Chapter 9: Learning To Do Without

I was awakened by someone banging on my door. Bleary-eyed, I made my way to the door and opened it.

"Geez!" Joey and a middle-aged woman were standing there. "You look like crap." He observed.

"What is it Wheeler?" My back and neck were both stiff. A bed of some kind was moving up on my priority list.

"My Mom wanted to meet you." He muttered. "Mom, Kaiba. Kaiba, Mom."

Meeting your lover's parents was supposed to be an important event. I bowed slightly. "Forgive my appearance. I was not expecting guests."

Kawai Shizuko was an average woman, not pretty but not unacceptable, with curly brown hair nothing like Joey's blond cascade. "Oh, please, pardon us! I knew it might be a bit early for you, but we're leaving for the airport shortly and, well, I just thought you might want to go with us." She smiled. "I've been hearing so much about you these last few months, I feel like I know you already."

I couldn't stop myself from yawning and nodded as I did. "Let me get dressed." I closed the door and gathered myself.

I was in the bathroom when I realize that I had just agreed to go with them to what undoubtedly would be an emotional family ordeal. I could just not go. It wasn't as if I was required to. But I had agreed to go and it would be impolite to change my mind now. I sighed. I would simply have to control my own emotions. There was no reason for me to join the histrionics; Joey and I were no longer a couple. No longer lovers. No longer friends, even.

Kawai-san had rented a van to drive Serenity, Joey and a surprisingly small amount of luggage to the airport at Osaka. Honda and I rode with them. If Joey had told me about this trip two weeks ago, I could have arranged a car to take them to a charted jet. They could have flown to the United States in comfort instead of in coach. Two weeks ago, I could have done that. Today, I can barely afford to contribute to the cost of gas for the van.

"Kaiba-san?" I realized that the small voice had called my name twice. I pulled away from my thoughts and looked at the speaker.

Kawai Serenity was a little older than Mokuba and a lot shyer. The most notable thing about her was her eyes; they were a milky brown color as if there was a film over her irises. Otherwise, she resembled her mother leaving me to suspect that Joey resembled their father.

"Yes?"

"Are you Joey's boyfriend?"

Honda snickered and I found myself flustered.

"Serenity, stop trying to embarrass your brother," Kawai-san admonished.

"Yeah!" Joey added. "Quit being a brat!"

"I am not a brat!" She objected. They bickered for a few minutes allowing me to avoid answering the question.

"So, are you?" She asked again after their dispute had settled down.

I hesitated which gave Honda time to answer for me. "Yes, he is. They just had a fight and neither of them wants to apologize first."

"Shut up, jerk," Joey groused. I didn't see a reason to reply at all.

"Oh. I see." Kawai-san glanced at me in the rear-view mirror. "Well, you could always agree to apologize at the same time."

"I have nothing to apologize for." I said simply.

Joey muttered something in English that I didn't catch and his Mother glanced at him sharply. "Joey! Not in front of your sister."

"Sorry."

Honda and Serenity carried the conversation from that point while I looked out the window and thought about what stage two of my job search should be if I needed a second stage. I was about to ask Anzu for my calendar until I realized that she wasn't there.

A phone. I needed to purchase a new phone. And a calendar. Maybe I should start my own company rather than work for someone else.

"Kaiba-san?" Kawai-san was shaking me gently. "We're here." I hadn't realized that I'd fallen sleep but I roused myself quickly to join the rest of the group.

Honda and Joey were unloading the van. I got out of the vehicle and I honestly didn't know what to do. I never carried luggage. My secretary always had my tickets and knew which gate to go to. I felt useless.

"Uhgh! I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached!" Kawai-san frantically searched her purse until she pulled out an envelope. "Oh thank God! I was afraid I'd left them at home. Kaiba-san, please keep these before I really do lose them." She handed me the tickets without waiting for my answer. "Ok. Joey, do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Sera? Last chance."

"Mom! I'm going to be in the stupid hospital the whole time. I won't need anything."

"Books, games?"

She rolled her eyes. If I had done that to my Father he would have broken my jaw. "No, Mom!"

"Ok." Kawai-san locked the van. "Ok, four kids, two tickets, car keys, the doors are locked. Everybody take a bag."

Honda took great perverse joy in handing me what must have been the heaviest piece of luggage there. I carried it simply to prove I could.

The concourse was loud. Normally, in the rare event that I was flying on a common carrier, I waited in the first class lounge where it was quiet so I could work. Honda and I waited while Kawai-san got the luggage checked and got their boarding passes.

"So you are really going to let Joey get on a plane and vanish for six months without saying anything."

"There is nothing that needs to be said."

"Kaiba, come on! At least tell him you'll miss him!"

"I won't."

"That is such a lie!" Honda nearly exploded. "I can't believe even you believe that."

"A simple act of will. I assure you I will not miss him in the slightest."

He looked at me for a moment and then shook his head. "No. I don't believe that for a minute. Not even from you, Kaiba. And if you believe it, you are seriously messed up in the head."

I shrugged. It didn't matter if he believed me or not.

Those not traveling were not allowed through security. My staff always followed me to the gate whether they were flying or not. Kawai-san was torn looking at Joey and Serenity and then Honda and I.

Joey solved it for her. "Look, Mom, you might as well head back. You still gotta work today, right?"

"Yes but -"

"Don't worry! I'll keep an eye on the squirt."

"And I'll keep the thug out of trouble." His sister countered. "You worry too much, Mom. You should have some fun while we're gone."

"I have plenty of fun with you two." She thought about it for a moment. "I guess it doesn't make much sense for us all to stand around waiting. Ok. First, a bathroom break for you, young lady."

"They have bathrooms on the plane, Mom."

Kawai-san's eyes just briefly landed on Joey and I. "Yes they do. But they have them here too so march." She paused with a significant look at Honda. "Two hours will be a long drive home."

"Yeah, no I'm — oh — yeah. Yeah, I should go too. Be back in a couple minutes."

"Subtle." Joey rolled his eyes as they all moved away leaving us as alone as possible in an airport. "Look, Tak —"

"Please don't call me that anymore." It didn't feel right to allow it.

"You have to be a dick now?"

"Just as you persist in being a foul-mouthed cur."

"You know what?" He started to speak several times but stopped. "You are such an arrogant little prick!" He finally seethed.

"I am who I am."

"You're a son of a bitch!"

"Making you a stray mutt?"

His Mother returned before we could trade any more insults. She pulled him aside after one glance at his expression.

"You guys just couldn't kiss and make up, could you?" Honda shook his head sadly.

I didn't reply; the whole trip had been a waste of my day.

There was a final moment as Honda embraced Joey when I felt a surge of jealousy. For just an instant, I wanted to shove him aside and hold Joey there, keep him from leaving at all. But it passed before they let each other go and I was able to indicate my goodbye with a slight nod. I did wish his sister well, though

We stayed until we saw them pass through security without incident and head together through the door that took them to the next concourse. Joey looked back once. Kawai-san waved frantically, but he didn't see her. Or she wasn't who he was looking for. We left immediately after that.

"So, Hiroto," Kawai-san tried to remain upbeat as we drove home, "since we're both on our own for a while, how about you let me treat you to breakfast?"

"I have never turned down a free meal." He answered laughing.

'Yes you have', I thought. 'When I brought it to your door, you said it cost too much.'

"Kaiba-san?"

Again, I had been lost in thought. "Yes?"

"What do you think, breakfast?"

I would have preferred to salvage at least part of my day but she clearly intended to stop regardless of my opinion. "If you'd like."

"Good! There's a little place we passed on the way up that had American blueberry pancakes on their sign. Have you boys ever had blueberry pancakes?" She didn't wait for either of us to answer. "Oh, my God. When I first went to America — as an exchange student, I must have been your age I think — I stayed with the Wheelers — my husband's family. Of course, he wasn't my husband then!" She laughed. "They were my host family. And his mother made blueberry pancakes for my first American breakfast. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! I could have eaten them every day!" She went on about the food, the family, American high school, anything she could think of. Honda asked a question or two each time she seemed to be running out of material and I wanted to tear my brain out the entire trip. The whole conversation gave me a raging headache. She extracted a promise from both of us to try the pancakes as we pulled into the restaurant parking lot.

I found them too sweet, but I did make a mental note to see that Mokuba tried them. I suspected they would wind up as a staple in his pantry. Honda loved them almost as much as Kawai-san did and they enjoyed themselves completely. I was aware that I would have enjoyed the meal far more if I were paying for it.

"So, Kaiba-san." She said when the conversation lulled. "Joey told me some of what you're going through right now."

I shrugged. "It will be a learning period."

"It will." She agreed. "Here." She pulled a slip of paper out of her purse — she had no trouble finding it despite the fact that it was far smaller than the earlier envelope. On it was her name and two phone numbers. "I don't expect that you would need my help with anything, but if you do need something, I hope you'd feel free to call me. Actually," she laughed to herself, "I hope you do call me. It's going to be very quiet without Joey and Serenity to look after. Honda all but takes care of himself."

"Aw!" He grinned easily. "Everybody needs a Mom sometimes. Right, Kaiba?"

No, not at all. "Yes. Of course. Thank you." I put the note in my pocket.

She paid the bill and we returned to the car. "Kaiba-san, now here's something you can do for me. You duel, right?"

I tried not to be insulted. "I am currently the number one duelist in the world."

"You or Yugi." Honda amended.

"I currently outrank him." Thanks more to Kujaku's distraction than to my own skill, but it hardly mattered.

"Even being number fifty would impress me!" She said. "I don't understand it at all. But Joey goes to those tournaments all the time and he wins impressive amounts of money — and he's not at your level, is he?"

I had to chuckle. "No."

"So I was hoping you could explain the game to me, a bit. I mean Joey has tried, but I just keep missing something. You have the cards and you have points, right?"

"Yes." We spent the rest of the drive talking about Duel Monsters and dueling. Several times I had to revise my way of describing the process either because of her lack of gaming knowledge or because of her 'parental hearing' — as she described it — getting her stuck on the wrong concept. As we neared home, I realized that the conversation was the basis for a new game manual, but no one had been taking notes and all of what was said might have been lost. My eidetic memory is phenomenal, but an entire two-hour conversation would be difficult to recapture.

She dropped us off at our building. "When's your father due back, Hiroto?" she asked.

"Next month. Probably the 15th or so."

"Give him my love if I miss him, ok? Call me if you need anything, both of you."

"Yes, ma'am!" He laughed. He waved as she drove off. Then he sighed heavily. "So, what do you want to do today?"

"I have a great deal of work to do. I'm afraid I can't simply hang out for the rest of the afternoon."

"Oh, well, yeah. I mean, I've got homework too." He paused. "Hey, why don't you come up? We've got two computers — you can use the spare. Actually, it just sits in the closet now. I'll bet Dad wouldn't mind if you just took it. I mean, until you get your own."

I was about to turn the offer down until I realized how stupid it would be to waste the resource. And, frankly, I used to enjoy doing homework with Honda and Joey. Sitting on my floor, staring at my textbooks was too reminiscent of sitting at my desk as a child, literally chained to it until I finished my assignments correctly. Speed won me freedom, errors brought me lashes.

I shook those thoughts from my head. "Yes. Thank you. I will get my books and join you."

"Great!"

When I got to Honda's apartment, he was setting up a computer in the living room even older than the ones at school. I groaned out loud when the Windows 2000 logo appeared.

"I know." He chuckled but it was hollow. "Joey used it for a while until his Mom got him his laptop."