Things had definitely changed. Jyounochi had taken notice of that but still it was no good pointing it out so he kept on trying to be as bubbly as he could. Though, he couldn't help but notice how more thoughtful Yuugi had turned. In a way, he turned into the Pharaoh, yet he would conceal it by trying to act all cheerful, most of the time there weren't good attempts.
He recalled a time when they were hanging out, just the two of them after school, Jyounochi had requested to check out a new game in the arcade. Yuugi first seemed totally psyched about it, but when they reached there at the arcade, he turned quiet. Jyounochi could tell he was thinking about the Pharaoh because the boy closed his eyes and touched where his heart would be…
He was hoping that somewhere, deep inside of him that the Pharaoh was still within him.
Anzu had been through some arrangements herself. She didn't hang out with them as often, if anything, she started to dig herself among other girls. Though Jyounochi could understand that she needed to get more in touch with her girly-side and tell them girl-stuff, but it was just strange to Jyounochi. He recalled many times when she had always been there for them…where was that Anzu now?
Well, he could also see that now they were in senior year at high school. Anzu was already accepted into a college in America. Maybe, she didn't want their goodbyes to be too sad…like "the" event. Yuugi afterwards sat by himself on the airplane and Jyounochi could've sworn he saw him shed more tears. Anzu was sitting next to Yuugi as she kept to herself. Luckily, Honda broke the tension by pointing out Kaiba's jet whizzing by them.
"Hey Jou!" Honda shook his shoulders, "You paying attention?"
"Oh sorry Honda," he replied with a smirk coming to his face. At least Honda was still himself. So far, they've been hanging out a lot now that their little group of friends seemed to be dysfunctional for the time being. "Ready to hit the road?"
"Yep!" Honda answered excitedly as he jumped into the car after throwing in his backpack in the back seat, "Man, this is gonna be so cool!"
"You bet!" Jyounochi agreed as he sat in the drivers' seat, buckling himself, "though we have to stop and pick up Shizuka along the way, if you don't mind."
"No problem, how is she doing anyway?"
"She's doing great, I get to visit her often now that I'm getting out of school and out of my dad's house." Jyounochi said, "Sometimes I even get to bond with my mom for a bit."
"That's good news to hear…" Honda's voice grew quiet as the sound of the engine filled up the silence. They drove out of the driveway of Honda's apartment and into the road to start their camping trip. Somehow the trip just wasn't the same without Anzu and Yuugi laughing in the background. Sure, Honda was tons of fun to chill out with, but those two were the sane ones and the ones that Jyounochi always looked up to as the wisest. Where were they now…?