by Lethe
Chapter Nineteen: Initiating
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I wonder how they could play Scrabble if they speak Japanese…?
Ah well. They have to be taking English lessons for something.
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"Damn 'q'…" muttered Jonouchi, grabbing a sponge. "And all the 'u's just happened to go where I couldn't use them…"
"Come on, Katsuya!" laughed Shizuka. "You can go faster than that!"
"I still don't get why I have to do this…"
"You lost, Jou," said Kaiba good-naturedly. "Keep your end of the bargain!"
"And when you're done, you can do my plate, too!" chirped Mokuba.
Jou sighed. As it turned out, Shizuka and Mokuba had still been awake – doing what, he didn't know – and so the deal had been changed to 'Loser does dishes'. Jonouchi, of course, had lost. He blamed it on the fact that he had gotten almost nothing but consonants. And a 'q' besides!
"Well, anyway…" said Jou. "When I'm done, Shizuka and I had better get back. It's late."
Kaiba nodded. "Thank you for looking after Mokuba, Shizuka. I hope you two had fun."
He looked away for a moment. Mokuba and Shizuka exchanged devilish grins.
"Oh, we did," said Shizuka.
**
"The winter vacation is almost here," said Jou happily. "What are you going to do?"
"I'll probably help Grandpa out at the shop," said Yugi. "Maybe invite all of you over for a Christmas party…?"
"Yeah, like last year!" said Honda excitedly. "Remember when Jonouchi got the soda all over-"
"That's enough!" interrupted Jou. "I'm trying not to remember that part."
"What do you want for Christmas?" said Honda. "All of you."
"Wait, wait, I can guess this one…" said Anzu. She closed her eyes and pointed. "You, Jonouchi, want Duel Monsters cards. Honda, you want a new jacket, good shoes, or both. And you, Yugi, also want Duel Monsters cards." She opened her eyes and grinned. "Am I good or what?"
"Damn," said Honda. "You are good. I wish I could do that."
"How'd you know?" said Yugi curiously.
Anzu shrugged. "I know you."
Jonouchi turned to Anzu. "Then maybe you can help me."
"What?"
"What should I get for Kaiba? He has practically everything!"
Yugi smiled. "I'm sure that he'll like whatever you get him."
"Yeah," agreed Anzu and Honda.
**
"Hello?"
"Hi! Is this Shizuka?"
"Yes! What can I do for you?"
"The plan is set," said the voice in a whisper. "This Friday good for you?"
"Yeah. I'll see you there."
"Who was that?" said Jonouchi curiously as Shizuka hung up.
She smiled oddly. "Oh, just a friend."
**
Duel Monsters cards? No! Too predictable! Seto groaned and ran a hand through his hair. What would he want? What can I get for him?
Hmm… I guess jewelry is out of the question; that would make things kind of awkward. Heh. A new dog tag? No… But I don't have any idea what to get for him. I suppose I could get him food, or chocolate… But that seems cheap!
Maybe I could do something with him and pay for it. Maybe. Like what?
Argh. He flopped backwards onto his bed. This is harder than I thought it would be.
There was a knock on the door. Seto sat up. "Yes?"
"Big brother?" said Mokuba, opening the door. "Are we doing anything on Friday?"
"No. Why?"
"Well…"
*****
Aah, the weekend is finally near, thought Jonouchi happily. I love Fridays. I can just goof off…watch television…
"Katsuya?" said Shizuka.
"Yeah?" Jou looked up.
"Can we go to the mall? I'd like to get my Christmas shopping done."
"What, now?"
"Yes… if that's okay…"
"Yeah, of course! It's a good idea, too. I'll get my shoes on."
"Yay!" cheered Shizuka. The phone rang. "Got it!"
She picked up the phone and made sure that Jonouchi had walked out of hearing range. "Hello?" she said quietly.
"Was your part of the operation successful?"
"Affirmative. We're on our way now."
"As are we. I'm the ice cream and you're the pretzel?"
"Yes. Time?"
"Five."
"Got it. See you!"
"'Bye."
***
"Katsuya? Are you hungry?"
"Yeah. Are you?"
"Yes! Can we get ice cream?" She pointed to the nearby shop.
"Sure. Come on," said Jonouchi. He didn't notice the big, excited grin that flitted over Shizuka's face.
*
"Big brother, I'm starving…" said Mokuba. "Can we have pretzels?"
"Yes, I suppose. I'm rather hungry as well…" Kaiba smiled down at the boy.
"Let's go!" said Mokuba eagerly, grabbing Kaiba's sleeve.
**
Shizuka glanced at her watch. It's time. She looked at Jonouchi. "I'm going to the bathroom! Get me something, please!"
"All right," agreed Jonouchi.
*
Mokuba glanced at his watch. It's time. He looked up at his brother. "I have to go to the bathroom. Please get me the usual!"
"Okay," agreed Seto.
**
"Big brother?" said a familiar voice.
Jonouchi turned around. "Mokuba! Hi! Where's Kaiba?"
"I can't find him," said Mokuba sadly. "We were going to get pretzels but the crowd… the crowd…" He sniffled.
"Aw, cheer up," said Jonouchi. "I'll help you find him."
"R-really?"
"Yeah." Sorry, Shizuka. I'll get you ice cream later.
**
"Katsuya? Katsuya, where are you?" said a familiar voice.
Kaiba turned around. "Shizuka? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was going to get ice cream with my brother, but we got separated in the crowd," explained Shizuka. "Could you help me find him?"
"Sure," said Kaiba. Sorry, Mokuba. I'll get you a pretzel later.
**
And neither boy knew what they had gotten themselves into…
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Wow… how repetitive… ^__^ I hope you liked it! Please review!
(I daresay this is one of the longest chapters…)
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