A/N: Here is the rest of the chapter. This in itself is pretty long, but it had to be. There was a lot to write for this. It is at the very least the final part of the Your Thoughtless Words arc.

It may be the last of the story itself, but I haven't decided about that yet.

The usual disclaimers apply.


After Rebecca left the room, Yuugi and Haga remained silent for at least three minutes. Eventually, it felt unbearable and Yuugi had to speak.

"That was a good duel, Haga."

"…Yeah," Haga muttered, standing up and taking a few steps to leave.

"Er, wait!"

Haga turned his head slightly, one eye brow raised.

"What?"

"I wanted…to apologize for what the Pharaoh-" Before he could finish, Haga held up a hand and shook his head.

"Don't." He sighed. "You did none of the speaking during my first duel with the Pharaoh. And it was his choice to actually send me out of the tournament. I know that, now. You've got nothing to apologize for. I get it. Now, leave me alone."

"Hold on, Haga – don't you want to talk about this?" Yuugi started speaking quickly as Haga continued to walk away. "What about Rebecca?" Those words stopped Haga mid-step.

"Yes?" Yuugi had his attention.

"Well, you know she really wants us to get along…"

With a heavy sigh, Haga walked back and sat down on the couch across from Yuugi.

"I know. Got any ideas for how that could work?"

"Well…we could become friends."

"Not a chance."

"Or…we could at least tolerate each other?"

"I'm listening." Haga said after thinking about it a little.

"That way, she can hang out with both of us. But…it won't be like you and I are hanging out. Because we won't be talking to each other. We'll just be talking with her."

"You know that's going to be awkward for her, don't you?"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"No."

"Then, what should we do?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. But, in case you haven't noticed, Yuugi, that's not the only problem."

"What's the other problem then?"

"The fact that Rebecca really isn't interested in hanging out with your friends."

"What?" Yuugi blinked, surprised.

"So, you haven't noticed. Jeez, are you dense."

"Hey! It's just that I haven't been spending every day with Rebecca for the past month!" Yuugi tried to laugh, but it dwindled into a pathetic, nervous chuckle when Yuugi noticed that Haga had remained stone-faced. Quite a difference in senses of humor these two had. He decided to get to the point. "Well, you probably know her a lot better than I do at this time, Haga."

"Hm. So, on that, we agree. In any case, Rebecca is really only interested in talking to you, Yuugi. You and me. That's one of the reasons she hasn't bothered to visit you lately. She's had two choices, the way she saw it: Hang out with you and a few other people she didn't like, or spend time with me. Do you get the situation here?"

"I understand." Rebecca preferred to have one-on-one time with someone she liked over spending time with her friend and a bunch of people she really didn't care much for.

"And well, to be honest, even if I think that I can learn to tolerate you…" Haga admitted with a sigh. "Your friends? Yeah. They piss me off. Especially Jounouchi. Anzu, too. No offence."

"None taken." Anzu and Jounouchi had never been nice to Haga. Sure, they might have had good reason to be mean. But, Haga also had good reason to feel at least a little hurt by it nonetheless.

"Plus, I think that that other friend of yours-"

"Honda."

"…Okay. I think that Honda would throw me as soon as look at me at this point."

"…You might be right."

"I can't deal with them, Yuugi. And Rebecca isn't too keen on doing so either," Haga stated. "So, if we were to work out some sort of weird arrangement where both of us could hang out with Rebecca at the same time, you'd have to spend a little less time with your other friends."

"I…I understand." Yuugi sighed. Haga was making a lot of sense with this issue. "…By the way, Haga, what's your favorite card?"

"Eh?" Haga quirked a brow at this strange change of subject. However, it seemed innocent enough. And it would give him time to think up a solution for their problem. So he replied, "I don't have a favorite, Yuugi."

"Huh?" Yuugi looked surprised. "Really?"

"I like all my cards equally. Every Gokibore and Insect Knight. What? Is that weird, or something?"

"Well, it's just that you seemed to favor your Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth and Insect Queen…"

"They're powerful." Haga shrugged. "So, I like to play them a lot. And it's fun to see the looks on my opponents' faces when such giant monsters show up. That doesn't mean that I like them more than I like, oh say, borderline cards like Basic Insect and Killer Needle."

"Hm. How come?"

"Well," Haga grinned, losing a lot of his coldness. "That's because they're my army! They're all fighting for me. So to speak. And that makes them all really great, in my eyes. Even if it's a little more fun to bring the most powerful ones on to the field. Plus, I love insects. So, I admire every one of them just for being an insect. Or an arachnid. They're all cool, to me at least. I can't pick a favorite." Sure, he could throw Gokibore cards away, but there was usually some reason for it. Even if that reason was the influence of an evil cult. And Haga would still like the Gokibore card till the end of its existence.

"Wow." Yuugi smiled. "That's…actually really cool."

"You think?" Haga grinned, but then the grin cracked when he realized who he was speaking to. "Oh, no, you don't! I am not going to fall for that crap."

"What are you talking about, Haga?"

"You're trying to manipulate me into becoming friends with you. Well, let me tell you it is not going to work!"

"Manipulate…" Yuugi echoed with his brows raised.

"I do not associate with rivals…"

"But you just beat me! Fair and square!"

"Well, yes…" Haga admitted, smiling slightly to himself. "But you still almost kicked my ass! We are still rivals."

"Rivals, huh?" Yuugi sighed. Then, he started to wonder about something. "How did you and Rebecca become friends, anyway?"

"Why do you want to know?" Haga's eyes narrowed.

"I'm just curious." Yuugi shrugged. "And she's my friend too. So…"

"Right, right." Haga sighed. Yuugi had a good point. "Well, I was climbing through trees in the forest when I saw some blonde girl digging up tree roots. I followed her around for a while…"

"You stalked her?" Yuugi's eyes widened.

"OF COURSE." Haga practically exploded. "She was digging up tree roots, er, 'excavating' in my forest for crying out loud! That is not something I allow."

"Your forest?" Yuugi looked at him quizzically.

"…Well, it might as well be. I spend half my time protecting it." Haga stated, and Yuugi couldn't exactly feel surprised. "Anyway, I was hoping that she'd stop quickly. But, she just kept on digging in random places. So, I decided to give her a piece of my mind. That was all. So, I confronted her and told her to leave the forest."

"Well, that's not very n-"

"Neither was hurting those poor trees." He interrupted. "I had to re-bury their roots a few days later! But, in any case, she refused at first. So stubborn, you know? I intimidated her a little…"

"Intimidated?" Yuugi blinked.

"YES. I pinned her to a tree because I am easily angered and over-protective of my second home." By which he meant the forest. "Now, stop interrupting! I let her go after a second, anyway. And she agreed to leave. Probably because I scared her speechless. But, I guess I got a little worried that she wouldn't be able to find her way out. That forest is pretty deep, you know. I really just wanted her out of my forest and I was worried that, without help, she'd be there forever."

"So, you helped her?" Yuugi smiled.

"Yes. And, on the way out, I got bored of the silence. So, I started talking. She talked. We talked. She liked me. I thought she seemed okay. She said she wanted to be friends with me. I warned her not to try and change me. She thought that was fine. We became friends. I walked her home. She gave me her e-mail. I went home." He rushed the rest of it out. "And we were buddies ever after. The End."

"Well, I guess that's not quite as weird as how I became friends with Jounouchi and Honda." Yuugi chuckled.

"Yeah. About that – why the hell did you decide to try and protect those two from someone even bigger than they were? After they'd been bullying you, I mean…" Haga wore a dead-pan expression, but he was obviously a little curious.

"Er…I don't really know." Yuugi smiled weakly. "I guess I just didn't actually think about how they'd bullied me. When I saw them getting hurt, I felt like someone had to step in. That's all. And then they turned out to be nice guys."

"If I were you, I would have just let the two get whatever was coming to them. I can't stand bullies…" He shook his head. "But, eh, I guess it's true. You really are pure-bred goody-goody two-shoes. So different from that jerk-ass Pharaoh."

"Hey! You're one to talk."

"Yeah, I should know. Being a jerk-ass myself, I can spot them a mile away." Haga stated casually. "Maybe, you never noticed. But then that was because you two were friends. Same goes for the rest of the people in that little clique of yours…"

"Clique?" Yuugi blinked.

"Yeah. Clique. Your gang of friends. Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda, and you. I don't know if you've noticed, but Jounouchi and Honda are both still jerks."

"I don't think so." Yuugi frowned.

"Like I said – they are your friends. Therefore, they are nice to you. But remember the way they were before that?"

Yuugi grimaced, but nodded.

"Yeah. They're still like that. Only they just choose to inflict in upon anyone that ticks them off. Like me. And Ryuzaki, though to a lesser extent. Sure, maybe the people they're mean to deserve it. But, so do they, if you go for the whole, 'an eye for an eye and we all end up blind' thing."

Yuugi had never really believed in revenge, though the Pharaoh did. So, he could see what Haga was getting at. But, still…

"Wouldn't that mean that you're still in the wrong when you act like a jerk back to them?"

"Of course. But that's not the point. They're no better or worse than I am." He grinned. "Which is further proven in that I am kind to Rebecca. Who just so happens to be my friend. See the parallels here, Yuugi?" After all, he wouldn't be Rebecca's friend if he weren't kind to her.

"You really like to argue, don't you?"

"Yes," he answered honestly. "It is the most intellectually stimulating practice in the history of human kind…Actually, it's one of the few things I actually like about human kind. That, and books…and Rebecca." She happened to like arguing as well.

"I can tell!" Yuugi laughed good-naturedly at this. Haga couldn't stop thinking about the girl and it was pretty obvious. Yuugi wished him all the luck in the world with her. "But, I get what you mean. I'm sorry my friends were so mean to you."

"No, no, no, don't apologize for them!" Haga shook his head. "If they want to, they should do it themselves."

"You don't think people can apologize for each other?"

"Hell no. That's like fighting someone else's battle." Then, he smiled crookedly. "Which…is basically what you tried to do for Jounouchi and Honda before you became friends…Yuugi, you really need to stop doing that."

"I can't!" He smiled ruefully. "It's in my nature."

"And it will get you killed some day, Yuugi. I'd bet my deck on it."

"Then, I'll be okay with that when it happens, Haga."

"Try asking your friends if they'll 'be okay with that when it happens.' I can guarantee they'll have you in a foam room before you can blink."

Haga laughed, but then stopped abruptly and tilted his head a little, as if listening to something. Yuugi did the same, and then smiled at what he heard. Haga just grinned.

"Rebecca, you really need to learn to giggle more quietly. You can come in now."

"Aw, sorry, Haga." Rebecca chirped as she revealed herself and walked in. She'd obviously been standing outside the doorway, listening in. "You two just sounded like you were getting along so well!"

Yuugi smiled until Haga scowled and twitched slightly, which caused Yuugi's smile to shrivel a bit.

"How long were you listening?" Haga asked Rebecca.

"Hmm…Three minutes, I think." She sat next to Haga. "I tuned in at about the time you started philosophizing, Haga."

They all got a good chuckle out of that.

"Anyway," The insect duelist changed the subject. "Now, what are we going to do?" He turned to Yuugi and asked harshly, "Is there any reason you're still here?"

Rebecca whacked Haga on the back of the head.

"Oh, don't be so rude, Haga!"

"Now, you hit me! After I openly shunned Yuugi, all you did was force me to deal with him. And now you hit me for asking him a rude question. What changed?"

"Well, now you two are getting along. DON'T STOP." Rebecca practically begged. "If you two become friends, we can all hang out together!"

"We are not going to become friends." Haga insisted. "Not ever."

"Why in the world not?" Rebecca seemed at her wit's end.

"Because we don't like each other," Haga answered flatly, and continued before Yuugi could get the chance to interrupt. "So, that's it. No dice."

Rebecca just sighed in heavy exasperation. However, it was then that she got an idea.

"So…Why don't we just…" She smiled. "…talk?"

"Talk?" Haga quirked a brow while Yuugi just stared at her with a puzzled look of his own.

"Yeah. We can all just talk about whatever."

"Well…" Haga seemed to think about it for a moment, but then he twitched and held up an index finger. "Oh, no, you don't! I see what you're trying to-"

"What?" Rebecca tilted her head to the side, and then smirked at him. He had surprisingly fallen for her trap. "What's the matter, Haga? I was just thinking we all could talk. It's not like you two will, oh, become friends if you really don't like each other. I mean, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Haga just stared in bug-eyed fashion.

"Right?" Her smirk showed a few more teeth at that moment.

Oh, you manipulative little trickster, were the words in Haga's head at that time. He figured it out and he did not like the position he was now in.

So, what do you do when you're in a non-ideal position? Why, get out of it, of course!

"I refuse!" Haga jumped up from the couch he and Rebecca were sitting on, and then proceeded to sprint towards the living room exit. However, Rebecca was too fast and prepared. She had him by the back of his shirt before he'd even realized that he was running in place.

"Haga," She thought it necessary to reason with him, even when he was in her determined grip. "Don't you want to talk with me? Didn't we plan on meeting today and talking about stuff? Like we do every day? Why does this have to be any different?"

"Because you want me to talk to him." Haga answered, having calmed down enough to stand in place.

"Whoever said that?" Rebecca laughed as if such an idea was absurd, while Yuugi sighed dejectedly in the background. "You can talk to me. And so can Yuugi. At the same time."

"Um," Haga shook his head. He and Yuugi had thought about that. "It's not going to-"

"Let's just try it, okay?" Rebecca snapped, dragging Haga back to the couch and practically pushing him to sit down. She sat down beside him, an arm around his shoulders to keep him from pulling another escape attempt (without dragging her along, at least.) "Now, then," Rebecca took a deep breath. "What should we talk about?"

"I thought you said-"

"I WAS TALKING TO YUUGI." Rebecca boomed, fists clenched.

Haga just listened to the subsequent silence.

"I'm sorry, Haga. I've had a long day."

"…which you technically brought upon yourself by bringing Yuugi over here."

"Well, true. But, still…"

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"Aw, you're sweet." Rebecca chirped, giving him a quick hug before turning to Yuugi. "So, what should we talk about?"

This is an awkward relationship just waiting to happen, Yuugi thought, having watched the whole drama like it had been some sort of wacked-out shoujo anime romance scene. Prompted to speak, Yuugi laughed nervously before finally saying,

"I don't know. How's school been going?"

"Er," Rebecca twitched at the pitiful attempt at conversation (especially so considering this was Summer break and everyone wanted to forget about school) before turning to Haga. "And what do you want to talk about?"

Haga thought about it for a moment before answering, "Insects."

Crickets chirped outside, emphasizing the quiet scene quite nicely.

"…Why don't we talk about our families?" Rebecca giggled in an effort to avoid a conversation that no one else actually cared about. "Yuugi, you go first."

"Well, there's my grandfather." Yuugi began speaking. "He owns a game shop and he's really great at Duel Monsters. He gave me my first deck, which included…"

"Yes, we all know." Haga dead-panned. Exodia, blah, blah, blah. The Forbidden One, blah, blah…

"Er…All right." Yuugi replied pathetically. "Then, there's also my mom, who I live with. She's really nice and she makes great cookies."

The crickets outside slowed their chirping at this time.

"Wow. Cookies, Yuugi?" Haga raised an eye brow. "Is that all you have to say? Really?"

"Well," Yuugi laughed tensely. "She likes scrapbooking and pressing flowers."

"…Okay." Haga droned. "And…your father?" He had apparently forgotten completely about the, "we won't talk to each other" part of the plan. Rebecca did not bother to silence him.

Yuugi stared blankly forward, without saying a word.

"I get the point." Haga finally said after there was no answer. He knew at least three people, at the moment, who had issues with their fathers. It seemed to be a re-occurring theme of life.

"Ahahahahaha. Okay, then. My turn!" Rebecca jumped in before the awkward sound of tumbleweeds drifting through the living room could drown out everyone's thoughts. "I live with my grandpa, who's a really cool archaeologist! I want to be an archaeologist like him after I finish college. My mom is an archaeologist, too. But, I don't get to see her that much, since she's more active than grandpa. My dad spends most of his time cleaning the house and watching soap operas. I haven't really bothered to talk to my parents in a while."

Haga frowned slightly at her last sentence. It seemed like they all had something in common…

"Sounds like a family line of archaeologists." Yuugi smiled. "Not too surprising."

"Heh, yeah, I guess it's in the blood!" Rebecca grinned before turning to Haga. "Your turn!"

"Oh…Well, all right." Haga glanced at Yuugi before focusing on his shoes. "My parents are…insignificant." Without leaving time for anyone to react to that, Haga continued, "Hotaru, on the other hand, is awesome. She has a garden out back that she loves to take care of and she's looked after me ever since I was five years old. But, Hotaru's also sort've paranoid – she's got the whole mansion bugged, with hidden cameras added in, by the way. She also keeps a 'Hit List' of people who wrong me. And she spends most of her 'off hours' checking off names from that list."

"'Checking…off'…?" Yuugi blinked.

"As in…dealing with my enemies." Haga added this vague elaboration with a grin. "That list included you, Yuugi. She's probably erased your name by now, though. So, don't worry. You'll be fine. Probably."

That had been a terrifying moment for Yuugi. Because, really, Hotaru had unnerved him from the start. He didn't know why. There was just something about her to suggest that she was one second away from being completely unhinged. Her presence had almost given Yuugi the impression of a loyal bodyguard. He didn't even know why she seemed that way. Despite speaking politely enough, one couldn't help but get the feeling that Hotaru was not entirely calm.

Or sane. While Haga's facial expressions sometimes made others think of him this way, the truth was that, when you got to know him, Haga was a pretty regular guy. With his own personality and quite a few quirks, but still not nearly as crazy as everyone thought he was.

But Hotaru? She was just so disturbingly calm, collected, dignified. The way she had wrapped her arms around Haga's shoulders (while inviting Yuugi into her home) had seemed somehow…overly protective. And yet subdued.

Like a guard dog bound by a leash, protecting her ward.

"Umm…Yuugi, are you okay?" Rebecca frowned at him before poking Haga in the forehead. "Why did you have to scare him like that?"

"Hey! Don't blame me. You asked me about my family. So, I told about my family. Hotaru just has that effect on everyone." Haga said. "Don't ask me why. She seems pretty cool to me, anyway…"

"She seems all right to me, too." Rebecca nodded before turning to Yuugi. "What are you so worried about, anyway?"

"Um, nothing! Nothing at all." Yuugi smiled weakly. "I'm just surprised that she has a list like that. She just seemed so nice…That's all."

"She is nice." Haga insisted. "She just has a dark side. And don't we all?" He grinned in mock imitation of his Orichalcos-influenced facial expressions.

"If you say so." Yuugi laughed nervously. "So, anyway, maybe I should get going now."

"Yes. Please, do." Haga chirped, his mood brightening considerably. "I'll show you the way out! Never come back." Rebecca, fed up by Haga's attitude, stood up and proceeded to drag him off into another room.

"If you'll excuse us, Yuugi…" Rebecca pardoned on the way out, while Haga barely even tried to struggle against her. She was practically a force of nature when she got into these "moods," after all. "We'll be right back."

"Umm…Okay." And, like that, Yuugi was left alone. He decided to sit and fidget for the time being. The walls were painted a very nice shade of Spring green, he noted as he continued to examine them…


"Haga, what is your problem with him?" Rebecca began her interrogation three rooms away from the living room they'd all been sitting in just a few moments earlier.

"My problem? Rebecca, maybe you've forgotten who you're talking to…?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Big rivalry, blah, blah. All that. So? It's not the Pharaoh we're talking about, right? Yuugi's never done anything to you. So, what in the world is-"

"Too FAST!" Haga fired off the words as if he had been holding his breath for two minutes and was just now releasing it.

"Um…Huh?" Rebecca blinked.

"Up until today, I have hated Yuugi for insulting me and kicking me out of Duelist Kingdom. I have yearned for the chance to kick his ass in a duel…" Haga said serenely before, with one short twitch, he exploded, "And now, I've found out that it was the Pharaoh who pissed me off in the first place and that the Pharaoh in question is gone! Not only that, I also just beat Yuugi in a duel! THE KING OF GAMES! I beat him. What. At the time, I didn't think much of it. He seemed more like a very worthy opponent. But, now, in retrospect…I think that the only reason it didn't seem like a big deal to me was that I was – and still kind've am – in shock! My brain. Is not. Working right. I feel like I have whiplash! And I feel like the world is spinning – and not in the normal way!"

For a moment, Haga's friend just stared.

"Wow…Okay." Rebecca giggled after about two minutes of silence. "I think I get it now. Things are happening too fast, right? You're still trying to figure stuff out. And the concept of starting a new friendship – especially with someone you used to hate – is a little too daunting right now, huh?"

"Precisely." Haga shook his head. "So, please, can we just send Yuugi away? I'm a little bit confused about the situation as it is now."

"It's fine. I'm sure he won't mind anyway." Without warning, Rebecca took Haga's hand and began to walk with him back towards the living room. "Thanks for talking to me about it anyway, Haga. It helps for me to know what's going on in that head of yours. Honestly, it's so difficult to get inside your cute, crazy brain sometimes."

"Well, not everyone is so open as you are, Rebecca." Haga mumbled, turning away and blushing, but not jerking his hand away from hers. It felt nice, he decided awkwardly. Rebecca was nice.

But instead of answering, Rebecca simply went silent as she realized that they were within ear-shot of Yuugi in the living room. Once they made their entrance, Haga made his announcement,

"You can leave now, Yuugi." It was about 11:00 AM at the time. So, Haga couldn't exactly tell the guy to "go home." He'd probably go off with his other friends somewhere, anyway…

"Oh, uh, okay then." The boy blinked up at them before standing up. "Sorry for any inconvenience, Haga. I know you probably-"

"Don't apologize." Haga interrupted sharply. "No. Really. Just stop apologizing to me. Or I'll break your goddamned duel disk. I'm serious."

"Umm…All right." Yuugi smiled weakly and felt a bead of cold sweat drip down his forehead as Haga and Rebecca led him to the exit of the mansion.

Rebecca just shrugged and shook her head at their behavior. If those two ever became friends, she decided, it would be the absolute weirdest friendship in the world.


"Bye, Yuugi." The blonde duelist said once they reached the front door. "See you tomorrow."

"Huh?" Haga did a double-take and looked at Rebecca. "But, wait…We're not hanging out tomorrow?" He looked shocked beyond all belief, but calmed down when Rebecca smiled and said,

"Oh, we will!" Then, her smile became an almost evil grin as she looked at Haga. "And so will Yuugi. No objections."

"But…But…Okay, whatever. But, don't expect me to talk to him!" Haga sighed dejectedly.

"Thank you, Haga." Rebecca gave him a quick hug before turning to Yuugi. "Well, you heard me! We expect to see you at nine o'clock in the morning tomorrow! I'll take you to Haga's house like I did today, okay, Yuugi?"

"Sure, Rebecca. Whatever you say."

"Jeez! We both sound like such doormats, don't we Yuugi?" Haga droned, but with a tiny smile.

"I guess you're right!" The two boys laughed in agreement while Rebecca just twitched.

"You two…For all the trouble I'm going through, you two had better become friends!"

"Or else?" Haga smirked, tempting fate as he so often did.

"Or else I'm hand-cuffing you both together for a week." Rebecca snickered, deadly serious. She had seen this technique in television shows. It always worked.

The threat was all too real and unnerving for Haga and Yuugi to shrug it off. So, they both just laughed mechanically and tried to leave Rebecca's warning for later contemplation.

"So, uh, anyway, it was nice talking to you two, today." Yuugi began his goodbyes. "And it was nice dueling you, Haga. You really, um…"

"Ripped you a new one?" Haga offered, regaining his confidence.

"Yeah. That." Yuugi twitched. "You've gotten a lot stronger."

"Er, thanks." Haga muttered. "You're better than the Pharaoh was, I have to say that much." Which was weird, Haga thought. He had beaten Yuugi, and yet not the Pharaoh. How did that work? Maybe, he really had gotten better. Somehow. He definitely hadn't underestimated Yuugi. That had helped at least.

"Thanks, Haga." Yuugi smiled and reached out his hand for Haga to shake. "Well, congratulations. I guess this day marks your first as the King of Games, right?"

"Er. About that, Yuugi…" Haga stared down at his rival's hand for a moment. "Just…don't tell anyone about our duel today, all right?"

"Huh?" Yuugi and Rebecca both exclaimed at the same time. "Why not?"

"Don't you want to be King of Games, Haga?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, I've thought about that." That was what he'd been thinking about while sitting in the living room and talking to Yuugi. It had been buzzing through his head ever since his victory. He had finally come to a decision at this moment. "I…I'm thinking about just leaving Duel Monsters behind."

"What?" Both his present companions stared in shock. Insector Haga quitting? Absurd!

"I don't want any more connections to – and that includes any titles regarding – the game. I'm even thinking about going and relinquishing my title of Japanese National Champion. So, don't go blabbing about this, Yuugi. You can keep your title."

"Haga, I don't understand – This was what you joined an evil cult for!"

"Exactly!" Haga nearly snapped, shaking his head. Normally, it would have felt strange to tell Yuugi what he had been thinking about. But he couldn't help it. This just had to be said. Immediately, or else Haga felt he would explode. "Look at what this…this…game has done to me. I've become obsessed. I worried the hell out of my sister when I left for the U.S.! It took me over for a while and, even though I didn't care at the time, I don't like it in retrospect. When I finally told Hotaru about what I did over in America – basically joining a cult to destroy the world – she looked so hurt and confused. How screwed up was I? I can't do that to her again."

Rebecca could see his point. She didn't like what the game had done to him, either.

"Plus, now that the Pharaoh's gone, I'm starting to realize that there are a lot more priorities I should be focusing on. The 'champion' title is fleeting, after all. I was a big shot one day, and a laughing stock the next. It's nothing stable to stand on for the rest of my life." He was afraid of losing, and falling apart, again. "Besides, I'm starting college next year and I'm even thinking about getting a part-time job at some point, while I'm studying to become an entomologist." A scientist dedicated to studying insects. "I'm not sure I'll have time for Duel Monsters."

"Wow." Rebecca blinked. She guessed that she hadn't really thought about it that way. She planned on starting college next year too. Would that take up a lot of time as well? Maybe, Haga was on to something. "But, why do you need a job anyway, Haga? Aren't you rich?"

"I'm only thinking about it." Haga shrugged. His sister worked, after all. "But, I'm definitely going to start doing some serious studies of insects. After observing them all my life, I'm practically already an entomologist. All that's missing is my college degree. Plus, I'd like to get the chance to start studying for specialization in the parasitological field. That's always been a big area of interest for me…Definitely not going to have enough time to be a card game champion."

"All right, then." Yuugi beamed at Haga, understanding. He was growing up, and getting wiser all right. "I'll keep quiet about our duel."

"Good." Haga nodded. Perhaps, he could get used to this guy, after all. Wait, of course not. That would be impossible. Probably. In any case, he reached forward and somewhat tentatively shook Yuugi's hand. "Thanks for dueling me, anyway. And more than that, thank you for taking me seriously."

"The Pharaoh never really did." Yuugi admitted before laughing nervously. "Not until you joined an evil cult, at least."

"Haha, but then he took me, shall we say, a little too seriously!" He sighed. "Quite the temper, that guy had…"

"Maybe, that's because you made him think that you had destroyed any chance of his ever seeing his friend again." Yuugi deadpanned. "And then you said, 'Just kidding!' afterwards. I think that actually made it worse."

"…Yeah, I guess that would kill a mood pretty quickly."

"You think?" Rebecca quirked a brow, but then she laughed. "See? Isn't this great? The three of us, just laughing about the old times like this? Makes it all seem a little happier, huh?"

"Yeah." Haga snorted. "Just don't get used to it."

"Haga…Are you trying to act like more of a jerk than you actually are?" Yuugi grinned, himself feeling a bit bold at this point.

"Yuugi…Are you trying to get me pissed off?" Haga flashed an equally bright grin. He'd used the same saccharine-sweet tone as Yuugi had. He was, of course, joking. They both were.

"Haga," said a voice that was most certainly not joking. This time, it came from the mansion. It was Hotaru wearing a grin of her own. Hers, in contrast, was just a little demented. "Are you trying to let bugs in through the front door?"

They had been holding their conversation in the doorway this entire time and it had taken them this long to realize it.

"Yeeeeees, Hotaru~!" Haga practically sang without skipping a beat. He was one of the few people in the world Hotaru couldn't always intimidate. "Are you really surprised when I do this anymore?"

"Not at all." Hotaru laughed, as did Rebecca and Yuugi. They all stood in the presence of the only boy who would want insects in his house. "Now, close the door. Whoever wants to leave, can leave. But, if I find any insect bites on me tomorrow morning, it's coming out of your allowance, Haga."

"Understood." Haga turned to Yuugi. "Well, bye." All parties involved waved and said their goodbyes before the door was closed.

"So, Haga, tell me honestly: Do you think that you and Yuugi will ever be able to become friends?" Rebecca asked.

"No," Haga answered a little too quickly. "Never."

"Agh...You." Rebecca just sighed and shook her head. But, then she quickly turned to her friend and gave him a warm, firm, hug. "Still, I'm proud of you for at least trying to act mature around Yuugi. Some of the time. A little bit."

"Wow, you have low standards about this!" Haga laughed nervously, wondering once again whether or not he was supposed to return this longer-than-usual hug. So, he decided to compromise diplomatically by reaching over and placing a hand on Rebecca's shoulder.

It's a start, the girl thought dryly as she let go of her friend.

The two of them hung out around the mansion (and, as usual, bothered Hotaru) for the rest of the day.


"Hey, Guys!" Yuugi greeted his friends as he ran to meet them at the game shop.

"Yuugi! There you are." Honda turned to see him, as did Jounouchi and Anzu.

"Where have you been all morning?" Anzu asked casually.

"A friend's house." Yuugi replied with a shrug and a secretive smile. Despite further interrogation from his friends, Yuugi elaborated no further.

But Yuugi's grandpa, remembering that Rebecca had dragged him off that morning, thought about why Yuugi would be hiding anything about it. Wait…hadn't Arthur Hopkins mentioned something about Rebecca spending her days with Insector Haga? Once he realized this, and put the puzzle pieces together, Mr. Mutou couldn't help but chuckle to himself.


Around the time when she wasn't being innocently "spied on" (Haga's idea – his way of "getting back at" his older sister for installing surveillance equipment in the most pointless of places) by the two mischievous little tricksters in her mansion, Hotaru was staring at the phone in her combination room/office. Far as Haga knew, this phone didn't even exist. He only knew about the one in the living room.

This was Hotaru's personal phone, which she routinely checked for "bugs." The Insector family, as one of the wealthiest in Japan, had its fair share of enemies after all.

After a few more seconds of contemplation, Hotaru removed the phone from its receiver and stared at the number buttons. She thought to herself. If she told her boss about the duel that had taken place today, the results would be amusing to say the least. She did love to see Mr. Kaiba show some emotion, besides irritation. Plus, the doting elder sister did enjoy bragging about her little brother and this was a prime opportunity.

But then again, Hotaru questioned the idea of going behind Haga's back to tell Seto Kaiba of all people about this victory. Though she had neglected to check the recording of his most recent conversation in the doorway, Hotaru got the feeling that her brother was losing interest in Duel Monsters. It was understandable really, as he had never actually enjoyed the game itself in the first place so much as he enjoyed winning. At any game at all, really.

So, after a little more thought, Hotaru resolved to abandon her mischievous idea, and went back to looking up articles online.

A wise decision on her part.


At some point, Rebecca remembered to return the jacket Haga had let her borrow the other day. He told her to keep it, and that he had plenty of copies – one of which he had been wearing since this morning. She was confused at first, but ended up holding on to his jacket as something of a keepsake. In return, Rebecca decided to give him a really pretty, thumb nail-sized sapphire. It had been something that she'd found at one of her grandfather's digs, and had kept for herself because it was her favorite color. The color reminded her of Haga's eyes, at times when they shined their brightest. He liked the sapphire, though his favorite color was actually green, and decided to keep it.

The two talked, played chess, and explored the mansion until nine o'clock, when Rebecca called her grandpa and told him that she'd be sleeping over at Haga's house. Mr. Hopkins, having gotten to know Hotaru and Haga pretty well over the past month, happily agreed.

They accidentally fell asleep on the living room couch, sometime around 3:30 in the morning, in the middle of watching Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind– Haga's favorite out of the three Miyazaki movies they'd watched that night.

When she went to go wake them up at 8:00 AM, Hotaru found the two kids laying on their sides, heads resting on opposite arm cushions of the couch, their sock-covered feet just barely touching. Rebecca's glasses sat crookedly on her face while Haga's were clinging by an ear, having all but fallen off. Both wore noticeably serene expressions.

Hotaru simply smile and decided to let them sleep a little longer.

She had never seen Haga look so peaceful.


Thank you for reading. ^^ Please, review if you have the time.