This one is lengthy! Hopefully that's a good thing. :) Enjoy, you wonderful people you.
Amnesiac Dreams
XXVIII. Song of Laughter
Mokuba long lost in a prototype video game Kaiba Corp was currently working on. The young genius loved to fiddle through and tinker with the mechanics. His homework done and put away, he sat there in his brother's office while Kaiba typed away on the computer at the desk. He paused the game and glanced over at his brother who was focused on his task at hand. He sent a text to Jounouchi then went back to the game.
Kaiba sat there at his desk, 'They were hit men. I doubt the gang the mutt was a part of had the money to hire them. They weren't the best but are in the higher dollar range. So who contracted these guys to kill him?' Having acquired the names of the attackers from the hospital - their real identities unfolded before him, revealing a deeper plot may have been - or rather still is- in the works. 'If it was the other party that hired these two... Why have them attack Jounouchi? What benefit do they get from killing him? They wouldn't get the money they lent Kazo back. They would have to kill his father as well and they've made no attempts to do so. Were they really relying on him taking the fall - and even so, his sister and mother would get any money he left behind. They haven't attacked them after all this time either.' There was something connecting this together and Kaiba would figure it out.
Jounouchi and the gang made it to the restaurant, Suki Dinh's Café. To the blond's surprise it was the place he ate with Shizuka, his mom and Erio. His body tensed. "What if they're here?" He questioned under his breath. 'No it doesn't matter. Even if they were here, so what? I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm not gonna be afraid to have fun with my friends. I wouldn't be able to be here with them at all, if I stayed scared of disappointing her.' The group gathered together and waited for Otogi and Honda to pull in. Mai leaned against the car talking to some overseas friend on the phone. "I will head on in and let the guys know we're here." Ryou rushed into the building, seeming both nervous and excited.
"He really seems to have brightened since working. I was worried at first because he's always so tired in class." Anzu spoke aloud as the white-haired teen disappeared behind the entrance doors.
Yugi nodded. "I agree. He hardly has time to hang out with us but it looks like he's doing okay." He continued with relief in his tone. "He's definitely a lot happier than before he started working."
This confused Jounouchi a little. "So..." The two turned to him with warm eyes. "Was he in trouble or something? You guys make it sound like, I dunno, he was going through something before he started workin' here." He asked feeling bad for not remembering. Was it something really important?
Anzu nodded slowly but Yugi made to explain a bit about it. "It has a lot to do with our last battles against evil. I know it sounds kinda crazy but he was being used by an evil spirit of sorts and forced to do a lot of things that hurt us and caused a lot of pain. Well, once that entity was defeated it left him in a terrible state. Though he recovered psychically, mentally he had a lot to work through." He shook his head. "Of course there was more to it, but he didn't want to concern us and kept to himself for a while." The shorter seemed guilty. "Even now he doesn't talk about it much."
Jounouchi frowned, 'Why can't I remember anything? How much am I missing?' Anzu sighed softly. "You and Yugi tried every day to reach out to him but he was so ashamed of everything that had happened, he refused the help." She smiled weakly. "I know it had to be a very hard time for him to overcome an unbearable darkness on his own but we couldn't get through to him."
"Sometimes pride gets the better of us and to him I think he was close to losing what small part of him was left and needed to find himself. I guess now I can understand why he needed to be away from us but at the time it almost made me go insane." Yugi recalled with a helpless chuckle.
"I had no idea. He seems so calm and self-assured." Jounouchi sighed heavily. 'Poor Ryou.' The thought of being so out of touch with his friends unnerved him. 'I will remember. I will.'
The sound of a roaring motorcycle hit their ears and moments later Honda and Otogi pulled up. A few rumbles later, Honda shut the engine off. Otogi quickly let go of him and jumped to his feet, happy to be off the blasted thing once more. A tint of pink coloring his cheeks.
Honda pulled off his helmet. "Sorry about the delay. I had to stop and get gas. I should've put it in this morning before school but I ran late and didn't have time." Yugi shook his head to show it wasn't a problem. A wry smirk met the brunet's lips, "I was afraid of getting into a wreck because Princess here was holding on so tight I almost lost consciousness."
Otogi huffed in embarrassment. "Please. If you were a better driver I wouldn't have to worry about MY life flashing before my eyes. Your driving is deplorable - how much did you bribe the instructor to let you have a license?" He countered.
Anzu exhaled exasperate. "They don't quit."
Jounouchi raised a brow and couldn't help agree. "They really don't." He was a bit astonished that those two went back and forth so much yet weren't they hanging out the other night? The night he called and Otogi brought him his duffel bag? 'How do they spend time together without killing each other?' "It's complicated." Jounouchi brought his hand to his head as Otogi's voice flashed through his mind for a mere second but quickly faded. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked to see Mokuba had sent him yet another text. ~Hey Jounouchi! Don't forget to bring Seto a plate -it looks like he's on another all-nighter and that usually means he will be too preoccupied to eat a proper meal. it isn't fair I couldn't go with you. . Have enough fun for the both of us! :)~ Jounouchi smiled and put his phone away.
Mai hung up, a bright smile tugging her lips, "What are we still standing around for? Let's head on in." She motioned for them to follow. "I'm starvin'!" The celebrity made to put her phone away.
"You are really popular." Anzu commented a bit surprised as Mai's phone received another text. The older checked her message and laughed to herself at the words displayed.
"You have no idea, hon." Was her reply. "If you like, when summer vacation rolls around, I can bring you along on one of my shoots. It'll be fun to have another girl to talk to." She suggested. Her and Anzu chatted a little further. They entered and saw Ryou standing at the front counter laughing with a blond haired male a bit older than them. The gentle teen waved his friends over.
"Guys this is my boss, Monda Shui. He was the one that trained me when I started. He's been such a great help." Ryou beamed. "And these are my friends." Jounouchi noted the guy and recalled him from earlier. The white haired teen began naming everyone. Before he could get to the amnesiac though,
"Oh hey I remember you. You're... Katsuya. Right? Jounouchi Katsuya?" The named nodded slowly. Monda smiled. "You were here with Erio and Mina the other day. I didn't realize it the first time but you are actually famous. It's a pleasure to have you any time at our humble café." He welcomed sincerely. "Ryou here is a great addition to the fam'. We are very lucky to have him. If you guys would follow me, we've got a private room set up this way." He turned on his heel and headed down a hall. Ryou kept in pace with him and the pair spoke of some other employee.
"Ryou seems especially talkative with him, doesn't he?" Mai whispered over to Jounouchi. "He seems like a good guy, he even remembered you. So your mother and her boyfriend brought you to this place?" She asked curious. "I suppose they know good places to eat.
"Y-yeah. He was our waiter." He recalled how Erio gushed over him and he couldn't help but feel a little resentful. "Apparently he's perfect." He added in whisper to Mai. She gave him a quizzical expression but Jounouchi didn't feel like explaining. At least not with him right there.
"And here we are!" Ryou said upon opening the door. "It's away from the main room and soundproof so we don't have to worry about causing a lot of noise. I know how loud Honda and Otogi can be so I wanted to be prepared." He added with an innocent smile.
Otogi narrowed his eyes and Honda chuckled. "Yeah Otogi goes diva and it's like an explosion went off. I guess I just have that affect on him."
"Don't flatter yourself." The dice-thrower muttered.
Ryou chuckled. "Nobody gets Otogi heated like you do Honda." He agreed. They entered inside the room, Otogi feeling ready to die somewhere. Honda whistled at the size of the room.
"I hope you guys enjoy yourselves. If you need anything just let me know." Monda walked over to a table near the door and picked up a handful of menus. The walls were adorned with paintings of tea ceremonies of various decades. A list of many teas were engraved on a plaque, along with details of each flavor and origin. The table was a large round wood finish that seated twelve with ample space. "We're bringing you some appetizers and Maki should be in to take a drink order." He turned to Ryou, "Rin and the others should be storming in here any second. They had to do something - I dunno, you know how Soku and Rin are. But they'll be here any minute now. I am needed at the front but will be back shortly. If you need me before then, just press this button and I'll come right away." He continued.
Ryou pouted. "I thought you were off today. Weren't you going to join us?" He asked disappointed.
Monda smirked. "I am off. But when in charge it's hard to walk in to work and not have your employees ask for assistance. Besides this is a celebration of you joining the team, you are the one that needs to have fun." He tapped the other on the nose and walked away.
Mai leaned over to Jounouchi, "I could be wrong but I think there's a little more than a friendship brewing between those two." She seemed giddy for some reason.
Jounouchi swallowed hard. "I don't think I know enough of Ryou to make a guess." He watched Ryou slump his shoulders but quickly shake his head and turn with a smile on his face. 'More than a friendship... He does seem a bit different with him though. Then again, he sort of has a mysterious personality - wasn't he poking fun at Otogi and Honda earlier?'
"Well, come on guys let's sit and have some fun. We can grab our seats before the others arrive. Jounouchi I didn't realize you had been here before." Ryou called as he made his way to a large cabinet along the far wall. "Did you enjoy the food?" He asked over his shoulder as he opened it up and pulled out a karaoke machine.
"Ooh, is that a-" Anzu visibly brightened and rushed over to help set up. Yugi joined her, also enthused.
Jounouchi smiled hesitantly. "I did. It was delicious." He replied not sure if the other was actually still interested in his answer as they were pulling out a microphone, speaker and other things the blond wasn't too sure about.
Otogi groaned. "Are we really doing this?" He asked disapprovingly.
"Oh you don't have to if you don't want to, Otogi." Ryou said facing them. "I'm glad you found it delicious Jounouchi. We have some very hardworking chefs here. They are always testing out new recipes and finding ways to improve dishes. There's a remodel coming soon and so they've been preparing a whole new array of food choices."
This made the blond smile a bit. "You really like this place." He stated more than asked. The energy the other expressed was so lively and kind, he sort of felt bad about associating his bad feelings towards his mother and Erio with the café his friend loved dearly.
Ryou smiled sheepishly. "Yes. I really do. I've met wonderful people here - I honestly don't know how I managed to be gifted with amazing people like you guys and now I have even more people to call friends. I probably don't deserve any of it but..." He shrugged. "I will cherish all of you and do what I can to keep you guys."
"Well, you ain't losing us any time soon, hon." Mai chimed in. "Isn't that right guys?" The whole room exclaimed in agreement. "So, I'm up for a little singing tournament. Otogi you should reconsider and sing. You're probably not very good at it but that's fine." She winked.
Otogi folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not playing into your snarky taunts Mai. And you stay outta this." He looked to his left at Honda. The brunet held up his hands and was about to defend himself, "I know you want to say something." He glowered at Honda.
"Well I wasn't. I'm quite aware how good a singer you are. You were great at the Christmas party over at Yugi's, I remember. You just don't like to sing." He defended surprisingly honest and sincere. Otogi was surprised at his praise and found himself speechless. There was a short knock at the door.
"Oh, Maki!" Ryou called as a tall dark haired girl entered the room. A trio of waiters entered and set down on the table, trays of various appetizers just as Monda had said. The taller girl chit chatted with Ryou for a bit before taking everyone's drink order. A sea of chicken tenders, French Fries with bacon and cheese, various fried foods, mini shrimp, fruits and cheeses, mini sandwiches and more.
'Wow this stuff smells delicious! Hmm. I wonder what Kaiba would like...' Jounouchi pondered for a moment. "I guess I can get him a bit of everything..." He mumbled to himself. He pulled out his phone, 'Maybe I should ask him..? No, no. He'd probably just say don't worry about it.' He smiled and text the brunet, ~I heard you are working really hard. Try to take a break ok? Don't over work yourself... You'll worry Mokuba and~ He hesitated but shook his head as his heart raced a little faster. ~me.~ He sent the text before he could change his mind.
"Man this spread looks great!" Honda exclaimed, jabbing the blond in the side. Jounouchi put his phone away.
"Yeah- it does!" He echoed in excitement. His stomach then growled to prove his agreement. The group chose their seats and began filling the small plates provided, with food. Yugi sat on the left of everyone, and in order starting on his right, Anzu, Mai, Jounouchi, Honda, Otogi and finally Ryou.
"But some of this stuff looks outta place for a café? Right?" The pointy haired teen commented further.
"I told you they are remodeling. Suki Dinh's is on the verge of becoming... a restaurant that everyone can enjoy. We'll have the finest, freshest ingredients. We already have amazing chefs. I'll have to introduce you to them some time." Ryou replied between bites of a mini strawberry sandwich. "We're broadening our menu choices and aiming to provide a wide variety of foods."
There were extra seats between Yugi's left and Ryou's right, as the latter's friends would be coming. As if on cue, the door slammed open and in stepped a short girl with a long green ponytail and a tall guy with spiky black hair with blue rimmed glasses and a bored expression seemingly tattooed on his face. The hostess named Maki came in after their loud entrance with two trays of drinks.
"Soku, Rin, you made it!" Ryou stood used to Rin's boisterous personality. He gave the girl a hug - well more like she gave him a big hug and he gave in to her energetic whim. "Guys this is Rin and Soku. Maki are you joining us?" He asked as he helped her divvy up the drinks. "Your shift is about over right?" He pleaded with those soft brown eyes of his.
Her face reddened as she attempted to remain unfazed. "I think I might be a bit too old to be hanging out with a bunch of rambunctious teenagers." She replied, holding the trays to her chest.
"Oh come on, Maki. You're always trying to weasel out of get-togethers. This is for Ryou, don't tell me you don't want him part of our family?" Rin teased. Maki hesitated and the much shorter girl gasped. "Ryou, she doesn't like you! I can't believe it!" The white haired teen smiled as the two began to bicker back and forth before Maki relented with a defeated sigh. Rin always got her way.
Jounouchi's phone buzzed. His eyes danced as he saw Kaiba's name. ~Don't give me a lecture too. I know how to take care of myself. Just have fun - and don't stay out too late.~ He grinned. "Ok." The blond found it funny how Kaiba seemed to still be to the point and serious even in a text. 'And yet Mokuba is sending me texts full of smiley faces and lots and lots of exclamations.' How different the brothers were was crazy.
"Thanks Soku for coming. I really appreciate it." Ryou called to the quiet other. A nod and salute was his reply, which was a lot coming from the stoic other. He introduced Yugi, Jounouchi and the others. Soku seemed to recognize Yugi and Jounouchi. "Oh, Soku's younger brother is a big fan of Duel Monsters and totally idolizes you and Jounouchi." Ryou explained looking to Yugi. Soku nodded.
He pulled out his phone. "Ryou had told me, but I didn't believe him. This is incredible. All of these champions here. My brother will be ecstatic." He stated, though his monotone and straight face hid his excitement like a mask. He snapped some pictures of Mai, Jounouchi and Yugi. "I will need autographs." He stated further. Ryou sweat-dropped.
Mai smirked and Yugi nodded happily. They all sat down and began chowing down. About twenty minutes or so later, Monda joined them along with another male employee named Naka who was a bit of a loud-mouth and insisted he was the future boyfriend of Rin. The group engaged in conversation - Yugi being cornered by the stoic Soku whom sat next to him asking- more like calmly demanding- his stories from Battle City and Duelist Kingdom.
The guy named Naka was in the middle of trying to get Soku to time how fast he could finish a plate of food but the much calmer was too busy interrogating Yugi. Mai and Anzu talked about a photo shoot she had that didn't go smoothly. "And then of course Kaiba had to come storming in, all his high and mighty hot air with him, and had the nerve to scold me like some petulant child. We went back and forth before the photographer finally just started taking pictures of us arguing and getting into each other's faces. We didn't even know we were being photographed! I don't know how but the pictures turned out amazingly well and the shoot was a huge success. Though they had to change the whole theme to fit the images." Anzu face palmed.
Honda and Naka had a contest to see who could eat the most french-fries in the shortest amount of time. Otogi muttered how disgusting the two were, while Maki and Rin continued to bicker affectionately. Jounouchi laughed at everyone's antics, finding the whole evening to be an amazing experience. It felt... 'This is so... perfect...' A fleeting thought as he was enjoying himself too much to think about anything in particular. For the first time since waking up, he wasn't weighed down by his mental anxieties, his worries, his fears.
Anzu and Mai's conversation led to more stories. "...So then Honda goes into the library like a moron and begins shouting out loud that there are snakes in the boy's locker room." Anzu continued through fits of laughter.
"No way! In nothing but a towel?" Mai shook her head in disbelief.
"Yeah and all the students in the room busted out laughing, not even hearing him, the librarian was ticked off and scolded him right there about indecency. It was an absolute riot." The brunet-headed girl said giggling, as she remembered the scene.
Jounouchi couldn't help but laugh. "Did you really do that?" He asked, turning to the pointy haired brunet to his right. Just the thought of his friend doing such a thing was hysterical. He began to laugh out loud at trying to imagine the scene.
"Well, yeah! If you had seen it - you would have too! I mean, it really looked like a damn group of snakes!" He defended. "What else could I do? I mean, they were huge!" He insisted.
Jounouchi shook his head. "But... To the library? In a towel." He'd have to ask Kaiba if he saw that.
Even Otogi was laughing. "Every time they tell me, I still can't get over it."
Honda chuckled and nudged the dice-thrower in the side gently, "What about the time when you came in late because you missed the bus and-"
Otogi glared and covered the brunet's mouth. "Oh no, we're NOT telling that story!" He warned.
Ryou and Monda laughed. "Oh that is a funny one!" The white haired teen insisted. His gaze went to Monda, to his right, "This one is not very fond of mornings and this particular morning made it very obvious. He never showed at the bus stop, so-"
Otogi let go of Honda, turned and grabbed Ryou. His hands covering his mouth. "No Ryou." The white haired teen snickered behind the seething teen's hand.
Monda laughed. "Well, then how about a story about Ryou's first day? That was a funny one? He was soooo adorable." He teased. The muffled snickering ceased and Ryou's fair features paled even more so -if that was possible.
Yugi and the others smiled broadly. Otogi kept his hand over the teen's mouth as he tried to protest. "I kinda want to hear about it." Jounouchi admitted. He wanted to know more about Ryou - more about everyone.
Yugi and Anzu nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Ryou never told us when he had started working. He just one day mentioned it after I inquired as to why he was so tired all the time." The blue-eyed girl stated in a disapproving manner.
Honda folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, that wasn't very cool. We were all worried about ya."
Monda and the others from the café chuckled. "Well, boss, I think you better tell the story. Ryou really was adorable!" Rin exclaimed.
"If you call a stuttering, clumsy fool adorable." Naka cut in with a roll of his eyes.
"Yet you were the first one to help and console him when he was ready to run out of here." Soku chimed in, cleaning a smudge off his glasses. Maki and Rin laughed as they recalled that day.
"Well, it started out normal enough. I had two new hires to train Ryou and another guy named Boka." Ryou mumbled but the older continued despite his muffled protest. The night went on with cheeky jabs and embarrassing stories getting passed around. Along as a few tries at Karaoke. Jounouchi was too nervous to try, despite the others' pleas. 'I don't particularly recall any songs... I wouldn't know how to try singing one.' But he didn't get too down as he watched Anzu and Yugi duet. Honda sang an anime song and some how or another Ryou managed to pull Otogi into a duet. Ryou's friends from the café went a few times and Mai chimed in from time to time.
Mai received a text from an all too familiar number and she smirked. ~You guys have been gone a long time. Don't you think it's about time to be heading home?~ She could almost feel his cold glare and irritated scold through the lettering. She glanced over at Jounouchi who was busy laughing away at Honda and the waiter friend of Ryou's, Naka, butchering a TV series theme song. She smiled, held up her phone and aimed it at the amnesiac blond. "Jounouchi!" She called, he turned with a bright smile still clinging to his cheeks. She tapped her phone and took his picture. "Perfect!" She exclaimed triumphant. He gave her a puzzled look and she shook her head. "I know you're having fun, but we should probably wrap this up and head back. Your 'Prince' is getting jealous of you spending so much time with me."
Jounouchi's face reddened. "My... prince?" He questioned hesitant. For some reason, slightly embarrassed.
She stood to her feet and gave him a sly wink. "Alright, we have one more song and we gotta jet unfortunately. I know the perfect ending song - Everyone up, this is gonna be a group effort." She made her way to the machine and scrolled through the different songs. Everyone stood up curious. Another soft giggle escaped her as she tapped away on her phone and set it standing on its side, facing the microphones where everyone started to gather.
"What song are we singing?" Anzu asked excitedly.
Otogi remained at the table. "I think I'll sit this out. I'm not one for-"
"No, your butt is getting up there or else." Mai ordered. He glared back at her. She ignored him and turned to Jounouchi. "You too, Jounouchi. On your feet."
The blond's cheeks flushed as his nerves surfaced. "No really, I probably shouldn't. I don't really know any-"
"So what? You won't be as bad as these lugheads who DO know the songs and can't sing to save their life." She retorted with a smile. "Come on, Jounouchi. You are the only one who hasn't tried tonight." She held out her hand and urged him to come with her.
He looked down at his hands in his lap, 'What am I scared of? Being a fool?' A small smile tugged at his lips. 'Oh wait, I already am a fool aren't I?' His eyes met those playful purples and he stood. "Alright what the heck. Let's do this." Otogi pouted as Jounouchi gave in and now all eyes were on him.
"Fine. Since Jounouchi is doing this I guess I can too." The blond amnesiac smiled. He seemed to be doing so a lot and he was absolutely enjoying it. Everyone found a place, Mai maneuvered Jounouchi in the front.
"Alright everyone ready?!" She exclaimed. There was a collective cheer and she started the song. Instantly everyone - aside from Jounouchi, Otogi and Maki burst into laughter.
Anzu's cheeks burned from amusement. "JAM Project?! An anime song at that?"
In a loud booming voice, everyone aside from those named, shouted "Vanguard! The words rolled on the screen and everyone started racing to read them in a fast paced rhythm. Everyone was off sync amidst laughter and snickers. "Final Turn!" More chuckles and silliness as music played and the second verse was on the way. Jounouchi started to get the hang of it, even though Honda's loud voice kept hitting his ears and making him grin too much and laugh between words. By the last minute or so, he got the chorus down, being on key though was a different story. "Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh - Vanguard!" The group shouted "Final Turn!" and the song ended.
"That was great!" Yugi said nearly dying of laughter. The group took a few minutes to calm down. Mai picked up her phone and saved the video. A warm smile settled on her lips as she saw Honda and Ryou teasing Jounouchi - Otogi backing the blond up and remarking on Honda's terrible singing. "I am so glad you had fun, Jounouchi." She lifted up her phone and took another picture. Secretly she'd been taking a lot of photos of not just the blond teen but of everyone. She scrolled through all of them stifling laughter by biting on her lip. She went back to the picture of Jounouchi smiling brightly right at the camera and sent it to her brooding boss with a text;
Kaiba thanked the servant for refreshing his cup of coffee. His eyes flitted back to the time and his anger bubbled even more. "Where the hell are they? She's going to get him in trouble. I should've known she wouldn't listen." He took a big drink from his mug and let out a frustrated sigh. His phone went off and he quickly opened up the message from Mai, his eyes widened at the image she sent him. Jounouchi stared back at him, a big smile on his face. His eyes were just sparkling with warmth and amusement. The brunet couldn't help but gaze speechless. Seconds passed quickly before he snapped out of his daze with a soft smirk spreading across his lips at her funny little comment following the picture. ~Here's a gift for you as thanks for letting me take Jounouchi out. I know its later than I promised, but don't take it too hard on him. I'll have your darling home soon.~ "That woman. Really." He chuckled, all traces of frustration nullified. His eyes glanced about the room to see Mokuba curled up on the floor under a blanket. He stood, walked over to the sleeping form, and knelt down, "Time for bed, young man." He picked up his brother and made his way to the younger's room.
