Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters presented here and am not making any profit off of this whatsoever.
Story Title: This Time, It's Me
Chapter Title: Prelude To The Beginning
Story Word Count: 45,702
Chapter Word Count: 3,812
Rated: PG-13
Romance: Honda x Anzu
Notes: This takes place a few months after the Ceremonial Duel, in the closing weeks of their third year of high school. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.
Summary: As Valentine's Day draws near, Anzu wavers between just sticking to her obligations, or stepping away to follow the call of her heart.

The day had come at last. It was finally Valentine's Day. Anzu stared down at the extra bag hanging off of her arm and tried not to be too nervous about that one bag. She'd bought all the others for the rest of her friends at the store, and would hand them out once everyone got there. The rules about dating weren't exactly lifted this day, but the teachers, for the most part, would look the other way for gift exchanges.

She had worked hard to get the cupcakes done properly, and it had taken her about four tries before she had them the way that she wanted them to be. The rejects would be coming to the dinner table as dessert until they were all gone. At least they were edible. Some people might've even thought they were good enough as they were. Anzu wasn't one of them.

"Hey, Anzu!" Jounouchi waved to her as he entered the classroom. Bakura was right behind him, a quiet smile on his lips. She wondered just what had brought that on. He wasn't normally a sad person, but he very seldom actually looked this happy. Maybe he'd decided to accept someone's Valentine's offering? She wouldn't ask, though. That would be much too rude. Not that she wasn't a little curious, of course.

"Hi. How's it going?" She smiled back at Jounouchi and nodded, not surprised to hear his response including Mai and a package of homemade cookies that had found their way to him that morning. She was glad she'd told the blonde just which type Jounouchi liked. Anything she could do to help out a friend was worth it.

A few other people came in, and she spied a few bags, some bearing the mark of Sweet Stuff, being passed around here and there. No one seemed to be doing anything other than the normal obligation chocolates this year in their class. No one, that was, except for her.

She swallowed briefly, trying to focus on anything but the bag of candy there. Where was Honda? When was he going to come in? Otogi had already been in there when she'd gotten there, and they'd exchanged a few pleasant words before everyone else started to trickle in. Only Honda and Yuugi hadn't come in yet.

Were Johji and his mother still visiting the Hondas? If she had to go over there to deliver this and put up with that little brat...well, she didn't know if it would be worth it or not but finding out the hard way wasn't really what she wanted to do. But she would if she had to.

A familiar figure turned the corner into the room and she smiled at Yuugi as he came over to settle into his seat. He glanced at her warmly once he'd put his books away. "Honda's going to be right in. He had to take care of some things." For a moment, she wondered if he were going to say something else, but he only closed his mouth a little firmly and started to sort through his pens and pencils as if they were the most interesting items possible at the moment.

Three other people entered before Honda strolled in calmly. There was a small box on top of his usual stack of books, and Anzu wondered what it was. She hadn't ever seen him with it before. He went over to his seat and put everything down, one hand resting on the box for a moment. He started to turn towards Anzu, and she jumped quickly to get the bag with the sweets, jolted into action by his movement.

"All right, here you all go," she said, trying not to sound too nervous at the prospect of handing this traditional treat out. She opened her bag and handed around each one of the chocolates she'd picked out for them all, saving Honda's until the last. Finally she pulled it out and stepped over to him. He'd watched the whole time, one hand on the box, not saying anything or moving so much as an inch. She wondered what was going on behind those warm eyes she liked watching so very much. I hope he likes this. Memories of a year earlier tried to rise up, and she pushed them back down. Honda knew what this was all about. They already liked each other. She wasn't risking making such a fool of herself again.

She held the bag out to him quietly and met his eyes. "I made these for you myself," she said quietly and firmly. She wanted him to know it wasn't obligation chocolate in his bag. "They're cupcakes. I hope you like them."

Honda nodded, his lips curving upward a little, and accepted the bag. Then he held the box out to her. "I got this for you. I hope you like it." Just like before with Yuugi, he looked as if he were about to say something else, then stopped himself. "But you probably shouldn't look at it now. I mean, it's class time in a few minutes, and you're going to need a lot of free time to..." He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck ruefully. "Well, you'll want some time with it. That's all. You might even have to wait til you get home."

Now that was starting to get interesting. She took the box and settled back at her desk, glancing at him every so often. He opened up the bag she'd given him and took a long breath of the cupcakes; she'd baked this last and best batch just that morning, wanting them to still be warm when she gave them to him. He didn't eat any right away, however, and after examining them for a few moments, closed the bag and put it away in his desk.

She looked at the box he'd given her and resisted the temptation to rattle it around. Instead, she simply put it away as well. She was on fire to know just what was in it. Her fingers itched to tear into the wrappings and see what lay beneath and inside. It had to be something good and interesting. But just what? What did you really give someone when you hadn't even been on a proper date.

I still need to fix that. There hadn't yet been what she would consider a proper chance to ask him what he thought of going to a museum for their first date. She made up her mind that once she found out what was in this box, she'd do it, even if she had to call him to do so, instead of face to face. She could probably do it now, but that would be risking a bit too much of the teacher's goodwill.

Speaking of the teacher, the first of them entered the classroom now, and shot a dour look at them all. "Please get all of that candy out of sight right now. This is a learning institution, not a singles bar, and I expect you all to pay attention and do some learning. You may have only a few more weeks left of school, but you are going to work during them."

Anzu had heard that this particular teacher tended to give this exact same speech every Valentine's Day and White Day, especially to those in the third year. She settled back, glad she had already put Honda's gift out of sight, and opened her book once he'd told them where he was starting for the day. She was going to make certain nothing happened to this box until she was ready to take it home.

The day slowly clicked by, each class period passing as if it were made of molasses instead of seconds and minutes. Whenever Anzu had to reach into her desk for something, her fingers brushed against the box, and a pleasant shiver ran down her spine. She tried not to think too much about it, knowing she wasn't going to have time to really look at it until after school and work. She would be needed at the store tonight, she knew. There were always people who waited until the very last minute to get what they needed.

At last, lunch time came around, and everyone pulled a little closer together to eat. The first thing Anzu noticed was that Bakura's earlier smile hadn't changed a bit. Really, he must have done something with someone. She didn't know what or with who, but he looked as happy as she felt whenever she thought that much about being with Honda.

"All right, spill it, Bakura." Anzu might've been concerned with how rude it might've been to ask, but Jounouchi didn't feel that same restraint. "You've been grinning like an idiot all day. So who is it?"

Bakura's pale cheeks flushed a deep red, and Anzu smacked the blond's arm quickly. "Jounouchi! He doesn't have to tell us if he doesn't want to! It's his business, not ours!"

"Aw, come on, Anzu!" Jounouchi openly whined and tried to pout at her. She didn't fall for it. She'd seen him do it too many times. "I know you want to know as much as I do!"

She only shook her head. "It's private between them, obviously." If Bakura wanted them to know, then they would know. She didn't think it was any of them, though. She hoped she would have noticed Bakura and whoever it was talking or something. It wasn't anything to get worked up about if she hadn't, but still...she liked to think she was a little more observant than that.

So observant that you didn't notice Honda liking you until he really started to show it, some part of her mind whispered. She harshly told it to be quiet and ate her lunch fiercely, keeping one eye on Jounouchi to be certain he didn't start prying at Bakura again. Her other eye was on Honda, wondering just what he thought about the cupcakes, since he was sampling one with his own food.

She hoped she'd made them as well as she'd hoped. She'd sampled one once they were out of the oven, but if Honda didn't like cupcakes, or just didn't like that many sweet things, she had no idea of what she'd try to do next. The gesture itself was what supposedly counted the most, but she at least wanted to make a good gesture instead of flailing about wildly.

"These are really great, Anzu," Honda said suddenly, looking up at her. He was even smiling, and she returned the expression, her heart swelling up with joy. He'd liked them. She hadn't screwed up this time.

"Not surprised," Yuugi piped in. "I bet you worked on them a lot, didn't you?"

She knew she was blushing and nodded quickly, not even trying to hide it. It was just a blush, after all. Nothing to get that worked up about. "I've been trying to get them right for a few days. I guess I did."

"You did." Honda nodded as he looked at her. "Hey, I was wondering...tonight, instead of walking home, want a ride on my cycle? I've got a spare helmet, and we can get there in no time." From the way his eyes fell to her desk before he looked back at her, she wondered if he wanted to give her more time to deal with his strange gift.

I wonder what it is that I'm going to need all that time for. "Sure." She considered not asking, then went for it anyway. "That night that you first mentioned you liked me, I went over to Yuugi's. I heard someone riding around on a motorcycle on the way there, and we heard it again on the way back. Was that you?"

Honda ducked his head a little, and she wondered if he were actually blushing. She'd seen it before, but it was still fun to see it again. "Yeah. I wasn't really trying to...follow you or anything." He ducked his head more. "I wasn't trying not to, either."

"You did kind of scare me some." She admonished him with a sharp nod of her head. "But it's all right." She hadn't thought about the mysterious cycle sound too much after that night, but it was still good to clear things up.

Classes started back up again shortly after everyone had finished their lunch. Anzu's thoughts drifted again and again to the box in her desk, and she was hard-pressed the closer it got to the end of the day not to just yank it out and find out what was in it.

I am not going to get this thing taken away. The memory of Ms. Chono and the puzzle that Honda, Jounouchi, and Yuugi had given Miho had not faded in the years since it had happened. None of their teachers now were quite that cruel, but she still didn't want it to go anywhere but home with her. Unlike Miho, she knew who had given it to her, and she also didn't want any of the teachers trying to get them into trouble for underage dating. Candy might be overlooked and ignored for today, but something like this was a bit different.

By the time the end of the day came, Anzu had managed to avoid being held back to clean the room again by the barest of margins, and the first thing she did when the last bell rang was to scoop everything into her bag, including the box, and hurry out of school. She paused to change into her regular shoes from her school slippers, leaning against the lockers to balance herself as she made the switch.

As soon as I'm done with work and can get home, I can find out what this is. She glanced at the box quickly and smiled just at the sight of it. There had to be something special in it. Nothing she could imagine seemed to fit it, or Honda's style, at the same time. That did bode well; it meant it was going to be a surprise. Anzu liked surprises. Most of the time.

She glanced to one side as she saw someone going by her, and almost called out to Bakura once she realized it was him there. A quick glance showed her that none of the others were there, but that wasn't so surprising. They tended to be a little slower most of the time, talking about whatever plans they had for after school. And I bet the others want to know what Honda got me, if they don't already know. The guys were going to talk to each other about things they didn't talk to her about. She was used to it, even if she didn't like it.

What stopped her from saying anything was who she saw coming towards her pale-haired friend. Neither of them paid the least bit of attention to her, or anyone else. There weren't that many people who appeared to have noticed them regardless, since everyone else was so focused on getting their outside shoes on and getting out of there. Anzu tried not to move too quickly or too slowly as she straightened herself up once she'd changed. If this were what she thought it was, she didn't want them to see her and perhaps get nervous or angry.

I guess that is what I think it is. Neither of them made anything that most people would have assumed was a romantic move, but she could see both their expressions, and both sets of eyes were warmer and more caring than she'd ever seen them be towards almost anyone. She thought she even saw something that could be construed as a smile on the other's face. Wow. Imagine that.

Her gaze drifted from them towards the clock on the wall and she bit back a squeal as she realized she just had enough time to get to the train if she ran. Shouldering her bag, she hurried past them without so much as a backward glance or wave and got going towards the train station as quickly as her feet could carry her.

The thought of Bakura and his unexpected romance was shoved to the back of her mind where it belonged for the rest of the day. Her own love life was of much more interest to her right now. The thought of the box hovered, as it had since he had given it to her, just where it would pounce on her at the least little distraction.

Just as she'd presumed, the candy store was swamped with people wanting to buy either last minute obligation chocolates or the means to make their own for someone they cared about. She delivered her best service ever, smiling and suggesting for all she was worth. All the while, she kept that one little part of her mind thinking about the upcoming ride home and what could come afterwards.

When her shift ended, Honda was, of course, outside and waiting for her. This time, he had brought his motorcycle, and had the spare helmet in his hand as she came over. She glanced at the cycle curiously as she settled it on her head, more than a little nervous. This was her first time on anything like it. She did trust Honda not to have asked her if he didn't think he could handle a rider. What she did not trust was her own ability to pull this off.

"You've still got it, right?" he asked as she settled behind him. She nodded quickly.

"You're not going to give me any hints, are you?" She didn't think he would. What would be the point of a surprise if he did?

"Right." He did give her a grin, which was much nicer than a hint, really. She clasped her arms around his waist, made certain her bag was firmly secured so it wouldn't fall off, and gritted her teeth as the motorcycle started up.

Describing just how it felt was the next thing to impossible. She clung tightly as he drove along, and hoped she wasn't distracting him too much as she did. She lifted her head a little and looked around, amazed at how quickly they were going. It was an entirely different experience from being in a car, and the longer they zoomed along, the more she wanted to keep on doing this. She couldn't imagine being quite this free in any other environment. Yeah. I could really get used to this.

In far too short of a time, they pulled up outside of her house, and Anzu got off, quivering slightly from the vibrations. "That was incredible!" She exclaimed, eyes bright and happy. "When can we do that again?"

"Let me know when you've got some free time and we can go riding," Honda told her. His eyes dropped to her bag and the box, then lifted back up to her. With just that, she wondered if the contents had something to do with the ride, the cycle, or a date of some kind itself. There was only one way to find out now.

"I'll do that. Thanks!" She darted forward on the spur of the moment and gave him a lightning quick hug. His eyes widened in surprise, and she felt his own arm going around her gently, returning the squeeze. "See you later."

"Yeah. Later." He almost sounded strangled and she stifled a laugh as she stepped back and watched him go. If she'd known doing that would shock him that much, she might've done it much sooner!

She hurried inside once he was gone, and waved a quick greeting to her parents before putting her books in her room and pulling out the box. Her homework could wait. She'd delayed looking at this long enough! She tore off the wrapping and saw underneath a plain white box, which she opened in the space of a heartbeat or two. Inside, there was quite a lot of wrapping, which explained why there had been no rattling from within. She poked into it, and discovered that whatever it was, was made up of many smaller pieces, each one wrapped separately. She unwrapped the first one she picked up and blinked.

Oh. So that was what it was. A slow smile made it's way across her face as she looked at the puzzle piece in her hand. That's what he meant. He must have done this one himself, instead of asking Yuugi to do it for him.

Carefully, she unwrapped more pieces, fitting each of them together as she soon as she could. Yuugi's grandpa must have given him a different puzzle type this time, since it was larger in size and with more pieces than she remembered Miho's having been. Slowly the message began to come together piece by piece. Before too long, she was very certain of just what it said, but she refrained from reading it completely to herself until she was finished.

Finally, she placed the last piece of the puzzle, and looked down at it as a whole thing for the first time.

Anzu, I don't have any words for how I feel about you that would do you justice. You already know how much I like you. Will you go out with me this Friday night? Honda Hiroto.

She read it over and over again, then reached for her phone and dialed Honda's number. There were barely two rings before she heard his voice. "Hello?"

"What do you think about going to a museum for our date?" she asked. "There's some really cool exhibits at almost all of them right now."

"Yes!" Anzu pulled the phone away from her ear at the ecstatic shout and laughed, unable to help herself. Honda sounded more as if he'd saved the world than been told yes about a date. "I mean, sure that sounds good. What time should I pick you up?"

"Maybe we should decide which museum we're going to first?" she countered. Once all of those pesky details were out of the way and the arrangements had been made, Anzu had one other thing to tell him. "I really liked the puzzle. You did it yourself, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I wanted to be sure it really was from me this time. It's stupid, but I hoped maybe things would work out better with you than they did with Miho if I did."

"I don't think it's all that stupid," she told him with a smile she knew he didn't see, but hoped he could hear. "It's working, isn't it?"

Anzu couldn't see his smile any more than he could see hers, but she knew he was smiling all the same. "Yeah. It is."

The End