In case you wondered what Yugi and Anzu's children look like, this is how I imagine them: Atem has similar hair to Yugi, but it is all one colour, and not kissed by Ra with the lightening strands like Yugi and Pharaoh Atem. He has Yugi's eye colour and his eyes are like Yugi's in DSOD. He is also a bit bolder than Yugi was at sixteen and a couple of inches taller - more like Yugi was at 18 in DSOD. Akemi is petite, but looks more like Anzu and does not have the spiky hair -I don't think Yugi's hair would look as nice on a girl, so I give her Anzu's hair type. She is also wilful like her mother. If see them differently, please feel free to do so if you wish.

Warnings: We're full of angst and heartbreak for this chapter, so have those hankies at the ready!

Chapter 2.

Leaving.

By the time Anzu came back downstairs Yugi had re-gained his composure, but Anzu could see he had been crying. She had as well, but had run out of tears and her face was now set firmly in stone.

"Do you want me to drive you to your parents?" he asked forlornly.

Taking a shuddering breath, she shook her head. "I've called for a taxi. It should be here soon."

Nodding, Yugi stood there and fidgeted awkwardly. Anzu's own posture was just as tense, and Yugi noticed that she was trembling slightly.

Standing behind their dad, the children were desperate to hold tightly onto their mother and prevent her from leaving, but...

Yugi turned and looked at them with a miserable expression. "Do you want to say goodbye to your mother?" He turned back to Anzu, and looked at her like she was his opponent in a duel. Anzu glared back at him, and mouthed, 'don't you dare guilt trip me." But he continued to stare at her, his expression harsh as he tried to maintain his composure and dignity.

Akemi could not stand it any longer, and ran to Anzu. "Mum! You can't leave!" she cried, clinging on to her like a limpet. Anzu scooped her into her arms and held her tightly. She almost changed her mind about leaving but held fast.

"It's just for a short while. Just while your father and I sort things through."

Atem was not accepting her excuse. "Dad's done nothing wrong, and neither have we. So why are you doing this?" The teen's voice was dripping with hurt and anger.

Anzu's jaw flapped, as she struggled for what to say and could only came up with, "No one's done anything wrong. It's just.. I need a few days away to think."

Akemi scowled at her mother through watery eyes. "You had months to think when you were away on the ship."

A pained expression crossed Anzu's face. "I didn't feel like this then." She felt Akemi pull away from her, and in a show of solidarity with her father, she moved to his side. Yugi was unsure what to say, and shot Anzu an apologetic look, as he put his arm around his daughter's shoulders.

"Please, don't make me feel worse than I do," Anzu pleaded.

"Why not? You deserve it," said Atem cruelly.

"Atem!" Yugi snapped with authority, shaking his head at his son to admonish him.

Biting his lip, Atem turned on his heel and stormed upstairs to his room.

Steeling himself, Yugi took a shuddering breath and glared at his wife. "Look what you've done," he seethed, his expression turning cold and hard.

Not knowing what to say or do, Anzu turned away from him, and was relieved when she heard a car pull up outside. "My taxi's here. I guess I'll be going, then." She backed away sheepishly. "I'll… er, call when I'm ready, and we can talk."

Yugi snorted, but gave a light nod of his head.

And, just like that, his wife was gone.

Strangely enough, he felt nothing. No emotions, just a bitter emptiness where his heart should be. He decided that there was no point in shedding any more tears, because his two children needed their father to stay strong.

Upstairs, he found Atem laying on his bed, sobbing into his pillow.

Approaching the bed, he sat down quietly and touched his son's head. "Atem," he said softly.

"Go away!" the teenager yelled, lashing out with his arm, mortified that his father had caught him sobbing like a little kid.

The blow caught Yugi's chest. It took him by surprise but did not really hurt. "C'mon, Atem. Don't lash out like that! I'm heartbroken too, you know." He tried not to get cross with the boy, but would not condone him lashing out violently at people.

With an extremely miserable scowl on his face, Atem turned to look up at him. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Yugi offered him a sad attempt at a smile in return. "Hey, it's okay," he said, patting his son's hand. "We'll get through it."

"Why, Dad? Why is Mum doing this to us?"

Yugi shrugged. "She's been unhappy for a while." He let out a sad sigh. "Maybe if I'd looked after her better." He had to at least shoulder some of the blame.

Groaning, he put his head in his hands. "I shouldn't have let her leave... I'm such an idiot," he said miserably.

"Dad?" Atem tentatively patted Yugi's shoulder. He was totally confused: if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that his dad was not an idiot.

::::::::::::

As the taxi pulled up outside her parents house, Anzu hesitated. They were not going to be pleased when she told them she had walked out on her husband and two children.

She would try her best to explain how she was feeling and why she had left, but they would probably think her decision hasty and insist she should have tried harder, or suggest she see a counsellor, and she did not want that.

Besides, she did not think she was at fault, everyone else was.

The taxi driver cleared his throat. "Excuse me. Are you okay, Madam?"

Shaking her head, Anzu blinked and looked up at the taxi driver, standing beside the car in his immaculate uniform and white gloves, holding the door open for her. She could not help but smile: Japanese taxi drivers were so smart and polite compared to taxi drivers elsewhere. "Sorry!" she said, swinging her legs through the opening to get out of the car.

She paid the driver and grabbed the handle of her bag, which the taxi driver had already retrieved from the boot. Pressing the button on the side of the handle, she extend it so that she could pull the case along.

Bowing politely in response to the taxi driver's bow, Anzu dragged her case on its little wheels up the driveway of her parents home and rang the doorbell.

Her mother answered the door and, thinking her daughter was just visiting, greeted her with a warm smile. The smile fell into a frown when she saw Anzu's suitcase.

Forcing a fake smile, Anzu said, "Thought I would come and stay for a while. Is that okay?"

Perplexed, her mother nodded dumbly and let her inside. "Would you like some tea?" she offered.

"Yes, please," Anzu replied tentatively.

Over tea, her mother confronted her. "Is there a problem at home?" The question was pointed, and Anzu flinched slightly, before hanging her head in shame and nodding.

"I've left Yugi."

"But, why?" Mrs Mazaki's gaze narrowed. "He's not been having an affair, has he?" Men had needs, and Anzu did spend a lot of time away. "Or... are you?"

Anzu gasped. "Mum! Of course I'm not! Neither is Yugi. At least, I don't think he is."

"Then, why leave him? You have two beautiful children. And, from what I have seen, Yugi is an excellent father to them."

"I know he is." Anzu knew she was lucky to have married such a good man. "I doubt I would have had the career I've had if it wasn't for Yugi being so supportive." She sighed. "Maybe that's part of my guilt, I dunno. I've relied on him a lot over the years, and he's never once complained at me for leaving him to look after the kids while I went away on tour. But…" She frowned, trying to put her feelings into words without sounding petty, or bitter. "I don't know what I feel any more. It's like we've grown apart. He comes home late from work most days. We never go out together, or do anything nice. And now I'm retired, I'm stuck at home all day with the housework, going mad with boredom."

"All relationships have their problems," her mother said, "I can assure you, there were times when I wanted to leave your father. He was working long hours building up his business, while I was stuck at home with a toddler and a baby. Neither of us understood the pressure the other was under. I felt isolated, while your father felt the pressure of providing for a young family. I stuck it out and things got better, but I wish we had talked more."

"Are you saying I should talk to Yugi?" Anzu snorted. "I tried, but it didn't really go to plan, which is why I'm here."

Her mother frowned at he, and trying to be diplomatic, said, "It sounds like there's been a breakdown in communication between you both. Honestly, darling, I really do think you should talk to him. At least give him a chance."

Anzu could not disagree with that. "I will. But my head is all over the place at the moment and I don't think I can face him. I need some time to think about my future, and what I want to do with my life."

"Have you thought about getting another job?"

"Like, what?" Anzu snorted. "No one wants to employ a washed up dancer with bunions!"

"Oh, sweetheart," Mrs Mazaki got up from her chair and went over to give her daughter a motherly hug. "You're not washed up. And….I didn't know you had bunions!" The surprised tone of her mother's voice made Anzu laugh, which might not have been her mother's intention, but at least it cheered her up a bit.

"They've hurt for a couple of years now." Anzu pulled her socks off to show her. Her mother grimaced at her daughter's feet. "Yes, alright, Mum. I know, my feet are horrible." She had suffered her fair share of fractured toes and blackened nails over the years, and had developed some fine callouses as a result.

"Oh, dear. I hope Yugi's not a foot man," her mother teased. Anzu went bright red.

"Mum!" she exclaimed, but saw the funny side. "No, thankfully he doesn't have a foot fetish. Otherwise it might have been him leaving me." She did not mention that she used to get him to massage her poor, aching, ugly feet. With that thought, Anzu's humour faded back to melancholy. Those foot massages were fond memories, but they had not happened for several months now. A bit like their sex life, which had also become a fond memory. Although, recently the lack of intimacy was probably her fault.

She wondered if she should ask her mother for some relationship advice, but did not wish to discuss her lack of a sex life with her mother, so she stayed quiet.

::::::::::::

The following morning, Yugi was rudely awoken by his alarm. He had not slept well at all, a feeling of confusion and misery weighing heavily upon his heart.

He had spend half the night trying to make sense of why Anzu would want to leave him, but in the cold, hard, light of the morning he was still none the wiser. In his mind, he had done everything he could to make her happy. He had indulged her dreams and worked hard to support her, both financially and emotionally, as she tried to build her career as a dancer. He had been there for her through the tears, the failures and successes, never once letting her give up on her dream. He loved his family and considered himself a pretty good husband and father, yet it clearly wasn't enough.

What could he possibly have done so terribly wrong to make her hate him enough to leave?

Okay, so he did understand how she might miss her career as a dancer, but that was no reason to take it out on those who loved her!

Given a choice he would stay in bed all day and wallow in self pity, but life had to go on and he needed to see the children off to school and get himself to work.

Crawling out of bed, he went to the bathroom. Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror made him frown: heavily lidded, bloodshot eyes stared miserably back at him –even his hair seemed to droop forlornly.

Sighing, he splashed some water on his face and then went to knock on his son's door. "Atem! School."

Akemi's door was open so he popped his head inside and called out, "Akemi! Time to get up for school." He was met by a groan.

"I don't want to go, I've got a tummy ache and I feel sick," his daughter whined from underneath her covers.

Trying not to be irritable at her, Yugi padded into her room and sat on the bed. Akemi peered up at him. In the semi-darkness she looked so tiny, peering up at him with eyes that reminded him of his own at that age.

He smiled down at her sadly. "Is it because of Mum?" he asked.

She nodded. "Please, don't make me go to school today."

Sighing in resignation, Yugi said, "I'll ring the school and tell them you're sick."

"And me," said a grumpy voice from the doorway. Yugi turned to look at his son, and nodded.

"Sure. I'll call you both in sick. Just for today though."

He told the school that they had all gone down with a nasty bug and that he would be keeping them home today. He then rang work to say that they were all sick, so he was going to try and do some work from home.

Working from home proved difficult; all he could think about was Anzu. He decided to call her, to check she was okay. He was not that surprised when she ignored his call, so he decided to go over and see her. He told the kids he was popping out to get some food for tonight. Slouched on the sofa in front of the TV, they looked up at him and nodded.

Yugi offered a weak smile. "Back soon, okay?"

Once in his car, Yugi almost changed his mind, but before he knew it he was outside the Mazaki's. If her dad was there he would probably chase him away, but Yugi was no longer afraid of the man like he used to be as a teenager.

He got out of the car and went up to the door and rang the bell. He fidgeted as he waited.

A few moments later, Anzu's mother answered. "Yugi?" She looked surprised to see him.

Yugi cleared his throat. "Can I speak to Anzu, please?" he said with authority.

"Oh!" Her mother sounded embarrassed, and seemed to shrink under his gaze. "I don't know. You had better wait there. I'll check." She closed the door on him and left him there for a good few minutes. When she came back it was with a very apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry, Yugi. I'm afraid she doesn't want to see you."

Yugi's heart sank into the pit of his stomach. "Please, Mrs Mazaki. Ask her again! I need to speak to her!" He hated pleading, but he would do anything to get Anzu to talk to him.

"I'm sorry. She's adamant," Mrs Mazaki said apologetically. Yugi balled his fists and thought to argue and force the issue, but decided that it would be stupid of him to threaten Anzu's mother, so he chewed his lip and backed down. "Can you give her a message for me? Can you tell her, I'm sorry if I've upset her –I didn't mean to. We all miss her, and we want her to come home." He hoped that if Anzu was listening, she would feel guilty and question what she had done.

Nodding, Mrs Mazaki smiled at him sadly. "I will."

"Thanks." Feeling miserable, he turned to go, but paused when Mrs Mazaki called after him.

Feeling hopeful, he turned around to face her, but all she said was, "Give her time."

With a sad smile and a single nod of the head as acknowledgement, he turned away, walked back to his car and left.

After he had driven away, Mrs Mazaki closed the door and went into the lounge where Anzu was sitting. "I hope you heard that?! You've broken his heart."

Anzu closed her eyes and fought back tears. What about her heart?

::::::::::::

After a day of mooching around at home, Yugi decided that the children should go back to school. He also needed to go in to Kaiba Corp. for a meeting about the up and coming release of the new VR game for Kaiba Land, that he had helped to design and had been busily testing. It had been a tight deadline, and was the reason he had been working so late these past few weeks. The only person he answered to on the project was Seto Kaiba, which meant that he was a key person in its success, or, Heaven forbid, failure.

As expected, his two children were not keen to go back to school so soon, but accepted that their grades might suffer and questions would be asked if they stayed off for too long.

That morning, the general mood was surly, and they were all moving lethargically. They were running late, so Yugi hurried them along. "I'll have to drive you there," he told them.

Akemi tried one last time. "Do we have to go, Dad?" she whined. "My tummy hurts."

"So does mine," said Yugi brusquely. "Now, hurry up and get your shoes on!"

Pouting at him she complied.

"Don't worry Akemi. It won't be as bad as you think. You'll be with your friends, which might help cheer you up," Atem reassured her as they got in the car.

"Nothing will cheer me up, except Mum coming home," she muttered morosely.

Yugi glanced at her solemn face in his rear view mirror and his heart hurt.

Silence made for a difficult drive. Yugi drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as they waited at a set of traffic lights, and nearly swore at a driver who pulled in front of him. But he managed to keep himself calm and they made it safely. He dropped Atem of at Domino High first, and then dropped Akemi at the gates of Domino Junior High, some eight hundred metres further along the road. "Any problems, call me, okay?" he told her. She nodded, but hesitated.

"Dad?" she said, biting her lip. "When will Mum come home?"

"I don't know," he told her truthfully. "Hopefully, soon." Smiling sadly at him, she nodded and got out of the car. Yugi felt his heart breaking again as he watched her petite figure disappear into the throng of students.

Having dropped them both off at their respective schools, Yugi put on a mask of stoicism and forced himself to drive to work. He felt bad for lying when his colleagues asked if they were all feeling better, but there was no way he wanted to tell anyone about him and Anzu, not even Seto Kaiba when he asked if they were all recovered from their stomach bug.

Several times throughout the day, he tried to ring Anzu, but each time his call went to voicemail, so he gave up and attempted to concentrate on work.

::::::::::::

Akemi felt sad and isolated. Her friends were all happy to see she was back at school and was over her 'tummy bug', but became concerned at how sullen she seemed.

"Are you sure you're better?" her best friend, Fuyuko asked. All Akemi could do was shrug. But when her best friend suggested she should go and see the nurse, she told her friend the truth.

"It's not a bug. My parents had an argument and my mum left my dad." Her friend gasped, and gave her a sympathetic hug. It was not long before her other friends found out, and soon the rest of her class knew. Of course, they were sympathetic, but she was Akemi Muto, the daughter of the popular dueling legend Yugi Muto, and soon there were whispers around the whole school.

Akemi felt dreadful. Her dad told her not to say anything to anyone about her mother leaving him, and she had broken her promise. She started to cry.

Concerned, the teacher sent her to the school counsellor, who in turn, wanted to ring Yugi.

"No! Please don't ring my dad!" Akemi pleaded. "I'll be okay. I'm just sad because everyone keeps pitying me." She wished she had kept quiet when Fuyuko asked if she was okay, but her friend had been insistent.

The counsellor listened, while Akemi poured her heart out about her mother being unhappy because she couldn't dance professionally any more, and for some reason that was her dad's fault. She did not understand grown-ups, and if that was what being grown up was like, then she didn't want to become a grown up. It felt good to get it off her chest, and, after a drink of orange squash, she felt a bit better and decided to message her mother.

::::::::::::

Atem was not faring much better than Akemi. He was moody and kept to himself as much as possible. No one really questioned him, but a couple of his friends did ask him what's wrong? He just told them that he was still feeling a bit tired, that was why he was not very chatty today.

However, when the opportunity to get rid of some of his pent up anger on a kid who was known for picking on weaker kids arose, he took it.

The other boy was enjoying his favourite lunch break pastime of bullying a weaker boy. Atem usually kept out of bullying incidents, but today he was spoiling for a confrontation and decided to do something about it.

"Oi! Kobayashi! Why don't you try picking on someone who can fight back for a change?"

Kobayashi sneered at him. "Muto! Don't make me laugh, Wimp!"

"What did you call me?" He was not the weediest kid in his year, but he was not particularly strong, either.

"I said, you're a wimp, like your dad. My dad says your dad used to be a pathetic runt, who got picked on because he was weak," the bully taunted.

Atem was seething. "Don't you dare diss my dad, you bastard!"

Snarling, Kobayashi loomed over him in an attempt to intimidate. Although smaller by about three inches, Atem did not flinch, and threw a rather sloppy punch at Kobayashi's cheek. It was not hard, but it connected and was enough to make Kobayashi stumble backwards.

Quickly composing himself, the bully retaliated by launching himself at Atem. There was lots of shirt pulling and attempts to wrestle each other to the ground. Atem was successful in hooking the other boy's feet out from under him, but the boy pulled Atem down onto the tarmac with him. Fists flailed, most hitting the tops of arms, with the odd one managing a glancing blow to the intended target, but it was a scrappy fight. Atem managed to wind his opponent with a fist to the solar plexus, but was in turn caught by a defensive punch to the face.

An excitable crowd had gathered, and moments later, both boys were being hauled up by the scruff of the neck and dragged before the head master, each complaining bitterly that the other had started it.

::::::::::::

Spending a second miserable day mooching around at her parents house in her dressing gown watching daytime TV, Anzu's mood was lifted when she received a message from Akemi.

She read it, and smiled. Her daughter wanted to stop by on her way home from school.

Anzu had not expected either of her children to want to see her yet and was delighted. She sent a reply saying she would love to see her.

Her daughter sent her an emoji sad face, followed by a smiley face and a love heart.

Anzu sent her a kiss face in return.

And then she decided to listen to the voicemails that Yugi had left, which, until now she had ignored.

There were three in all. In the first one, he tried to keep his voice level, but seemed unsure of what to say and stumbled over his words: 'Hey! I'm erm.. How are you? Perhaps you can.. erm… call me back? Bye..'

The second one was sharper. 'Not sure if you've listened to my first message. Please, can you call me?'

The third was, 'Yeah, okay, so I'm guessing you still don't wanna talk to me,' A big sigh, and then he hung up.

He did not call again after that.

Anzu bit her lip and felt a lump forming in her throat. Although his messages tugged at her heart strings, she was not ready to forgive him that easily.

Thanks for reading. See you next time.