Tea opened the door to Joey's house with a still slightly sulking Kaiba following. Walking into the house she heard the sound of voices coming from the living room and made her way towards it. She peered around the door.

"Woo-hoo! Two Hundred smackers right here baby." Joey grinned and held his hand out to Yugi who picked up the bills and handed them to his friend.

"Joey. It's not that big of a deal to pass go. Everyone gets two hundred dollars."

The blonde still grinned and held the paper money in his hand. "But it still makes me two hundred bucks richer."

Tristan shook his head and picked up the dice. "Whatever. Just leave him be Yugi, being stupid is all he's good at."

Yugi just smiled at this and looked up from the board game. "Hey Tea!"

Joey and Tristan looked up from the game as well.

"Oh hey Tea."

"Wassup?"

She walked further into the room and went and sat down on the couch as she looked over the game. "Oh not much. So what are you guys doing?"

Yugi picked up the dice and smiled. "Monopoly."

Tristan pointed over at Joey. "He's loosing."

"No I'm not!"

"Then why are you almost flat broke?"

"I just keep landing on the wrong squares."

Tristan smiled and started counting his paper money. "Let's see. Eight hundred, nine hundred, a thousand, a thousand and one hundred."

Grumbling Joey got up. "I'm gonna go get a soda." Walking out of the room he went into the fridge and grabbed a can of Pepsi. He was heading back to the living room when he noticed the figure leaning against the wall next to the door muttering something under his breath. The blonde walked over to him and smiled. "Hey dude. I didn't know you were here."

Kaiba lifted his eyes off the ground and glared at Joey. "Shut up."

He cocked his eyebrow. "What's up with you?"

Still glaring Kaiba leaned forward and meshed through Joey's hair at the side of his head for a second and then leaned back against the wall. "You're fine. Now go away."

Walking back into the living room Joey plopped down next to Tea on the couch. "Hey, what's up with Kaiba?"

Tea glanced over at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean has he turned into monkey man or something? He just searched through my hair like he was looking for something."

"Oh. that, hehe." She giggled nervously. "He's just checking, you know."

"For what?"

Tea sighed and rolled her eyes. Just before she was about to answer Kaiba appeared in the doorway. He walked over and looked at Yugi and then Tristan. Crouching down he stared at Yugi's shirt, turning his head he then looked at the back of Tristan's head.

"You're fine. Good." Getting up he went and sat down next to Tea where he tapped at her forehead for the second time that day.

She sighed again. "Seto it's okay, we're all fine."

He just shook his head and stood up again where he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm going home, I have to check on Mokuba. Later." Walking towards the door he was about to head out of the room when Joey grabbed the back of his coat.

"Hey, dude, what's up with you? You're over there in like a total mood and then you come over here and start poking people. What's up with that?"

Kaiba yanked himself out of Joey's grasp and glared at him. "It's nothing, you're fine, now leave me alone."

Standing up Joey walked over and stood in the doorway. "That's not gonna work for ya buddy."

Seto clenched his fists and spoke through gritted teeth. "It's nothing Fido. Now let me leave."

The blonde continued blocking the doorway and shook his head. "Now it's Fido again? Well bow-wow, tell us what's up and then you can go."

"Don't. push it."

"Why? Are you gonna go all homicidal on me again?"

"It all depends."

Joey shrugged. "I'll move when I feel like it."

Kaiba started forward but Tea got up and grabbed his arm. She then looked over at her friend blocking the door. "Come on Joey, just move, it's not that big of a deal."

A little smirk appeared on his face. "Then why can't he just tell us?"

Removing Tea off himself Kaiba strode over in front of Joey, punched him in the stomach, shoved him out of the way, and walked out the door.

The blonde fell to the floor clutching at his stomach. "Ow."

Walking over to him Tea helped him up and walked him back over to the couch. "I told you to move."

Tristan grinned at his winded friend. "I guess he's just too stupid to know what's good for him."

Still trying to get air back in his lungs Joey glared at Tristan and wheezed. "Shut up."

Yugi was still curious as to why Kaiba had been staring at them. "So why was he being weird like that?"

Tea gazed down at him sitting on the floor. "Well, he's kind of upset because we had a little run in with your grandpa earlier. I don't think he likes Seto very much."

Joey couldn't help but smile. "Well why would he? He's the one who killed his blue eyes when Kaiba already had the other three."

Yugi shook his head. "Actually I was talking about him looking over everybody. but it makes sense that he and Grandpa wouldn't like each other still."

"Oh that. It's no big deal. He's just checking to see whether you guys are dead or not."

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Can't he see that though? We're moving aren't we?"

"I don't know. It just makes him feel better to check. You'd probably be the same way too." She stood up. "I better go follow him. It was nice seeing you guys though." With a happy smile she headed out the door leaving her three friends back in Joey's living room.

Yugi looked over at his blonde friend sitting on the couch who was grinning. "What are you smiling about?"

Joey, by now fully back to normal, got up and headed for his room. "Come on you guys, I got a great gag we can pull on Kaiba."

Slowly putting the board game away Yugi shook his head and then followed after Joey. "How do I somehow know that this is going to be a bad idea?"

*******************

Joey came out of the bathroom and Yugi's eyes spread wide.

"Don't tell me that was your idea?"

Walking over to the mirror the blonde adjusted the fake axe on his head and moved a couple strands of red-dyed hair. "What? Don't you think it'll be funny?" With a grin he turned back to face Yugi with his skin painted a slight shade of white so as to get rid of the coloring. "Is there something wrong with it?"

Yugi looked at him with that you're-insane look. "Well YEAH!"

Joey looked down at himself in the mirror again. "What is it?"

"How do you think Kaiba's gonna react to that.?"

The blonde turned back. "He'll have a spazz attack and then later we'll look back on it and laugh our heads off."

Yugi shook his head. "After he gets back from the mental institute."

"Nah. he won't do that."

"How far are you really going to test that? He was freaked out about it that day, and practically WAS insane. And today he was checking to make sure we were all okay, because he's paranoid that he really DID kill us all."

"And your point."

"And my POINT, is that this is a STUPID idea that is going to get yourself SERIOUSLY hurt!"

Joey looked hurt and stared at his friend. "Come on Yug. It'll be fine."

The violet eyes locked onto his friend as he got up and ripped the fake axe out of his friend's hair. "We are not doing this. Seriously Joey. This has got to be one of the stupidest ideas you've ever had."

Just then Tristan walked into the room and taking one look at Joey fell to the floor in hysterics.

"What?"

"THAT was your idea?" He continued laughing his head off and clutching at his sides as little tears streamed out of his eyes.

Yugi just kept glaring at Joey and chucked the plastic axe in a closet. "That we're NOT doing!"

Tristan finally got up off the floor and wiped his eyes on his sleeve as he continued giggling a little. "I can't believe you were actually going to do that Joey."

The blonde slumped down on the floor and grumbled. "It wasn't that bad of an idea."

Walking over he patted his friend's head. "Yeah, it really was. But hey, you're just being your blonde self."

He glared up at Tristan from the floor. "Shut up."

Tristan continued patting his head. "It's okay Fido, we'll just get you some doggy chow, then you'll be all happy."

Yugi had disappeared into the bathroom and now returned with a wet washcloth and gave it to Joey to wipe the white paint off his face. "There you go." He saw that Joey was moping and shook his head. "Don't worry about it Joey, so it was a stupid idea, but at least you didn't go through with it."

He just kept sitting on the floor mumbling about how he wasn't stupid, and it would've been funny, and other such stuff of trying to defend himself.

Rolling his eyes Yugi smiled a little. 'He'll get over it. No big deal. awe well.'

*****************

Kaiba was walking down the street with his hands shoved in his pockets as he glared at the sidewalk. He didn't know exactly why he was so upset. Maybe it was just that Joey was being his normal asshole self. No, that wasn't it. Joey hadn't been that bad. Was it Yugi's Grandpa? A little. That old fool could've at least TRIED to be polite, instead of telling him off like that. So maybe Kaiba hadn't been the nicest to him in the past, but shouldn't grownups be more mature than to hold silly grudges against people? Seto sure wasn't holding any grudges against Yugi. but he had beaten him eventually. He didn't have any grudges against Joey though. even if he had been able to beat the crap out of him a couple times. Well he didn't hold grudges against. Okay so he didn't have any reasons to hold grudges. But STILL, he wouldn't hold any grudges if he had a right to. Except for Gozaburo, one exception. but that was a different story.

Still having his eyes locked on the cement beneath him he shook his head. Stupid people. Why do they always have to be so idiotic? Parents overreacting, Joey being too curious for his own good, old people holding grudges. Tea running up behind him, Tea shouting his name, Tea yanking on his arm, Tea trying to get him to answer, Tea being worried when he just wanted to be left alone, Tea really starting to piss him off, Tea being just in the wrong spot, just at the wrong time, just on the wrong day, just in the wrong week.

He stopped. He stood there. He stared at her. "Tea. leave me alone."

"I know something's wrong. What is it?"

Why does she have to be so damn concerned?!

"Nothing!"

"I know it's something."

"It's nothing!"

"What is it?"

"Fuck off!" Turning away from her he stomped off down the sidewalk.

Idiots, morons, imbeciles, simpletons, half-wits, fools, cretins, idiots. idiots. People were all just idiots. Why did they all have to be so stupid? Everywhere he went they were all just so stupid. Work, stupid. School, stupid. Home, stupid. Anywhere on the whole damn planet, stupid. Why couldn't they all just stop being such morons for a while and learn when to mind their own business. He was fine, just fine, he didn't need any help, so he was in a bit of a mood, that was normal, everybody gets that way every once in a while, everybody wants to kick the shit out of anybody who crosses them wrong occasionally. So why did people always insist on asking about it? Did he have to have a reason? Maybe he just Felt like it. Do you always have to have a reason to want to kick the crap out of somebody?

Kaiba finally stopped himself in front of a house. He'd never been here before, but he knew who lived there. Bakura. That stupid British kid from school. British people were stupid too. He deserved to have his face smashed in just as much as anybody else.

Walking up to the door he knocked sharply on it. He heard the sound of several locks being taken off and then a silver head was before him.

"Hello? May I help you?"

"Bakura." He glared coldly at him.

"Um. yes. That's me. Do you want something?" He glanced around a little nervously. You would too if some random person from your class came up to your door, one who had never spoken to you before directly, and who was now staring death at you.

"You."

"Yeah?"

"You're too happy."

"Um. okay."

"You shouldn't be so happy."

Feeling very uncomfortable at this point Bakura started closing the door. "I think I'm going to go now."

Kaiba kicked the door open and continued glaring daggers at Bakura.

Fidgeting nervously Bakura kept his eyes locked on the floor. "Could I please ask you to leave?"

"Die."

He looked up. "Huh?"

"Die!" Swinging his fist up he connected with Bakura's eye.

"Ow!" He staggered back against the wall clutching at his face. "What was that for?"

"You're stupid, and happy, just like everybody else. That bugs me." He swung his fist again into Bakura's stomach.

Falling to the ground he clutched at his stomach and gasped to get air back in his lungs.

Without any real regard for what he was doing, but just venting his anger onto the hapless being before him Kaiba met his fist a couple more times with Bakura's nose, other eye, cheek, chin, arm, shoulder, and of course a couple good kicks to boot. Finally after a couple of minutes he strode out the door and slammed it behind him leaving a bewildered, bruised, and very beaten Bakura behind.

****************

Tea trudged back into her house and up to her room with a disgruntled expression on her features. Kaiba didn't have a reason to be so upset at her. She was just trying to help. Was that so wrong? Shaking her head she fell down onto her bed and sighed. 'Yeah, it's fine. He'll probably just go lock himself up in his office until he gets it out of his system. Then he'll call, say he's sorry. and all will be well again.'

Almost as if on cue the phone started ringing and Tea reached her arm over and picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is Tea there?"

"This is she, who is it?"

"Bakura."