Pairing/Character: Yami no Yuugi/ Mazaki Anzu
Rating: G
Theme #2 : Bows and ribbons
Disclaimer: Yuugiou is copyrighted to Takahashi Kazuki.
If there was any other familiar sight than Mutou Solomon sweeping the pavement in front of his game shop, Mazaki Anzu wouldn't know it. For as long as she could remember, for as long as she picked up Yuugi for walking together to school, she had seen the elderly man sweeping, keeping the environment impeccable clean for his customers. He would always greet her first, leer at her a little before laughing good-naturedly and yelling for Yuugi to come down.
Today wasn't any different, even though it wasn't a school day, but a Saturday. Anzu hurriedly crossed the street, making her way over to the store. Yuugi's grandfather had his back turned to her, but for his old age the man had an excellent hearing- and indeed, when she approached him, he turned around, bright smile plastered on his face.
"Anzu-chan! Are you going on a date with Yuugi?"
She laughed, as that was exactly the same thing he would ask her on a Saturday, not on any other day- she didn't know why. She hardly realized her laugh ended a little bitterly, as it wasn't Yuugi she wanted to go out on a date with. It made her feel horribly guilty, and a bad friend to boot. Ever since she heard that voice... no, his voice, she knew her heart belonged to him, and that wasn't Yuugi, but his other self.
Before she could answer the question, he beamed at her. "Go in, go in! Yuugi is waiting for you!"
"Thank you, jii-chan," she mumbled before quickly entering the store, glad that at least now he didn't leer at her. Even though he seemed very cheerful, there was something...an extra line in his face, a little bit of clouded trouble in his look. What could it be?
It was this sinking feeling in her gut, she knew it. Her purse felt heavy despite its light content, and her heart pounded in her chest- it wasn't fluttering because of tender feelings, but beating with fear...dreading what was coming. Anzu climbed the stairs, calling out Yuugi's name before she realized it, and hearing the familiar "I'm over here, Anzu-chan!" from his attic room in return. It brought a sad smile to her lips. So familiar and yet so... alienating. One day, this would be all different, and that day seemed to be arriving sooner than anyone of them thought.
"Yuugi?" She knocked politely, as the door was only half open. Not awaiting his answer, she pushed the door further open, and the first thing she saw was the suitcase on the bed. No...no, not yet, please...!
He turned around to face her, holding a small stack of shirts in his hands. He beamed at her in the same way his grandfather did; an open, friendly, trusting face, the face of a good, dear friend.
"Anzu-chan, come on in!"
"You're busy," she simply said, not knowing for the first time how to exactly open the conversation. He halted mid-movement, the stack of shirts still in his arms. His smile was warm, but had a hint of sadness to it as well. Sad. I hate to see him sad, just as he hates seeing me sad. God, why are we hurting so much already?
"It's inevitable," he finally said, his voice low and not uplifting and cheerful as she was used from him. Anzu suppressed a sigh, knowing that he was right. It was inevitable. For everything they'd been through, they'd always known that there would come an end to their adventures: the search for the name of his other self, the other Yuugi, the millennia old spirit that dwelled in the Sennen Puzzle, an upside-down shaped golden pyramid dangling from her friend's neck. Why was it that she had fallen in love with him, the second she had heard his confident, strong voice, and not with Yuugi himself? What did his other have that he didn't, while they weren't that different? She watched him putting the shirts into the suitcase, suddenly all silent. That wasn't like Yuugi at all, and she mustered up a smile.
"It's going to be exciting...the flight...the country, and who knows what and who we'll encounter..."
Anzu saw him smiling as well, while he was still arranging the shirts in the fairly large suitcase. Egypt was the key in discovering the name of his other half, the nameless Pharaoh who once sacrificed his life for his people, his nation, and his country, to seal the darkness away. Was it his courage, his selflessness? If there was one person selfless, it was Yuugi. So why did she fall head over heels for the other one, and not for him?
"I..." don't want you to go. "I hope you'll find... whatever it is you need in Egypt."
"I hope so too, Anzu-chan." His hands were still on the shirts, rearranging them again in the suitcase. He wasn't looking at her, which was more than enough for her to know that he really didn't know what to say. He always looked at her when talking, always. She realized it was difficult for him too- he was about to face the trip to Egypt alone, as no one really had the money to go along with him. Anzu bit her lower lip- with a bit of luck, she could tap into her savings account and buy a ticket to accompany him...but would it do her any good? What if she saw him leave, instead of Yuugi?
"Yuugi-kun..."
All those years, and still they hadn't given each other the privilege of calling each other with only their first name. It was a distance, a very small distance, but still a distance. She bit her lower lip again, debating whether she would tell him about her savings or not. She didn't want him to go, both of them...fearing what would happen to her when he would come back alone.
"Anzu," he answered, and it was not the omission of the honorific that immediately caught her attention. His voice was lower, confident, bordering on arrogance, and held the commanding tone she was used of him...the same commanding tone that had captured her heart, ordering it to fall in love with him. She smiled, thanking whatever deity that she didn't blush easily, so she could look him right in the eyes. Crimson red eyes, ancient eyes, eyes that always looked back unabashedly, and she still didn't know if he felt the same for her or not.
She didn't want to know. If he returned the feelings, it would be of no avail...his place was not in this time, not even in Yuugi's body. He was a spirit, a floating soul without a name, and a Pharaoh of a long forgotten past, only to live again in history books.
"You're leaving, right?"
"Yes, Anzu, I am leaving."
"When?"
He turned around, picking up a small white folder, and opened it, taking out a piece of paper and looked at it.
"Coming Wednesday," he answered her, before putting it carefully away again. She refrained from letting out another sigh. This weekend...they could spend this weekend together. It was merely a delay, but at least it was some more time. No. She reminded herself that she didn't want to know. It was inevitable. He had no place in this world; despite the good friend he was, despite what she wished, prayed for, longed for, that he could be more than just a friend. Inevitable.
Strange that Yuugi and his other self were so alike- well, it wasn't that strange of course, if you were two halves of the same soul, she thought. Still, he didn't look at her either, as if searching for words, and not knowing what to say. He had faced enemies, madmen, difficult duels...but he didn't dare looking her straight in the eyes, because he knew what would come. Anzu kept smiling, not realizing that sadness and resignation started to shine through.
"Wait," she suddenly said, slipping her purse from her shoulder and opening it. Wait...wait until forever, not to leave. Don't leave me. She didn't know why she had grabbed it with her this morning, and she had thought about it all the way to the Game Shop. It was something silly, something girlish, and he certainly would think she was ditzy. Anzu searched through the contents of her purse, suddenly pulling something out. Now he was looking at her, more at the purse and what she was taking out, and his eyes only widened slightly in surprise.
"I want you to have this," she said, smiling and shrugging at the same time, as if it wasn't important at all. He was mostly just as polite as Yuugi, and would accept the small gift, if it could be called a gift. She didn't care at the moment if he'd throw it away the second after, as long as she wasn't seeing it. She did want him to have this, this very small token.
"This is yours, Anzu," he suddenly said, voice even lower than she was used from him. A little bit of surprise, a little bit of awe, and something she couldn't recognize sounded through in his voice and she finally looked up as well.
"I want you to have this," she repeated, not caring if he thought she was a love-struck girl. It was inevitable, and maybe...maybe what they had was so short, that he would forget anyway. But he had remembered, or did remember, that it was once hers.
"You wore this at the restaurant," he finally commented. Anzu couldn't help but snicker; only Yuugi's other half would name a thirteen-in-a-dozen fast food joint as Burger World a 'restaurant'.
"It's just something silly," she finally said, not knowing what else to say. If she was feeling this awkward already, how would things go when he wouldn't return? When Yuugi was simply Yuugi again? Mustering up her courage, she looked him straight in the eyes. Her best friend wouldn't suffer under her silly feelings, and she would rather do something drastic herself than hurting him. They'd been through so much to let it all be destroyed by something...inevitable.
"It is not." His voice jerked her out of her thoughts, and she gave him an almost startled look.
"What?"
"It is not," he repeated, his eyes showing gratitude. "Thank you, Anzu."
Her smile was weak, but it was there. She saw it with her own eyes how he put it in the suitcase as well, lying it on top of the stack of shirts as if he was cherishing something invaluable. It was just a simple thing, a simple nothing. She would never miss it, and he would always have it with him. It was the yellow ribbon she’d worn while working at the Burger World, and he had remembered it, the one and only day he had seen her wearing it.
Inevitable.