Interlude #4: Joey's View

In sixth grade, I ran with a rough crowd. New York has a large population of Asians living in Chinatown – not just Chinese – and a few of the gangs were hardcore.

Hirutani's crew was like that. Diesel Kane Hirutani; father was Japanese, mother was American. We all had split backgrounds. We all spoke Japanese. We all wanted to get back at the culture that didn't want us and the culture that didn't understand us. We were all too young for teenage rebellion – around ten. That didn't stop us from being badass. We beat the living shit out of anything stupid enough to get in our way.

I was kind of Hirutani's number two back then. I was jumped in by the whole gang at once – which, if you don't know gangs, means it was all of them against me in a fight. I took all of them out except Hirutani himself. He tagged me with a stun gun a few dozen times and then sliced my chest open in several places. Then he told me if I lived, I was in.

I hung with them until I landed in juvie. Mom and Dad were divorced by then and the courts had awarded Dad custody of me. When he didn't show up to bail me out, the cops called Mom, she got social services to change the custody order and then took me home to Japan. I was only in for about a week, but it was enough to convince me that serious jail time was not something I wanted.

I figured new country, new attitude. I met Honda and Yugi and gave up my life of crime. And things went pretty well.

But I can't take being alone. And I can't stand most Americans. My grandparents are ok but old; I was glad they were letting Sera and me stay with them but I wasn't exactly eager to hang out with them after school. So I wasn't long after I got back to the States that I found myself drifting down to Chinatown and checking out my old haunts.

And finding my old friends. Most of the guys had gotten busted for one thing or another. Three of them were still inside. But nobody could ever pin anything on Hirutani.

"I usually go by Diesel these days." He told me when we met for tea. "It's easier. So what are you doing back here, Wheeler?"

I shrugged. "My sister is here for medical treatments and I'm just looking out for her." He was tall and buff and I remembered how in awe of him I used to be. I had a serious thing for him back before I knew I was 'that way'. "What have you been up to?"

"A little of this, a little of that." He shrugged. "A few things I could use a partner for."

"Any of it legal?" He shrugged again and I shook my head. "No way. I fuck my visa, I'm stuck here. I'm telling you, man, as soon as my sister is done, I am on a plane!"

"Girlfriend waiting?"

"Nope." I smiled. "Boyfriend." Not that he was waiting.

He did a spit take. "You're a fag?"

"You got a problem with that?"

"Only that I didn't know back in the day."

"Dude, back in the day, I didn't know."

"Yeah." He nodded. "Neither did I."

That was pretty much the end of conversation. We went back to his place and fucked.

Serenity's initial surgery went well and her recovery was on schedule. She was home in time for thanksgiving. Grandma did the whole turkey and chestnuts thing. My uncle and his family showed up. My cousins spent half the night saying I 'tawk'd funn'. I left before I had to hit one of them. Naturally, I went to Diesel's place. He was having noodle soup.

"So tell me about this boyfriend." He said while we were enjoying turkey-flavored cup-a-soups.

"You wouldn't believe me." I laughed.

"What, he the Emperor?"

"Close. You ever heard of KaibaCorp?"

He answered by leaning over and reaching under his couch. He pulled out a rather large handgun. "This KaibaCorp?"

"Shit! Yeah, dude, them. Fuck! Put that shit away!" He grinned as he hid it away again. "Yeah, that Kaiba. I'm dating him."

"No fucking way! You're dating Kaiba Gozaburo? I thought he was like 40?"

"No, not him! His son, Seto. He's our age. Hell, we've been in the papers all over Japan."

"I don't read that celebrity shit."

"Yeah, well, I didn't either until my face was plastered on it."

"Seriously? What's a rich boy want with a mongrel like you?"

"My sparkling wit and charming personality." I rolled my eyes. "How the fuck do I know? We met by chance. He's got this piece of shit motorcycle he won't replace and it broke down on him. One thing kinda led to another."

"And led to you banging a fucking Kaiba. Hey, can you hook me up with a supplier?"

"Not through Tak! He runs the games not the guns." Or at least he used to.

"Tak?"

"He gave me a fake name when we first met, but I still use it. It suits him."

"So are you always the top with him too?"

"No. Why?"

"Just curious."

It had been surprising that as dominant as Hirutani was on the streets, he was pretty passive in bed. I didn't like always being on top, but every time I thought about letting him take me, I thought about Tak and I couldn't do it.

The second week of December, Sera went in for her second surgery, which did not go as well as the first. Her corneas were reverting back to the shape they were before the first operation – self-healing the doctors said. Sera was handling it like a proper Buddhist; I was handling it by hanging out with Hirutani.

6am Christmas Eve, my phone rang unexpectedly. I had already talked to Mom and said all the expected things. I haven't talked to Dad in years. I'd given up on Tak calling.

"Hey Joey! Merry Christmas!"

"Mai?" It took me a minute to register who she was and what she was saying. Yugi was throwing a Christmas party. Everyone was there; she gave her phone to everyone who walked by in between catching me up on the latest gossip. "Even Kaiba made it! Scary, scary. You know about him, right?"

"Know about what?"

"That he was sick?"

"In the head?"

"Seriously, no, like in the hospital, almost dead sick."

My chest suddenly felt hollow. "But he's ok, right?"

"They let him out. He still looks half dead to me. But he's been rude to everyone at least twice so for him that's a good sign."

"Let me talk to him. Wait, put Honda on first."

As soon as I heard his voice, I bombed Honda out for not telling me.

"He didn't want to talk to anyone, Joey. He doesn't have a phone anymore, and he wouldn't call anyone back on mine. The only way to talk to him was to come to the hospital. And don't worry, he knows you didn't know. It's not like he thinks you were ignoring him or something."

"I should pop you for this, dude."

"Yeah, but you won't. How's Serenity?"

We talked for another few minutes and he promised to send pictures of the party. Then he gave the phone back to Mai who passed me through another ten people before she gave me to Tak.

He sounded tired. He voice was a shadow of its usual power. But it didn't matter. Once he said 'come home to me', I wanted to cry with relief and jump for joy at the same time.

Until he said, 'and I you'.

'And I you'? Typical arrogant Kaiba bullshit! Why can't he just say 'I love you' like a normal person – like we used to? It was as if he was hiding our relationship.

Was he?

The thought haunted me for days. Hirutani and I didn't stop fucking though.

"You'll stop when you go back." He told me. "Besides, I thought you said you wanted to teach him a lesson."

"You don't know Kaiba. He can hold a fucking grudge."

"Fuck him."

I talked to Honda at New Years and convinced him that Anzu wouldn't dump him without at least calling. He told me about Yugi finding his 'other self'.

"Wait, he was possessed by the spirit of an Egyptian Pharaoh?"

"Yeah, you remember that giant pyramid he used to wear?"

"Yeah?"

"It was in there."

"And you believe him?"

"Did you look at the Christmas pics I sent?"

"Yeah."

"See the guy who looks like Yugi with his hair combed and a tan?"

"Hang on." I opened the email and found the photos he sent. There were several pics with the guy he was talking about. He could be Yugi's twin. "Ok, he looks like Yugi. How's that make him a king or whatever?"

"Hell if I know, but Mai and Mutou-san say it's true too. And I mean, whoever he is, he is a nice guy." Honda hesitated. "He's going to be here with Kaiba for the next couple weeks."

"So?"

"So, nothing. Kaiba can't be trusted to rest when he's alone so Yami's going to babysit."

I didn't think too much of it until later. I looked at the pictures again and saw them. Together. The guy looked like Yugi after an extreme model make-over. Definitely fuckable. Tak was stretched out on the couch. Yami was sitting beside him, resting his arm on Tak's leg. They were looking at each other like no one else was in the room. Tak had that look he gets after he's been well fucked – like he's too tired to even smile anymore.

I drove Hirutani crazy with it. Finally, he said, "Call him! If he's banging this guy, dump him!"

I didn't want to call because I already knew the answer. I'd know it for weeks. I knew it when it happened. 'And I you'. Bullshit!

Tak was breathless when he answered the phone; no doubt, I caught them in the middle. I did remember to ask how he was and was surprised when he suddenly switched the conversation to English. Like he didn't want someone else to know what he was saying. Then he asked about Serenity.