A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Original Beta: White Swan

Second Beta: Time itself and me, the writer

A/N: this chapter cuts out a pair of things that just makes Yugi sound more helpless and more emotionally shattered. While trying to make the sound of a plane ride from Canada to Japan take more than 30 minutes. I didn't realize I made it sound THAT short at the time...

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'Flight 183 for Domino City' glowed a steady yellow on the electronic marque while beneath it a map showed where planes were preset to dock when they arrived. Anzu shouldered her carry on and purse before walking down the massive hallway towards the concession stands and small shops. She had half an hour before the plane would start loading so she decided on a meal before leaving.

Having purchased a small salad and sandwich she sat down at a balcony type table that gave her a great view of the ground below. She sat there glancing often at the ground below taking in the sight of so many different people walking through the lower level towards the escalators that would lead them towards their planes.

A glance around the whole floor she was on showed the impressive array of eateries that rested along the wall of the whole floor. Along with something that just stuck out to her, a lone person dressed in black amid the transit people, which stuck out among all the brightly colored clothes. Shrugging it off she went about eating thinking about how she should handle the subject of her gift considering Yugis' loss.

It was perfect, as far as she was concerned anyway, soft, furry and in the cutest costume. Ok so it was a stuffed tiger dressed in a Dark Magician costume, but it was cute! How could Yugi 'not' like it? Anzu gave the small tiger a final hug before she boxed it away for the trip back to Japan so she could give it to him the moment she saw him again. It was packed into her carry on before she phoned down to the front desk so that she could get her things down to Mai's car.

"I really appreciate you driving me to the airport Mai."

"It's no trouble. I have to catch the flight to Italy after all, for another tourney," Mai explained as she watched Anzu work.

"Is that all there is in the game? Just tournaments? How do you live through those?" she asked the older woman, for her it was a valid question as how a person could live a life based on if they could win a card game. From what Yugi told her a person had to pay to enter these events, if they lost the event they didn't get any money back. So how could a person live on that?

"Yep, it's not for everyone because there's always the risk of loss. Also because of the varying amounts of money you can end up having to be in them regularly to support yourself," Mai explained. "It's not for people who want to settle down. For me, I really enjoy traveling, call it restlessness if you must, but it makes being a duelist all the easier."

"I see," Anzu replied as she stood against the window watching New York carry on with its life. "I've been invited to return to the school once I finish high school in Japan…" she changed the subject quickly before her mind went down sadder memories. "I'm going to see you back in Japan before that happens though right?" She asked.

A shrug was her answer as Mai lightly grinned, "If you can talk Kaiba into another major event."

Anzu smiled back in answer when a knock at the door called her attention away. They let the Bellhop in so that he could get the luggage put up for Anzu while the girls followed him, continuing their conversation.

Should she just hand it to him when she first saw him? She didn't know when he would be getting back to Japan after all. If he had already been there then perhaps it would be ok since he would have already had a chance to… to… Anzu shook her head unable to think beyond that thought. What made her so sure that he would have recovered from the trauma by then? In fact Dark Magician may have been the Other Yugi's signature card. But it was the only monster that Anzu could find a picture of on short notice that could carry over for the seamstress to make the costume. He said he really liked the Dark Magician so Anzu hopped he would like the tiger. Instead of focusing on where the card used to be, in terms of ownership or use.

After a while she had devoured the meal and got up to take the tray to the proper receptacles before making her way down to catch her flight. If not for the above signs she was sure she would have gotten lost among all the people. From the corner of her eye she saw that guy again in black, now she could tell it was a jacket.

His back was towards her and he was looking down at something in front of him before she turned to continue on her way. He was too far away for her to really tell anything about him, but he seemed to have red highlights or something in his hair. Not that she hadn't seen that at least a dozen times in New York though normally it was in such a bright fire engine red she couldn't help but notice. She shook her head trying to get the thoughts out of her mind.

She had already spent the trip to New York with such a guy. Taller than Yugi he had clearly dyed it that shade of red while sporting goth black it made Anzu stare for a while at him. But one had to be realistic, there were lots of people who wore black and red was a complementary color so they probably wanted to look fashionable.

"Anzu?" A familiar, yet cautious, voice from behind made her start as she turned to find Jounouchi looking at her in surprise.

"Jounouchi!?" Excited to see one of her friends, who had been kidnapped no less, Anzu threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Are you ok? What are you doing in Canada?!"

"Those creeps that tried to kidnap Money Bags brought us to an island near here. Man Anzu getting off that island was nuts! Hey Anzu?" His eagerness to talk was slowed by Anzu looking about.

"How's Yugi?" She asked in a tone that had Jounouchi blink in understanding.

"You know about… about his grandpa and mom huh?" He asked somberly something that was rare to hear from the normally happy go lucky duelist.

"Yeah my letter got sent back to me and I called only to find out that the Game Shop's number had been disconnected. I called around till I finally found Bakura… Malik was there, may still be in fact. He and his siblings are helping Bakura out on something… They told me what had happened. Jounouchi be honest with me, how is Yugi?" she asked in concern.

Jounouchi looked down at Anzu before running his hands through his hair in frustration. There had been a time when she used to yell at him and Honda when they picked on Yugi. It seemed almost unreal to think that now here they were standing in an airport discussing such topics when two years ago they wouldn't have given the time of day to each other. "Mood swings… Sometimes he would spend the whole day just crying about it and others he acts like everything is perfectly normal. Though half of those times he seems convinced that they're talking about the wrong Game Shop and his grandpa and mom are ok. The other half of the time believing that they wouldn't want him sad in the first place. Then there's his dad who isn't helping the situation any," Jounouchi explained looking wiped out all of a sudden.

Before Anzu could ask he explained, "he wants Yugi to leave Japan and live with him. Yugi's fighting tooth and nail against it apparently his grades are supporting his dad's stance on leaving. Kaiba's actually offered to let Yugi live with him and Mokuba for the duration, told the old man as much too. Yugi's being torn apart, I wish I knew how to make him feel better but… What can I say to him? What can anyone say to him really right? The puzzle was what brought me and Honda to Yugi, now Yugi's grandpa is dead. Dueling brought Kaiba into Yugi's life and that also came from Yugi's grandpa, everything points back to him."

"What flight are you on? Maybe I'll have a chance to see him?" Anzu asked as Jounouchi and her began walking.

"183," he replied when she brightened.

"That's my flight too. Good then I can see Yugi before we board the plan we've still got," Anzu looked down at her watch and began running. "Five Minutes!"

From there it became a race to the plane for the pair as they dashed around people and through conversations shouting apologies as they went. Finally Jounouchi gave a shout as they saw the desk clerks who were clearly setting up to shut the gates to the plane, but he didn't see Kaiba or Yugi so they had to be on the plane already.

He leapt over a row of chairs startling the attendants as he finally reached the desk panting while patting around for his ticket. Producing it he put it on the counter as Anzu came up behind him panting as well. She showed her ticket as she felt her legs and stomach begin to cramp up from the sudden run. They were both shooed into the passage towards the plane still trying to catch their breathes, Anzu's limbs scolding her for no warm ups and that meal.

They got into the plane as the flight attendants had begun their safety speech. Embarrassed as they humbly went to their seats, Anzu putting up her luggage and sitting down to watch and listen. Anzu tugged off her small pink jacket and draped it over her lap before leaning over her lap in mild pain. Her body shivered in the cold of the air conditioning yet her stomach was in a tightly crunched fire.

While the plane began to taxi to the runway she focused on just working past the pain and deeply, humbly apologizing to her stomach for running in the first place. She was 'not' wearing the right clothes for this she realized as the temperature for New York to Canada was much warmer than Canada to Japan.

But first she had to deal with the stomach cramps before she could sit up and ask for a blanket or something. Finding the seat before her rather boring to stare at she looked about and saw the cord to headphones with the cord leading up to the person sitting next to her. Oh well at least she wasn't making a fool of herself in front of a stranger.

Finally, as in after they finished lift off while knocking Anzu back into the same stomach cramped state as before, Anzu got up and located Jounouchi's blond head. She walked over to the blond hoping to find Yugi before asking an attendant for a blanket. "Hey Jounouchi where's Yugi?" She asked tapping him on the shoulder as she spoke.

"Huh? Well where are you sitting?" He asked as he got the seat belt undone and stood up looking about.

"Next to the guy with the black coat and red highlights," she replied simply.

Jounouchi leaned over took one look at said guy and burst out laughing so hard that he sank back into his seat.

"What's going on?" Mokuba asked as Anzu deftly snatched Jounouchi's ear and gave a mighty tug on it.

"OW!" Jounouchi fled to the safety behind Mokuba while Anzu noted Mokuba.

"Mokuba! How have you been?" She asked as she looked down at the smaller Kaiba.

"Great since we got away from those corporate jerks. Have you seen Yugi?" He asked, only to have Jounouchi suddenly push Mokuba's hair to the back so he could actually find the kid's ear under all that hair. Soon the teen was whispering in Mokuba's ear and Anzu could have sworn that the boy's eyes got bigger than normal. "Nevermind I'll get Yugi for you!" he said before wiggling past her to walk down the row of seats.

"You might as well say 'Hi' to Money Bags since when you want to see Yugi you'll probably have to go to his place." Jounouchi said laughing as he pulled her along.

"Why are you howling Mutt can't you see some of the humans on board this plane want to get work done?" Kaiba snapped as he stared at a laptop mounted on a tray before him.

"Hi Kaiba," Anzu said shaking her head, well they hadn't changed.

He gave her a glance and faint nod before going back to work when a voice she never thought she'd hear again spoke up behind her.

"Anzu! I didn't know you were on this flight," how could the Other Yugi be on the plane? He went to the Afterlife didn't he and while she was at it since when did he use polite Japanese when talking? Whirling around she looked down only to see Mokuba grinning at her and pointing up along with a very familiar studded dueling belt. Along with a pair of form fitting black pants and black shoes, her eyes went up only to find a white button on shirt untucked and a black coat. Going up a little higher she found the ever-present black buckle style collar when she noticed red tips of hair resting on shoulders. Going up just a bit further and she saw those same amethyst colored eyes that she knew for years only red and puffy from crying. Somewhere in the back of her mind Anzu's mind was in shock arguing how Yugi, who equaled 'cute', was now equaling 'hot'. "Uh Anzu why… why won't you say anything? Did I do something wrong?"

Yugi was going hedgehog, quietly folding his arms across his chest hugging himself and seeming scared that he had actually offended Anzu. Suddenly she found her voice as she finally got it into her head that this 'was' her Yugi just… well older looking. "No! You didn't do anything wrong it's just a shock…" she rushed over and pried his arms down to his side. "Look at you, when I left you maybe grew an inch? Now I have to look up to see your face! It's just a big surprise to me! Please don't take it as being something bad."

"It was Jounouchi and Honda's idea actually…" Yugi muttered finding that height had a problem. When he wanted to avoid looking at people, depending on where they were standing, he found himself instead looking directly at them.

"Hey come on Yugi! She was just shocked," Jounouchi coaxed trying to ignore a feeling in the back of his mind saying that this was the worst time to try and trick Anzu.

"Yeah, I mean you look so different now, different yet the same," Anzu was backpedaling as fast as she could. Yugi looked so uncomfortable by her staring she tried to hug him when he stepped away from her.

"I'm sorry that I interrupted you, I'll be quiet now," he apologized as he walked away leaving the four where they were.

"Wonderful Mutt, you managed to emotionally crush your supposed best friends' feelings with this little prank," Kaiba noted without looking up from his laptop.

"Oh shut up Money Bags it would have been fine if his grandpa and mom were still alive!" Jounouchi retorted as he ran his fingers through his hair again in frustration.

Anzu walked back towards her seat watching as Yugi sat down next to her seat feeling like a piece of her heart had been cut out. He pulled out the sunglasses that stopped her from realizing his identity before and slipped them on as she approached. "Yugi I want to…"

"Don't. Please Anzu don't say anything…" Yugi cut her off as he was getting ready to put on the headphones. "You've known me since we were very young and I would really hate to lose that friendship because of what's going on in my head right now."

Anzu froze in shock had she really hurt him that badly?

"I had wondered when I was in that cell what they would think when they saw me once we got out of there. Would they be surprised? What their expressions would be like. But I'm never going to any of them, not for this, or anything else for the rest of my life," Yugi swallowed thickly before slipping on the headphones.

The flight attendants came by to offer drinks much later, giving Anzu an opening. Placing a chilled hand gently on Yugi's arm she motioned to the flight attendant and cart.

"May I please have the Lemon-aid?" he asked politely in the Other Yugi's voice. The flight attendant nodded with a smile and handed over the desired drink. Letting a few moments pass so she could take a sip of the premade tea, Anzu tried to think of something to say to Yugi. Only he broke the impasse first, "you feel cold."

Anzu was surprised when he spoke, more so when he took off that black jacket and held it out to her. She accepted it gratefully before snuggling down into it. A part of her mind noting that now she could actually wear it and not just as a type of cape or cloak. "Thank you… I'm sorry about earlier." She placed both of her hands on his arm hoping he would look at her. He didn't turn to look at her completely, but he did turn his head and seemed to acknowledge her. It was an opening and Anzu was desperate to make amends for her behavior earlier. "I didn't mean to stare at you. I found out about your grandfather and mom while in New York. I've been spending all this time trying to think of how to approach you or talk to you with this going on."

"I realize that. I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I've not been very easy to deal with for a while now," he said as he pulled off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes.

"I understand completely, you did nothing wrong," she replied softly reaching out to touch his hand gently. "Still friends right?"

He smiled, weak and tired but still, before turning his hand palm up so that her hand rested in his. Those once small fingers now longer and slender closed over her hand giving her a reassuring squeeze. It was time to go home.