Chapter 4

"Yugi, would you duel me?" Amy was still clutching his hand as she looked into his eyes.

"I didn't bring my duel disk…" Yugi muttered. It was a stupid response. This was Domino City, home of the Kaiba Corporation. If they wanted to duel that badly, there were older model dueling arenas that hadn't been shut down yet. Stores everywhere were selling the new dueling disk model, including Sugoroku's. Yugi hadn't been thinking about duel monsters at all when he'd left that morning. Kaiba had gifted him the new model disk after the battle with Diva. Yugi always had his deck with him, there had been too many incidents with randos who had tried to steal his rare cards after Battle City had concluded. The god cards were gone. They had vanished with Atem in Egypt, but the rest of the world didn't know that.

"Amy," Anzu said, rescuing him. "You're here for a month, you can duel Yugi anytime. Let's go see some of the places I talked to you about,"

"Come on, Yugi," Anzu said, linking arms with him and Amy. "Let's show Amy all of our favorite spots.

Jounochi had been half right.

The three teenagers sat in front of a coffee shop when Anzu asked if Yugi wouldn't mind spending time with her later than the afternoon.

"Yugi," Anzu said when Amy had gone to the restroom. "Do you mind if we talk after we drop off Amy?"

Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded as he drank his coffee.

From there, after what felt like endless walking and girl time, they dropped Amy off at Anzu's to rest. – "She's a severe diabetic"— Anzu said it made her tired more easily. Getting Amy settled in hadn't taken much time. Yugi had been chivalrous and carried all her bags up, even the one almost as tall as he was. Anzu's parents were at work, which Yugi was relieved about since their last encounter had been so tense and strange.

Yugi's heart picked up with anticipation and anxiety as their third wheel was effectively let loose. Amy had been sending looks towards Yugi all afternoon. He was happy to see her go. They walked, shoulder to shoulder, not speaking for a while, letting the silence sit comfortably between them. When they reached the pier, Yugi remembered that Anzu and Atem had stood here after her DDR dance-off with that cheater. That had been before Battle City, before Anzu had ultimately seen Atem and Yugi as two people. Anzu, grabbing the inside of Yugi's elbow, guided him to a bench overlooking the water. Seagulls were chattering, the sun inching its way to the horizon. It was peaceful and private despite the crowds walking to and fro behind them. Yugi felt Anzu's eyes on him, but he was staring at the water.

"Atem and I came here once," Anzu said, her voice heavy with memory. "Before Battle City,"

"I remember," Yugi said, still staring over the ocean. "You helped him a lot that day,"

"Did I?"

"Hm-mmm," Yugi affirmed. "He had a lot on his mind. It was good for him to take some time being less serious,"

"You were good for him too,"

"I don't know about that," Yugi said, half smiling. "I think between the two of us, he did more for me," He heard Anzu about to say something, "Think about it," he said, interrupting her thought. "Before he came, I was meek, afraid, small…" Taking a big cleansing breath, he sighed. "In the end, it was me who grew the most. I don't know where I'd be without him. He was strong,"

"Between the two of you, you were the strong one, Yugi," Anzu whispered.

Yugi's breath hitched, his reply and air stuck in his throat like a barricade. So she had seen him during Atem's second walk on the earth. She had noticed Yugi, even when Atem was the more impressive character.

Yugi was still refusing to look at her. He hated crying and thought that if he saw her face now, he would do something stupid.

"An—

"Atem said it himself, remember?" She said, interrupting him this time.

He had said that. Right before the walked through the gate to the afterlife. He had told Yugi to stand. Atem had encouraged Yugi to step towards becoming the man he knew Yugi would become someday. Before he knew it, Anzi was leaning her head on his shoulder. His hands were interlaced before him, trapped, as if frozen. He wanted to reach for her hand, but he felt glued in position. A whiff of her hair wafted into his nose. A little bit of Yugi's facial bristle was catching at her hair. He remembered that he had forgotten to shave that morning.

"It was your kindness that was the true strength," She whispered.

They said nothing for a while. Yugi was sure that she could hear his heart beating in his throat. He must look like a lovesick, petrified deer caught in headlights.

"Yugi," Anzu whispered.

Turning, finally looking down towards her, he replied, "Yes?" He couldn't see her face, but he was sure she was smiling.

"Do you know why I wanted to spend time with you this afternoon?"

"Not really," He answered honestly. "I could guess,"

Taking a breath when she rose away from him, Yugi's thought processes crashed and died. –She's so beautiful…- He could have kissed her. Her lips were so close to his face. Before he could form a coherent thought, she leaned back out of range. Still looking into his eyes, Yugi felt the weight of her gaze. She was serious, and…playful? Affectionate? Scrambling to decode what her eyes were saying, she spoke, breaking his attempt to interpret what her face was telling him.

"I wanted to make sure you were ok," she smiled kindly. "After seeing him again,"

"Huh?" Yugi said idiotically.

"Well," she looked genuinely surprised at his bewilderment. "You told us that you thought about him all the time, then all the stuff with Diva happened, then graduation…" She took his hand, interlacing with his with hers as she'd done back then, on Pegasus' island. Just like back then, all the nerves in his hands became extra-sensitive, but she looked at him differently this time. He couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

"I never really got to talk to you about how you felt afterward," Her hands were warm, soft, and sturdy. A dancer's hands. "Are you ok, Yugi?"

Some of the air left him.

"I'm ok, Anzu," he said kindly, "In fact, until you'd mentioned something, I hadn't thought about him much. Not like I did before, at least. Sometimes I wish I could talk to him like I used to, ask his advice about some things, but…" neurons started to fire rapidly in his brain.

"It's like… Back in Egypt, we all went without a proper goodbye… It was like he died," Essentially, Atem had died. Again. This time, however, he'd had a favorable ending, surrounded by good friends who loved him and the promise of rest. Seagulls and pelicans sang above the couple, the only audible reminder that they were still on earth.

"But after the duel with Diva, I got another chance." She was watching him intently. "I was able to see and know he was ok. We didn't speak, but I knew he was giving me a farewell,"

"Oh, Yugi," Anzu said quietly. "I'm glad you had that chance,"

"I wish you'd had it, too," He said, looking down. Their hands were still intertwined. "That everyone could have, but…"

"It wasn't meant to be," Anzu finished for him.

"You're my best friend, Yugi," She said after a full silence.

"You're mine, Anzu,"

He finally figured out what her face had been telling him.

"I loved Atem too, Anzu," Yugi said, then blushed. Anzu's eyes were glistening, threatening to spring tears. "Maybe, uh, not…quite the same way you did," He laughed nervously. To his surprise, she laughed too, thankful for him. "Atem was special," Yugi finished.

"You're special too, Yugi,"

Without warning, she rested her forehead on his. They sat there, eyes closed, both of them saying goodbye to Atem in their hearts. Anzu had been asking about Yugi's feelings, which he didn't doubt had been her true intention, but her mind had also been on Atem's sudden reappearance and disappearance. It had affected her deeply. At last, after what felt like a peaceful eternity, their eyes opened. Yugi could tell she had been crying while they had been together, but he didn't think they were sad tears. Belatedly, Yugi could see that some of her tears had fallen on their hands.

"Anzu—

It happened then. He wasn't sure who had initiated it, but suddenly, their lips were touching. Her lips tasted sweet and full, with a hint of the coffee she had been drinking earlier. Yugi saw fireworks behind his closed eyelids. How long had he longed for this? He'd had dreams about kissing Anzu, some more…private than others, never ever to be revealed. This kiss was better than anything his mind could have conjured up.

When they finally parted, she stared into his eyes.

Are you seeing me? Or Atem?

His heart was no longer in his throat, but deep into his stomach. He didn't know for sure if it was him she had been kissing, or Atem. After their talk, he thought she had been kissing him, no longer yearning for someone else, but a spark of doubt ignited.

This hurts…Yugi thought painfully. If something were to happen romantically between them, would there always be this space between them? Would Yugi always be wondering if she was with Yugifor Yugi or if she was with Yugi for his connection and resemblance to the Pharaoh? He wasn't even sure if Anzu knew the answers to these questions herself.

This really hurts.

She must have seen something change in him or his face because she pulled away from him. Without prompting, they both rose and started to walk away from the pier, not touching or speaking. Yugi walked Anzu to her front door, waving goodbye to each other in farewell. The smell of beef stew wafted from inside, and the sounds of an occupied house fumbled outside.

"Yugi—

"Good night, Anzu," He said quickly. "I'll see you later,"

He turned and left down the street as the evening lamps were springing to life trying to drown out the impending darkness of night.

"Good night, Yugi," Anzu said to the emptiness in front of her.

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