This has been in my fanfic folder for months now. The other half is in my notebook and I'm still tweaking (just figured out how to end it!). I figured I'd go ahead a post this now to give me some incentive to finish the rest. I own nothing. And for those that read "Sorry", it's just a one-shot. I thought I would indulge my inner azureshipper. The rp ended with Anzu staying with Yami.

Breaking Point

Part 1

Yami watched the graceful dancer from his place in the Soul Room. He watched her as she walked beside Yuugi from class to class. As she leaned over her desk, focused intently on her work, her chocolate locks falling over her pale face like a curtain that he so longed to bush back behind her ear so that he may once more gaze upon the childlike innocence and beauty in her face.

Yami did not have many hobbies. Duel Monsters and wandering his rooms, searching for answer to his clouded past was all he had. Since he was a spirit, he didn't need sleep. He was forever awake. He never missed a moment of Yuugi's life.

So, naturally, Yami turned his sights on Yuugi's friends. They provided him with entertainment. The way they bantered with each other. The way they supported each other. It amazed the ancient spirit.

However, nothing so amazed him than Anzu. Watching over Anzu became his favorite past time. It gave him something to do besides wandering the halls that never changed or structuring his beloved deck.

His feelings towards her had been friendship at first. Something about her made him feel different; lighter. Being with her or just being in her presence inside Yuugi was enough to make him believe, for just a few moments, that he wasn't a monster, that he was apart of her world. That every Penalty Game he had served had never happened.

She was like a drug. She made him feel, what was the word…'high.' It was a feeling he never wanted to come down from.

Everyday, she grew more beautiful to him as he discovered something new about her. Like the way that when she smiled, her cheeks turned slightly pink and her eyes sparkled. Or the way that her upper lip was slightly larger than her bottom lip and that her lips themselves were shaped like a finely made bow.

It wasn't long before he realized that he loved her.

He would find excuses to spend time with her. And Yuugi, Ra bless him, allowed him those times with her.

Once, Yami had told Yuugi that he wanted to help Anzu with something. Yuugi, innocent little Yuugi, had smiled and said, "Sure, Pharaoh."

The spirit had called Anzu and asked her to meet him at the small dinner they had had lunch at on their "date" a year ago. Anzu easily agreed.

Twenty minutes later, they were once more sitting at a small table drinking milkshakes. (Even though Yami found the refreshment rather disgusting, Anzu loved them and he drank them to make her happy.)

She cutely slurped her strawberry shake once more before sitting it on the table. "So, Pharaoh, what's up?" She asked kindly, smiling.

And that was something else he loved about her. She always had a smile on her face.

Yami glanced down at his shake, his fingers gripping it lightly. "I…wanted to know if you had practiced your dueling anymore." He lied.

He looked back at her through his golden fringe. Her smile faltered slightly and her eyes saddened, her brows pulling together a little. If he had not known her so well, he would not have even noticed the minute changes.

"After my duel with Krump, I've not wanted to duel much anymore." She answered him softly.

He wanted to slap himself. Of course. Why would she want to duel again after Krump had forced her into her last duel? That was probably what had her upset: Thinking about how she had nearly lost her mind.

"Oh. Of course. That is understandable." He muttered.

She captured her bottom lip in her teeth for a moment, rubbing it back and forth under her upper teeth. "Is that…all you wanted, Yami?" She whispered, hope dwelling in her oceanic eyes.

The Pharaoh looked back down at his shake. "Yes." He lied again. He then took a small sip of bitterly sweet drink.

"Oh." Was her quiet answer.

Yami knew then she wasn't upset about dueling…

He decided to leave her alone for awhile.

It had been about a month until he returned to observing Anzu from afar. He had picked up on a usual feeling coming from Yuugi: worry. It didn't take long to leaf threw his hikari's memories to learn the cause of it.

Rage boiled inside of the ancient Pharaoh at what he saw. The darkness that he had so well kept locked inside, began to claw to the surface like a trapped monster.

The students of Domino High were spreading rumors about his precious Anzu.

"Look at the way she is always hanging around Mutou."

"She's such a slut."

"It's because he's so good at Duel Monsters."

"She's just pretending to like it. She just wants to be popular."

"She can't even play the game. She's just a fangirl."

And that was just from the girls. The boys were far worse (in his opinion).

"She thinks Mutou is a real man? She should see me."

"Look at those short skirts of hers. Let me tell you what they are: easy access."

The difference between what the genders were saying was that the girls were just jealous. Meanwhile, most of the males were jostling each other in hopes of being the first one to get to Anzu. They wanted to have sex with her with or without her permission.

As Yami observed the desirable girl. She appeared to not be affected by what was whispered around her. She still smiled. She still went home with Yuugi after school and watched him as he worked and played in the game shop. She kept going to work at five everyday.

And though the harsh and untrue words spoken about her made Yami want to mind crush everyone involved, the spirit refrained from doing so. He knew that she would not like it. She could never harm another being or ask them to be harmed, no matter what they did to her or her friends. She always believed that a fair justice would be served to them. He wondered with amusement how she would feel if she learned that he had served his own version of "fair justice" to a few humans that had treated her poorly.

Regardless, that was another reason why he loved her. She was always so peaceful. However, she could also get fired up enough to make even him nervous. Her light and pure soul, though laced with a spice all her own, attracted his dark and tainted one, similar to the way his aibou's did.

Though, as the weeks went by, Yami began to notice subtle changes in Anzu. Her eyes began to dull, no longer shinning as brightly as they once did. She kept to herself and barely spoke to the gang anymore. Yami could sense Yuugi's growing distress about the situation.

To Be Continued...

The rest will be up soon.

~MutantEnemy6789