DIS: Lately, I've been reading a lot of books with pianists in it. Two of the ones that I read ended with a sad ending. (sniff) I was so distraught at one death, though I was too stunned to cry. Anyway, I decided to make a story voicing my obsession. Also, the "real" action between Anzu and Yami (and a lot of other action, for that matter,) won't show up until chapter eight. Yes, sad, I know, but true. Now, read below and enjoy!

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Title: The Notes Of My Heart

Rating: M for language and all that jazz

Genre: Romance/Drama

Summary: AU, Anzu wants to be a dancer, but knows she can't do it on her own. Certainly not without an accompanist. When she meets Yami Mutou, a world known pianist, she knows he's what she needs. And maybe even more.

Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh

Notes/Warnings: First Yami/Anzu chaptered fic; drama; I'd like to thank Adsica for inspiring me to write this with her newest Yami/Yuugi story.

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The Notes Of My Heart Prologue

A six-year-old girl smiled to herself as she took a lick of her ice cream. The warm weather of July had descended upon Japan. It was the end of the month and the heat was at its peak. Anzu Mazaki was sitting beside her mother, Sakura, curled up against her beneath the shade of a tree in the park. The sun would be setting soon. Vanilla ice cream dripped down the side of the cone and onto her fingers without her noticing. "Here, sweetheart," Sakura murmured, handing Anzu a napkin. Her daughter gave a puzzled look before taking the napkin and wrapping it around her cone. She licked the ice cream from her fingers and then returned to eating her treat.

Anzu would remember that soft, kind smile that came onto her mother's lips for the rest of her life. That day had been the day that had changed both hers and Sakura's life. When she had finished her vanilla cone, Sakura cleaned her face and pulled her to her feet, lifting her up and smiling up at her. The girl couldn't comprehend what moved in her mother's eyes as she gazed up at her. When Anzu had become a young lady, she had realized it had been regret mixed with apology.

"Come on, Anzu," Sakura said, gently setting Anzu on the ground. "I'm taking you to see something beautiful. You'll love it." Anzu beamed up at her and let her hand be encased in her mother's sweaty palm. Leading her away, Sakura passed over the crosswalk to the opera house. There was a line of nicely dressed people. Anzu glanced down at her own attire. Earlier that morning, she had complained to her mother at having to wear a white dress, matching shiny shoes and stockings, and a ribbon in her hair. She only wore such attire to church.

When they came to the man taking tickets, Sakura handed him two tickets and he gestured them inside. Anzu gripped her mother's hand a bit harder, glancing around fearfully at the many crowds. Chuckling, Sakura brought her up in her arms, and maneuvered through the crowds. They were one of the last people arriving. Quickly, Sakura took their seats. The lights were beginning to dim. "Watch the stage, Anzu," Sakura quietly told her, repeating, "You'll love it."

Anzu straightened in her chair and stared at the stage intently. Lights flashed on and then the thick, red curtains pulled back. Her eyes widened slightly and she watched as a woman glided out onto the stage. She drew in a breath as she heard the soft piano music playing. The woman onstage swung around in arcs, moving with a fluid grace Anzu had never seen in anyone, not even her mother, who she considered the most graceful beauty ever. Now, she was thinking that the woman onstage was.

The piano music quickened to a six-eight rhythm. Anzu watched as another dancer came onstage, bounding towards the first dancer. They performed an articulate dance, their feet sliding over the stage, their bodies flexing easily with an unseen pressure. Never once did they touch, always seeming to evade each other. Anzu listened as the piano gave a loud clamor of notes and then halted for a few measures of rests. The first dancer collapsed to the floor and the lights on the stage dimmed. The other dancer floated off the stage and a male came on in her place. The piano picked up with a slow, leisurely rhythm. The man danced past the still woman and back to her, sliding around her.

He swept down with one leg stretched out and the other tucked beneath him as he lifted the woman up, his hands seemingly gentle with hers. Then Anzu witnessed, as the music turned less tragic-sounding and more romantic, a kind of forbidden dance between the two. The two dancers barely touched, seeming to draw away at the last moment.

One day, Anzu promised herself, I'll be just like her. I'll be pretty and dance just as good.

After the ballet was finished, with the two finally being able to stay together, Sakura took her outside and they headed home. It was quiet for a while before her mother queried, "Did you like it, Anzu?"

"Yes, mommy," Anzu replied with a bright smile. "I'm going to be a dancer someday."

"And you'll be a beautiful dancer," Sakura said with a returning smile that was touched with sadness. "Everyone will adore you." Anzu giggled and took her mother's hand and pressed it to her cheek as they walked home. When they entered the house, Anzu could hear the TV going in the living room. After removing her shoes, she ran to her father in the living room and climbed onto the couch to him.

"Daddy! I'm going to become a dancer!" She announced to him. He gave her a quizzical look and lifted her into his lap, smiling wearily.

"Is that right?"

"Yep! And you can be my partner!" He raised his eyebrows and then laughed, kissing her on the head. Sakura watched them from the doorway, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Satisfied, she left them and went upstairs.

"You'll have a prince to be your partner, angel." Anzu giggled and hugged her father around the neck, the distinct smell of his aftershave clinging to his cheek where he had shaved. It was the one scent that she could attribute to her father. "Isn't it about time for your bath? You smell like ice cream."

"I had ice cream!"

"Well, aren't you lucky?"

"I am!" He laughed and picked her up, carrying her upstairs to the bathroom. "I want a bubble bath. Can I have a bubble bath? Please? Please?"

"Sure, angel," he answered. He turned the faucet on and filled the tub with bubbles and lukewarm water. He turned to her to help her with her dress and after she was undressed, she instantly went into the tub, giving a sigh of pleasure. He chuckled and took her dirty clothes to her room to her hamper.

Once she was out, he got her in her pajamas and put her in bed. He didn't know where Sakura was, but assumed she was tired from her outing with Anzu. He kissed his daughter on the cheek, turned her nightlight on, and left her to sleep with a, "Sweet dreams, angel. I love you," to her.

She replied with a soft, "Goodnight, daddy. Love you, too."

That night, Sakura left her husband and daughter to be with another man.

That night, Anzu's life was tipped upside down without her knowing it.

Chapter One, Call for a friend

Seiji Mazaki pushed a hand through his hair and took a swig of the alcohol he was drinking. It was a mix of Coca Cola and vodka. He stared moodily down at the bills on the table. It had been fourteen years since his wife had left him. He had never seen Sakura since that night when he said 'goodnight' to her right before he shut the light off and crawled in bed. He hadn't noticed how stiff she had been until he thought over her manner the next morning. When he woke, he was alone and there was a note on the pillow. The worst part of it was seeing his daughter enter the room with her beautiful, bleary smile and ask in her sweet voice, "Where's mommy?"

Life hadn't gone so well for either of them after that. Anzu got a part-time job when she was fourteen in one of his relative's restaurants to pay for the dance classes she so desired. He had been able to keep up the payments up until then. He had to take two jobs himself and so he was always exhausted. Anzu did the shopping and cleaned the house herself. He hated having her juggle a job, school, dance classes, and housework, but she insisted on it. He never asked her questions when she went through Driver's Ed. He never asked her how she was handling it, because it was clear by the dark circles beneath her eyes that it was tiring her.

His daughter was twenty now, though, and her schooling for dance was not as academically challenging as high school had been. Her dance instructor, Madame Jeannes, tutored her now that she had just recently graduated from college. Seiji was glad his daughter was pursuing her dream so persistently. He knew she would have to leave him soon. He also knew that they would have to leave this town soon as well.

"I'm home," Anzu's gentle voice called from the entryway. Sighing, he drank the rest of his light drink and pushed up from the table to meet her. "Hi, daddy." She grinned at him, her azure orbs sparkling. She slid her shoes off and stepped up to meet him near the stairs. She hugged him and he returned it briefly.

"Anzu. We need to talk." Her smile lessened a bit.

"Okay. Let me put this milk away." She held up the carton of milk. He nodded and went to the living room, where he slumped on the couch. Everything reminded him of Sakura. He hated it. He hated living here. He could barely keep up with the payments. Usually Sakura dealt with that. It had been hard the past years and he was weary of the constant working. He just wanted to rest.

When Anzu joined him on the couch, he took her hands in his rough, callused ones and sighed. "Anzu," he said slowly, "I can't handle this on my own much longer."

"This?" She repeated in clear confusion.

"The two jobs. The house. The memories. All of it." He sighed again, this time rubbing his face. "We're moving, Anzu. I've already chosen an apartment in a few towns over. I know you don't like it, but it will work out for us both. I already have been promised a job over there, so money won't be an issue for us anymore. Can you understand this?" She stared at him for a long moment, before bowing her head and nodding.

"Daddy...I was thinking I could get my own apartment," she confessed, raising her eyes to his. "I've saved up some money and I'm sure I can find a good job to keep it going. And Madame Jeannes...She said that I'm ready to start auditioning and I don't want to keep you up at night if I'm practicing." Her father stared at her for a moment and then a smile broke out on his face.

"You've been thinking about this for awhile, haven't you?" Ashamed, Anzu nodded again in answer to him. "It's a good idea, Anzu. You're going places. That's good. We'll fix things up and see what we can do, eh?"

"That sounds awesome." He laughed and hugged her.

"We're going to do just fine, angel."

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Jounouchi Katsuya stretched his mouth in a yawn as he hopped out of the truck he was driving. He peered up at the apartment building and scratched his head, the blonde, shaggy hair fluffing out. He shook his head and sighed, going to the back and jerking the door of the truck open. "Yo, Honda! Get your ass out here and help me!" There was a jumble of words as Jou's friend replied. Rolling his eyes, the blonde muttered, "Lazy bum," and glanced to the two cars that pulled in the parking lot.

While Honda woke himself up, Jou sauntered over to the female and her elderly father. The man was saying something anxiously to her. She responded in a cheerful, positive tone and he nodded slowly. Spotting Jou coming towards them, the man raised his hand in greeting. "Hey there," Jou greeted in his usual, friendly manner. "So, just to get this straight, whose stuff are we movin'?"

"Mine," the female answered.

"Oh, okay." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, saying, "I just wanted to know because ladies are usually a lot more picky about how we handle their stuff. Now that I know that, I'll be extra careful with it." He winked at her teasingly and she laughed.

"You better!" She warned before turning to what Jou assumed was her father and hugged him hard for a moment. "I'll call you later, daddy."

"Alright..." He sent a look to Jou, before getting in his car and driving away.

"The door to the apartment should be open. The landlord said it would be as soon as the U-Haul truck pulled up," Anzu told Jou. She paused and then smiled, introducing, "I'm Anzu Mazaki, by the way."

"Jounouchi Katsuya, but call me Jou." He flashed a grin at her, asking, "Are ya moving in by yourself or do you have a husband meeting you?"

"No, I don't. Do you have a wife?"

"Nah," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I used to, but we divorced. I have a little girl, Rena, but I don't see her as much as I'd like." He smiled widely at her, saying mischievously, "She's so like me that when I do see her, I make sure she's even more like me to piss my ex-wife off." Anzu laughed. "My sister says I should be ashamed, but whatever." He shrugged again, smiling in a way that made it obvious that he was not in the least ashamed and had no intention of being so.

"Well, that's the best way to get back at people."

"I know, right?" There was a holler from Honda at the truck and he turned, his hands in his pockets. "There's my friend. I guess he finally woke up. Want me to introduce you?"

"Sure." Anzu followed him to where Honda was, rubbing his face and scowling a bit. When he saw Anzu, the scowl was replaced by a curious look. He glanced at Jou, and then returned his gaze to her, smiling slightly.

"Hey, this is Anzu Mazaki," Jou said to Honda, pointing a finger to her. "She's single." Honda flushed angrily and Jou smirked, filling Anzu in, "He and I were competing over my ex-wife, Mai, for awhile and then he started going after my sister. Rejected by both of 'em. You interested? He's desperate." Anzu giggled, surprised by Jou's easy, swaggering manner.

"Blockhead!" Honda snapped, socking his friend in the shoulder. Jou flinched, rubbing where Honda had hit him and sending him a surly look. "Jesus, you sure know how to blab about stupid shit. You don't pick up a girl by being an ass."

"Who says I was tryin' to pick her up?" Jou grumbled, dropping his hand. Honda rolled his eyes. "Besides, what would you know? I got the lady, not you."

"Yeah, and now look at where you are." Jou shrugged and turned to Anzu, who had listened to them with an amused expression on her face.

"We'll have your stuff upstairs in no time," he said brightly. He shoved Honda towards the back of the truck and she watched them, smiling to herself. She couldn't help but think that people here in Domino were a lot friendlier than those in her hometown. She had never had any close friends except for her parents. The responsibilities that had weighed on her after her mother ran off had made it so she never did the same things as those in her age group.

Oh, well, Anzu thought as she turned back to her car and grabbed a box and then headed towards the apartment. Maybe things will be better here in Domino.

Once everything was in the apartment, Jou invited Anzu to go do something some time – "Purely as a friend!" he had said – and so they exchanged numbers, along with her and Honda, who, being more solemn than Jounouchi, was the brains of their friendship, Jou being the latter. After they left, Anzu shut the door, called her father to tell him everything was going well, and then started unpacking and putting her apartment together.

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Shizuka opened the door as a knock sounded and smiled at the female at the door. There weren't many women that could stand her older brother's social nature and so she had been surprised when Jou informed her that his new lady friend would be coming over for dinner. She half-expected it to be a prostitute or some trashy girl. Instead, she was met with a soft, nicely dressed female. She was older than Shizuka by at least two years. "Hello," the woman greeted. She held up a bag, saying, "I wasn't sure if I was supposed to bring anything, so I bought some ice cream."

"Oh, how nice!" Shizuka took the ice cream and let her into the modest apartment she and her brother shared. After Jou's divorce, he and Shizuka agreed to move in together while she was going to nursing school. "Thank you, but you don't have to bring anything when you come to dinner again – you will come to dinner again?"

"Yes, of course."

"I'm Shizuka, by the way. Jounouchi's sister."

"Anzu Mazaki." Shizuka beamed at her and led her to the kitchen, where she put the ice cream in the freezer. "I love how your apartment is set up."

"Thanks, I did it myself. Jou has no artistic ability unless it has to do with food. Then he goes out of his way to make things fancy." The two girls laughed just as said brother came in the kitchen. He sent them suspicious looks as he flopped into a seat at the counter.

"What are you two talkin' about, huh?" He demanded, a twinkle in his chocolate colored eyes. "Me?"

"That's right," Shizuka replied, sharing a secretive smile with Anzu. "You know how we girls are. We love to gossip about people behind their back. Especially brothers and friends." Jou snorted and leaned back in his chair, smiling nonetheless. "Sit down, Anzu. I'm almost finished with the food." Anzu did as asked, slipping her jacket off and setting her purse on the table.

"So have you met your apartment mates yet, Anzu?" Jou spoke up in question, stretching his arms up to the ceiling and then bending them back behind his head.

"A couple," Anzu responded. "There's not really anyone my age that lives there, though, so it's not very lively conversation. So far I've met a divorced man, an elderly couple, a journalist, and an artist-in-training." Jou chuckled at the last one. "But I'm not too worried about there not being anyone my age. Once I get around town, I'm sure to meet some new people."

"Domino's a big place with a bunch of different people. You'll make friends easy, Anzu. You're like my sister – no one can hate ya." He flashed a grin to Shizuka, who was rolling her eyes. "Just by curiosity, why'd you move to Domino, anyway? The town you were in was pretty nice, wasn't it?"

"Shibuya? Well. Yeah. But I was ready to get out on my own and my dad wanted a cheaper place to live. We figured we'd move to Domino, get our own apartments and keep in contact. Besides, I prefer Domino. You're more likely to run into snobs in Shibuya." She gave a slight smile, wishing she hadn't said that about her hometown. It was true, though. Shibuya was a place for wealthy people. Anzu's mother had been a newswoman, so she made a good deal of money, and her father had a relatively nice job as a construction manager. Anzu admitted to herself that her mother had been a bit stuck-up.

"Yeah..." Jou scratched his chin idly. "The good thing is that you're not a snob like them." He smiled at her and she returned the smile.

"Are you going to school here, Anzu?" Shizuka queried as she set three plates on the table with cups, forks, and spoons.

"No, I did two years of school at dance school since that was all there was to offer over there and it gave me a degree so that, if I can't dance onstage famously, I can at least teach dance or something like that."

"Really?" Shizuka paused by the stove, her eyes bright. "You're a dancer? I'd like to see you dance sometime." Anzu's cheeks colored slightly, but she nodded nonetheless. She hadn't even danced for her father yet. "You'll need an accompanist, right?"

"An accompanist?" Anzu repeated blankly.

"Yeah. If you want to dance professionally, you're going to need an accompanist to play the piano or whatever instrument it is you choose. I've been to ballets competitions before – one of my friends used to be in ballet – and she always had to have her aunt play the piano for her." Anzu looked thoughtful as Shizuka served the food, spilling noodles onto the plates. Jou eagerly turned to his food while Shizuka turned back to get them the garlic bread from the stove. "Have you done tried out for auditions yet?"

"No, not yet. Will I need an accompanist for that?" Shizuka shrugged her shoulders daintily.

"Maybe. I'm not too sure. You should start looking, just in case." Shizuka smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Anzu. Domino has all sorts of musicians, both aspiring and famed. You'll find someone."

I hope so, Anzu thought, taking her chopsticks and picking up some noodles, blowing on them lightly. I had no idea...

When Anzu got ready to leave, Shizuka gave the number to her cell phone and suggested they have a girl's day out some time. Anzu said goodbye to the Katsuya's and left the apartment, going to the parking lot and driving home. As she drove, she brooded over what Shizuka had said. Tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, she considered who could play the piano for her. I never even noticed how the pianist's name was always mentioned with the dancer's until now, Anzu realized as she stopped at a red light. I don't know anyone close to me that can play the piano. I'll have to get a stranger. Arrgh, but how am I going to pay them? Stepping on the gas as the light turned green, she dismissed the thought of money, I'll deal with it later. Right now I have other issues to work out.

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DIS: So, what do you guys think? Just so you know, I don't know if a dancer does need a pianist or if Shibuya is full of wealthy people. A few of my facts are made up, as you can see. Anyway, please, please review on your way out to tell me what you think of it. It would be appreciated. Ciao!