I'm back! Well, I didn't get around to fixing chapter three because I've started on a new story, and well, I simply don't know what to do with it.

I managed to get this chapter up relatively fast [well, in my world! and the consequence is that it isn't well-edited. I also reread some of the other chapters and noticed some grammar mistakes. I'll get around to fixing them, but for now, enjoy!

Chapter Six : Beginnings and Endings

The first week in Nice was absolutely awful. It was ironic that the weather was perfect and Seto's business dealings were going exactly as he would like, but none of that affected the icy tension inside the stoic house.

It got slightly better the second week, when Mokuba joined his elder brother and sister-in-law, but even his presence did nothing to lift the cold mood. Mokuba was uncomfortable around Seto for the first time in a long time.

He understood that Seto was deeply hurt and upset, and Mokuba couldn't help but feel numbly guilty at his hand in all of it. Most of all, Mokuba regretted that nothing had turned out all right.

As for Naomi, Mokuba was always a bit wary of her. Perhaps it was she was the mere replacement after Anzu had left, and Mokuba had wanted Anzu and Seto to get along so badly, but something about Naomi always threw him off. He couldn't understand why she married Seto.

Despite the fact that Mokuba didn't like Naomi for being in the position that Anzu should've been in, he did like the girl. She was beautiful, kind and seemed to genuinely care in some degree for Seto.

Mokuba had learned to accept Naomi as a good person, but just not as his sister-in-law. However, he was happy that she treated Seto well. She complimented him and seemed to somehow really understand the good beneath him, although she was never really in love with him. That was obvious.

Every meal for awhile was very awkward and cold. But after awhile it began to get better. Perhaps it was the absence of Seto, who took to eating in his room, unable to join Naomi and Mokuba for even a mere moment.

Naomi and Mokuba began to talk, for lack of anything else to do inside of the cold house. At first it was just exchanging pleasantries. A simple, "how are you doing?" or "lovely weather" remark would be spoken over simple meals.

Then they began to talk, on a more personal level. They enjoyed each other's company, but there was just that one barrier that was so evident whenever they met. Seto was obviously deeply unhappy, and neither of them could do much about it.

Naomi had tried just being nice to him and comforting him in the way that she would her younger brothers, but as she would later describe to Mokuba, "it was absolutely useless. The man acts like he has no purpose in the world but to be angry and to do business."

Mokuba had tried as well, but Seto avoided him greatly, as if he couldn't stand something about Mokuba. It was really painful for the young man to bear.

"I feel like we just grow further and further apart everyday, you know?" Mokuba described to Naomi one day as they strolled in her perfectly landscaped gardens.

"I understand." She had said lightly. "We were never particularly close as everyone knows, but at least, on some level I think we were friends. Now, he just doesn't talk, or do anything. I feel as if he's wasting his life."

"His damned pride." Mokuba agreed.

Naomi looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Nothing." Mokuba replied upon instinct. He never discussed the problems that Seto had with Anzu…never.

Naomi sighed. "Mokuba, even though I am not in any sense but legally, Seto's wife, you do consider me part of the family right?"

"Of course!" Mokuba said in surprise. "Naomi, I know we didn't get on that well at first. But it wasn't who you were, but…who you should've been. But still, you're great. I mean, you are good for Seto."

"I'm going to divorce him." Naomi suddenly said. It wasn't a large declaration, like an escape to freedom, but rather a small whisper, like an announcement of defeat.

Mokuba looked at her sadly. It was obviously the right thing to do, but it was still painful. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

Naomi sighed and stopped walking to look at beautiful gardens around her. "It never should've happened in the first place. I mean, I never meant…" she suddenly looked so crestfallen that Mokuba instinctively went towards her and hugged her.

"It'll all be all right." He managed to say, although he couldn't be sure.

-

Anzu was staring out the window of the plane. It was the latest flight from New York to London, and the entire plane was filled with sleepy people. She wondered what they were doing on the flight. Were they returning to family, going on adventures, or perhaps to chase their one true love?

She smiled slightly at the absurdity of the situation. The past few months were crazy. The man she hated, or loved, and just couldn't decide which had returned to torment her, or to fix his relationship with her. Why was it so confusing? Couldn't they just read each other's minds and hearts and get it over with?

Love or hate? Pain or redemption? Triumph or failure?

Anzu sighed and shivered slightly. As happy as she was to finally be brave enough to figure this whole thing out, she was terrified. Absolutely shaking-in-her-socks mortified for the future.

She could see it now. She would go in all sensibly and spill her heart on the floor. And Seto? Well, he would look at her with that annoyed expression on his face and then growl something vicious towards her. Then she would be left to cry upon his doorstep as she glanced in the window to see his gorgeous, perfect wife and him live happily ever after.

She was snapped out of her imaginings when Uncle Spencer clutched her hand. "Look here," he directed as he pointed to the guidebook in his hand, "this beach looks amazing, doesn't it dear?"

"Of course Uncle Spence."

Uncle Spencer looked at his niece over the top of his reading glasses and sighed. "He won't do that you know."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Don't worry so much. You'll do fine."

"How did you know…?"

Uncle Spencer smiled and gripped her hand tighter. "Everyone has doubts in love dear. But if you believe that there is even the smallest chance that he loves you, then don't be afraid."

Anzu smiled. She was so grateful that her uncle was there to snap her out of her pessimistic thoughts and doubts, to hold her hand, and to make sure that it turned out all right in the end.

She turned back to look out the dark window and began to think once more.

Perhaps it would turn out all right after all? They could be so happy. They could make it.

Now, when did she first begin to have that feeling?

-

It was a bright summer day and the beach was beautiful.

It wasn't like the other beaches near Domino City. On such a beautiful day, those beaches would be crowded with sweaty bodies and absurd crowds. This beach was a lot nicer.

Because Anzu's parents had dabbled in real estate before, they had bought a nice cabin about an hours drive north of the city. The cabin itself was cozy and pretty, the perfect summer home, but it was the beach that really was the real draw.

It wasn't sandy with palm trees, but quite stony and rocky, but the water was beautiful and the color was so richly deep, that it seemed like a whole new world.

"Sometimes, I think I can see North America from here." Anzu had said as she spread out her arms to embrace the wind on the shore.

"Don't fall off." Seto had warned cynically as he helped Mokuba set up the picnic area. All of Anzu's friends were there, and Seto stood out like an island in a wide ocean. Although there were smiles everywhere, Anzu's friends stared at Seto warily.

Yugi climbed up a rock to join Anzu in looking at the sea. "It looks beautiful! I'm glad that today turned out to be nice."

Anzu smiled at him. She was happy too.

Suddenly a shout broke out from the picnic area and suddenly everyone froze as they stared at Seto and Jou glaring at each other. No one knew what had happened to once again cause both of them to stare each other into the ground, but everyone knew what was going to happen next.

Mai quickly latched onto Jou's arm and began to lead him away to one of the cars. "Come on, help me grab of the coolers." She said forcefully as she dragged her away.

Seto however stomped off to his luxury car. He looked furious with his situation and his emotion definitely said, "I would be anywhere rather than here with YOU people."

Yugi turned to look at Anzu. "Are you sure inviting him was such a good idea? He doesn't seem to be enjoying himself much."

"I don't think he ever really enjoys himself. But I'm sure he'll grow to love the day. Who wouldn't?" Anzu asked.

"Seto looked upset," was all that Yugi could say. Besides for Anzu, he seemed to be the only other person in their group who even mildly cared for Seto.

Anzu sighed before she climbed off the rocks. "I'll be right back," she noted and walked towards where Seto had disappeared.

She really wanted this to work. Although she knew and understood that Seto would never be a part of their best-friends-forever group, especially with Jou, she just wished he could enjoy himself. It was the least she could want for a friend.

She walked up to his expensive car but he was nowhere around. Mokuba walked up towards her holding some drinks and pointed towards a crop of deep trees. "He walked into there." He explained. "He didn't look too happy."

Anzu nodded. "Thanks. Tell everyone else to use the cabin or go swimming as they wish. I'll be back with Mr. Sunshine in a minute."

Mokuba smiled, as if she had just made a joke. "Good luck in getting him back so fast."

Anzu sighed and laughed slightly. "Thanks."

She set off towards the woods, they were lovely that day. The sun shone in random fragments through the foliage and she enjoyed the relaxing shade the trees provided.

It took her awhile, but Anzu eventually found Seto. He was sitting at the edge of a small cliff clasping his knees casually, looking out towards the ocean with an expression that Anzu had often mirrored whilst looking towards the horizon.

She lightly crept up and sat down beside him. As he looked up at her, she let out a small smile. "It's a beautiful view, isn't it?"

"It is." Seto acknowledged.

"Are you and Jou okay?" she asked softly.

"Are we ever?" he retorted.

"Look. I know it's hard for you, but could you just try and get along with him? Perhaps you would like him if you just got to know him a bit better!" Anzu said logically.

Seto laughed dryily. "I'm sure that Napoleon and Wellington or Hitler and Churchill would like each other better if they just got to know each other a bit better."

"Do you really see Jou and yours' relationship as a battle, or a war?"

"We don't have a relationship. Fact is, I don't make relationships. Look at today. I'm awkward and terribly out of place out there. None of them like me. I'm intruding in your circle of friends." Seto said bitterly, in a rare moment of heartfelt speech.

Anzu smiled sincerely at him. "That's not true. You belong here because I invited you and you are my friend."

Seto didn't reply and it was quiet before a sudden splash and a yell followed by laughter interrupted the tranquil area.

"Well, the party got started." Anzu remarked.

"Hmm." Seto murmured glumly.

Anzu sighed and dropped her legs over the edge of the cliff. "Couldn't you just pretend to have some fun? Go for a swim?"

"I'm not swimming." Seto said indignantly.

"Why not? It's the perfect weather for swimming. The water's excellent, I assure you."

"…I don't swim."

Anzu suddenly chuckled. "Can you NOT swim?"

"No!" Seto said darkly, as if the very thought was outrageous. "I just don't like to."

"Well, that's fair. But are you just going to sit around and mope?" Anzu asked.

"No."

There was another silence that followed, and the faint echoes of the party near the cabin were evident. Even though the silence would otherwise be very uncomfortable, both of them found themselves enjoying it. It was just the forest, the wide, stretching-out-forever ocean…and them.

Anzu suddenly spoke. "It's nice you know? How far we've gotten. I remember a year ago I couldn't stand you. I thought you were this jerk, and well, you really did act like one. But now? We can actually just sit here and enjoy each other's company."

"It…it…it is nice, I suppose." Seto managed to admit, although it obvious pained him to do so. Anzu smiled at his sincerity.

"You know, I never got to repay you for dumping me in the lake after I got you back your scarf."

"What? YOU fell!" Seto said indignantly.

Anzu laughed. "Oh really? You know, as a young girl I used to cannonball down this cliff."

"What does that have to do with anything…?" Seto asked uneasily. Anzu had an evil glint in her eye.

"We are friends, right?" she suddenly asked.

"Sure. Just…not when you're planning something."

Anzu laughed again. "I'm not planning anything."

"You're going to throw me off this cliff."

"A suspicious one, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm not stupid. And, don't even think about it. I told you I don't want to swim. Don't torture me by making me do so."

Anzu surprisingly smiled. "I won't Seto. Because you know why? Because we're friends."

Seto looked at her in shock, at her genuine smile and happy face. She looked like a friend.

He turned back to the ocean. Anzu barely caught it, but she would treasure his next words for the rest of her life. "Thank you." He said.

She laughed and then stood up. She held out a hand. "Would you like to join me for a swim, friend?" she asked sweetly.

Seto growled and turned back to staring at the horizon. "No."

"I promise it'll be fun! You won't get hurt, and I'll save you if you drown."

"I won't drown."

"But you'll stifle from just moping all the time. Come on! Join me! Then I'll race you back to the cabin."

"Why are you so intent on this?"

"Because, I just want us to have a good time. As much as I enjoy just sitting here and staring at the horizon until infinity passes by, I just think we could use some fun. Besides, the rest of the gang might begin to think that we got lost or something."

Seto was silent, and Anzu was unsure of what he would do. Finally, he stood up. "Are you sure that it's absolutely safe? No sharp rocks down there that will impale us? No sharks?"

"It's perfectly safe," Anzu assured, "I used to jump off here all the time. It's deeper than you can imagine. But as for sharks…well, there have been some deaths around here."

"Okay," was all Seto said. Suddenly, with an emotionless face, he walked towards Anzu and wrapped his arms around her and picked her up.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?" Anzu yelled as she struggled. His skin was soft against hers, and her yelling was also a buffer to hide her blushing.

Seto didn't answer, and unceremoniously just dropped her off that cliff.

Anzu wasn't scared, but in that moment, where there was nothing underneath her feet, and the sky towards her, she suddenly realized something.

She liked the feeling of being held, safe in his arms.

She hit the water softly and she quickly surfaced again, blowing her hair out of her face as she kicked her way steady over the surface. She was glad that she wasn't wearing much cotton and she could stay afloat rather easily. "What was that for?" She yelled.

She could hear Seto yell back, "I was being a gentleman."

"What?!" Anzu yelled in surprise.

"I'm giving you a head start!"

"Oh! You!" Anzu shook with fury. "Just wait until I beat you back to the cabin!"

She turned to begin the slow, weighted swim back but she was sure that she heard a sincere laugh behind her.

In that leisurely swim back to the cabin, Anzu realized something that would affect the next years of her life. She liked being around Seto, she liked talking to him, she liked his arms around her.

Simply, she really liked him.

-

Mokuba sat on the patio bench, taking long deep breaths as he waited outside in the beautiful fresh air. The door cracked open and Naomi slowly crawled out.

She sat down slowly and sighed deeply as she turned to Mokuba. "I did it. I told him." She managed to breathe out.

"What happened?" Mokuba asked eagerly.

"It happened just like every other conversation we have. We both just said our pieces. He's not upset or anything. I told him I'd already called the lawyers and he simply said he'd sign the papers as soon as he got them."

"He didn't seem to be really upset or anything?"

"No. But I also did expect him to be relieved, or happy to see this moment come. He was simply like a rock. It didn't matter to him." Naomi explained quietly.

"Are you going to be okay?" Mokuba asked gently as he wrapped one arm around her quivering shoulders.

Naomi sighed again and dug her face into her hands. "I think I am, Mokuba. I don't understand why it's so hard! I mean, we never should've even been married in the first place. We're not in love. But it's still hard, you know? I feel so bad for him."

Mokuba suddenly asked, "why did you marry him in the first place?"

Naomi looked up in surprise, her beautiful eyes wide and huge with astonishment. "Why?"

"Yes. It's always been a question of mine. I mean, I like you Naomi, you're a good person. But why would you marry Seto? You said it yourself, you guys aren't in love. Was it the money?"

Naomi sighed deeply and turned back to staring at her feet. "You don't want to know."

"Naomi. Please, he's my brother, and you're my friend. Can you please just tell me?"

Naomi nodded slightly as she turned to face Mokuba.

Suddenly, a sudden squeak came from the road as a dark and very expensive car pulled up in front of Naomi's villa.

"My mother." Naomi breathed silently.

Mokuba looked at her quizzically. "Your mother? In the car, or was she the reason for you marrying Seto?"

Naomi took a deep breath and looked Mokuba in the eye. "Both."

"What do you mean?"

"Behind that dark veil and expensive door of an expensive environment-killing car is my mother. You haven't met her before have you? Well, I'm not surprised as I don't exactly like to show her off."

Sure enough, the chauffeur of the car opened the back door and an elderly woman emerged. She was thinner than unhealthy for her age and wore a short and very tight black dress. She had on massive shades that dwarfed her face, but she walked with the air of owning the world.

"Darling!" Naomi's mother gushed as she approached the house. Mokuba watched her chauffeur struggle with her extreme amount of bags.

"Hello mother." Naomi said blandly as she stood up. "Mother, this is Mokuba Kaiba. Mokuba, this is my mother, Akane."

"Nice to meet you." Mokuba managed to say politely, careful not to stifle on Akane's enormous amount of perfume.

"You too." Akane returned plainly before turning with a million-watt smile towards her daughter. "Now, what's this I hear from the lawyers about you getting some silly divorce?"

-

It was the first time Seto had been outside of the villa in Nice except for a business meeting. He needed a breath of fresh air after the startling bit of news he had received.

He was getting divorced.

It wasn't like he didn't see it coming, or was overly upset that it did happen, but it was still an odd feeling. As much as he didn't adore Naomi in the way that a husband should his wife, he did like her. She was always there for him. To come with him to parties and play the wonderful trophy wife to his sulky attitude.

Most of all, she did in some way keep his mind off of Anzu.

Seto had known from the beginning that the only reason that Naomi had even suggested the idea of marriage was because of her malicious, conniving mother that smelled like a perfume catalogue. And he had agreed because he simply couldn't understand why not.

Naomi was nice, and helpful, and perhaps he would learn to forget about Anzu. That didn't work. And now, this wasn't working either.

Seto sighed darkly and wandered further into the maze of plants in the garden. He had been so angry since New York, and he really didn't know what could help him now.

What did Anzu once say to him? Something about stifling from moping? Well, that's what he was doing now.

Seto growled softly at his own weakness. Why couldn't he just let go of her? Why couldn't she just stop bothering him, even when she wasn't there?

Everything was so confusing, and so difficult to deal with.

Over the past weeks, he had finally came to understand that there was something that he felt for Anzu, even though it still hurt after admitting it. The only question now was what was he going to do about it?

He couldn't just forget about her. He had tried that already. What could he do?

There was no way that proud and well-respected Seto Kaiba was going to go pleading or spilling his heart out to her. That was just an outrageous thought for him.

But, oh, he did want her so badly. He could still remember a beautiful summer day when he had held her [before dumping her off a cliff, but he could still remember the wonderful feeling that he had gotten.

He needed to do something about the feeling in his heart that seemed to be stifling him for the past five years. He needed Anzu, no matter how much he could deny it. But how could he get her, after all those electric moments in New York?

She didn't trust him. She would never listen to him. She would probably never see him again.

He couldn't let that happen. But what could he do?

Suddenly a thought came to Seto. Being a charming gentlemen or making a girl like him was definitely not his area of expertise, but he could get help, couldn't he? Who better than that blonde woman who seemed able to get anyone she wanted?

Seto fished his cell phone out of his pocket and began to dial. He was going to find out if Mai and Jou were still in Nice…

-

All right, only a few more chapters now, because as you can tell, the emotions are running high. And Mai and Jou are suddenly playing a big part in this story because I like them. And I've always liked the idea of Mai playing matchmaker, or giving relationship advice to Seto.

And please, leave me some feedback, because I love to hear from you guys! 'till next time!

MINTT