Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Deception ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

Deception

By: Chibi-Suiko

A/N: I'm sorry that it's taken this long to update. Though I've had this story sitting on my computer forever, my family have just gotten finished moving into our new house and so my internet connections have been limited the past three weeks. But I'm back now and nearly finished my rewrite and everything's working out just fine again. I'll be getting a summer job of course (I'm officially a Junior!) but that doesn't mean that I'll stop updating so don't worry. And if you all want a sequel for this fic, I've got one in mind so you just have to give the 'okay' so I know to get along with it.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Don't want anyone else to own it. Don't wanna be sued for stealing characters.

Ages: Everyone current (teenager-wise) is 17 years old except for Anzu for obvious reasons. And if they aren't obvious to you, then, well, you need an upgrade in your brain capacity level. But don't take that personally.

Rating: PG-15 for cursing, angst, possible violence, dark magic, death, and complexity in the plot.

...

Things you ought to know:

"Words" - - Speech

Words - - Either thoughts or dream mode, it's not hard to figure out which.

Words / "Words" - - Just means emphasis, in case you couldn't guess. You may also see them in underline or both bold and underline.

...

Chapter Six

...

Yami had taken notice that, no matter how fast the enflamed mirrors spun, the speed never rose or declined. Which meant that if he timed however long it took for the puzzle, plus the mirrors, to make one revolution, it would be easy enough to hit the right glass. (A/N: The mirrors are revolving one way while the Millennium-cursor is revolving another so... It's like a complex, two way multiplication problem.)

Yami shouted fiercely as his brow knit in indecision, "... One... Two... THREE! NOW!" And there was a shot later when a shriek came from somewhere, leaving him praying that he hadn't hit Anzu's soul mirror on accident. Bust as the bits of dust and shattered glass fell away from his eyesight, he found himself looking into the pained eyes of his opponent. He grinned smugly, watching as, yet again, the cloak of darkness got to his feet, "You have given me the one clue that I need to win this game, and my friends soul back."

"Yes, but could it be, Dear Pharaoh, that you are still too late to stop me from destroying the precious piece of art that is your Anzu?" He snapped his fingers again and they both watched as the carousal of mirrors wound up again, "Stop--!" And Yami felt a shudder in, not only his knees, but his chest. The bind on his soul was weakening with every blast, just like the youkai had spoken. He knew now that, if he didn't win the battle on his next turn, it could all be over.

For him and his Anzu.

"Start round two." The mirrors spun around again as Yami fixed his gaze, his mind whirling to keep count of the amount of paces it took to get all the way around a single revolution, "... I can't chance this any longer. I must finish this before I... Or Anzu... Get slaughtered by the Game Reaper." He bit into his lower lip and tried to make positive of his next decision, "STOP NOW!" It was one shriek and a shatter later that he realized his mistake. Turning, horror struck, he caught one glance of Anzu's mutilated body before it vanished to the beyond, just the same as Yuugi's had.

He fell to his knees, consequently realizing that he had just sealed the fate of three beings. Yuugi, Anzu, and, most likely himself. There was no way to bring them back... Unless he found a way to defeat this being that was causing such heart ache. But even then, there was no assurance that he would get their souls back. Even if his adversary had given a promise to return him... More than once had he been forced to use his own magical abilities to take stolen things back himself.

"Anzu... She could never forgive me, though... I let her down. I let Yuugi down. I shouldn't be able to doubt myself yet, with no one beside me to give me reassurance, or no motivation to keep me going..." It almost seemed hopeless. It was just useless to fight a battle all ready lost.

But he was not one to forfeit, no matter how much was either at stake or all ready lost. He'd always been able to win back what had been taken. He would not give in with so many important things missing.

"Devil, you have taken what is mine and now you shall pay the price. You are not aware of the many forbidden laws that you have just forced entry. Prepare... For now you face the true Pharaohs power." Yami's eye of Horus was glowing quite evidently upon his forehead, blazing so golden that it almost started to turn a crimson red as he stepped further away from the 'game board' and admired the scene from a distance. For a moment, it seemed that the spirit was actually frightened though, just like those before him, he hid it, plastering a false victorious expression on his all ready deeply smug looking face.

"You are sounding so sure of yourself King. Perhaps you need to remember that, not only have you lost Anzu, but you have just sealed her fate, yourself. And there is no way to win her back, unless you can hit me one last time before I hit you. And can I please help you take notice... That it is my turn. It's no longer such a task to destroy you. There is only one hit for you while there are two for myself. And nothing would bring me more solace and joy than to see your selfish ways at rest.. And so, as humans today would say, the cat is in the bag. I've all ready beaten you; it's obvious whose better suited for that title you always claim to own."

There was complete silence as the two stared each other down... And then Yami started chuckling under his breath. It was hard to tell what was funny, considering the situation. But his humorous conscience was soon found out.

"Do you know how many people say that exact line to me? Every opponent I face has threatened me with my title; my friends; my power; my post position as the Egyptian ruler... But, do you know what? Their challenges mean next to nothing to me. Because, none of your type understand.... As long as my friends are in danger, or something is misplaced purposefully, there is nothing able to hold me back from re-obtaining it for the right and just. Your threats do not frighten me any longer. Because I know what I'm capable of doing... My friends know that they can always depend on me... And as long as I have that trust held eternally in my palm, I will never let them down." By now his laughter had almost completely diminished into a soft glare, "But, unfortunately for you, I always concede to making due with my own promises."

The beast was finding nothing about this game funny anymore. He could sense a greatness coming from the eye of Horus on the young man's forehead.

"You cannot use that eye of blasphemy upon your brow to make me run with my tail between my legs, King. I am far too knowledgeable to fall for such antics. I know more than you think. I know that you cannot possibly rely on the nonexistence of your friends to help you out of such a situation."

"You think that only their not being here keeps them from defending me? I would have believed someone of the ancient language would guess that more lay behind that curtain. But I suppose your blindness to the laws of our ways would have kept you from such magic." Yami sighed, almost sounding displeased about what he was going to do next, "I am afraid, however, that negligence does not excuse you from the crimes you've committed. I will be the one to finally put you to rest, by finishing this game for you!" And the eye glowed far brighter than ever before, causing the being to roll his eyes into the back of his head, losing sight. By this time, a panic had sent him reeling... Unconsciously making him use his hands and sending his last stream of light elements into the mirror that just happened to be floating between him and Yami.

The one mirror that just happened to be his own. His own power was enough to damage it but not destroy it. What actually did cause the shattering was the fact that it was his own attack. As host of the game, blasting your own piece was almost the same as a self-destructing mechanism.

The flames from the embodiment blew up and around, waving threateningly before crackling in front of the shadow's face. He made no move to run, none to fight them off; it was as though he couldn't even see them (though the heat was disgustingly high). Madly, his head whirled in the direction of the young man who'd pulled such a trick.

"King... You are more of a devil in saints' clothing that I had thought. But it is that saint that the young girl known as Anzu has fallen in love with. I admit that... Though I used her to tire your bond on this world, I did indeed... Grow to like her. A purity such as hers was a special thing to the blackened heart of this withering soul. It was enough to say that... I had also fallen in love with her. But it is safe to say that her heart rests with you. Otherwise, it may not have been able to rest at all." And, as he walked almost calmly into the flames, Yami felt compelled to thank him in some way. But he could do nothing as he watched the embers brew high into the 'sky' of Anzu's soul room, which had just reappeared in its entirety.

... And along with that room came the two beings that had almost lived their last existence inside of it.

The ex-Pharaoh (now wearing a perfectly operational and legit Sennen Puzzle) stepped up to them almost wearily, watching their easily recognizable sleeping forms, their breath coming in calm, even gasps.

He supposed that it was finally time to head home. There was nothing else to see after all. Quietly, so as not to disturb them, he placed a hand on each of their shoulders, Two seconds later, he felt a soft prickling on the back of his neck as his spiritual prowess carried them from the innards of Anzu's mind.

...

"...Sure hope that they're all right..."

"...Walked in on them all laying on the ground..."

"...Unconscious, of all the possible conditions?! Weird, the way Yuugi and Yami end up in these situations."

"Still, Anzu hasn't woken up. Obviously that means that it must have something to do with her. I hope that, whatever they're doing, they come back to us all right."

Yuugi opened his eyes to the voices of Jou, Honda, and his grandfather, Soguroku. Slowly, but surely, his groans began rising loud enough for them to hear him. Suddenly, there was an uproar from his friends and single family member. The sound of their loud shouts sent him reeling, and he grabbed the sheets in frustration and the coming migraine that was slowly catching up with him after such a long trip into his friends soul.

"Koonichiwa, minna-san... Ano, where am I?" It was then that he caught on to the the white walls and the small attachments and cords around his body. He must have been in Domino General. It was at that moment in time that he remembered how he had almost lost his grandfather to the ineffective treatment of this institution... But that wasn't of any matter now, "Where's Yami..? And Anzu..?" He asked, almost fiercely for such a small boy, trying to raise himself onto his elbows.

"Well, Yami is up and running around, mostly because of his powers. He's filled us in on a very thin slice of what you all went through demo... You know that we can't live without the details--!" And the two high school-ers leaned forward eagerly, hoping that Yuugi would pitch himself into the long tale of what had happened inside of Anzu's soul room. But his first priority was found elsewhere.

"And Anzu? She's safe as well?" At this, their eyes dimmed and they looked away. It was almost too much of a tension to crack with words... But Honda and Jou did quite a good job of it before cracking into small smiles.

"The doctors said that she's had some 'slight health complications' due to the illness that was grasped onto her immune system... but that, with a few days out patient treatment, it'd all go away in no time. Still, she hasn't been awake since we brought her in earlier."

"That reminds me; how long have we been here?" Yuugi grasped the back of his head, trying to calm the sudden pounding that seemed to have been wanting to blast from his skull.

"Only about eight hours. It's almost twelve-thirty in the morning so I guess that we can say... ah... Ohayo? Anyway, we were worried, Honda and I, when we stepped back in to get my car keys.... You were all unconscious and unresponsive so... We called the paramedics." Jou stated with a look of heroic sentimentality upon his face. Yuugi couldn't help but laugh lightly. It sufficed to say that seriousness wasn't Jounochi's best expression.

"Demo.... Where are they? Yami and Anzu..?" Yuugi asked. Now he was awake, he wanted nothing more than to see that both were all right for himself. The two teenage boys beside him began talking at once and he was only able to catch a few words.

"... Yami's said he was going..."

"...Anzu is still in recovery..."

"...Haven't gotten permission to see..."

"...Doctors admitted something might be up..."

"...Brain waves were supposedly on the fritz."

Well, it had been more than a few words.... But you had to think about the fact that those words made next to no sense to him. Once they were finished rambling, Yuugi took his chance to intervene.

"Ano... Care to try that again?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Once the two boys had caught their breath from shouting everything they had known, they started up again, only with a little more sanity in their voices.

"Well, Yami woke up a few hours ago and kinda... Disappeared. Demo, Anzu is still kinda out of the game, you could say, because of her illness combined with whatever was going on with all of you. We can't say much; we've only overheard that those E.K.-whatever they're called wires attached to her brain detected some kind of... Disturbance. She hasn't woken up yet and is still in recovery after some weird check-up thing they did on her."

"How long have we been in the hospital..?" He asked again, slowly getting to something of a point.

"Well, my watch is saying a little more than eight hours now..."

"Ano... And the time right now would be..?" He asked, hoping it wasn't as late as he thought.

"We're supposing that it's about one in the morning." Honda answered, checking Jou's wrist watch alongside him to be sure.

"D-Demo... That means that it's all ready Anzu's birthday! What can we do for her when she's stuck in the hospital, same as me?!" Yuugi stated, eyes opening almost fearfully, "I want to see her. Am I allowed to get up? Or will the physician protest?"

"Ano... We're sure that he would demo..." Jou and Honda grinned cattily at one another before turning back to him, "We'll be happy to smuggle you in! We're sure that you two have so much to talk about." They sounded ecstatic and much like they'd been planning this for awhile.

"Eh..? Great..." And, ten minutes later, he was whisked silently from his room, down the hall, and to his left.

"The Patient' Recovery Ward is this way. She might not be up yet, and no one besides the Doc has visited her so... Don't be expecting too much." Honda panted lightly.

"...Not even Yami..?" Yuugi muttered to himself, turning slightly red at the thought. And for good reason. He would be the first person to speak to Anzu since the beginning of this Death March, "I wonder what exactly is going on with her?" He wondered out loud, but wasn't surprised the two boys' shrugging and replies.

"We know about as much as you do. The damned people here can't give out any important information to anyone besides a family member, and of course Anzu's mom just happens to be out of the country so... Unless we can fake a family relation, it won't be that simple to attain data on her condition... Not that there's anything seriously wrong!" Jou added, at the sight of Yuugi's fearful face, "She's probably just tuckered out! As many extra-curricular activities as that girl does as Class President, and that illness, and the fact that she was stuck for hours with you and Yami, who just happen to always get into certain... Situations pertaining to mass evil and chaos... She's only human. Probably fallen prey to a bit of overwork; exhaustion."

"Eii... I don't think that's all... If I remember correctly..." Yuugi muttered, taking his train of thought back to a few hours before, right when he'd first discovered Anzu's where-abouts locked within her Soul Room. Dimly, he wondered whether or not she'd remember anything about what had happened. She was perceptive but... It was easily mistakable for most to consider something that wild as a dream... Or at least delirium, which she'd had quite a bit of the night before.

"Here we are, Yuugi." Jou and Honda steered him swiftly through the doors labeled 'Quiet, Will be removed from premises for disgrace of privacy.'

All that the three boys saw at first glance was tubes, a nurses stand (for intercom connection), and a body lying almost pitifully in a bed in the center of the room. It was easy to mistake the patient for someone other than Anzu. She looked totally different; withered and exhausted of life. She seemed about as healthy as the Card Reapers last prey would have been, after having their soul removed permanently. Yuugi was almost too frightened to approach her. What if her soul had been lost in the game?

Thinking about it, at the beginning he had watched courageously, keeping his keen eye on Yami as he stood stark still and ordered when to attack the 'board'. But then, something had happened later on and he had simply been... Cut off from that connection. He wondered if maybe his soul had been lost for awhile. It seemed sensible enough, anyway.

But those thoughts were not what mattered here.

"D-Do you two think that you could leave us alone?" He asked, turning his violet gaze on them, and they immediately nodded, realizing his sudden mood, and left the room to stand guard outside and lure away any coming ward agents. Cautiously, the young boy who was former host to the lost ruler of the Egyptian lands stepped forward, treading warily across the slick hospital floor. The cold tiles under his feet seemed to slip right through the gray slippers he had been told to wear if he were to use the bathroom, "...Anzu... You have me worried now because Yami isn't here to protect you while you sleep... You can't protect yourself and I can't protect you either... We almost lost you to a naive soulless shadow today... Go-Gomen nasai Anzu... For letting you down, and making you feel so unwanted for so long. I finally understand what it's like for you to be acting out the female among a men's group." Yuugi felt his shoulders shutter as he lay down on his bed.

The hum of the medical instruments was soothing, and Yuugi soon felt his hand cradling Anzu's as she slept peacefully, although he had no idea as to how it had gotten there in the first place.

"Anzu... You are my dearest friend... And... Aishiteru... But I know you don't feel the same. You belong to Yami, as you both requite each others feelings. I-I'll get over it; I'll get better. I've lived without you for this long, right..?" Still, there was no answer besides the steady beeping of the machines, and the soft breathing of the girl beside him, "...Eii... I guess that I have never been without you. Because you've always been there for me. You stuck up for me all these years and... And that's how I grew up to you. I realized that I owed you so much and so I taught myself... Or... You and Yami helped teach me... To defend myself from those who would take advantage of me. You helped me overcome the obstacles of Jou and Honda, and that turned out to help me more than all else. Thanks to you, Anzu, I've made the exact friends that I've always wanted to have." Yuugi thought back to when Jounochi and Honda first started 'interacting' with him. They stole his Millennium Puzzle and Anzu got it back. If Anzu hadn't gotten it back, that upperclassman wouldn't have noticed that he needed 'protection', and without getting in the way of his beating of Jou and Honda, they would never have come to see him as a friend, Jou never would have retrieved that missing piece of the puzzle from the school pool, Yami never would have come around...

It was all thanks to Anzu, in a way.

He never realized it had happened; his turn from friendship into love, he meant. All that he'd known was that Anzu had been there for him, through thick and thin, through her speeches and her friendship. Touching him as though she were an angel, you could say.

And, with these thoughts of loss and gain inside of his head, Yuugi felt the lull of the machines calm him into a rest.

(A/N: I'd like to take this moment to say... GO ANZU! GO ANZU! I dunno your birthday but... GO ANZU!)

...

Yami was busying himself by sidestepping the Recovery Patients Ward. He had been told that Anzu was in there. But he was too occupied with all of the things that had happened; he'd almost lost that battle, until he'd settled to destroy that youkai right there, and he'd ended up permanently damaging Anzu's soul room... In a way, though he'd ended up saving them, it was almost as if he'd still let her down; still lost.

Because he had destroyed the mirror that was a transparency of her dreams and, unless her dreams changed then it could never be repaired, at least not anytime soon. But he knew that her dreams couldn't change because they were from... her younger days. They were the dreams thought up by the innocence of a child. And innocent childhood dreams couldn't just be replaced.

He sighed, still trying to put into consideration that she might be up and wanting to see him. If so, then none of the others could help her because he'd told no one where he was going when he'd up and left.

"Anzu... Forgive me; for, as cruel as that beast was, I have destroyed more than one thing you were to hold close to you forever today, and more than he had been threatening you with." Yami had sided with the fact that... Given the chance, that youkai could have easily turned over a new leaf and repatched his life. It had been most unfortunate that he hadn't had time to see the light.

But time for my friends borrowed souls had been running out. There was nothing else that I could do besides that... Yami reasoned, feeling his fingernails gripping tightly into his palm, nonetheless. It was hard to realize that he'd come so close to costing Yuugi and Anzu their lives. And now they were being held here because of their health.

And Anzu was... He looked over at the doors just in time to hear a rather large commotion coming from within them. Next moment, Jounochi, Honda, and Yuugi were being shoved out of the front. They were rambling things like apologies at the female nurse. Yami couldn't help sweatdropping when Jou tried to convince her to go out with him.

"Ite, ite... I swear; hospitals these days... People can be so inconsiderate!" Jou stated as he led the other two toward the main hall, covering a hand mark that was starting to appear on his cheek. Then all of their eyes met Yami's and the ex-Pharaoh found himself unable to stare for long, turning his gaze in the other direction as if they weren't there at all

"...Yami..." Yuugi sighed, "Anzu... She's just woken up. She wanted to see you demo... I was unsure where you were, so I-I told her that I didn't think you'd be coming." He shrugged helplessly, hoping to coax his yami into finally meeting up with Anzu in private.

"And now, I suppose that you want me to walk in there, as if I never almost destroyed her soul? And you want me to talk to her as though there's something positive worth discussing..? G-Gomen ne, Abiou, but for once, I don't think I can do it." His eyes never met the others as he spoke, "Anzu is a blooming desert rose that I can't risk tarnishing. And she has far too much going for her without me there to take it away from her. Abiou, think about it... We are always placing our friends in danger; I am always placing you in danger. As a Pharaoh, a leader, I am supposed to protect you. Yet, more than a dozen times do I remember placing you in a game to the death, costing you more than its worth."

"D-Demo, you know that I don't care about that! I allowed you to use my body because you were able to do such things as save my friends, protect us." Yuugi was blushing now, "It-it's not right that you should think so lowly of yourself. Not when we know that you're one of the greatest in the world. You're a part of our-our team, Yami; you're our leader, you could say. I've never regretted completing the Millennium Puzzle; nor have I regretted meeting you and letting you use my body when it was needed. And I'm sure that Jou, Honda, and Anzu would never regret it either!" He crossed his arms in finality, looking almost pointedly at the other two boys who had remained completely silent throughout this grammar battle.

"Yuugi's right, Yami. You're a great guy. Maybe a little... A little different, demo... I don't think any one of us it quite normal after what we've gone through with you!" Jou stated with a laugh.

"--Not that we're feeling reproachful about it!" Honda continued for him, "We happen to think that a little excitement in out lives woke us up very well."

To say that Yami's expression was disbelieving was an understatement.

"All three of you..." He couldn't really think of words right then, "To completely sidestep this scene and evade speaking of things that I don't understand, I think I'll walk... This way." And he began pacing towards the Recovery Ward.

"Oi, then you plan on finally talking to Anzu?"

Yami turned and caught sight of the dub for the area he was beginning to walk into, "Eh..? Ano..."

"--Good idea!" Jou, Honda, and Yuugi said, while pushing him straight through the doors.

...

"Oh... Ano... Ohayo, Anzu!" Yami stated, almost hiding away behind his jacket, surprised that he was feeling so unbelievably bashful, "Daijobou? And... Happy birthday, I suppose."

The young girl sitting across from him smiled happily at the sight and offered him the chair that Yuugi had been sitting in only about ten minutes before but still remained silent. Yami was pleased to see, once he sat down, that Anzu's eye color was back to its sapphire blue. Perhaps the whole thing had been just another illusion created by the youkai... But she had told him that she couldn't see... Then maybe, just like their souls, her sight had been restored.

"So... I see that you're well." Anzu said, "And arigatou." After getting a confusing glance from Yami, "For the birthday wishes. I wasn't even sure that you knew what a birthday was. Did they determine age by years back then? And did they give you a celebration whenever you became a year older?"

"Well..." Yami was unsure whether or not he really wanted to get into a whole story about the ancient ways of Egypt but, Anzu did want to know more, "We did hold celebrations, demo, they were only for those of prestigious ranking, like myself. There would be festivals, feasts, and... Possibly a marriage when you became old enough."

"Oh... Marriage? Really?" She asked in reply, and he nodded, though it was hardly apparent.

"It wasn't exactly a choice we had. It all depended on the age of the moon and our guardians... What they wished of us was all that mattered back then. But, I suppose that you can't really call it a party, considering it was always a pressuring date having to do with our peoples future." Yami finished, finally looking up into Anzu's eyes, "It was probably nothing like what people do now a days."

"Oh... Then, you'd most likely be willing to... To, ano, make up lost time?" Anzu's tone was unbelievably hopeful, though Yami tried to ignore it.

"I don't see why not..." He tried to smile as reassuringly as possible but not really sure exactly what his expression was at the moment.

"...Great, because I know just how to spend a unique holiday; it'll be just the two of us." Anzu winked at him right as the door opened and he was ushered out by the nurse.

...

A/N: Yes, so the group is out of the fire and moving into recovery. The next chapter will probably be the last. Warning: CONFESSION ALERT! I hope you all are in the mood for some mild luvin', cause that's what's comin'!

Yeah, so, now that you've read it, review, make it nice and I'll be sure to give you a nice shout-out as thanks in the epilogue/last chapter!

Oh yeah; thanks for all of the positive criticism and all the niceness and wanting for updates. I'm glad you all like this old rag, especially since it IS about two years old. Funny, isn't it? I haven't written another fic quite like this. And I'm not just talking about it being Yu-Gi-Oh, Yami/Anzu, or action-y.

So, anyway, I'm gonna leave it here for the rest of you people's to finish it off with a nice review. Thanks to everyone! Bubi!

--Chibi ending transmission.