Interlude #9: Honda's Saga

I met the Emperor.

Kaiba-sama's funeral was the biggest event I'd ever been to – the biggest event I'd ever heard of other than the coronation and that was when I was a kid. Kaiba brought the whole posse – except Joey of course – and even brought my Dad and Kawai-chan. We wandered around in dark suits looking out of place with all the rich, famous, important people. If I were smarter, I would have stayed at Kaiba Manor with Serenity and played video games all day.

I met the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense, the Minster of MEXT and the Minister of Finance at the wake. That was a big enough deal for me.

And then, at the funeral, Kaiba and an older man surrounded by security, walked up to Dad and me. Kaiba said, "Most Imperial Majesty, this is the man who cared for me while I was in school. Honda Kenshin and his son, Honda Hiroto." His voice was still rough, but it was getting stronger finally and the coughing had almost stopped.

Dad and I almost doubled over as the Emperor nodded to us.

"We thank you for your service." He said. "Seto is like family to us."

"It was nothing, your Imperial Majesty." Dad stammered. "He a good kid."

"Although occasionally stupid." Kaiba said. I looked up at him and saw him grinning. He turned to the Emperor. "Honda-sama has the great distinction of being the only person who has told me directly when I was being stupid."

The Emperor looked at Dad, who was turning all but purple. "Did you? Why?"

"He was sick, Sire. Wouldn't stay in bed and get well." Dad shrugged. "He a real good thinker, not so good listener. He learning."

The Emperor nodded thoughtfully. "If you have taught Kaiba Seto to listen, then the Empire owes you a great debt."

"That'll happen." I quipped before my brain stopped my mouth. I wanted to sink through the floor but Kaiba laughed. And so did the Emperor.

I made a joke and the Emperor laughed at it.

"Hey!" Dad said suddenly. "I read your book! You know a lot about fish."

"Thank you." The Emperor said graciously. "Are you interested in ichthyology?"

"Well, I'm at least interested in fish." Dad laughed. "I'm not a thinker; I'm a doer. My son and I are fishermen."

"Really?" The Emperor actually looked interested. "Where?" One of the men beside him whispered in his ear, but he pushed the man away.

"Oh you wouldn't know it. It's a small port on the Pacific side."

"I did much of my studies on the Pacific side."

"Most Imperial Majesty..." One of his aides insisted.

"Apparently I have spent all the time I may paying my respects to Kaiba Gozaburo." The Emperor actually looked annoyed. "Yu-shi, I want to meet with his woman and then I must go." The Emperor calls Kaiba 'nephew'? I was beginning to wonder what the hell I was doing even knowing a guy the Emperor calls 'nephew'.

The Emperor then turned back to Dad. "It was an honor to meet you. Perhaps we will meet again." He nodded and Dad and I bowed almost to the ground as Kaiba led him away.

To Anzu.

It was a funeral. It's not supposed to be a happy event. But Anzu was being treated less like a distraught co-worker and more like a grieving widow. She had even sat with Kaiba and Mokuba at the viewing and funeral. People were consoling her on her loss not the company's loss. His woman.

I watched the Emperor take her hand and squeeze it gently. She put her hand on his as if they'd met before and she was allowed to touch the Emperor. And apparently she was – she kissed his cheek.

"Hiroto, you don't know what's been going on here." Dad put his hand on my shoulder. "Wait. Watch. Learn first."

He was right. I knew he was right, but it just burned me. I didn't know why really, but it totally burned me up inside.

"Is there a problem here?"

Dad and I both looked behind us. There were two average-sized men with small earpieces. Even I knew security guys these days.

"No." Dad replied. "We were just wondering who that woman was. Kaiba-sama didn't have a daughter, did he?"

"No. The Emperor is consoling Kaiba-sama's fiancé."

"HIS FIAN-" I started, but Dad cut me off.

"Thank you." He bowed to them and pulled me down too. When they walked away, Dad let me up. "That explains a lot." He said like he understood what was going on.

"No it doesn't!" I tried to keep my voice down. "That's even more confusing! How could she marry him while she was dating me? Don't look at me like that! She's not that kind of girl; if she said she was dating me, she was dating me."

"Son, a man with that kind of money wants to marry you, every girl that kind of girl."

"Maybe he forced her. Maybe he threatened her. I mean, hell, some of the stuff he did to Kaiba ... He must have threatened her."

"She doesn't look like someone who was threatened." Dad pointed out. "She looks like a grieving widow."

She did, and that didn't help at all. I couldn't figure out if I wanted to grab her and shake her, or hold her until she stopped crying. "Who's side are you on, here, Dad?'

"Hiro, I know this is hard, but just calm down. Listen. Kaiba has us staying in that mansion of his. You talk to her there. Until then, make sure you know what you talking about. You were right though; she very pretty."

Pretty? Pretty was an understatement; she was stunning. It was like someone had taken all the time that used to be spent on Kaiba's grooming and spent it on her. She looked like a supermodel. Well, maybe not quite, but to me she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

And she was marrying some rich bastard.

Well, she was going to marry some rich bastard until he decided to jump out a damn window. Now she was just crying those lovely eyes out over a guy who couldn't possibly need her as much as I do. He had his money to love. I only had her.

A hand clapped my shoulder. "Have you spoken to her yet?" Bakura asked. I shook my head. "She missed you."

"She never called."

"It wasn't that simple." He sighed. "She wanted to; badly. At first, he didn't trust her not to call Seto. He watched her every move. Then, I think..." He hesitated. "I think he honestly fell for her. I think it was more than just a ploy to keep her occupied and confused. I think he loved her."

"How could he not?" I asked, more to myself than Bakura. "The question is how did she feel about him?"

"I wouldn't want to answer that for her." Bakura replied, ever diplomatic. "How have you been?"

I looked at him then. "How have I been? I've been nuts!" He winced and I remembered to lower my voice. "My girlfriend vanished. One of my best buds went to America and got married. The other went there and stayed. I quit school to go out on the boat with Dad because college is out of the question and until all this, my rich friend was poorer than I was. I don't know..." I realized that I was losing it again and took a deep breath. "Sorry. That was unnecessary. Yugi's in love, Joey's happy. Kaiba has his own trouble. I'm sure Anzu had her reasons."

Bakura looked at me for a moment. "You are the most amazing man I know. Any other man would be screaming at her; you're trying to see her side."

I shrugged. "I guess I'm not much of a man."

He gave me that weird look of his. "One of these days, I'm going to show you how much of a real man you are, Honda. Any other 'guy' would have been a pig about this, but you've been a virtual paragon. You've shown restraint and compassion and I cannot figure out why there isn't a string of women behind you."

I chuckled to that, glad to finally figure out he was making a joke. "That's easy. I don't look like you."

He smiled and shook his head. "Yes, well, who does? Look, after this, Kaiba has to go to the reading of the will, but he wants everyone to come to the manor for dinner. Would you make sure that your father and Joey's mother attend as well?"

"Well, Dad's right –" I turned around and realized that Dad was gone. "Where the heck?"

"The Emperor's secretary wanted to see him."

"Wanted to see my Dad?"

"I believe he wanted your Dad to schedule an Imperial Visit." He must have seen the shock on my face. "Don't worry. You almost get used to it. And trust me; being involved with one is easier than organizing one." He gave my shoulder another squeeze and walked away.

Ever since I met Kaiba, my life just kept getting weirder and weirder. Now my Dad was buds with the Emperor.

Even for a big shot like Kaiba-sama, it doesn't take that long to chant a sutra. I got a look inside the Kaiba family crypt. It was huge. My family has a plot my Grandfather purchased. He, Grandma, Mom and Ichiro are all there and one day, Dad and I will join them. The Kaibas had a whole corporate grave site. The family temple alone had a whole lot more names than ours did.

They all had traditional – expensive – kanji. Three walls were filled, all with names in old kanji I'd never seen before. My family had cheap modern kanji, one word each. These all looked like long drawn out kaimyo. Some were marked in red – notably for Seto, Mokuba, Noah and Noah's Mother.

I tried to imagine that. Having so much money that you knew exactly where in line you would rest with your ancestors. But all I could picture was the look on Kaiba's face when he told me he'd rather be poor.

"I guess you guys think it's worth it." I said to the spirits gathered as I lit a candle in respect. "But I'd just as soon Seto be happy than stuck here."

"Oh my God!" Otogi entered behind me. "How depressingly old." He walked up to the altar and put his palms together. "Thank God I'm not a Kaiba." He lit some incense. "Come on, Honda. We're all waiting for you."

I stared at him. I mean, it's not like I'd expect Otogi to be polite, but he's not usually that disrespectful. "That's what you have to say to his ancestors?"

"Oh please! You should hear what I say to mine! Besides, these are the assholes that made Gozabitch the bastard he was. If it weren't for them, then maybe Seto wouldn't be such a little prick and my Ryou and I could be living in some Tokyo love nest instead of hoping to see each other once a quarter."

Let it go, Dad would say. "Nobody's all bad." I pointed out.

"You know, sometimes you're a bigger pussy than I am, Honda. Wasn't this the bastard who stole your girlfriend?"

I'm not going to hit him, I told myself. "He didn't steal her." I'm not going to hit him; he's just being the way he always is.

"Oh please! They did it in the office so often that the cleaning serv-" my fist hurt before I realized that I'd actually hit him in the mouth.

I left the crypt before I did it again.

Dad was leaning against a limo, chatting with Kawai-chan. He stopped talking when he saw me and opened the door. "Son?"

"Later." I said and, God love the man, he didn't ask anything more.

Unfortunately, it was an hour and a half car ride with Dad, Kawai-chan, Yami, Yugi, Mai, Bakura and Otogi. Bakura tended to Otogi's split lip and pestered him about how he managed to bruise his face to begin with. I sat there feeling guiltier and guiltier until I finally had to confess.

"He won't tell you because I hit him."

"Oh boy." Dad sighed.

"Sorry." I told Otogi.

"You hit him?" Bakura was actually speechless for a moment. Then he looked at Otogi. "Ryuji, what did you say?"

"Oh, so it's my fault?" Otogi tried to defend himself, then stopped. "Oh really, relax Ryou! I called his girlfriend a whore and he actually discovered a pair of working balls. If I were a decent person, I would be the one apologizing. But frankly, she is a whore and I'm glad Gozabitch is dead. If the whole Kaiba family went sliding into the sea tomorrow, I'd just be glad they didn't adopt you." I promised I would hit people to solve problems way, way back when, but Otogi was pushing it.

Bakura sighed. "I'm afraid, Honda, that's as close to an apology as he gets. If you want to hit him again, I'll hold him still."

"Kinky." Otogi cooed.

"Ok! Enough!" Kawai thankfully cut in before I retched. "No more hitting, no more name calling. What are you two, twelve?"

"Well," Mai started, "it was kind of whor-ow!" She jumped. Yami snickered.

"Not now." Yugi said in a voice that sounded pretty no-nonsense.

"Ooo! Look who else grew a pair!" Otogi quipped. "Ow!"

"Not now." Bakura said in the same no nonsense tone.

The rest of the ride was pretty silent.

"Those poor kids." Kawai-chan remarked as we pulled through the Kaiba manor gate. "This place must have been awful to grow up in."

I nodded. The grounds were perfect, the gardens spectacular, the house exquisite and there was no place you could throw a baseball or ride a bike or anything a child might want to do. It just reinforced for me that being rich reeked. If Anzu wanted to be rich, maybe she should marry Kaiba-sama.

Except that, he's dead now.

As the three carloads of friends and family entered the main door, I realized that Anzu was not among them. I found Bakura – he seemed to be in charge of organizing everyone – and asked him.