Title: Sow and Reap

Author: Serena J

Rating: R for use of the f-word and some sexual content

Genre(s): Romance, Angst

Pairing(s): Primary Seto/Joey/Atemu

Spoilers: none

Beta: Mishiko

Disclaimer: Just the words, not the folks.

Summary: When Seto takes an impromptu vacation, he turns everyone's life upside down.

Chapter 22: Exits and Entrances


Chapter 22

The next afternoon, I meet a thoroughly mentally exhausted Honda at the Headmaster's office.

"Honda, I'd like to have a word with both you and the Headmaster," I said in my best 'no argument ' voice.

"Now?" He groaned. "Kaiba – fine!" He went in and threw himself into the nearest chair. "What?"

Headmaster gave me an odd look and I let a small smile cross my face before turning sternly to Honda. "I do not see why you are being allowed to opt-out of the Sociology paper purely because you will be leaving school a paltry two weeks early."

"Oh I see." Headmaster frowned. "Yes, that is a serious lapse."

"WHAT!" Honda jumped up. "This is a joke, right? You want me to write a 20-page research paper, now? I'm leaving tomorrow!"

"I could do it," I asserted. Headmaster politely covered his mouth and coughed.

"Then you do it!" Honda shot back. "I thought you said the paper didn't matter?"

"That was before I knew other students were aware that you had a waiver."

"Oh come on! It's Kaiba! How many waivers has he gotten?"

"Kaiba's a special case."

"Oh please!"

"I do have a compromise," I offered.

"Do tell." Headmaster seemed to be enjoying this as much as I.

My phone buzzed which was the signal I was waiting for; Yugi was ready. "An essay, say 5-pages. Nothing he'd have to research but something that demonstrates a basic understanding of the concepts."

"An excellent suggestion, Kaiba-san." Headmaster nodded and opened his calender. "You could write that. We'll make the due date simply before graduation. You may e-mail it to me. What will your topic be?"

"How about the social ineptness of rich damned bastards?" Honda snarled.

"Perfect!" Headmaster began writing. "Socially inept, rich damned bastards. Kaiba-san? Your topic?"

"Mine?" I asked with a bit of a start.

"You did say that you could do this." He looked at me almost innocently. "It wouldn't be fair not to give you the assignment as well."

The longer I glared at him, the smugger his expression became. "I'll have to consider the subject," I said finally.

"I know!" He began writing. "What I learned in school. You understand, of course, that I mean about how people interact with one another. That, after all, is what you enrolled here to learn."

"Apparently, I may have missed a lesson," I griped. I pulled out my assignment book and added the essay to the list of assignment I managed to get pushed until after finals.

"There is only one lesson. People are only mostly predictable." He stood up. "Honda-san, I am sorry that you won't be continuing your education, but I wish you well in the future." He bowed to Honda quite deeply. "Kaiba-san, I'll see you Monday. Did you need me for anything else, or am I dismissed?" He smiled at his own joke.

"No, sir," I managed to be polite.

"Thank you, sir," Honda snapped, glared at me and left. I had to hurry a bit to catch him.

"Well, that didn't go as I expected." I sighed heavily.

"Yeah, well at least you got screwed too. What the hell are you trying to do to me, dude?" He yelled.

"I was hoping to..."

He cut me off. "You were hoping to stick your great, big, arrogant butt into somebody's business other than your own! Look, Kaiba." He stopped walking and actually poked me in the chest to emphasize his point. "It is my decision. I'm going. That's final. If you need to pry so much, why don't you pry into why you keep having nightmares? Or how about why you can't keep a boyfriend for a full semester. Oh, here's a good one – why not pry into why everyone hates the rich kid? I'll tell you, it's because he's a jerk!" He turned and stomped off.

Again, someone who claims to be my friend has no understanding of how I think. No consideration for how I feel. I started to let him go to his party on his own until I remembered that I was the one taking him to the affair that he didn't actually know about.

"Damn," I snarled to myself and went after him. I would drop him off at the store and be done with it.

I grabbed his shoulder to stop him when I finally caught up with him. He was almost past the student parking lot. "Honda, wait."

"What?" He snapped. He kept his face turned away from me.

"I'll give you a ride."

He pushed my hand away. "I don't want a ride, Kaiba. Thanks."

I grabbed him again. Honda is larger than I am but not considerably stronger. "I'd like to." Which, I was beginning to think was true.

He wiped his face and looked at me. His eyes were pink. "You remember that whole thing about how you learned about friendship from me? I must have skipped something. If you know a friend is going through a rough time, you don't try to make it worse!"

"A rough time –" I stopped myself suddenly, realizing what I had missed all along. "You don't want to go."

His face twisted in confusion. "Of course I don't want to go! I wanted to go to college! I wanted to at least have time to go see Anzu, find out once and for all what's going on! I mean, if she cared, she'd have called at least once, you'd think. It's been almost six months. Nothing!"

"Then stay. I have the resources to –"

"To what? To piss your father off with this vote next week? Even if you go back, then what? You can't pay for my whole life, Kaiba. I have to solve my problems, make my own way. Even if it does suck." He looked away again.

He was absolutely wrong. And absolutely right. And if our positions were reversed, he'd tell me that. "You are right, Honda. Your life should be your decision. I am so used to telling people what to do that I forget that sometimes it is not my place to do so." I'd save why he was wrong for when I could actually do something about the problem. "I'm sorry I tried to interfere." I had to laugh. "I can't promise that I won't do so again, but you have my express permission to tell me to keep my big arrogant butt out of your affairs." I struggled to look behind myself. "Although, I'd been told it was rather slender."

He laughed slightly. "I wouldn't know. I was speaking figuratively only. Not on your figure!" He added before I could suggest it. He sighed. "I'm sorry I blew up like that. It's just, everybody's all wigged out about me going. I just wish everyone would say 'see you when you get back' and not act like this is forever."

I shrugged. "No one wants to see you go. I don't. I was rather hoping you would be at my first official dinner home. It will be an astoundingly large free meal."

He smiled. "Buy me a pizza and we'll call it even."

"Excellent." I gestured toward my bike. "I need to make one stop first. Shall we?"

When we pulled into the parking lot of Kame Game shop, however, Honda sat looking at me. "Yugi didn't think this would work, did he?"

"Think what would work?" I asked blithely.

"He's got some surprise party thing going, right?"

"I have no idea. And frankly, I doubt I'd be invited since, as you keep reminding me, I have yet to 'apologize' to Pharaoh. And before you ask, no that is not why I am here. Mutou's Grandfather has an Arena that needs repairs. He called me. I am a fully certified technician, you know."

"Yeah. Ok." He got off the bike. "Sorry. I'm just tired. I don't want any big deals; I just want to go home."

"Of course," I said as I opened the door. "This repair shouldn't take long. Then we can go home and you can rest." I stepped aside. "Please, after you."

"SURPRISE!"

It sounded like a thousand people and Honda stepped back into me as they truly did surprise him. He sputtered for a moment before finding his voice. "You lying sonova gun!"

"I did not lie." I shrugged and push him forward. "I prevaricated."

"Hiroto!" Mutou embraced his friend. "Promise me you get satellite out there otherwise we're never gonna talk any more."

There were actually fewer people in attendance than were at the Christmas party, but Honda was glad to see all of them specifically. Apart from Miko-chan and KimKim, Mutou had picked people of particular importance to Honda. I marveled at the interactions around me from a corner by the register. Honda did not want a fuss, had only wanted people to wish him well and Mutou managed to invite only people who did just that. If he decided to retire from dueling, I was considering hiring Mutou as an event planner.

"You are being decidedly remiss." Pharaoh slipped quietly beside me, his voice once again igniting my senses.

"I will have several opportunities to speak my piece to him. For these others, it may be their last chance." I looked at him. "You look well." He looked nearly irresistible.

"As do you." He looked back at the group. "I will not be second. Not to anyone, not to anything." He said softly.

"KaibaCorp is first." I pointed out. "Even I am second to it."

He nodded. "If that is as you wish, then so be it." He moved back into the party.

It was not as I wished, but it was the choice I had to make. I glanced at my watch. It was late enough that Honda and I should both be considering sleep. I caught Mutou's eye and indicated my watch. He checked his own and frowned.

A few minutes later, people began making their exits. It was subtle, almost brilliant and even I had to be impressed by Mutou's ability to convince a whole room of people that it was time to leave, without once saying 'get out'. Mai said it once or twice, but not until after people were already leaving.

Eventually, the group was down to the Mutous, Honda and I. Mai said her final farewells, claiming that she couldn't come to the dock in the morning. Honda hugged her as if they had been lovers themselves not simply friends.

"I'm not going anywhere!" he insisted. "Ten days out. I'll be back for graduation."

"You better be!" she fumed. "This one's already been impossible since he heard you were leaving."

"Dude, you're gone half the time anyway." Honda laughed.

"I refuse to see your point." Mutou quipped. He turned serious, "So, uh, she didn't…." Honda shook his head. "Wow." He exhaled loudly. "All for the best, right? Hey – that means Mai can start setting you up with her friends, right?"

"My friends!" Mai laughed. "Sure!"

"Stars of The Grudge, The Eye and The Ring." Pharaoh commented. "If you have seen those, Honda, you've met her friends." Everyone laughed and Mai denied any resemblance between her friends and the horror movies.

"At least my friends are not homicidal." I reminded him. "And KimKim would be in your bed now if you gave her the key." I pretended to look for my keys. "Or did I give her mine?"

"If you did, she's sleeping in your bed!" Honda insisted. "Your friends get me in trouble!" He laughed for another minute and then sighed. "It's ok. I knew I wasn't really Anzu's type. I mean, hell, she worked for you, Kaiba."

"And that didn't warn you away in the first place?" Pharaoh teased.

"I didn't know," Honda protested.

"You gotta check these things, Honda," Mai advised. "Trust me, I'll find somebody really hot."

"Who can cook," I reminded her.

Mai looked thoughtful. "Oh you want her to do that wife crap."

"Sure, honey, just like you," Mutou said. "She does all that, cooking, cleaning, sex on demand." He managed to dodge when she swung at him.

"I'll get you later," she promised. "I've got the car keys and I'm going to bed so unless you want to stay here…." She headed for the door.

We all chuckled as Mutou scrambled after her, promising to see us at the dock in the morning.

Honda and I followed. "So you and Yami didn't make up?"

"We agreed that we have different priorities." I handed him my helmet – since I only had one, I always let him wear it – and got on the bike. "I think it's for the best."

"Are you sure?" He sat down and held the back of the seat. He always held the seat, never me. "It kind of sucks, that both our love lives reek."

"Offering?" I asked with a sly look.

"Ew."

I had to laugh. "Then hold on."

I took the short route home. About halfway there, we passed a lone boy in our school uniform. He waved as we passed.

When we got home Honda looked back toward the way we came. "Hope he's ok."

"Who?"

"Kajiki. He usually rides with Tsunami. I don't know why he was walking."

"Oh." We started up the stairs and I started thinking.

Kajiki Ryota had asked me out while I was still with Joey. He was on the cheering squad. Although his face was not particularly handsome, his body was physically attractive and his personality was tolerable. I wasn't intending great conversation with him.

I stopped. "Honda, I think I will check on him."

"What?" He turned and gaped at me, stunned.

"Make sure he is alright. I could simply give him a ride home." Honda continued to look stunned. "It is, after all, what you would have done."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"I am trying to learn how not to be a jerk."

"I didn't mean that."

I had to grin. "That's because you are too much of a gentleman to call me a dick." He blushed and I went back down to my bike. "I'll be back as soon as I've taken care of things."

"Hey Kaiba!" He yelled from above me. "You're a dick!"

We both laughed.

I found Kajiki about a mile from where we'd seen him. I had guessed right about the direction he was going and caught up with him easily.

"Rather late to be out walking, isn't it?" I asked after I pulled up beside the rather stunned young man.

"Kaiba! Hi! What are you doing here?"

"I saw you walking; I thought you might appreciate a ride."

"Sure!" He answered excitedly.

I took off the helmet and offered it to him. "Here, get on." When he sat, his hand touched me briefly and then abruptly moved to the back of the seat. I looked over my shoulder at him. "You can hold me, if you'd like."

"Oh, uh, I..."

"I'd prefer it, actually."

"Oh...ok." His arms slipped around my waist. They tightened as I revved the engine.

"Do you need to go straight home?"

"No." He swallowed hard. "Why?"

"I thought we might ride for a while." I reached back and stroked his leg. "Maybe go someplace quiet and talk. It's a lovely evening."

"Talk?" His voice dropped an octave. "Just talk?"

"Unless you'd rather do something else."

"We could go back to my place," he offered in a rush. "It's just my sister and I tonight. It's quiet."

"So we'd be alone? In your room?" He nodded. "Should I be worried that you would take advantage of me?"

"No!" he said, shocked by the suggestion.

"Maybe, then, you should consider making me worry about it." I turned forward again and started the bike before he could respond.

I drove fast, taking a pair of turns at unsafe speeds before circling through a picturesque neighborhood I used to ride Joey through and past one of the more elaborate Shinto shrines. I stopped nearby.

Kajiki was clinging to me. "Wow! You ride fast!" he panted. His heart was pounding and I could feel him growing harder behind me.

"Do you like that?"

"I let you know when I calm down." He chuckled breathlessly. "What's this?"

"A shrine. The chi here is supposed to be very –" I paused and looked at him, "very invigorating for men. It's a good place to offer prayers before meeting a lover. I was hoping you might find that as interesting as I do. At least, for tonight."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, oh yeah. I find that fascinating tonight. It's the most interesting thing I've ever heard."

I got up. "Care to take a closer look?"

"Sure."

We looked over the shrine. Phallic symbols were engraved or embossed everywhere. A 4-foot tall phallus stood on the central alter and incense and offering were strung around it. Prayers had been folded up and slipped into slots at the base. Kajiki found one on the floor. He picked it up, read it and snickered.

"Yeah, let's all pray for this guy; 'Please don't let her be pregnant'."

"This may be the wrong shrine for that one."

"If it were me, I'd leave it at every shrine in the prefecture!" We both laughed and he refolded the prayer then submitted it properly. "Namaste."

"Any prayers of your own you want answered?" I asked coyly.

He leaned against the altar and studied me. "I have a question. I thought you were seeing Mutou's brother."

"We broke up." I said simply. "I do not want a long-term attachment, you understand. Just a night or two."

"Oh." He nodded. "You want someone to fuck around with in secret."

I shrugged. "Not necessarily in secret, but I do not expect my relations to become common knowledge." I stepped closer to him, letting my leg rub against his. "It that a problem? Do you need something open, permanent?"

"Uh, no." I could actually feel his body temperature going up. "No, I just wanted to know where I stood."

"You stand right here." I moved over, so that my legs were between his and put my arms around his waist. "I need a lover for the night, not a partner for my life," I whispered. "I was hoping you'd be willing. Are you?"

"Yeah," he breathed, seeming just a little overwhelmed. "I –"

I didn't let him finish; I kissed him gently. Then a little more greedily. He responded by kissing me in return with just as much need.

"Seme or uke?" He managed to ask between kisses.

"Seme," I replied, running my hands under his shirt and finding his nipples rock hard. "You?"

"Same," he grunted. "Oral?"

"Yes."

"Cool. Here?"

"If you'd like." I pulled away from him, letting go of his chest and moving his hands from my ass. "But I'd rather go somewhere a little more private."

"My house," he affirmed. "Seriously."

"Tell me where to go." I led him back to my bike and he didn't delay getting on or directing me to his home.

At his house, his sister yelled out to confirm that it was him coming in. He didn't mention having a guest.

We moved quietly to his bedroom at the back of the house. The first thing he did was open the window. "If you don't want to leave through the front door later, you can go out here. You have to creep around to the side, but the roof of the storage shed is right there and then you can climb down easily from there. It's like a two-man somersault."

I grinned at him. "You slip me in, you sneak me out. You've done this before."

He blushed. "Not ever, but..."

I put my fingers over his lips. "I rather like the idea. I'll be your secret." I let my finger tip play along his lips. "What other secrets are you hiding?"

"If you're going to torture me, this is going to be really embarrassing," he sighed.

"If I were going to torture you, I'd want a full day, not a few hours."

"A day?" He didn't seem to know how to respond to that.

"Right now, I'd like to see if my prayers were answered." With one hand I began unbuttoning his shirt. The other I let stroke his thigh.

"Mine have," he gasped and hurried to open my shirt. He moved it out of his way and I cooed as his lips and tongue began toying with my nipples.

Rather quickly we were on the floor kissing, licking, nibbling, teasing. He wasn't Joey, he wasn't Pharaoh but he was here and enough, and I even found myself enjoying his body, his touch.

But it wasn't the same.

When were done, he got me a towel to wipe my chest with and asked if I wanted to stay the night.

"I can't, I'm afraid. I will be taking Honda to the dock in only a few hours so I need to get back." I took his chin and kissed him. "Thank you."

"Are you kidding?" He sighed, "thank you."

I did leave through the window. Kajiki was right; it was an easy flip to the ground. He grinned at me from the window as I managed to stick the landing with a small flourish. I grinned back and blew him a kiss before finding my way back to my bike and heading home.

When I got there, a lamp was on in the living room and Honda-sama was reading. "You kind of late. You find that kid?"

"My classmate. Yes." For no reason I could determine, I did not want to tell him how I spent my evening. "I got him home safely."

"Good. Hiroto gone to bed already. Oh, I almost forgot. Man named Yamada call you. He say phone disconnected, but call him Monday. You need money –"

"No." I stopped him, genuinely embarrassed. "I simply forgot it. Someone else has always paid my bills for me. I guess it's hard to remember."

"Aw, you get used to it." He yawned. "You know about fish?"

"Beyond that sushi and grilled salmon both come served on a plate? Not a thing."

"Joey got me this for my birthday last year. The Emperor wrote it. He likes fish." He laughed. "But he the Emperor, he has to use big words."

"Are they words with any value?"

He shrugged. "All kind of common sense. Well, maybe not so much. You work on a boat, you see lot of fish. I guess I work in the city, I value them more. Then again, if I work in the city, I not want to read about fish, eh?"

"Probably not," I agreed.

He sat silently and looked at me. I began to feel uncomfortable; I didn't know what I was feeling guilty about, but I was feeling so.

He closed his book. "Hiroto think you pretty upset about something," he said finally.

I thought through the evening. "No. If anything, I would expect him to still be angry with me. I'm afraid I inadvertently got an additional paper assigned to he and I."

Honda-san nodded. "He told me he say some pretty harsh things."

In retrospect, nothing Honda said to me seemed like more than ill-considered thoughts spoken in the heat of anger. "I sincerely doubt Honda has ever said a harsh word and certainly not one that wasn't deserved."

He smiled at me, stood up, then ruffled my hair. "You a good kid. Keep it up; you be a good man."

It didn't make sense, but from him the words felt like high praise. "As they say at school, sir: takes one to know one."

A yawn interrupted his grin. "Alright, you. I'm tired so you go sleep."

"Shouldn't you sleep if you are tired?"

"That too."

We wished each other a good night and both turned in.

Joey and Pharaoh both visited my dreams, but not enough to wake me. Just enough to ensure I'd be doing yet another load of laundry.

Honda-sama woke us both up at sunrise. "You sleep when nets down!"

Honda was already packed – not that he needed to take much more than a clean shirt and a toothbrush – so it didn't take either of us long to bathe and dress.

Honda-sama was planning to drive to the dock, but I needed my bike to get home. They were about to pull off when I had another idea. I pulled up in front of them and got off the bike. I opened the passenger car door and handed Honda my helmet. "You drive, I'll ride."

"Seriously?" He asked with a great deal of excitement. "Cool!" We switched and he peeled out of the parking lot before I could get the seat belt on.

Honda-sama took the trip at a considerably saner pace. He spent most of the time telling me about the Emperor's book, which I had not even the vaguest interest in. But I did manage to stay awake the entire trip.

At the dock, Mutou and Pharaoh were already wishing Honda bon voyage. Unlike the night before, Mutou was visibly upset.

"I'm sorry, Hiro," he sniffed, "but I worry enough about your Dad going overboard. Now I have to worry about you too!"

"Aw, he swim real good. He go in, I pull him back. Unless the shark get him first," his father joked.

"Thanks, Dad." Honda rolled his eyes as Mutou actually began to cry. "Big help."

"I don't understand." The more time I spent with Mutou, the more incomprehensible I found him. "Yesterday he was fine."

"Yesterday he was putting on a brave face." Pharaoh informed me. "Today, he's being honest."

"Mutou," I said, "you must accept Honda's decision. Neither of us has the right to tell him not to go."

"I know," he said, already recovering himself. "But I hate this."

We got Honda and his Father aboard without too much more ado. Much like seeing Joey off, I kept my goodbye to a minimum.

"You gonna miss me?" Honda asked with a smirk.

"Of course not," I replied easily. "A simple act of will."

"Riiiiiiiiight." Honda nodded.

We waited until they went below deck and then walked back to the parking area. Mutou asked if I wanted to go back to Kame Game with them, but I declined. It occurred to me as we walked that I had two days, with an empty apartment and nothing to fill the time with. There was only so much studying I could do.

If Pharaoh were more reasonable, I would fill my hours with him. Joey was – I did not understand why I had so much trouble accepting that my relationship with Wheeler was over.

I got on my bike and rode back to town. I could stop by Mokuba's condo and make sure that there were no last minute changes. I could pick up a few groceries. I needed to go to the cell phone store and pay my bill as well.

Instead, I found my way to Kajiki's home.