In A New York Minute (Part 3)

DIMENSION: MANGA (The One That Saves the Day)

After Anzu came back with Jounouchi, and learned the terrible truth. She had to face the others now. Yuugi knew it wouldn't be easy, so he let Mai start.

"Right now, you need to be careful of anything out of the ordinary," Mai said. "Day, night, or in between. Even coming to Japan doesn't mean you're completely safe, but it would be harder to get at you."

Finally, Yuugi could step in. "I was willed the Game Shop. I'm having it reworked with an ultra efficient security system. It will be hard for anyone to bust in." Never again. Best by the Kaiba Corporation. Until Skeezy was put away, no one would even catch a hair off Anzu's head.

"Mai and I together have a decent amount so I'll stick around longer in Domino City," Jounouchi said. "No one's going to get at you or Shizuka. I'd kill them. I mean it."

Anzu hadn't said anything yet. Yuugi couldn't blame her. It was a lot to take in. Nothing was her fault, and she hadn't had anything life threatening happen since her school days. ///Anzu: It's okay. I'd take care of you. I promise, Anzu, no one's going to get you.///

"Protect yourself first. This won't last forever," Mai encouraged her. "Maybe later, shoot for the stars again. Or don't. Whichever, but right now it's not safe."

Anzu was still quiet. She probably had a lot on her mind. Up and leaving wasn't easy. Her life was there. She probably had citizenship there. Her rental. Her property. Her whole life would be upended.

"What are the chances that this really concerns me?" Anzu asked. "I guess enough that all three of you are here to talk about this." She paced the room. "Yuugi? What do you think, really?"

"Really?" Yuugi nodded. "I really don't like the way that car sped away when I went toward you, Anzu." He didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he hadn't been there.

"Wait, whoah, there was a car already here?" Jounouchi said, making a point to glare at Yuugi. "Yuugi, man! Why didn't you say something? That's it." He stood up. "Anzu." He looked at her seriously. "I told you everything you needed to know. I need that answer."

///Anzu: Everyone wants me to go back to Japan./// Anzu spoke in her head. ///Anzu: Satiah? Satiah, don't you bury yourself away right now. Satiah!///

///Satiah: Honestly. Life would be better, Anzu, and if someone is after you, it would be better to stay around a high security system and the vessel of the King of Darkness. He would kill for you.///

///Anzu: Yuugi wouldn't kill, don't say that. My life, safety wise, isn't made to handle this. I don't even have a working car. I don't know if I want to go back forever. But, I have to return long enough for this to be over. Right?///

///Satiah: We could try to stick it out. We could find a willing friend to stay with. There are several potential old ones we could try. We could go with Jounouchi and Mai, that would be a good idea.///

///Anzu: Satiah. You have to get over this fear of Yuugi. He isn't Atem. Anyhow, point being we need to do something.///

///Satiah: Yes, that we can agree on. Transport is abysmal, you are walking to and from work, and for all we know one of these fiends could be a resident in this very apartment building so it would be easier to reach you. ///

Anzu felt a small shiver. She hadn't even thought about that possibility. ///Anzu: For my safety, I should go. For my dreams. I don't even know how to tell them./// The Anzu they all know would never think it.

///Satiah: You aren't perfect. Things change. You can decide your future as you are there. Getting you to safety is the best idea for the moment, and you have Jounouchi and Mai who want to take you in.///

///Anzu: Yuugi./// "Guys." This was it. "There's something I have to tell you. I found out about something about four years ago."

///Satiah: No, Anzu, what does my identity have anything to do with this?!///

"Because I can't just hide this," Anzu answered her back, purposely out loud. Her eyes drew to Yuugi. He had such a look of worry on his face, probably expecting it to be her health. There was no turning back now. "Do you remember the Satiah card, Yuugi? Kaiba had it, and you brought a fake card to the dueling system to interact with it?"

"Uh? Yeah, I do," he said. "That card gave a bogus history to Atem about summoning the Dark Magician to make us pity her. Just because he couldn't remember and we didn't know. What about it?"

"Satiah, didn't go. She hid inside of me, and didn't share it until about four years ago with me."

"What?!" Yuugi, Jounouchi and Mai were stunned.

"Hon', you've had a spirit living inside of you?" Mai asked stunned.

"Without a millennium item?" Jounouchi was shocked too. "How's that even possible?"

"So she's been hiding in you without a container all this time?" Yuugi asked. "Can you understand her, or do you just know she's there? Do you know why she didn't move on?"

Anzu shrugged. "She said that without the blessing of the gods it shouldn't have been possible. So she just kept quiet, waiting to see what her purpose had been." Yeah. None of them looked happy. "I know that I should have said something, but she's inside me and going against her wasn't a good idea. She's pretty mad about it right now."

"What, and we don't have a right to be?" Yuugi got up and went beside her. "Anzu, you should have told us as soon as you knew there was a spirit inside of you! I've had experience with a spirit living inside of me, so you should have at least told me . There's no millennium item that's been keeping a separation, so I don't even know what to say right now. That should be impossible. Does she flip with your personality?"

"No, she can't do that," Anzu said. "I can only hear her. I'm sorry, Yuugi."

"So four years ago. About the time you started reaching out to me again," Jounouchi noticed.

Yeah. When Anzu was at her lowest of lows. Looking at her dual cards and crying at her table. Satiah spoke to her. Before that, Satiah didn't speak, or just let Anzu think she was talking to herself.

Satiah said she feared she was on a bad path, and urged her to just send a small text to Jounouchi. To start reaching out again. Ever since then, they were unseperatable.

"She tell you to get in touch with me back then?" Jounochi asked. He had already put it together.

Anzu nodded.

"Smart spirit at least," Jounouchi said. "You trust her?"

Anzu nodded again. "I know it's hard to believe, but she's been good to me. She isn't malicious."

"So you connected with Jounouchi, but not me," Yuugi pointed out. Oh. She didn't expect that. "I remember that card, and more than just its name. It lied and made Atem question his own past. She couldn't have been a summoner of the Dark Magician, no one put her behind as some sacrifice to die. She played the pity card to try and escape."

"I know that," Anzu said. "Of course I know that and I asked her about that. Even she knows that it couldn't happen now, but her mind still says that is what happened. She's a spirit and it was her last day of life. Atem didn't even have a single memory, so you need to cut her a break."

Yugi relaxed his breathing. "I'm Yuugi Mutoh. No one special. She doesn't need to feel like she needs to hide away because she . . . may have lied to create pity to get out of a game. I'm not Pharaoh or anything. I'm not him."

///Anzu: Yuugi is banging it right on the head, Satiah. Are you hearing this?/// "She can learn to get along. If." Her turn for a deep breath. "She doesn't cause any problems. Nothing follows her. So. If she doesn't . . ."

"I went through it in Death-T," Yuugi reminded her. "When I thought Honda might be dead. I revealed my connection. You stood by me then. You and Jounouchi. So. Why would I not stand by this now? Even if the spirit does mess up, it's not you."

"Agreed. You should never hide things from your friends," Jounouchi said. Mai tugged on his jacket. "What?" She looked at him oddly. "Oh. This was a hidden spirit, way different." He looked back toward Anzu. "So she was afraid of Yuugi 'cause he had Atem in him? That's lame."

///Satiah: He's lame. Mai is clearly uncomfortable around the vessel and the king talk too.///

///Anzu: Mai isn't uncomfortable around them./// Although, Anzu did notice that Mai wasn't oozing friendship.

"Yeah, sure, that's lame." Mai seemed annoyed at something. "Jounouchi."

"If Satiah wants to move on, we can try to help her move on," Yuugi said to Anzu. "If she believes she needs to stay, and you agree, then that's fine too. Nothing's changed from my end. I just want to help you . Although? I mean, she has no grave. The puzzle, it was the spirit's grave. Where they rested and could change over."

"Then again, Yuugi, you couldn't do everything at first," Jounouchi reminded him. "You said you blacked out at first. Then you said, you couldn't talk but you felt Atem's emotion. By the end of the spirit's journey, you were having outright conversations and even acted like you could see him."

"Good point," Yuugi agreed. "If she hid inside you and never communicated. Can you see her yet?"

Anzu shook her head. "No. She just says that she sort of tucks herself away in my soul."

"So there isn't a separate soul room?" Yuugi asked.

///Anzu: Separate soul room?///

///Satiah: I rest in your soul room, Anzu. There is no second room. I simply stay quiet and rest within. I only stir when I feel your emotions get stronger.///

"She said there's no separate soul room," Anzu admitted.

"So no grave. Left inside of you. Hm." Yuugi was trying to think it through. "Why wasn't she allowed to rest." Not a question, he was reasoning it out too. "So you don't see her at all? Do you hear her outside your mind?"

Anzu didn't know what he was fishing for.

"What I mean is, if when she spoke to you but never said her name, would you think that it was you talking to yourself?"

Oh. "Yes." That was easy to answer. "She has tricked me a couple times with that."

///Satiah: Anzu. Shut up./// Satiah was getting mad.

"Then it doesn't echo from a location, she is really inside of you." Yuugi looked distraught but he seemed to catch himself. He nodded his head. "Okay." Yuugi looked toward Jounouchi. They both nodded to each other.

Anzu looked at Yuugi and Jounouchi. They accepted her. "Okay."