

Anzu, still didn't look up. "What is it Yuugi?"

"We just wanted to know if you were all right." He said worriedly. He didn't enjoy seeing the girl he admired so much like this.

"Yeah, you came into class with such a depressed look on your face. It made everyone stop talking." Said Honda. "You're never like this."

"Yeah. We just wanted to know if anything was bothering you." Jounouchi sat in the empty desk in front of her. He folded his arms over the back of the chair, his brown eyes gazing at her depressed face.

Anzu couldn't help but laugh a little. Wouldn't she give to spill her guts to them, but she couldn't. That would seal their lives to that dreadful organization, like her. "Nah, I'm fine guys." She looked up at them and gave them her best reassuring smile. She didn't want them to worry about her. "It's just one of those times... you know?"

Yuugi, Jounouchi, and Honda took a few moments to understand what she was referring to. The light seemed to click on for all three of them at the same time, for they nodded uncomfortably. They better not make her mad today. "Ah, is that all?" asked Honda.

Anzu sighed and nodded, glad they bought it. Finally, that dreaded time of the month came in handy for something. It just saved her from a whole slew of questions she was more than happy to avoid. "Yep. Just don't say anything that will get me upset today all right? 'Cause I don't think you'll enjoy the outcome very much." She laughed and after a little while they laughed with her. However, in the back of their minds they were shaking in their shoes. They remembered a time which they did bother her… the bout of ferocious anger and hiss like noises haunted them for the rest of that particular week. They never wanted to go through that again.

Anzu noticed their sudden silence and smirked, well aware of their thoughts. They learned that lesson the hard way.

As much as she enjoyed their silent, yet tortured, reminiscing, she decided to bring up another topic of conversation. "Oh! By the way! What did you guys do on Saturday after I left you?"

Yuugi's gaze dropped to the side, the all too-familiar action of a guilty conscious nestling uncomfortably on his features while the taller Duo of Disaster played it up.

"Not much. We talked about graduation a little more before heading off to the arcade," replied Jounouchi with a casual shrug.

For moment, reality caught Anzu slightly off guard. "That's right! We are graduating this year!" She laughed nervously, throwing a hand behind her head in slight embarrassment.

Jounouchi, Honda, and Yuugi, though, looked at her with surprise. "What do you mean 'we are'?" asked Honda. "You didn't forget did you, Miss Top-of-the-Class?"

Anzu waved the nickname away. "That would be Miss Second in regards to that. Remember who the real top class student is." All four pairs of eyes glanced at the desk in the back of the classroom; it was vacant for the time being, but every one knew whose desk that was.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Moneybags don't count! Sure he's smart and all, but that don't take away from the fact that your scores match his exactly!" He stuck his nose in the air haughtily. "As far as the whole school is concerned, your attitude is far more top-notch than that pain in the a-" Jounouchi choked as something round, yet tasty was suddenly shoved into his mouth.

Honda and Yuugi began pounding on his back while Anzu was momentarily stunned with wide eyes. It didn't take her long to recognize the culprit, who just walked casually backed to his desk, a slight yet unmistakable sadistic grin on his lips. Her scowl met his eyes with flared passion. The events from Saturday playing over in her mind and enraged her soul to the point she felt the heat emanating from her person. The glare between the two continued last for several moments, the temperature in the room fluctuating with each owns' personal atmosphere. Fiery daggers would meet with an icy barrier if it were physically possible. The hate she was feeling right now, though she knew was misplaced, brought dark feelings with the intention to inflict harm on the multi-billionaire if it was in her nature. The surge she felt, seemed to have really caught his attention, which caused his smirk to change to a confused scowl. Yeah, you know something's wrong you ba-

"Hey!" choked Jounouchi, interrupting her violent thoughts with his coughing. "What...was that for?!" He demanded at Kaiba, whose attention lingered on Anzu. "Yo! I'm talking to you, jerkface!"

"Dogs shouldn't bark indoors. I thought maybe a quick snack would shut you up." Kaiba responded, ignoring Jounouchi and dismissing Anzu's impassioned glare to sit down.

"Who you calling a dog, rich boy?! You wanna take this outside?" Honda grabbed Jounouchi, restraining him from marching over to the CEO and humiliating himself further.

"Oh? Did Yuugi forget to take you out for your walk today? Sorry, I don't take care of other people's pests." Kaiba smirked as he opened that door.

"You mean 'pets'! Idiot!" Cried Jounouchi, walking right into said door. Even Honda, Yuugi, and Anzu were struck dumb.

"Jounouchi…" muttered Honda.

"What?! The moron called me Yuugi's pest! So I corrected him and with-"

"Pet," finished Anzu, as Jounouchi tripping on the threshold of the aforementioned door.

"Yeah! Yuugi's pet!" He declared as he fell on his face. The smack against the proverbial floor jogged his brain into exactly what happened while his friends looked on at him, embarrassed for his ditziness.

Kaiba, meanwhile, was thoroughly amused and having some honest difficulty subduing it. "Well, I'm glad to see that you have finally accepted your place in the world, mutt."

Jounouchi rebounded from his failure and was about to attack when their homeroom teacher walked into the classroom as the bell to signal that start of class rang. "All right everyone, please take your seats so that I may take attendance." With a very canine-like growl, Jounouchi reluctantly retreated to his desk on the opposite end of the room, beside Honda and Yuugi.

Anzu sighed, glad that that fiasco was over, but also grateful that it happened in the first place. She needed the distraction from what had been on her mind; if she didn't get it, then she probably would have launched herself at Kaiba unfairly. It really wasn't his fault that her mother was being summoned to HQ. It wasn't his fault that the rumors surrounding his safety popped up. And it certainly wasn't his fault that the KCSP was active in the first place! She sighed, putting her head in her hands, exhausted and guilty from her own aggression. I really need a break from all this…..

Honda looked on at Anzu, noticing her frustration and apparent exhaustion. It wasn't like her to be so tired in the morning because of her stamina from dancing so something was definitely off with her. He watched as she settled her head into her arms. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to notice as Yuugi and Jounouchi kept their eyes trained on her as well. They were worried about her, needless to say. Exchanging a look between each other, they silently agreed that today they were going to be there for her, no matter what it took to get her to confide in them.

Meanwhile, all she wanted to be left alone for the day. She felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked in the direction of where they were coming from and saw Kaiba smirking slightly. She glared at him, communicating silently that she was not in the mood to deal with his attitude. Normally she would have just turned her nose up at him in defiance, instead she sighed dejectedly, dropping her guard and giving him a soft look with her eyes, tears shining in them now. She watched as his smirk faded into a frown before turning back into her arms, refusing to let her tears fall.

Kaiba looked on as Anzu buried her face into her arms on the desk again. He noticed her eyes melt from the evil glare to a lost, almost painful expression. He recognized those feelings; at one point he would have been able to empathize with them. He frowned; he had locked those feelings away a long time ago. What did he care about how she felt? Her life didn't concern him and vice versa.

His eyes passed over again and noticed that her shoulders seemed to be shaking; if he didn't have an eye for detail he would have missed it. She was crying, but she was trying not to. He merely went back to his reading, deciding that he spent too much time dedicated to her as it was.

Throughout that whole day, Anzu remained quiet and distant. She didn't listen when the teacher called on her or when she was asked for help by another student. She just sat in her desk, staring off into space. When lunch rolled around she didn't go out to the cafeteria with her friends; she sat alone in the classroom, granted that Kaiba was still in the room, typing on his laptop. Both of them kept to themselves.

Kaiba looked up from his work every now and then to look at her and every time he did, she was in the same position: leaning on her desk, her hand supporting her head as her cheek rested in her palm. He didn't know whether her eyes were open or closed, but he did notice her heavy breathing, which in turn he assumed that she was sleeping at the moment.

However her "sleeping" was nothing more than a contemplative state of the memories she had of when she and her family spent the entire day having fun on Sunday, of course they never stopped "Kaiba-sitting". After the summons that came for her mother the Mazaki family decided that they should all have fun together before they lost a member of their family. During that time they went to a small amusement park; there weren't very many rides, but the ones that were there were a blast! They went on every roller coaster, played games at the mini-arcade, and ate a decent lunch. After the amusement park, they went to the mall where they went on a shopping spree. Well... at least her mother and herself did, her father, like any other man, was stuck carrying the bags. They only bought things for Anzu, though, nothing for themselves.

Kaiba leaned back in his desk and allowed his eyes to rest from the LCD screen he had been fixed on since before lunch began. He sighed, knowing he should continue, but decided against it. He massaged the bridge of his nose, feeling a slight headache coming. Lately Mokuba had been warning him of staring at the computer screen for too long and the damage it could cause his eyes and brain. His brain, he seriously doubted, however his eyes were a different story. He couldn't have anything obscure his vision, it just wouldn't do. With that thought, he closed his laptop and put it back into his briefcase. He could finish the work whenever he got home. He was about to pull out his book and continue his reading but his focus would be considerably distracted by Anzu's presence. Instead, he decided to busy himself with his so-called "homework" so he could have some of exercise for his mind.

The pencil scratched against the paper on the desk, the sound quite irritating to ears that were used to the taping of a keyboard. He felt that headache coming on again; with a groan he massaged the bridge his nose again.

The agitated noise brought Anzu back out of reverie. Her head fell out of her hold as she looked behind her to see Kaiba sitting at his desk, writing. "Kaiba? You're still here?" She knew it was her job to watch him, but she thought he might have left to stretch his legs. Judging from his relaxed position he hadn't moved an inch.

He rolled his eyes. "Unlike some people Mazaki, I have a job to do. I can't afford to waste a single moment of my time by doing nothing. Of course, I could ask you the same question. You're usually off with that goof troop you always hang out with. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Anzu shrugged her shoulders carelessly, shaking her head; "What a surprise..." She saw him lift an eyebrow and she continued: "Well with all the work that you do I'm surprised you find time to even notice anything going outside of your 'perfect' world of corporate business."

Kaiba smirked, "Only an incompetent moron with no business knowledge would call the corporate world 'perfect'."

"And only someone with a short attention span would stick his nose in someone else's free time," she handed back at him.

A frown replaced the smirk. "Don't flatter yourself Mazaki. You're barely worth the time it would take to investigate what you do in your spare time. Any mentally challenged person would know that you spend all of your time with those losers you call friends."

Anzu felt a twinge of agitation within her start. "Well then, oh mentally challenged one, take your nose out of my life and back into your imperfect corporate world."

Kaiba merely snorted. "It wouldn't have been interrupted if you hadn't opened that unpleasantness you call a mouth."

She really didn't want to deal with him and his attitude. "What is your problem?" she demanded, annoyance making itself known in the back of her throat.

Kaiba smirked and retorted, "I'm pretty sure that it would have been obvious." She looked at him strangely, "Your presence is more than enough to irritate me, but your voice is even more annoying."

She frowned, clenching her teeth behind her closed lips. She took deep breaths, calming her rushing blood stream. She was quickly reaching her boiling point. She couldn't allow herself to be upset by him. It would only make this day more difficult than what it was. Doing her best to regain her quickly fading self control, she turned her back to him. "Look Kaiba, I don't want to keep arguing with you so please, couldn't you, for once in your life, do the humane thing and shut up?"

Kaiba snorted again. "How about you do the humane thing for once in your pathetic life and get one?"

Snap.

Before he could blink Anzu had moved at lightning speed from her desk to his. She was leaning on his desk, her hands turning pale from the pressure of her weight, a glare in her eyes.

"You really need to learn when to shut up." She closed the gap between their faces until their noses were touching. "I am so stressed out right now. Maybe I don't run a company, maybe I don't have a younger brother to take care of, maybe I'm not you… but I have concerns and stress in my life that you have no knowledge of!" She felt her hands twitch, "And if you did have any clue of what has been going on with me you would eat your own words. You have no idea how much I would just love to 'get a life' of my own, but because of you," she growled out the word until it was dust, "that's not possible."

Kaiba wasn't accustomed to being this close with a girl. There was something suffocating about her proximity and it was agitating him. She was far too close for comfort. He stood quickly as he sucked in a ragged breath before finding his voice, however it came out in a raspy, hoarse tone as he pushed her away from him, "Get away from me Mazaki!"

She dodged the motion gracefully and shoved herself closer to him, rising onto her toes. "No! I will not!" she whispered harshly, acknowledging the fact that he was close enough to hear her without her having to raise her voice. Her eyes locked on his, capturing him with the heat of her glare. She had something to say and he was going to listen, even if she had to be this close to him. He was going to listen. She grabbed his face and held it firmly, wanting to make sure that she kept his attention on her. "Listen to me Kaiba," her voice held on to the growl in the back of her throat, "You have no idea of the hell I've been through! I have had to watch as my dreams and loved ones have been stripped away from me. Even my future has been decided and I have no control over it!" The desperation and helplessness she had been doing her best to conceal from others sprang up to the surface and ran down the sides of her face in tears. She felt betrayed by her own self as her anger and vulnerability were displayed so openly in front of this man, "You tell me to get a life; yet the life that I do have is being stolen from me!" Her pain leaked out with each tear drop; she leaned against him and clung to his shirt, trembling and sobbing as the tears came unbidden.

Kaiba felt her tears being absorbed into his jacket. He didn't speak nor move, he only listened and watched. He watched the frustration in her life poured itself out in her tears. He had felt her pain himself long ago.

Tch. He took a hold of her hands and pried them off his shirt, pushing her away. "Mazaki get a hold of yourself," he said as gently as he could with a harsh tone, "You look more pathetic crying than when you're smiling." Anzu just looked up at him, the anger and pain still in her eyes. Silence stood between them after that. Her sobs subsided as she dried her eyes. With red, swollen eyes, she glared up at him again.

"Kaiba, a little advice; if you ever decide to find a wife for the sake of producing an heir, learn a little gentility." With that, she left for the bathroom to wash her face clean from her tear stains.

Kaiba just stood there, unfazed by her comment. He simply sat down and went back to the homework he was previously working on.

Nearing the end of her final class period, Anzu leaned on her hands on her desk, her eyes closed as she wandered the dark caverns of her mind. As she walked, memories of what her family used to be like before she had joined the KCSP were rushing past her. Memories of her and her mother. She smiled contently and sadly as she watched her younger self playing with her mother in the park on a sunny day.

A ten year old Anzu ran around the park as her mother chased after her. "I'm going to get you Anzu!"

Her child-like laughter filled the air. "No you won't! You can't catch me!" But just as she said that, she tripped and fell onto the cement, scrapping her knees.

"Anzu!" her mother called worriedly. "Anzu dear are you all right?" She ran over to her daughter's side.

Anzu sat up with the help of her mom, she sniffed, tears rolling around in her eyes as she looked at her knees. They were scrapped pretty badly since she was running fast and fell pretty hard. However, despite the pain, she managed to put on a reassuring smile and said, "I'm fine mommy. Don't worry about me!"

Anzu's mom frowned a little and took her daughter into her arms. "You don't have to be so brave when you have someone to help you, Anzu. I'm right here to help you; don't act like it doesn't hurt for my sake. If it hurts, just cry. It's not good to hold things in."

"But mommy-" she sniffed.

"No 'buts' dear Anzu. I'm here to support you. You don't have to be brave right now. Not as long as I'm here." She smiled kindly down at her daughter. "Don't be brave for my sake. Everyone's weak once in awhile and sometimes the help of another is important when that person doesn't know how to take care of themselves. Do you understand?"

Anzu slowly shook her head, tears threatening to fall from her eyes, but she held them back. "Not really."

Her mother smiled again. "That's all right. You'll understand when you're older and are put into that kind of situation. But until then, I'm here. If your knees hurt enough to the point you want to cry, then cry. As long as I'm with you, cry as much as you need to. That's why I'm here."

Anzu nodded once before burying her tiny head into her mom's bosom, crying because of the pain in her knees. She sobbed quietly for a few moments as her mother caressed her hair, soothing away her pain. When she had calmed down, she looked up at her mom, her big eyes shining. "Mommy?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Will you always be here for me?"

Her mother smiled. "I can't promise that I'll always be by your side visibly Anzu. But I can promise that as long as you think about me, I'll never be far from you."

Anzu had cocked her head to the side. "I don't get it mommy."

Her mother's smile never faded. "I don't expect you to my dear. Just know that I'll be by your side for as long as I possibly can, all right?"

Anzu nodded and smiled again. "I love you so much Mommy!" She hugged her mother again.

Anzu's mom returned the gesture. "I love you too my little peach! Always know that!"

Anzu sighed as the memory faded away into darkness. It was then that she assumed that her mother would always be by her side, smiling at her in that caring and loving way she looked at her. An unnoticed tear slid down the side of her right cheek once again. That memory, though it filled her with joy, broke her heart. Her mother was being taken away from her. She was being forced to break her promise to her. And that did not sit right with Anzu. She opened her eyes, a determined look in them. When this was all over, she didn't care if it cost her life, she will get that dreadful organization to change their ways!

Anzu's noble self-declaration was cut short by the end of the school bell. Students rushed out of the classroom, leaving behind a cloud of dust before she could stand up, grab her things, and leave. She sighed, well, might as well be prepared for what's coming…

She walked down to her locker, grabbed her books, and then went down to the shoe locker to change of out of her school shoes into her day shoes before leaving the campus. Kaiba had already gotten into his car and she came out just as the limo began driving away. She walked over to her bike, which was now sitting in the bike cage and was locked in. She unlocked the chain that she had around it and began pedaling off once she was on the street. Known to her, three boys followed behind her at a distance, trying pathetically to hid their presence from her. She sighed, she didn't want to do this but she had to.

Jounouchi, Yuugi, and Honda followed behind Anzu secretly. Of course, if they got caught, Honda was going to throw the blame on Jounouchi and Yuugi… well, Yuugi was too nice to say "I told you so," but he would sooner be forgiven than either Jounouchi or Honda. If, and most likely when, Anzu found out about Jounouchi's bright idea to spy on her again then whoever had invented: "Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was the suspect" should change it too "Curiosity killed Jounouchi, but her real name is Anzu Mazaki".

They followed Anzu all the way to the busiest intersection of Domino City. She sat on her bike at the crosswalk that was opposite the side the guardrail was on. Even though they were a pretty good distance from her, Yuugi could still make out the expression on her face. She was not happy that's for sure. In fact, she seemed almost... sad. Yuugi tipped in curiosity. Why would she be sad? Something must be on her mind. She's been distracted all day.

Anzu glanced quickly out of the left corner of her eye and saw Yuugi, Jounouchi, and Honda "hiding" behind the corner to the bakery shop. She sighed. It's almost time . . . She thought with despair. As if to confirm her suspicions, she glanced down at her watch and saw the time read 3:05 PM. A tear escaped the far corner of her right eye. She knew what was coming.

After their fun day on Sunday, the Mazaki family sat down and began planning ways to make Ani disappear. They all agreed that a car crash was most definitely the most effective way to cover up Ani's tracks and make everyone believe she was dead. The thought alone made everyone shiver, but they went through with the planning despite. After about a half hour of coming up with ideas and getting nowhere fast, Anzu reluctantly thought up an idea.

Ani and Konami looked at her. "Really? How?"

Anzu inhaled and began. "All right, well, yesterday, before I came home, I ran into Yuugi and the guys. After saying 'hi' really quick and leaving, I lingered in the shadows a bit to eavesdrop on them because I know how Jounouchi can be and sure enough, they decided that there were going to try and work their way into my life after school more often by following me." She looked from her mother to her father, hoping that this was all making sense. "So, when they follow me on Monday, which I know they will, you will have three witnesses from the outside testifying that you could not have survived that crash."

The signal had turned green for Anzu and she rode her bike to the other side of the road before continuing on in the same direction she was headed to before. No one would actually know what was about to happen in the next four minutes, except for her. She gulped, however, she was afraid that she would be the only one there after this that would actually have the knowledge of the truth. What they were planning was risky…. Ani could actually die from this if she wasn't on her guard. Anzu could only pray that everything would work out well and no casualties were caused.

"Where exactly do you think I'm supposed to crash my dear? It's not like I can actually risk anybody else's life or lives for that matter. I'm supposed to disappear, not others."

Anzu sighed, "I… I know. That's why I also just came up with this: at 3:05 PM tomorrow, I should be at the Central crosswalk at the intersection. By 3:06 I should cross it and be on the other side where the guardrail for the bridge is. At 3:08 I'll look over to the guys, who should still be across the street for me, pretend to suddenly notice see them, and then, that's when you come out of nowhere, and pretend to lose control of your breaks. It'll look like you're going to hit me, because I'm too preoccupied with waving to my friends to notice the swerving car-

Anzu glanced out of the corner of her left eye and did a double-take. She saw her friends and, making sure they saw her, waved happily at them. They jumped and Anzu knew that they knew she had spotted them. Their little tailing gig was over. She laughed as she rode her bike along. For a person who was observing this on the outside, they would have gasped at the realization that a car was now coming down the lane and swerving around as if the brakes were out of control. They would have been even more surprised to see that the girl, who was right in the line of attack from the car, had yet to notice the sound of screeching tires against the tar road.

Of course, however, just as Anzu planned, she looked up at the last minute and saw an all too familiar candy apple red Mazda heading directly her way. Her eyes widened as if real fear had stuck her.

She swerved her bike out of the way of the car, so she wouldn't get hit, but ended up crashing into the guardrail, none too softly either. She heard a crack before falling off her bike on the ground, gasping for breath due to the fact that her running into the rail on her bike caused her to lose it. She heard her friend's call out her name in the distance as she looked up at the car. She saw her mother in the driver's seat, appearing to be unconscious. But whether Anzu knew for sure if she were acting or not, she didn't know. But the blood running down the side of her mother's face drained the blood from Anzu's. Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't tell if her mother was breathing or not because of the closed car door and the airbag blocking most of her face. She began to panic for real. What if her mother really was dead?

"If you hit the guardrail hard enough, your car should break through it and tip over the side into the water. You should be able to get away from the wreck unseen and, hopefully unharmed."

Ani and Konami stared at Anzu, speechless.

She watched in true fear as the car tipped delicately over the side of the bridge, the guardrail now broken. "Mom-" as she finished her plea, she stared horror stricken as the car fell over the side of the bridge and into the cold, icy water below. She wanted to scream, but her throat was too dry in order for to do so. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't fall. She couldn't feel as she watched, in slow motion, her mother's car fall down into the water and deeply submerge itself below its surface.

She was too dazed to hear three pairs of feet running up to her and three voices calling out her name. "Anzu! ANZU!"

She looked up into the faces of her three best friends, but who they were didn't register in her mind. She was sure she had just watched her mother die . . . nothing and no one else mattered. She screamed, tears falling down her face. She felt hands and arms trying to comfort her, but she slapped them away. She didn't want to be comforted, she didn't deserve it. "What have I done?" She wept out loud. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?"

Her friends stared at her oddly. Yuugi spoke. "What do you mean Anzu? You didn't do anything..."

"Yeah, it was that crazy driver in the car. Who gave her, her license?"

Honda looked at Jounouchi. "Her?"

Jounouchi scoffed in disgust. "Yeah! Who'd you expect? A man? Everyone knows that women can't drive-" Honda and Yuugi glared at him. "What-?" Anzu stood up and smacked him across his face hard. She watched as he fell to the ground. "OUCH! What did you do that for-"

"YOU IDIOT!" She cried now both furious and grief stricken. She fell to her knees. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT! HOW DARE YOU!" She wailed, holding her head. The guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders.

Anzu's breath hitched. "What?"

Ani went over to her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Nothin my darling. I just never imagined that your creative talent would be used for a situation such as this."

Anzu wrapped her arms around her tightly, and cried yet again. "Yeah…. Strange, isn't it?"

They cried in each other's arms, fearful and anxious for the coming day.

Jounouchi looked at her oddly. "Anzu...?" He reached out to touch her but she smacked his hand away.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT HER! HOW DARE YOU!" Her tears cascaded relentlessly. "THAT WAS MY MOTHER IN THE CAR YOU IDIOT! MY MOTHER!" She withdrew her hands to her body and clutched her chest as Jounouchi, Yuugi, and Honda all paled as Jounouchi felt shame for what he had said.

Her heart was breaking as guilt seeped its way into her very being. She felt responsible for her mother's death. She was the one who came up with this idea; she was the one who convinced her parents to agree to this. And it was she who had watched her plan unfold in front of her very eyes.

She felt like a murderer.