by Lethe
Chapter Twenty: Shopping
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For some reason, Mokuba likes fishing analogies… I wonder why?
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"So you were going to get pretzels?" said Jonouchi. "Maybe he's waiting there."
Shizuka should be out of there by now. It's probably safe. "Maybe!"
"All right, let's check," said Jonouchi.
They were both quiet until Mokuba coughed. "Um, Jou?"
"Yeah?"
Mokuba looked innocently up at Jonouchi. "You haven't done anything to my brother, have you?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know… like… that…"
"Which that?" said Jonouchi with an audible gulp.
Mokuba shrugged. "Any of the thats."
"N-nah," said Jonouchi. "What would make you think that?"
"Oh, it's just… sometimes I can't sleep, and I listen…and…" Mokuba stopped. "Never mind. Forget I asked."
"No, you can tell me," said Jonouchi. "I won't tell, I swear."
Yes! He took the bait! "Well… I don't know if I should… Seto would be upset with me…"
"It's all right, Mokuba, he won't be," said Jonouchi reassuringly.
"In the night… I hear him talking in his sleep." Mokuba paused again for dramatic effect. Darn, I'm good.
"What does he say?" prodded Jonouchi.
Mokuba giggled nervously and adopted a Seto-like tone. "Ka-Katsuya….I…Katsuya! Not there – oh – oh…mm…"
Actually, sometimes, he does talk in his sleep… except it's more like, "Katsuya! No more donuts! You've already had fifty! You're eating me out of house and home!"
Jonouchi was visibly shaken. He had stopped walking and was blushing furiously. "What was he… dreaming about…?" he mumbled to himself.
"Oh! I know!" said Mokuba suddenly, causing Jonouchi to snap back to attention. "As long as we can't find Seto anyway, why don't you and I go shopping?"
A slow grin spread over Jonouchi's face as he realized the benefits this would bring. Mokuba was Seto's brother. He had to know what his brother wanted for Christmas! "Yeah! That's a great idea, Mokuba!"
Mokuba beamed. Hook, line, and sinker.
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"You were going to get ice cream, right?" said Kaiba thoughtfully. "Perhaps Jonouchi is still there. We should check."
Shizuka was quiet for a moment, as though thinking it through. "Wait… I have an idea!" she said.
"I'm listening," said Kaiba.
"You don't know what to get my brother for Christmas yet, do you?"
Then it dawned on Kaiba. She was right. But she would know - after all, she was Katsuya's sister! "No, I don't," he answered with a slight smile. "However… as long as we can't find Jou…"
"We can go shopping!" said Shizuka happily. Yay! It worked! I'm a genius!
*
"I want to get him something really special," explained Kaiba as they browsed past different stores. "Something meaningful. The problem is, I don't know what he likes, aside from Duel Monsters."
"I understand," said Shizuka. "That's why I'm here. Do you have any ideas?"
"Well… not really. I thought about jewelry, or food, at first, but… well…" He shrugged.
"You could get him clothes!" suggested Shizuka. "Then he'd actually have some variety in his wardrobe…" she said under her breath.
"I suppose I could," said Kaiba. "But would that really be significant? What do people give to their…their…"
"Boyfriends?" said Shizuka. "I can't say I would know first-hand. But I'm sure that he'll treasure whatever you get him."
Kaiba smiled. "You think so?"
"I know so, Seto," said Shizuka confidently. "Now, come on. We can't just window-shop."
"Right."
**
Operation Pretzels and Ice Cream (PIC) Status: Successful.