Tiny Dancer Chapter 4

I would like to thank kaz for reviewing chapter 3 of this fic! I'm so glad you like it!

The days flew past like a summer's breeze for Anzu and Ryou. Now the time had arrived, the trial was today. Ryou gave Anzu a reassuring smile, but it did little to relieve her feelings as Jono drove them to the courthouse. Yuugi looked at Anzu worriedly. In the last few hours she had said little more than three sentences. He knew her well enough to know when she bit her lower lip every thirty seconds that she was nervous beyond belief.

The group had arrives twenty minutes later and they were now standing outside the courtroom door. Anzu's eyes kept shifting from side to side as she held onto Ryou's sleeve. Yuugi and Yami gave each other knowing glances from time to time.

She's scared. Can you think of anything that we can do to help her, Yami? Yuugi sent his thoughts to his Pharaoh friend.

Unfortunately, not. She has to go though this, but not alone. The Egyptian replied.

Jono looked at his two spike-haired friends and their faraway expressions. "Hey, knock it off you two. It gets annoying after awhile. Stop it."

Honda nodded his agreement, "We can't talk mind to mind like you two can, remember?"

Yuugi grinned sheepishly, "Sorry guys, we-" he cut the rest of his sentence off as Thomas Blaire and his attorney walked into the room.

"Hey, my little ballerina." Thomas said smoothly. "How are ya?"

"Just fine until you showed up." Anzu said quietly, taking a small step behind Ryou. Who, by the way, was absolutely livid.

"Just go, Thomas." Ryou growled. "This will be settled within the next few hours."

"We'll see, ya little wuss." Thomas snickered, flexing his muscles.

Anzu knew something was wrong when a sadistic chuckled escaped from Ryou's mouth. Anzu almost panicked when her fears came true.

"A wuss, am I?" Bakura grinned, taking slow, measured steps towards Thomas. "How about I show you-"

Anzu yanked on his sleeve, "If you'll excuse us. Come along, Ryou." She pulled him down a small corridor, leaving several black expressions in their wake.

The brunette turned to face Bakura and sighed forcibly. "Just what the heck are you doing here?"

Bakura's eyes took on an evil glint, "Why, I was just about to send that foolish mortal to the Shadow Realm. Frankly it would have saved you all the trouble of having to go through this stupid trial. You know very well that even without my Millennium Ring I can send fools to their deaths." He chuckled at her.

"Sure, how would we have explained that? 'Oh. My boyfriend has another spirit dwelling in his mind, which happens to like sending people he doesn't like to a place called the Shadow Realm.' Real convincing there, Bakura." Anzu grumbled, "Just go, please."

"Fine." With that he was gone, leaving behind a very dazed Ryou. He shook his head as if to clear it.

"He didn't do too much damage, did he?" the brown-eyed young man asked quietly.

"No, fortunately I got him out of there before Thomas got handed a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm." Anzu explained.

"That would have been hard to explain." He said with a smile, "Let's head back."

"Yeah." Anzu smiled back at her love as they headed back to their friends.

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Back in the waiting room the friends turned their heads to the couple as they entered. Thankfully Thomas had proceeded into the courtroom and was nowhere in sight.

"Bakura?" Honda simply asked. For his answer Anzu and Ryou nodded their heads. "Man, even without that Millennium Ring that guy still manages to show up at the wrong time."

"Is any time the right time for Bakura to show up?" Jono remarked, "I mean, that guy's a total nutcase."

"I agree with you, Jono. But much to my disgust, he's as much a part of me as a whole as I am. I can't be rid of him." Ryou said sadly, "I have come to that conclusion and I have accepted it."

Just as they were about to continue the conversation Anzu's attorney, Yuka Takimi, walked into the room. She was a petit woman in her early thirties. She had short, jet black hair and intelligent eyes.

"Mrs. Blaire, it's nice to see you again." Yuka smiled, "Don't worry. We'll put that guy where he belongs, and if he only gets a year or two …well, let's just say I'll make it so he doesn't get anywhere near you. Not to mention your divorce papers are ready." She was brimming with confidence. Yuugi smiled, knowing Anzu was in good hands. Ryou had picked an excellent attorney.

"I have faith in you, Yuka." Anzu said, "I'm glad that you agreed to be my attorney."

"It's my pleasure. If I could, I'd work on cases like this all the time. I just can't stand seeing this happen. It's all too commonplace these days." Yuka Takimi assured her, "Let's get started." She spun on her heel and made her way into the courtroom, followed closely by the six friends.

The formal proceedings went off without a hitch. Yuka presented Anzu's case with confidence. The police report, the pictures Ryou's had taken of her the day they left Domino City, everything. Lt. Kamiya was present as well, giving more credibility to their cause. Things started out bad for Thomas, but his attorney, Haku Tonaru, promised him that things couldn't get any worse. That promise was broken when Judge Kazumi asked them both to explain Anzu's bruises.

Funny, Haku said that the pictures were altered at the same time Thomas tried to pass off the bruises as coming from when they were wrestling playfully.

Judge Kazumi looked at both questioningly, "So which is it? The pictures are altered or they came from wrestling. You can't have it both ways gentlemen. It's not how this court works." No forthcoming answers came from the two so Yuka decided to take matters into her own hands.

She stood up from her chair and cleared her throat, "Your honor, if I may speak."

"Granted, counselor."

"As you can tell, they obviously can't get their stories straight. It's seems they haven't had enough time to rehearse. My conclusion is that they're both lying." She was about to continue when Haku Tonaru interrupted her.

"Objection! She's accusing us of lying, without having substantial proof." He shouted angrily.

"Accepted, but let me ask you a question. Can you prove whether either you, or Mr. Blaire aren't lying." Kazumi countered.

"Uh, I…"

"I suggest you sit down, counselor."

"Yes sir."

All around them, the courtroom quieted. The jury's exclamations of disgust were heard clearly. All fifteen votes were guilty. The images and the reports were all the proof needed to convict Thomas Blaire of Spousal Abuse. The judge slapped him with a two-year sentence, parole available only after the first year ended, and community service for six months during the second year.

Anzu hugged Yuka, "Thank you. You helped me, and I can never repay you for this. If you ever need anything, just call."

Yuka smiled and returned the hug, "Listen, I'm going to do something not to many attorneys do. I'm waiving the fee, in place of a favor."

"Of course, what is it?" Anzu replied, more then happy to help.

"My daughter, Yuri, wants to learn ballet. Could you possibly find time to teach her? It's not easy to find a ballet teacher here in Japan."

"Consider it done. Call me whenever she wants to start, I'll make time for her."

"Thanks."

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That night, Yuugi held a celebration at his house. And of course, they all played Duel Monsters. Ryou had to chuckle at his favorite card. An Angel's wing on one side, and a demon's wing on the other. How fitting, considering his other half. He fished around in his pocket, and pulled out a small box.

"E-everyone, I'd like you all to bear witness to what I'm about to do." Ryou said then took a deep breath, realizing what he had done. He was stuttering again. Anzu looked at him curiously. Great, she knew he was nervous.

"C'mon Ryou, spit it out man." Honda urged him on. The rest of the gang nodded encouragingly at him.

"Okay, here it goes." Ryou took a deep, deep breath. "Anzuwouldyoumarryme?!"

"What the heck did you just say?" Yami stared blankly at him, "Repeat it, nice and slowly."

"A-Anzu, w-would you marry me?" Ryou said calmly, but he had stuttered again. He pulled out a simple ring from the box. It was nothing fancy, but to Anzu it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"Nothing could stop me from saying yes." Anzu let him put the ring on her finger and the gang let out a unified whoop of delight.

A/N: I may or may not write the chapter about Anzu and Ryou's wedding. Right now I'm just lucky I was able to finish this chapter with a splint on my right index finger.
(Slicing your finger [at the middle knuckle] on a jagged edge of a Crisco tin is not fun. Or pretty. Thank the Lord I didn't need a stitch put in it.) Please review! It would be most appreciated!