Brighter than Most
"If a man hasn't discovered something he would die for, he isn't fit to live." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chapter 3: Joey's Warnings
I was moping around the house last night, when Yami had already retired to his soul room to "search for himself". I just can't help wondering -- if he's told me that he's searched again and again and again, why doesn't he give up? Then again, I suppose that that just wouldn't be Yami. Yami never gives up. And neither should I.
The phone rang and I picked it up, inwardly hoping that it was Tea and I could tell her that Yami was busy, and we could chat on the phone like we used to do when we were in the seventh grade and I spent winter vacation with my dad in Florida. That was cool. My dad even nicknamed her, "Yugi's girlfriend". I blushed and denied it every time, but I was pleased that he surmised that.
"Hello?" I asked listlessly, trying to sound interested.
"Yugi?" My eyes widened.
"Joey?!?"
Joey had been on vacation in Sapporo for the past two weeks, the lucky stiff. Him and his sister had gotten to see all the sites. I was stuck reading about them in mangas like Marmalade Boy and Rebound. And Marmalade Boy is SHOUJO! Ugh.
I heard him laugh from the other end of the line. "Yeah Yug' it's me. What's the matter, Yugi, didja forget I dat' I was coming back tomorrow??"
I hadn't forgotten. There was a stack of homework a mile high nestled in-between the couch pressed against the wall and the table with a fake potted plant on it. I had a sneaky premonition that it was just a waste of paper and that Joey didn't intend to do any of it, so I had actually filled in some of my answers for him. After all, what are best friends for? Besides the loyalty and the fun, happy times and the idle conversations about nothing at all?
"No way! What time are you getting back?" I twirled the cord around my finger like a girl. Hey, for years my only friend was one, okay? Now she was just the girlfriend of someone else residing inside of me. Boy, does that sound weird. It's almost inforgivable.
"Tomorrow around eight. This plane we're on isn't going straight to Domino, rather Tokyo. So, since Serenity has airsickness--" There was the sound of a girl retching behind him. I winced. "--we're going to be spendin' the night at a hotel, and drivin' home tomorrow."
"You're on the plane right now?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"And calling me?"
"Yeah."
"Cool!"
"Definitely. I've never used one of these plane phones before."
"Neither have I."
"I was a little concerned about typing in the number correctly though, because--" An aggravated man's voice was heard.
"Hey, sonny, shut up! My ladyfriend here is trying to sleep!!"
"Just because you're being chivalrous doesn't mean she'll date you," Joey was insisting. I chuckled. Same old Joe. Joey turned back to the phone, I presume, because he kept talking.
"So, I was thinkin', why don't we go to the arcade as soon as I get home? Like, around ten or so." I sighed.
"Sounds great, Joe, but Yami and Tea have a date at IHOP tomorrow." I could sense Joey's bewilderment through the phone. He wasn't a big fan of Tea and Yami.
"Yug'!" he started. The man yelled at him again. He lowered his voice. "Yug', doesn't that bother ya?" he whispered.
I sighed again. "Whatever it takes to make her happy, Joe."
"Yeah, but, in this case, Yami's like an imposter inside of your body taking away your girlfriend! And when did you and Yami get together and stipulate that that was okay?"
Blink, blink. "Joe, how much time did it take for you to think of that?"
"Well, I am on a plane with no magazines and my deck's in my suitcase, so, about... one hour and fifteen minutes."
I sweat dropped. "Congratulations, Joe. You read your vocabulary booklet."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks, I'm so proud. But, Yugi, why don't you--"
Somebody tried to flash in. "Hold on Joe, someone's on the other line. Boy, I'm so popular today!" Joey probably grinned as I pressed the flash button. "Hello?"
"Yugi?" It was Miho. I was dumbstruck with disbelief. Why on Earth was she calling?? Errrr, my poor mind couldn't take it! I had just been able to get rid of the grinding feeling that was grating my cerebrum.
"Hello?" Miho asked again. Oh, right, I'm supposed to say hi back, aren't I?
"Hi, Miho," I said out of breath. "What is it?"
"Um... I was wondering if you and Tea were dating?"
Jees, you walk a girl home once because she looks lonely, and then she's calling you to ask if you have a girlfriend.
"No," I said stoically. "We're just good friends, that's all."
"Oh." I heard Miho shift uncomfortably on the other side of the phone. "Well... Yugi?"
"Yeah?" She sounded like she was about to cry. I hated crying, mostly because when I started, I couldn't stop. No, literally, I had a chronic condition that had somethign to do with my tear ducts. It actually made me pretty dehydrated, too, and I've had to go to the hospital because of it.
"I was... I was wondering..." I could tell Miho was crying now.
"Miho, if this is about Bakura, I already told you--"
"It's not," she assured me. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out to the movies next Saturday. X-Men 2 is playing."
There was no denying that I was inwardly startled. Miho wanted to go on a date with me? But she loved Bakura. She must be very desperate.
...How, I'm disparaging myself...
I thought of Tea... And decided that she would be happy to see me dating someone else. Wouldn't it? Always got to think of Tea.
"Um... Can I have until tomorrow to decide?" I asked. Miho sniffled and nodded. I know this because it took about a half a minute before she said, "Oh, yes. Sure."
"Ok then. I'll... see you tomorrow, ok?"
"'Kay. Bye, Yugi."
"Bye."
She hung up. I had to admit, though that girl really annoyed me, she had sounded very, very, sad, and that made me worried. What was wrong with her? She hadn't seemed that sad when we were walking home... Quickly I pressed the button to talk to Joey again. He curtly informed me that he had to go, and then randomly brought up that he thought that Yami and Tea shouldn't be dating. Before I could argue, he countered with, "Yug', if Tea keeps dating Yami, she'll just be that much sadder when he goes away for good, ya know? Well, goodbye Yug'."
I had honestly never thought of that. My mouth was hanging open and a fly drifted in. It was gross.
In that case... I really wasn't doing anything good for anyone. Joey was right. I couldn't let Yami leave unexpectedly... But I couldn't just say that to him... And then I got an idea.
I would just avoid searching for the answers Yami sought, that was all. And that wouldn't be very hard...
In the meantime, Joey was coming home tomorrow!