Redemption
"How did it come to this?" Honda sighed as he gazed at a picture of him and all his friends. The photo was wrinkled and had been torn in several places, fastened together with some clear tape. He dropped the picture on the table and wandered to the window of his apartment, looking out into the night. Years had passed since he'd seen any of them, especially after the move. He was 21 now and lived alone, with no contact from them at all. He held his hand to the glass and held back tears that threatened to fall. There was a phone in the apartment, but nobody ever called, not even for a wrong number. Honda wasn't sure if he was listed and even if he were, it would be long distance. He moved back over to the table and stared at the picture. Kaiba, Jounouchi, Anzu, Otogi and himself were in the background with Mokuba, Shizuka, Yuugi, and Bakura were in front. By the looks of it, Kaiba and Yuugi were frequently ripped from the picture as pieces were missing around the edges, but the whole thing had been torn in several parts once. His body tightened as he heard knocking on the door.
"Hey! I know you're in there! Have your rent check in my box before midnight or start packing!"
Honda smirked lightly, it wasn't as if he had much to begin with. Nobody wanted to hire him anywhere in the city. He'd already resolved to leave, but he had nowhere to go. He knew next to nobody in San Francisco or the surrounding areas. For the next hour or so, he gathered his clothes and few belongings into a bag. He grabbed the picture and shoved it in his coat pocket as he made his way to the door. He looked back once more and shook his head as he opened it and headed down out of the building.
The streets were dark and foreboding, it almost reminded him of home back in Domino City. Here there was nobody to protect and nobody to watch his back. He glanced around every corner warily and listened for the slightest footstep. The stars above could sparsely be seen through smog and the few lights flickered on and off. He wished now that he hadn't moved to America, it only made things worse. He had to live in the worst neighborhood and barely had a dime most of the time. Shadows moved around him and followed him. Honda smirked and shook his head, almost wishing he'd get attacked so he could work off his frustration. He made his way without incident to a lighter part of the city and glanced at a poster inside a game shop.
"Pegasus J. Crawford…" Honda blinked and tried to read the rest of it. Apparently Pegasus was in the city for a convention, but there was only one day left to attend. "Maybe…" He looked at the admission price and winced when he noticed it was twelve dollars to get in. He noted the address and began heading in that direction as he dug through his pockets to see what money he had. He scowled as he found only ten dollars and began searching the gutters for coins of any kind. By the time he reached the convention, he had found several dimes and some quarters. "People apparently don't keep a hold of their money well," he whispered. It was still dark and the building wouldn't be open for hours, so he hid behind some bushes and waited, slowly falling asleep. Soon he began to regret letting himself sleep. In his dreams, nightmares of the past sprang up. He saw Kaiba's mansion and Jounouchi following him without once looking back. Yuugi and Bakura were talking, but he could hear nothing, not even the laughter that followed. He felt like he was falling into a bottomless pit with no sign of waking up. He saw Shizuka holding hands with Otogi and watched them all go into the mansion, leaving him behind as he drifted farther away.
Honda gasped as he jerked out of sleep, the sunlight glaring down on him. He tried to calm his labored breathing and stood slowly, wincing as he felt his neck out of place. He fumbled through his pockets and gathered the money as he walked around to the front door. He stepped inside and set his money down on the table. The woman at the table handed him a ticket without looking at him and scooped the money into the cashbox. Honda ran into the main room and caught sight of Pegasus waving to the crowds.
"…and tonight I'm heading back to Japan for the annual championships tournament. Good luck to those of you who are able to come." He headed for the back door to exit the building.
"Oi, oi! Pegasus!" Honda squirmed through the crowds and tried to reach him. The guards blocked him and started pushing him back. "Wait, I have to see Pegasus!"
"Hmm?" Pegasus turned around and blinked. "You, aren't you Yuugi-boy's friend?"
"I guess we were friends once, maybe. Yes, I'm Honda. I was at Duelist Kingdom with him."
"What do you need to see me for?" Pegasus waved the guards away and pulled Honda outside with him.
"I need your help to get back to Japan."
"Oh? Why's that?" Pegasus climbed into his limo and motioned for Honda to get in.
"I have nothing here, no money except what I just paid to get into that building. I have no friends and no job here. I can understand if you don't want to help me."
"Well, what happened to make you move here?" Pegasus waved for the driver to go ahead and head for the airport.
"Well, a lot of things, I guess. My friends all seemed to pair off and leave me alone, never having any time for me. My best friend, Jounouchi, I couldn't stand having lost him. I never told him how I felt about him, hoping he'd catch a clue now and then. I did nothing and let Jou slip through my fingers…and with Kaiba. That bastard stole Jounouchi away from me. Bakura knew how I felt and he and I were nearly always left out. I thought maybe I could hang around with him, but I found out he was dating Yuugi. I didn't so much care about Jounouchi's sister Shizuka, and I shouldn't have been so blind. She ended up with Otogi. I felt like they didn't need me anymore, so I saved my money and moved here."
"I can see why…" He gave a sad smile as he sympathized with the younger man. "Okay, I'll take you back to Japan."
