Disclaimer: I do not own Yuugiou. Enough said.

Here is the continuation to chapter 17 of Untitled Love…I know you are probably wondering why I took so long to update (about a year and a month) but I prefer not to say…Let's just say the experience was too surreal to put into words. I learned a lot the last year –especially the fact that I was so selfish to ask for a certain amount of reviews for each chapter of mine, however short they were. I now vow to make my chapters lengthier and to be more considerate of my readers' feelings. Besides, it is you guys that are keeping me afloat in the midst of the chaos and turmoil that wreaks havoc in my life. That is all.

Note: (I will now post up a more accurate version of the names; everything shall now be in html format, too)

Anzu Mazaki = Tea Gardner

Katsuya Jounouchi = Joey Wheeler

Hiroto Honda = Tristan Taylor

Shizuka Jounouchi = Serenity Wheeler

Ryuuji Otogi = Duke Delvin

"i" talking

'i' thoughts

italics flashbacks, something being read

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Untitled Love

Chapter Eighteen

"I set the whole thing up, Anzu."

"Jounouchi…How could you!?" Towering in rigid anger over Jounouchi, it was plain from the look from Anzu's face that she was ready to kill and strangle the blond –she was forced to string Yuugi along on the advice of Katsuya Jounouchi!!! The awkwardness between the two last night…It wouldn't had happened if it weren't for her friend interfering in matters that was best left to others.

"Anzu, he was desperate!! He felt it was time to put matters in his own hands after he liked you for so long…He really wanted to try things out with you!!! I tried to push him towards the right direction-"

"-What do you mean the right direction??! I have no interest in Yuugi in that way!! Do you know how things are going to be between us after that date??! Once one of us tries to be more than friends with the other then we can't go back to being just friends!! Why, Jounouchi, why…" Slumping back down into the velvet burgundy sofa, the brunette laid her head on her hands, the frustration of recent events starting to get to her. This was worse than when she was screaming outside the window before –Anzu was just sick and tired of Seto popping up in the most unnecessary times as well as having Yuugi slapped onto the scene. Add the revelation from Jounouchi and the girl was ready for mass murder.

"You have to add to my troubles…You know who I like and my heart still hasn't given up on that person! I don't want to hurt Yuugi either –he 's been my friend since we were little kids!!"

Nothing was said or done during the proceeding minutes of deafening silence. Anzu simply continued to bury her head more into her arms whilst the blond fumbled about with his undershirt collar, too uncomfortable and stunned to try to attempt anything. Finally, the silence became too much for the teenager to bear –he never was one for inactivity –and he sprung up from his seat, speaking his piece.

"Anzu, I know you like Yami!! But Yuugi wanted me to help him so much. If I refused, he would want to know why…I didn't want to tell him that the reason why he has no chance with you is because of your love for his other self!! He'll feel worse that way! That's why I gave him the tips and everything. And then I hear from Yuugi that you were looking distracted the whole date. That's why I came over here –to find out if there's somebody else behind the scenes!!"

The brunette stood up, looking Jounouchi directly in the eyes; azure met dingy gold and both stood their ground, waiting for something to crawl itself up through the surface. They were stubborn people –but even one's steadfastness couldn't last that long and Anzu grew weary. Her mouth parted to reveal the beginnings of speech and her friend didn't bother to stop or impede her in any way.

"You're right. There is somebody. But it's nobody's business but mine and the other person's. You got that clear? Meanwhile, about Yuugi…I'm going to go to his home later. Come with me, Jounouchi. You're a part of this, too."

Peering into the other's eyes for some sort of sign, Anzu walked away, her shoulder faintly brushing that of the boy's. The stalemate had ended, but who was the winner cannot be exactly determined. Looking after the girl's retreating figure, Jounouchi replayed the conversation they just had, mumbling incoherent thoughts on the side.

"But who is that somebody if he can make Anzu act like that?"

(I'm sorry to say this, but nobody got the person right. It was none other than Ryuuji. Maybe I shouldn't had put yellow as his house color if it would get so many people confused)

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"Otogi?? Are you there??"

Furiously knocking on his front door –a trait that Shizuka was sure that she didn't possess regularly- the 8th grader waited outside her crush's door, anticipating the moment when the young game shop owner might come out of the house and maybe acknowledge her as the mature 14-year old she was instead of just his friend's little sister. But before that moment can truly come, Shizuka would have to get through the ordeal of standing outside his front door first, pounding on the wood vigorously till kingdom come.

"Coming!!!"

Heart skipping a beat, the girl at once ceased her knocking, standing as straight as her back could allow her to be; her hands were at her side, gripping the fabric of her shorts in excitement and she waited for Ryuuji to come to the door and greet her, perhaps letting her come in for a while?

"Hey there, Shizuka!-"

The light-brunette waited ever more –for him to comment on how much she had grown or on how pretty she was and anything of the like.

"-Where's your brother??"

Shizuka wished she could just melt into the ground and disappear from Earth altogether. Wasn't it difficult enough that Ryuuji hardly noticed her but for him to rub in the fact that she could only merit attention if her brother was there…She didn't like to be reminded of that and the slightly frosty tone in her voice indicated her disdain.

(A/N: Even a lovesick girl like Shizuka needs some teeth)

"He went to Anzu's house. I came over here to get advice."

Ryuuji blinked once or twice before silently leading the girl into the confines of his house –the two were friends in that her brother knew him, but they weren't exactly close as they only talked with one another when Jounouchi was there. And now Shizuka needed words of wisdom from him of all people when she could have gone to a close friend such as Honda, Ryou, Yuugi, and other people she hung out more than him.

Urging the intermediate student to seat herself on one of the many armchairs and sofas scattered throughout his living room, bathed in a red and black color scheme, Ryuuji plopped himself onto the nearest thing resembling a cushion of some sort, watching Shizuka struggle to get comfortable in a black leather recliner. When it was determined that Jounouchi's imoutosan had finally finished with the chair, the game shop owner jumped right into business, mincing no words.

"What advice are you looking for? And why me??"

Gripping the hem of her shirt into both hands, the light-brunette flushed terribly, blanching at the questions her crush had brought up –now that she had been brought inside Ryuuji's living quarters, she felt suffocated by the things that he owned, all seemingly jeering at her as a incompetent fool fighting for their master's love in vain. So it was not surprising that she started to stutter and tremble visibly, making the boy opposite from her raise an eyebrow at her.

"W-Well…I'm n-not r-really s-supposed t-to b-be here…B-But oniichan was really unhappy and I wanted to m-make him feel better. I-I thought I could confide in you since the others aren't really s-supposed to know and they would only get worried and talk to my b-brother. T-They are m-more closer to him…Unlike you."

The explanation that the girl had given to Ryuuji was not far from the truth though the driving factor behind the whole visit to his house was more out of infatuation rather than helping out another in need. A slight red hue graced her cheeks and Shizuka immediately bowed her head in order to cover up her burning face, making the already muddled older boy more perplexed than ever. As far as he knew, Jounouchi's little sister had never acted as odd as she was now.

"Okay. Can you tell me what's going on with Jounouchi that not even Honda could know?"

Feeling a bit more confident, Shizuka started to relate her unfortunate oniichan's tale with no trace of her earlier awkwardness while a single thought clouded her mind –maybe Ryuuji was starting to warm to her company after all.

"Yuugi likes Anzu, but Anzu likes Yami. Yuugi doesn't know that since oniichan makes sure no information comes out of anybody about that. But a few days ago, Yuugi asked oniichan to help him ask Anzu on a date. Oniichan didn't want to do it but it was either telling Yuugi that Anzu likes his other self or helping him out. With my brother's help, Yuugi asked Anzu out. But then something weird came up during the date…"

Pausing at that spot, Shizuka struggled to remember what details Jounouchi told her about the strange event that cropped up during the unfortunate date between his friend and his childhood crush, probing her mind for any sort of memory involving Jounouchi and the words: "Okay Shizuka, here's what happened to Yuugi yesterday night…" While she tried to remember, Ryuuji digested the wealth of information that the light-brunette told him about the situation revolving around Yuugi, Anzu and Jounouchi. Frankly, it was starting to sound like a big fat soap opera to him and he felt sorry for the blond to get into such matters.

"Katsuya didn't tell me much about the strange event but I remember that he said that Anzu was distracted afterwards. Yuugi was really depressed and thought he was the worst date ever. He told oniichan what happened and he got sad since he was the one that set the whole thing up. I want advice to solve this, Ryuuji. How do I get oniichan to stop feeling like a failure and for Yuugi to feel happy again?"

Gripping the sides of the leather recliner she sat on, Shizuka posed the challenge yet again, her tone bolder and determined –something Ryuuji wouldn't have imagined when he was listening to Shizuka a few minutes ago, stuttering and rambling on and on.

"Can you tell me?? How do I help them out? I know I shouldn't be getting into such matters but it's oniichan and Yuugi we're talking about here…I want to help them and you can help me by giving me some advice."

"I…I really don't know, Shizuka."

Looking crestfallen, the girl pressed the matter on, hoping to get an adequate answer the second time around and an excuse to stay at her crush's house as long as could be. But the teenager really had no idea how to approach the issue –he had never have much experience when it came to making others happy; in fact, it seemed to be the opposite. Seeing Jounouchi's sister discouraged by his reply to her story, Ryuuji sighed inwardly, hoping that whatever came out of his mouth next made perfect sense.

"But I think I do have some kind of solution…"

An extensive in-depth conversation followed, leaving the two to squabble over a few kinks in their plan in a few cases but overall, Shizuka was made a very delighted pre-teen, as she left Ryuuji's house feeling very much accomplished and giddy. Now to initiate it and make everyone all right once more…

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Yuugi's House Above Kame Game Shop

Having gone to Yuugi's house as promised, Anzu was now sitting on the Mutous' sofa, legs crossed in an unbearably prim way –the brunette was feeling incredibly nervous by the sidelong glances that her best friend gave towards her direction, sidling along her seat as furtively as possible. Having no Jounouchi there only made her dilemma more excruciating and beads of sweat threatened to betray their position on the sides of her face as she laid her head against a cushion on the sofa, mouth trying to form the right words to break this agonizing silence. Why Jounouchi couldn't have gone with her to Yuugi's house??

"Gomen, but if I come with you, Anzu, he'll know that I told you about how his feelings about yesterday's date."

"Yuugi, I…are you mad at me for not paying you much attention yesterday?"

An incoherent answer came from his side making Anzu bend closer to the boy, straining her ears to catch what he was mumbling about, only to find out too late that she was dangerously close to his face –the already nerve-racking circumstances just turned a lot more convoluted with this new revelation and the two pulled themselves away instantly, blushing in embarrassment.

"No, I'm not mad at all, Anzu…Is that what you came over here for?"

Heart racing madly, Yuugi regretted not taking advantage of their previous position to kiss the girl on the lips –he would had like to know how Anzu's lips tasted like, but the moment was past. Yami no Yuugi, on the other hand, was pleased that the event did not happen; he had been looking in on his aibou's conversation and saw the compromising split second where Yuugi and Anzu were within an inch apart from another. Afraid that Yuugi might have attempted something rash, Yami was ready to switch possession of their bodies, but there was no need.

"Yes, but I know there's something else. You look too depressed to be the Yuugi I know. I hurt you, didn't I? Be honest and tell me."

Indecisive, Yuugi debated whether he should tell her that yes, he was dejected when Anzu wasn't paying attention to the things that he was trying to do for her during yesterday's disaster of a date, including the fact that he was still generous and kind to her needs even when she zoned out on her, or that no, he was just fine with everything. Hesitating, he decided to take the truthful way –Anzu was pleading for him to tell the truth and nothing but the truth and he didn't particularly like lying to his friends anyhow, especially his best friend of 10 years.

"You want the truth, Anzu? I was depressed at the fact that you stopped focusing on the date. I spent a lot of time trying to impress you and you didn't pay attention…Why, Anzu? Was there somebody else there? Somebody special?"

Freezing at the boy's last words, Anzu's thoughts instantly went to the enigmatic Seto Kaiba, whose motives and actions have confounded her for the last few weeks following the night the two met by Domino Bridge and bickered about morals and values –why was Kaiba constantly hounding her these days? Didn't he have something better to do than make Anzu feel inferior or baffled? And what was that kiss from last week supposed to be about?

"Yuugi –there's nobody. I was just distracted by some street sign –yeah, that's all." Secretly hoping that Yuugi might be gullible enough to fall for that ridiculous excuse, Anzu knew her prayers wouldn't going to get her anywhere when she saw the boy furrow his brows in doubt.

"A street sign?? We've been friends for years and I think I know you better than that!! I know there's somebody else involved –I even talked to Jounouchi about it!! So, why won't you tell me about this other guy?? If you like him, then why did you bother going on that date with me?"

Like?? Not only was Anzu fuming at the thought of Jounouchi suspecting that there was another guy behind the scenes, she was also irate at how he had told Yuugi all about his suspicions without even confirming with her, jumping ahead to conclusions. And how in the world did Yuugi mistake the brunette's uncomfortable silence and fear for infatuation and like??!! She didn't even want to explore the thought of being more than just acquaintances with Seto Kaiba in the first place, much less now.

"There was nobody!! Why don't you believe me at all?? I wanted to go on that date with you!! A second date would be even good, too-"

Slapping a hand over her mouth, Anzu quickly pondered the consequences of saying the words that just sprouted from her mouth just a second ago –she didn't even have to ponder about it, for Yuugi's face was enough to tell what the penalty would be.

"Did you just say…you want to go out on a second date with me??"

TBC

A/N: This is the longest chapter I ever wrote for this story –but hey, I have to make up for the year and a month that I spent in limbo. In two more weeks, I shall be graduating middle school and today I just found that I am co-salutorian!!! But anyway, the ending of this chapter is very significant; Anzu is going to have to go on a second date with Yuugi due to a slip up, creating more angst for those wanting Seto/Anzu. Hey, nobody said love was easy…Please RR and that's basically it. Thus, this update of mine officially ends my yearlong hiatus!!

.: ShinakaStar :.