Honda poked at the ground morosely. Yuugi and Jounouchi were off dueling again, and he had been told in no uncertain terms that he wasn't needed. Anzu was all the cheerleader they needed.

They didn't need him anymore, he reflected. Yuugi didn't need a protector: between Jounouchi and mou hitori no Yuugi he was covered. And they didn't need someone without much knowledge of the game.

He had tried shifting gears, but Shizuka had chosen Otogi without seeming to realize that there was a choice to be made. And he was too good a man to get in the way of her happiness.

His depressed thoughts were cut off as he heard bullies cackling at soft spoken apologies. He got up and headed out to teach the bullies a lesson when he realized that the voice was Bakura's.

The pale haired boy was trying his best not to looked frightened of the boys who towered over him but gave a slight cry as one grabbed his hair and pulled him off the ground.

Honda skidded around the last corner and chopped down on the bully's arm, making him drop Bakura. He caught the smaller boy and set him on his feet before looking at the group of bullies with a smirk.

"How many of you want to take me on?" he asked, punching his fist into the other hand.

Most of them recognized him and turned, running.

Bakura watched wide eyed as Honda made quick work of the few remaining bullies. "A--arigatou..." he said softly, looking at the brown haired boy in slight amazement.

"You ok, Bakura?"

The boy nodded, almost absentmindedly patting his hair back into place.

"Hey, your arm is scraped. Did they push you or something?" Honda asked in concern, pulling out a handkerchief to wrap around Bakura's arm.

"Just a little..." Bakura confessed. He looked the taller boy with a soft smile as Honda tended the scrape. "Arigatou..."

"Those guys are jerks," Honda brushed it off with a wave. "Can't let them think they have the run of the place."

The pale boy nodded, looking down again, eyes slightly saddened.

"Hey, you ok? Did they do anything else?" Honda paused in thought. "How's your head?"

"Daijoubu, yo, Honda-kun," Bakura smiled. "I'm used to it."

"Used to it!!? Does this happen a lot?"

The boy nodded. "It happens wherever I move. The girls love me and the boys hate me because of it," he gave a small laugh, seeming embarrassed. "Shikattanai, na," he smiled.

Honda punched his hand again, cracking his knuckles. "You just tell me who's been giving you trouble, and I'll teach them when they get for messing with a friend of mine."

Bakura blinked, eyes wide. "Honda-kun..." he said, slightly surprised. Slowly, he gave a soft smile. "Arigatou. Demo... ii yo," he assured. "You can't beat up half the school," he pointed out with a smile.

"Sure I can!" Honda said cheerfully. "Maybe not all at once, but I can do it."

"Dame yo, Honda-kun!" Bakura laughed lightly. "And it's okay. I don't want to make any trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," Honda returned with a grin.
Bakura smiled as Honda walked at his side towards his apartment. "Honda-kun..." he began again. "It's really okay, you don't have to walk me home..."

"A walk home is the perfect place to ambush you, so if I'm going to show people that I mean business this is the best place to start," he said with a grin, crossing his arms behind his head. "Need help with anything?'

"Mou, Honda-kun!" Bakura protested with a laugh. "No one's going to ambush me! And I'm fine, my bag isn't that heavy..."

"Well then, I'll just walk you home."

Bakura gave a soft smile. "Ne, Honda-kun..." he asked softly after a while of walking in silence. "Why didn't you go with Yuugi-kun and everyone today to the dueling club?"

Honda shrugged with a frown. "I don't duel and it gets tiring sometimes watching them."

Bakura nodded slightly.

"Why didn't you?" Honda asked after a moment.

Bakura's smile grew slightly sad. "Similar reasons, I guess."

"Then we'll just have to make the best of it together," Honda said with a smile.

Bakura looked up, blinking. "Together...?"

"Unless you had other plans...?"

The pale haired boy shook his head.

"Then let's go do something that doesn't have to do with Duel Monsters!" Honda decided, punching a hand into the air.

Bakura gave a small smile. "What did you want to do?"

The taller boy scratched his head. "I don't know."

Bakura debated a moment, then brightened. "How about the arcade?"

"Sure!"
Bakura smiled happily. "Ganbatte, Honda-kun!" he cheered as he watched the taller boy move his character swiftly to take out the guards in the room.

After another level, Honda lost. "Nuts," he said, hitting the side of the machine lightly. "Your turn," He added, with a smile at Bakura.

The boy hesitated a moment before giving a smile and walking over to the other size of the arcade. With an almost embarrassed smile he put a coin in a colorfully decorated machine and began to play.

"Magical Drop," Honda read. "Why this? Isn't it a bit... young?"

Bakura looked even more embarrassed. "I like it..." he said softly, looking at the character select screen. "It's fun and takes a bit of skill," he said before choosing a blue haired boy who gave an embarrassed smile at being chosen that reminded Honda strongly of the pale haired boy who was playing.

Honda smiled at the comparison he had just made. "It suits you, I think. Innocent but fun and with some skill," he said before he thought.

Bakura looked embarrassed at the praise, checks blushing faintly. "So--sou...?" he said softly as his hands moved with expert skill on the controls.

Honda rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I'm having a lot of fun. Aren't you?"

"Un," Bakura nodded, looking over at Honda with a smile as the round ended, eyes warm.

"Well then," Honda said, clearly pleased. "We should do this again some time."

"Un!" Bakura agreed again, smiling elatedly. He gave a small exclamation as the game started the next round and swiftly moved his attention to the screen.

Honda chuckled and watched him. "You're good at this."

Bakura gave another embarrassed smile. "I have a lot of practice," he explained, looking over again as the round ended. "I was so happy when I found out they had this game here. They didn't last place I lived."

Honda smiled in return. "I know how you feel. Every time they get in a new game I like I'm ecstatic. You should have seen me when they got the pool tables."

Bakura smiled, eyes back on the game. "I should have guessed you were the pool type."

"Eh?" Honda asked. "Why?"

The boy gave an embarrassed smile. "The way you stand," he said quietly.

"What's wrong with the way I stand?" Honda protested, looking down at himself.

"Nothing!" Bakura laughed. "It's just... I can easily picture you standing with the pool cue, looking like the hero of a teenage movie."

Honda blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his head again. "The hero?"

Bakura's expression grew embarrassed once more and he nodded, keeping his eyes on the game.

"Wanna play a game later? Jounouchi won't play me anymore 'cause I always beat him."

"Eh?" Bakura blinked. "What game?"

"Pool?"

"I've never played before..." the pale haired boy confessed. "You'd have to teach me...."

Honda smiled. "I can do that!"

Bakura smiled at the taller boy before give an exclamation and turning back to his game.

Honda watched him play, cheering for him when he did well.

Bakura looked like he would blush and kept smiling self consciously. He looked almost relieved when he won the game, entering in his name swiftly and smiling at the highscores page that showed the top 5 with all the same name.

Honda laughed. "You weren't kidding when you said you had practice."

Bakura rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "It's something to do when I don't have homework," he said, trying to dismiss it.

"No, it takes practice to be that good. Duel Monsters isn't the only game that's important." Honda made a face.

Bakura looked at the taller boy with compassion.

Honda shook his head, and smiled brightly. "Let's go play pool," he said, grabbing Bakura's hand and half dragging him to the pool tables. They were predictably empty, most of the people who had played having switched to Duel Monsters.

Bakura listened intently as Honda explained the game, nodding to show he understood. Awkwardly he positioned his cue, but near completely missed the ball when he tried to hit it. He gave an embarrassed smile. "Gomen..."

"You're holding it wrong," Honda said with a tolerant smile. "Here, let me show you." He stood behind Bakura and took the other boy's hands, showing him how to hold the cue and how to shoot.

Bakura found himself distracted by the closeness of the boy's protective presence behind him and the gentle touch as Honda guided his motions with the cue. He blushed slightly and forced himself to pay attention to the game.

Honda watched as a ball fell into the corner pocket opposite them and gave Bakura a squeeze. "That means you go again." He pointed out the ball Bakura wanted to aim for and again brought him through the motions. "It's not hard once you get the hang of it, see?"

"Un," Bakura agreed. "You're good at this, Honda-kun," he smiled.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Honda said confidently, pulling down another cue and starting his own turn with the same flair and enjoyment that Yuugi had for dueling

"Aa! Sugoi!" Bakura exclaimed as Honda landed an impressive shot. "Honto ni sugoi yo, Honda-kun! No wonder Jounouchi-kun doesn't want to play you," he smiled.

Honda rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassed pleasure. "Yeah, well Jounouchi has all the physical coordination of a rat with a backache. He couldn't hit anything with a pool cue unless he was using it as a club."

Bakura gave a laugh, smiling with closed eyes. "Honda-kun..." he admonished slightly, still smiling. "I hope you'll give me some lessons if you're expecting me to try and compete against you."

"You want to?" Honda asked hopefully, grabbing one of Bakura's hands. "It's a deal!"
The boys chatted happily as Honda walked Bakura back to his apartment, Bakura laughing behind his hand as Honda over dramatically mimicked the overbearing nature of one of the more annoying hall monitors.

"So while I was trying to keep the guy's attention so Jounouchi could get by without getting detention he says 'bite me.' So...."

"Honda-kun!" Bakura exclaimed, eyes wide as he laughed. "You didn't!"

"Bite him? No, he probably tastes like boiled hamster," the taller boy brushed it off. "Anyway, by then Jounouchi had made it into the classroom so I just told him what his father must have looked like, based on what he looked like, and followed."

Bakura shook his head slightly with a smile. "No wonder he doesn't like you." He paused outside the apartment building. "Ne, Honda-kun... did you want to come in for some tea or something?" he asked.

"Sure," Honda answered. "If it's not any trouble or anything."

"It's not," Bakura assured, leading the way. He unlocked the door and entered, turning on the lights before inviting Honda in. "What type of tea do you like?" he called, heading for the kitchen.

"Whatever you have," Honda answered, looking around. "Don't you live with anyone, Bakura?"

"My father's off at a dig in Egypt," Bakura explained as he came back. "He's been since I transferred."

"Don't you get lonely?"

Bakura gave a small shrug. "I'm used to it."

"That doesn't mean you're not lonely," Honda pointed out, taking hold of Bakura's shoulders. "You should stay with someone. I know I'd get all sorts of freaked out if there wasn't someone else around when I was asleep."

Bakura looked at the taller boy, eyes wide a moment before giving a soft smile, looking down again. "I don't mind it, Honda-kun," he said softly.

"If you're sure," Honda said. "Now let's get that tea." He looked around he kitchen. "Where is everything?"

Bakura gave a smile. "I'll get it," he said, going into a cabinet and retrieving two mugs. "Hai," he smiled, handing the mug to Honda after he had poured the tea. "Did you want anything to eat?" he asked, taking a small sip. "Since it's late, I could make dinner..."

Honda looked around again, then nodded. "But I insist on helping!"

Bakura gave a small laugh. "If you insist...." he smiled and set the boy up to prepare the vegetables.
Honda sat back with a sigh. "Gochisou." He looked at his watch. "I should get home. You sure you're ok on your own?"

Bakura nodded, standing to collect the dishes.

Honda followed, rinsing his dishes off. "I'll see you in school tomorrow," he said as he went to the door.

"Un," Bakura smiled, following. He hesitated a moment as the taller boy put on his shoes. "Honda-kun...?"

"Hm?" Honda paused, looking up.

"Thanks for today..." Bakura said softly, smiling. "I had a lot of fun."

"I did too," Honda said with a smile. "It's nice to know there's more to the world than dueling, isn't there?"

Bakura smiled again, giving a slight nod. "Maybe... we can do this again sometime...?"

"That would be a lot of fun. More fun than following Jounouchi and Yuugi around, wasn't it?"

Bakura nodded, seeming almost embarrassed to admit it.

Honda smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Un!" Bakura nodded enthusiastically.