Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh.
(May 8, 2005)
Gah. Sorry I haven't written in so long, but my computer crashed and I haven't had internet access for a long time. I've also been very busy studying for the WHAP AP test (which I finally took). Finals are coming up. and I'll be busy all next week: Monday – Thursday I have COLORGUARD TRYOUTS! and on Friday I have BAND BANQUET! That's why I'm working on this; I hope it gets posted by Sunday…
Yay! I'm so happy I have people wanting this fic updated! XD Anyway, as you requested, here's chapter three!
(May 15, 2005)
I MADE COLORGUARD! I'm so happy! Plus, band banquet was AWESOME! I such fun with my date XD
Sailor Tiamat: You'll find out XD
DojomistressAmbyChan: Yeah, I'm trying to get some of Malik's POV in here… it might come a bit later though (like next chappie).
EvilChick87: It's been so long, I don't remember! Lol
This is probably the last time I'll be posting the character guide:
Anzu Mazaki (25) – a young woman who yearns to find somebody special, but fate keeps dealing her the wrong hand
Malik Ishtar (25) – he comes to visit his sister in Domino and runs into Anzu
Serenity Wheeler (22) – owner of a bakery and has a baby boy
Joey Wheeler (25) – works voluntarily at a children's hospital teaching sick kids how to play Duel Monsters
Mai Kujaku (28) – Joey's wife; she works for Industrial Illusions and has one son
Tristan Taylor (25) – married to Serenity and works for a real-estate company
Otogi Ryugi (25) – Pegasus's partner and maker of Dungeon Dice Monsters
Rebecca Hopkins (21) – married to Yugi; they'll have their first child in about nine months
Yugi Muto (25) – works for Kaiba Corp (one of Seto's most trusted advisors)
Yami Muto (25) – inherited the Kame Game Shop after Grandpa died; is married to Vivien with two children
Ryou Hitori (25) ((made up his last name since Bakura is his brother's name)) – works in an ice cream shop and is married to Miho
Bakura Hitori (25) – works at the Domino Museum and is Anzu's best friend; he used to be the leader of a gang of thieves before the police had caught them (luckily they hadn't been jailed)
Seto Kaiba (27) – CEO of Kaiba Corp and is married to Isis
Mokuba Kaiba (21) – works in Serenity's bakery alongside Anzu
Isis Ishtar (28) – married to Seto with two children and runs the Domino Museum
Miho Nozaka (25) ((from YuGiOh! the manga)) – married to Ryou and has one daughter
Vivien Wong (27) ((from YuGiOh! Grand Prix Tournament…)) – runs the game shop with her husband and takes care of the kids; she really has changed over the years
Note: This is an AU fic. The YGO gang has never met Malik, although they might have met of Isis. Bakura and Ryou are separate people, and so are Yugi and Yami. Uh, there are no such things as Millennium Items, and Bakura/Ryou and Yugi/Yami are brothers. There is no Marik (Yami Malik). Some characters maybe a little OOC… or way OOC (like Vivien), but take into consideration that they've done some growing-up.
Summary: Christmas is approaching, and Domino City is once again crowded with shoppers and family gatherings. Too bad Anzu Mazaki doesn't have any family to celebrate with. One day she bumps into a foreigner named Malik Ishtar, who is the brother of Seto Kaiba's wife Isis. The two start to see each other frequently, and one thing leads to another. Maybe this Christmas won't be lonely after all…
Malik x Anzu centered; other pairings include Serenity/Tristan, Yugi/Rebecca, Ryou/Miho, Seto/Isis, Yami/Vivien
Stille Nacht
By: Chi Yagami
Chapter Three – Like Taking Candy from a Baby
Anzu tried to keep up her plastic smile, but by noon, it was fading fast. She was tired of wearing the costume, and she'd already been hit on by a new guy. There was a regular admirer who came in every afternoon named Yaru; he had been asking her out for months. Serenity said she should give him a chance, but there was something about the way he looked at her that creeped Anzu out.
Tristan and Serenity were in the back, and Mokuba was out making deliveries. She sighed and looked around the empty bakery. For some reason, she found herself thinking about going out with Bakura again. Where had that come from? She didn't like Bakura… No, she only liked how happy she felt every time he held her hand or kissed her cheek. She wished she could feel it for real.
She was just about to put her head down when she heard Serenity scream.
"Hey, who do you creeps think you are?" she heard Tristan ask. She peeked around the corner to see two men advancing on her friends. Anzu whipped out her cell phone and started to dial 911 but her finger slipped onto the Redial button.
"Hello?" Ryou asked. Anzu blinked but thought quickly.
"Hey Ryou, it's Anzu. You've got to come over to the bakery quick!" she whispered. "Can you hear me?"
"Uh-huh… yeah…"
"Get here as quick as you can! Two guys are trying to rob us!" she cried softly.
"…sure! Hold on, okay? It'll be fine; I'll be right over after I tell Anita. Bye."
"Bye…"
"Put the phone down, girly, and we might not hurt you."
Anzu turned around to see two new guys approaching her; one had a gun in his left hand. She gasped, as she saw out of the corner of her eye, one of the guys drag out an unconscious Tristan and frightful Serenity.
"All we want it is the baby," the one with the gun said. "Hand it over and you go free."
"I-I don't h-have my baby," Serenity sobbed.
"What do you creeps want with a baby?" Anzu asked. The gun was thrust back in her direction.
"None of your business," the man said coldly. "Hmm… that outfit's pretty hot, don't you think so, Don?"
"Yeah, whatever," Don said, tightening his grip on Serenity. "We didn't come here for sex."
"But we did come for a baby… this girl could easily get us one…"
The man walked towards Anzu, the gun still pointed at her. She backed up slowly until she bumped against the wall. The guy put the gun up to her head.
"You're gonna come quietly or you're not ever gonna leave this place alive," he said. Serenity started to scream, but Don smacked a hand over her mouth.
"We're taking the girl," the guy told Serenity, "and if you don't show up with that baby, we'll kill her."
Don threw Serenity on the ground as the other guy walked Anzu out to his truck, the gun still pointed at her. Serenity looked up to see the dirty truck driving away.
"NO!" she screamed. "ANZU!"
She shook her husband, but he wouldn't wake up. The doors flew open as Ryou and a stranger came running in.
"Serenity, what's going on!" he asked. "Anzu called me and—"
"S-She's g-g-gone!" Serenity sobbed, latching onto Ryou's shirt. "They k-kid-n-napped her…!"
"They kidnapped Anzu!" Ryou asked. "Who?"
"I d-dunno… they wanted my b-baby and took her as… as ransom…"
"Uhhh…," Tristan moaned, getting up. "Ryou…? What happened?"
"Some creeps who wanted your baby stole Anzu and are using her as ransom," he explained. Tristan noticed Malik.
"Who are you?"
"Malik Ishtar, brother of Isis Ishtar."
"Oh."
The police promised to search everywhere for these thugs, but the group knew they'd never find them. Serenity, Tristan, Ryou, and Malik were all sitting in the Taylors' house.
"What can we do?" Malik asked.
"Well, they want Ethan… so they must be wanting us to show up somewhere with a baby…"
"Who would risk going to jail for a baby?" Ryou asked.
"Psychos. People who are just sick," Tristan replied coldly.
"If they wanted us to show up for a trade, shouldn't they have given us an address?" Serenity said quietly, hugging Ethan.
¡Ring¡Ring!
"Who wants to answer it…?"
"I will," Serenity said bravely, picking up the phone. "Hello?"
"Mrs. Taylor, you better show up with that baby."
Serenity instantly put it on speaker phone and motioned for everyone else to stay quiet.
"Where?"
"We'll meet at the abandoned warehouse on Asa Street."
"Why do you want my baby?" she demanded.
"Do you want your friend to live or not?"
"Don't you hurt her!" she cried.
"Don't worry; she won't die… IF YOU HAND OVER THE TODDLER. She'll just be permanently scarred. We like virgins." ¡Click!
Serenity turned around slowly. All three men were staring at her wide-eyed.
"Let's go there right now," Tristan said.
Serenity was carrying a cradle of blankets, and Malik and Tristan were with her. Ryou had called the police and was waiting in the car.
Tristan pushed open the warehouse door and peered inside. Then he and Serenity walked in first, Malik sneaking into the shadows. He snuck up into the upstairs, looking around. He heard some noise coming from a room with a cracked door.
"Get away from me, you creep!" Anzu said, swinging at him with a pole. He caught it and grabbed her wrist. The guy pushed her into a corned and smashed his lips against hers.
"HEY!" Malik said, hitting the guy with a hammer. The guy fell to the floor.
"Come on," Malik said, taking Anzu's hand and getting her out of there. They came out to meet the police, Don in handcuffs.
"Anzu," Serenity gasped, hugging her friend. "You're okay!"
"I'm fine…"
The five of them were now sitting in a restaurant. Well, after Anzu had changed out of her work clothes.
"Anzu, he didn't do anything to you, did he?" Tristan asked. "You're sure you're fine?"
"Yeah," she replied. "He was just, uhh… threatening me…"
Malik watched her closely. He wasn't sure whether or not to tell Tristan about that man trying to assault her. He wasn't very close with any of these people… perhaps he'd tell his sister.
"Uncle Mawik!" Sakura called, running over to him, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She'd been playing on the indoor playground while the adults talked.
"Yes, Sakura?" he asked, turning to his niece. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah. Uncle Ryou, when can I play with Kyu?"
"Maybe tomorrow. I've got to go, you guys," he said apologetically. "Miho's probably worried…"
"Bye Ryou!" they all said.
"Yeah, we should get home, too," Serenity added. "We should've picked up Ethan an hour ago. I hope you're really okay, Anzu."
Anzu smiled, but Malik knew it wasn't a true smile. He looked at his watch and knew Isis was expecting him. He glanced back at Anzu saying goodbye to the Taylors. He'd have to say something to her…
"Well, thanks for everything, Malik," Tristan said, shaking his hand. "Stop by the bakery anytime."
"Okay, I'm sure Sakura would love it," he replied, grinning at Sakura.
"Say, Malik, why don't you walk Anzu home?" Serenity suggested.
"Uhh… okay… if that's alright with you, Anzu?"
"Sure."
Anzu picked up her jacket and walked out the door. Malik hoisted Sakura up into a piggyback ride and followed the brunette. The small child yawned and rested her head on her uncle's shoulder; soon she was fast asleep.
"Umm, Malik —is it?— well, Malik, thank you," Anzu stammered, not wanting to look behind her. "Thank you for saving me."
The Egyptian stared at the back of her head as they walked down an empty street. They were taking slow steps, and Malik was trying not to shift too much so that Sakura would remain asleep. He wanted to talk to Anzu.
"Uhh, you're welcome," he managed. Even though he wanted to talk to her, he found he couldn't speak. Malik wasn't shy or anything; he just wasn't use to the situation. Back in Egypt, he was a tough guy. He never talked to girls like Anzu. He usually flirted with all girls and only did one-night-stand stuff. He'd never saved a girl from being raped before. He wasn't sure what to say. Of course, having spent most of his life underground watching over some dead guy probably had a lot to do with it. He just didn't have any experience with girls who weren't flirting or sleeping with him.
"You know, you don't have to walk me home," she said, trying to make conversation. Malik felt his old self kick into gear.
"Well now, we don't want you getting kidnapped again, do we?" he said mockingly.
Anzu stopped. What was his problem? Had she said anything wrong? No. Why were all guys jerks?
"I didn't need your help," she snapped back, whipping around. "I was handling the situation just fine without you."
"Sure… that's why that guy had you cornered and was smashing himself against you," he replied sarcastically.
Anzu flushed and turned back around. She turned onto a new block that led into her neighborhood. She'd had the wrong impression of this guy!
"Or were you actually enjoying that kiss?" Malik pondered with a twisted grin.
"What is your problem!" she asked. "Why can't you carry a normal conversation!"
"Because I'm not normal, babe."
Ugh. Men. Why did they have to be perverted, creepy humans? Anzu sighed and looked up at the sky. She missed her parents a lot. As she gazed up at the stars, she felt a raindrop hit her face. It was suddenly pouring!
"Uncle Mawik!" Sakura cried. "I'm wet!"
"Yeah…"
"Come on," Anzu said. "My house isn't far."
The two adults and child ran off down the street (well, Sakura just kind of got carried down the street). As she opened her front door, Anzu couldn't help but realize that Malik would be the first nonfriend guy in her house for about two years.
Finally! The chapter is done!