Disclaimers:
"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and its characters (with the exception of
Ai Hoshino and Miyuki) are the under ownership of Kazuki Takahashi,
Shueisha (Jump Comics), TV Asahi, Bandai, Toei and some others. Original
story is under ownership of Christine M. Joseph (aka Kyoko Takara).
All rights reserved.
“What’d you say?”
Anzu Mazaki sat at her desk with her mouth draped wide open. Her friend,
Miho Nozaka, as well as two other female classmates stood near her desk.
All four girls were taking tentative glances at the young men in the
back of the room.
“Are you serious? You saw Yugi with an older woman?” Anzu’s eyebrows
drew taut in to a deep frown.
“Now, Anzu,” Miho reassured, “this could all be a misunderstanding.
You know how Yugi feels!”
“But . . .”
Anzu’s eyes turned to glance at Yugi and eerily their eyes met. Both
blushed furiously, turning away from each other.
“SEE? How could he blush like that if he was with an older woman?”
Miho questioned. Anzu still wasn’t convinced though.
“I can show you the proof, Anzu,” one of the girls named Miyuki said.
“I know where they meet every day after school. . .”
This couldn’t be happening! How could Yugi – YUGI!! – of all people
be with an older woman? Jounouchi, maybe, but Yugi?! Anzu simply couldn’t
contemplate the very thought. She glanced quickly over there again,
watching Yugi, Honda and Jounouchi deep in conversation. Whatever it
was, it was some big secret.
“Proof, Miyuki-chan?” Anzu tapped her finger against the desk. “Ok,
let’s meet after school and we’ll see . . .”
They all nodded in consensus, then settled their meeting places and
times. Meanwhile, the male crew held up the wall, deep in conversation.
“What’s the big deal with those girls? All they ever do is gossip .
. .” Jounouchi complained.
“I know what they’re talking about . . .” Yugi bowed his head, slightly
ashamed of what he was doing in the last few weeks. “It’s about the
woman I’ve been seeing . . .”
“WHAT?!” Honda and Jounouchi chorused loudly, but Yugi jumped up to
cover both their mouths before they could make any more noise.
“Not so loud, guys!” Yugi sank back into his place on the top of the
desk.
ounouchi’s eyes grew wider with shock until he grabbed Yugi by
the shoulders and shook him.
“You’ve been holding out on me? Dammit! I thought you were my friend,
Yugi!” he exclaimed, but Yugi’s head was bobbing back and forth so much,
he began to have a glazed look in his eye.
“Jou’s right, Yugi. Come out with it!” Honda agreed easily with Jou.
The two looked Yugi down until he sighed deeply on concession.
Yugi moved closer to the guys, unwilling to let a word slip out of
their private conversation to the girls across the room. He reached
into his pant pocket, revealing a picture of a beautiful young woman.
She had long, slightly curly black hair and crystalline hazel eyes that
seemed to capture their breath. Her figure was trim, petite, yet curvy
in all the right spots. It was like the dream girl every boy fantasized
about.
“Whoa . . .THIS is the girl?” they asked in unison.
Yugi nodded reluctantly. There wasn’t any real way for him to explain
what he’d been doing except by coming straight out with it. He reached
into his pocket again, revealing a sheet of mini sticker pictures with
the two of them embracing tightly. One of the sticker rows showed the
young woman kissing a blushing Yugi on the cheek. By now, Honda and
Jounouchi were in utter shock at what the pictures told. They told one
HELL of a story!
“So let me get this straight, Yugi . . .” Jounouchi held up the stickers
in front of Yugi’s face. “So you’re getting it on with THIS woman? I
don’t believe it!”
“Well, it’s not like that --- ” he began to say, but was cut off by
Honda.
“How’d you even MEET someone like that?” Honda wondered, asking the
hundred million yen question.
Before Yugi could answer, the door at the front of the room slid open
and the homeroom teacher entered. The class leader stood to do the normal
greetings of bowing to the teacher.
“Later . .” Yugi whispered from his seat to Jounouchi. He responded
with a swift nod.
Anzu’s face was drawn into a serious frown. She knew that Yugi liked
her, and she liked him, but there was still the matter of the Game King
between them. How something like this could have happened, she didn’t
know, but she would see for herself today whether or not it was the
truth. Was it possible that she moved too slow, waited too long to try
out things with him?
“Yugi . . .” she muttered beneath her breath. At that very moment,
Yugi turned to look at her. She drew a sharp breath, before lowering
her gaze to her desk. Her face was red with embarrassment.
“Mazaki-san, are you alright?” the teacher asked her with concern.
Her proximity to the teacher’s desk gave away her condition.
“No, I’m okay, Sensei,” Anzu replied softly. Her eyes returned to her
notebook, which she suddenly realized she was drawing a rather well
done picture of her and Yugi encased in a little heart bubble.
There was nothing either of them could do until later. . . .
The school bell rang its chime promptly at four o’clock. After lunch,
Yugi left Honda and Jounouchi a message in their desks to meet him at
4 in front of the city park entrance. What they didn’t realize is that
Miyuki peeked a glance at the note Yugi was writing and passed the information
on to the other girls. They decided to meet at three forty-five in the
restaurant across the street.
“Anzu,” Miyuki pointed to the entrance of the park, “that’s where they’re
going to meet today. I’m almost positive that woman’s going to be there
too.”
“Almost?” Anzu questioned. “What do you mean ‘almost’?”
“I think Yugi’s onto us,” she admitted. The three girls sat in silence
looking across the street, waiting.
Several minutes passed before the first person arrived on the scene:
Jounouchi.
“There’s Jounouchi,” Miho announced. Seconds later, Honda arrived,
the two greeting each other with a slap of hands. “Ah! Honda-kun’s here
too!”
“Yeah, Miho . . . I thought ANZU had problems. What’s up with you two?”
the other girl, Ai commented.
Miho held up her hands, waving frantically in front of her face.
“Ahh! Nothing, nothing!” she blushed furiously. “We’re just friends!”
“Yeah, that’s what they ALL say . . .” Ai replied, nudging Miho in
the side lightly with her elbow.
Outside, Jounouchi and Honda waited against the fence for Yugi.
“He’s running a little late, eh?” Honda said, looking at the watch
on his left wrist. “I wonder what . . .”
Honda’s words were stopped by the look on Jounouchi’s face, transforming
from the attentive best friend to a lovesick, entranced puppy. Without
a word, Honda turned around to feast his eyes upon the most beautiful
woman he’d ever seen. She walked alongside a very genki Yugi Mutou.
“Jounouchi-kun! Honda-kun!” Yugi smiled brightly, grabbing his backpack
straps with both hands.
Somewhat belatedly, Yugi realized the two guys were staring, GAWKING
at the woman at his side. She dressed in a pair of fitted blue jeans,
sporting a floral print, spaghetti strapped t-shirt.
“Ahh! Yugi! Are these the friends you told me about?” her head turned
to look at Yugi. She was considerably taller than Yugi, about as tall
as Jounouchi. The picture was highly deceptive.
“Yeah, these are my friends Jounouchi and Honda,” he introduced. “Guys,
this is Sakura Terai.”
Simultaneously, Jounouchi and Honda bowed before the young woman. She
returned the favor by bowing just above their level. As the guys raised
their heads, they caught a glimpse of Sakura’s breasts inside the loose-fitting
shirt.
“Ahhh . . .” they sighed in delight, eyes gone gaga over what they
had seen.
“Yugi, your friends are so delightful!” Sakura smiled, realizing what
they had seen. “Come, let’s go for that walk in the park, shall we?”
Sakura led the way inside. Yugi trailed slightly behind to make sure
his friends didn’t get left behind. He was so self-conscious about this
. . . what would they say when they found out the truth?
“There they go!”
Miyuki looked over Anzu’s shoulder outside the window. All eyes were
on the foursome as they made their way inside the park.
“See, that’s the woman!” Miyuki said satisfactorily, but regretted
her words when she looked back at Anzu. Her face was saddened, particularly
at the sight of such a beautiful woman with Yugi. Who WAS she?!
“Come on, let’s follow them!” Ai jumped to her feet, dragging Miho
with her. “We can’t let them get too far ahead!”
The four girls ran grabbed their bags, cautiously crossing the street
to make their way inside the park. Anzu remained silent, watching the
three guys and one beauty from some distance away. Her support was not
far behind, keeping a safe distance away from them, but close enough
to not lose eyesight. It was only a matter of time before Yugi got caught.
“Ahh! Such beautiful weather . . .!” Sakura exclaimed, stretching her
arms out beside her, closing her eyes. “Don’t you think, guys?”
Jounouchi and Honda immediately agreed with her, stopping to stretch.
Yugi, on the other hand, disagreed.
“Sakura-chan, you know I like it when it’s cooler . . .” Did he
just say . . . Sakura- CHAN?! How familiar was Yugi with her?, the two
wondered.
“Oye, Terai-san, how do you know Yugi?” Honda ventured to ask.
Sakura stopped to look up at a tree, whistling softly to call upon
a bird perched upon a limb. It floated down to her outstretched finger,
tweeting sweetly along with Sakura’s song. She lowered her hand slowly,
allowing the bird to make his exit.
“Yugi, you didn’t tell them?” Sakura asked, leading them further eastward
toward an open area in the park suitable for picnicking. “I thought
you said you would. . .”
“Well . . .” Yugi hesitated in his response. “I was kinda embarrassed,
Sakura-chan . . .”
“Aww! I thought I taught you better than that, Yugi!” she faked a pout,
using her hand to caress his face.
By now, Jounouchi and Honda were confused. The two seemed to be talking
around them, about things they had no clue about. What was going on?
Moments later, Sakura encouraged them to take a seat on the bench overlooking
the park. It was the highest point in the area, popularly used for astronomical
survey. That was also a popular spot for lovers. Who could resist the
sights of a full moon, stars in all their glory, and the surrounding
scent of cherry blossoms in the air?
“I’ll tell them the truth, Yugi. All of it . . .you don’t mind, do
you?” Sakura asked politely. When she got the expected nod, she began
to speak. “Everything started a month ago . . .”
“Enough already . . .” Anzu muttered, shaking her head. “Let’s just
go home.”
The girls stopped walking to gaze at Anzu’s face. Every moment was
hurting her, to see someone she likes so much like this. Maybe it wasn’t
the best thing to do, but the truth had to come out!
“Anzu, you can’t give up like that now!” Miho stepped in front of her
friend, resting her hands on her shoulders. “You have to know the truth!”
“Suppose I don’t want to know the truth, Miho?” Her eyes began to water.
“Suppose the truth is that Yugi really doesn’t like me? I can accept
it, but it’s hard . . .”
“And suppose the truth is that he really does?” Ai countered. “You
have to be willing to take the risk, Anzu. Love doesn’t come without
a price. I should know. . .”
Anzu crooked her head at Ai, knowing immediately her feelings
about Jounouchi. Perhaps they were right. She owed it to herself to
find out the truth.
“Ok, guys,” Anzu nodded in acceptance.
“Good! Let’s get in as close as possible to hear what they’re saying
. . .” Miyuki said, smiling.
The four moved stealthily around a tree until they were within
hearing distance of them. The words were lowly spoken, but they made
out the majority of them . . .
“I met Yugi at Sugo’s shop about a month ago. I wanted to pick up a
new game for my son, so I -- ”
“Wait, wait . . .” Jounouchi paused the conversation a moment, “Sugo?
Your son?”
Sakura chuckled at his questioning. “I suppose I should start from
the beginning. I know Yugi’s grandfather from when he visited America.
I was in my early teens at the time, but I still remember his laughter.
I also remember his love for games.
“Since then, I’ve moved back to Japan and I thought that I’d visit
his shop since my son’s into many of the Japanese games. That’s when
I met Yugi. Sugo wasn’t there, so I spent some time getting acquainted
with his grandson,” she explained.
Yugi was visibly shrinking away from his two friends, since he knew
where Sakura was leading the line of explanations. His eyes roamed away
from the three, over to the nearby trees. He noticed something strange
coming from behind one of the trees across the path.
“I remember when I was talking with him, he spoke a lot about you guys,
and a particular girl named Anzu. He didn’t know how to tell her that
he likes her,” Sakura paused to look at Yugi a moment. He seemed fixated
on the tree across from them. Catching a glimpse of a uniform skirt,
Sakura smiled mysteriously. “So I made Yugi a deal. If he showed my
son all the games he knows and likes, I’d help him get set up with this
girl Anzu.”
“Oh, I get it! You’re acting like a matchmaker or something?” Jounouchi
asked curiously.
“If you want to call it that, I guess so!” Sakura smiled. “What did
you guys think was going on?”
The hidden girls all turned to look at each other at discovering the
truth. The older woman was just trying to help Yugi get with Anzu?!
Anzu leaned against the tree, breathing a sigh of relief. However, she
forgot she was supposed to be in hiding and allowed her bag to fall
to the ground.
“Oh no! Anzu. . .” Miho whispered, worried about what might happen
next.
Jounouchi and Honda remained silent, processing all the information
Sakura imparted.
Meanwhile, Sakura looked intently at the tree in front of her. Her
gaze dropped to the fallen school bag. Boldly standing, she walked to
the middle of the path, then stopped. The guys looked on with interest
as to what Sakura’s next move would be.
“Anzu! Anzu Mazaki!” At the sound of her name being called, Anzu’s
eyes flew open, heart racing wildly. What should she do?, she thought.
“Sakura-chan, you don’t have to do it like this . . .” Yugi walked
to face Sakura. His hand clasped hers momentarily, then released it.
“Anzu . . .”
“Yugi?” Anzu’s head peered around the tree to see Yugi standing next
to the woman she’d been so jealous of. “Yugi . . “
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. I just didn’t know how to
tell you . . .” Yugi hesitated again, but pressed forward. “I couldn’t
ask the guys because they wouldn’t have been able to help me,” he explained,
then turned to Honda and Jou, “Sorry guys . . .”
“Nah, Yugi. It’s no problem . . .” Honda gave him a thumbs-up reaction.
“Just don’t hold out on us next time . . .” warned Jounouchi, smiling
at his friend.
Yugi moved closer to the tree, until he stood a few inches from where
he knew Anzu stood. When he glanced left and right, he realized the
other girls were there listening too.
“Sakura-chan helped me to realize what I needed to do in order to tell
you how I felt. I had to accept the terms no matter what. But I’ll tell
you now, Anzu Mazaki,” Yugi took a deep breath before he ventured into
unknown territory, “I’m in love with you. . .seriously. I know you might
not take me seriously, but . . .”
“Yugi . . .” Anzu stepped out from behind the tree to see his face
fully for the first time in days. Her eyes were clouded, filling slowly
with tears. “I was so jealous I didn’t know what to do . . .”
Anzu and Yugi seemed to be lost in each other’s eyes, hearing nothing
but each other’s words. Sakura turned from the two to face Jounouchi
and Honda.
“I guess that’s it then. I’m glad Yugi could admit his feelings to
Anzu,” she said softly. The two guys agreed wholeheartedly.
Miho, Ai and Miyuki made a discreet retreat toward the other
side of the path. Once Honda caught sight of Miho, he was off and running.
“Miho-chan! Wait a minute!”
Sakura and Jounouchi began to walk back toward the entrance, leaving
Yugi and Anzu alone to talk. He stopped a moment to glance at the two.
“Good for you, Yugi . . .” he whispered, a smile plastered to his face.
“Terani-san, wait a minute . .”
“What is it, Jounouchi-san?” she asked curiously.
“If you and Yugi weren’t involved with each other, what’s with the
pictures he had?”
“Oh THOSE!” she laughed. “Yugi, Aki and I went to the Amusement Park
two weeks ago. We took all kinds of funny pictures. I thought it cute
when Yugi blushed like that. . “
Jounouchi blinked. I wish she would take me out like that and kiss
me, he thought wickedly. The moment the thought passed through his head,
another figure presented itself before him. It was one of Anzu’s friends,
Ai Hoshino.
“Jounouchi-kun? Can I talk with you a minute?” Her hands were primly
held in front of her, a steady blush coated her face.
“U-uh. . .sure . . .” he stuttered slightly, unprepared for what she
was going to say.
When everyone disappeared from sight, Sakura leaned against the cherry
blossom tree, looking up at one final blossom desperately trying not
to fall to the ground.
“Thank you for waiting for me . . .”
The blossom fluttered slowly to the ground. . . and all was complete
. . .