Chapter Eleven: Habits

Christmas day was a blur for Honda. It was a day that was supposed to be joyful and covered in ripped wrapping paper and cheer. Honda felt heavy and weak. There was nothing he could say. There was nothing he could do to make all of the time he had spent and all the thoughts he had had disappear. I just want to stop thinking about it. Though, there wasn't a thing anybody could do to take back all of the emotion he had wasted. Honda sighed as he tugged his jacket on to leave. He had hidden his despair all day, but now it was beginning to wear on his mind.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" Shizuka had said while Jou was running back into his room to retrieve Honda's forgotten belongings. She smiled, "I'm here for you."

"I know." Honda said, nodding. He had already given her invitation thought. Was he really willing to give himself the comfort of a friend? Of all the people to confide in; the sister of his enemy? Honda's eyes went a little wide. Since when did Jou become his enemy? It was definitely time to go home.

He gave one last wave and smiled at Jou before closing the door. It was cloudy outside and there was an unusual humidity. Honda kept his jacket unzipped and let the thick breeze cool his body and mind. This was what he needed right now. It was a shame that the walk was so short. He had reached his apartment in less than ten minutes. The key was slid gently through its cradle and the door swung open.

Nobody was home and, for some reason, Honda had expected it to be that way. It was Christmas afternoon and the smell of a feast was hovering through the kitchen. The oven door was, however, closed; concealing its contents from Honda until it was done. His mother was more than likely picking up something she had forgotten for the dinner. She was infamous for having those sort of incidents.

A hot shower sounded like the best option. Honda stripped down on his way there, gathering the stray garments in his arms as he went. He dumped them onto the bathroom floor and turned the shower on. It didn't take long for the room to be misted with steam. Honda let him be enveloped in the fog. He felt his skin start to become clammy, but he could care less. It was slightly comforting. Eventually, he felt the will to move from the center of the room and into the shower.

He stepped in and grabbed the soap. Lathering his hands, he ran the foam over his skin. He couldn't help but noticed how green his skin looked. He had grown up with a naturally olive tone, but he was never this light before. His also once muscular arms were becoming thinner and the ribs that were just showing were now sickly protruding out. He lifted his head and stared openly at the ceiling. He let his lips part and started to think back. When was the last time he ate? No...not just a cookie here and there but an actual meal. Had it been so long that he can't remember? It was hard to imagine. There was a time where he used to fight with Jou about the last dumpling. Now, he barely had the desire to pick up the chopsticks. It's not that I haven't had food. It's just that...I don't want to eat. he looked down and placed a hand on his disappearing stomach. There was nothing about him that was too out of the ordinary. He still looked alright. Nobody had noticed yet, right? Surely if his friends had been concerned, they would have said something.

The water had become cold and he knew it was time to get out. He turned it off and shivered as he stepped out from behind the curtain. The cool air outside of the shower raised goose bumps on his arms. He pat himself dry and wiped the fog from the mirror. He stared like he always did. Nope...there's definitely nothing too bad. I'm fine. He sighed and pulled down the bottom of his eyelid. Nothing weird about that either. So, why were there dark circles?

"Hiroto?" his mother called from the other side of the door, "Are you home?"

Honda called back at the door, "Yea. Hi Mom." he wrapped the towel around his waist and grabbed his laundry off the floor. They were slightly damp from all the moisture that had surrounded them. He twisted the knob and stepped out into the hallway. He smiled, "Merry Christmas."

Honda's mother's eyes had gone soft at the sight of her son, "Oh same to you, Dear." she was happy to see him home, "How was Jou's?"

"Great. Thanks for letting me go." he decided that if he stood there long enough, his thinning body would become noticeable. He started to walk away offering to help with dinner. His mother had turned him down and Honda was nowhere near offended. He closed himself into his room and opened the drawer to find something to wear. Hopefully, he could find something that wouldn't look too baggy on him.

x-x-x

Christmas faded off and the next day, Honda was scheduled to work. As reluctant as he was to go, he knew it was best. The only reason he had gotten the job was to buy Christmas presents, but now that he was in the swing on things, he realized that having a job wasn't too difficult to keep up with.

He delivered belated Christmas cards and several prototypes that were ready to be tweaked for next Christmas. Honda didn't really think about it as he left them on desks and in inbox bins outside office doors. He was just doing his job.

The girl that was once Seto's delivery service had left when the holidays had come. There was a note posted on Mitsumura's door the day everyone was due back. Honda was tall enough to look over the crowd. He squinted to read the notice of a new promotion. Several people sounded their opinion;

"I'm perfect for the job. I've been here longer than all you pieces of scum." a rather cocky man stated.

"Sure, okay. I doubt a guy like you would get it." someone argued, "I can see how she had gotten the job before. She was quite a looker, if you know what I mean." his eyebrows wiggled

A friend of the speaker gasped, "You don't think Mr. Kaiba would do such a thing, do you?" She twirled a piece of her hair.

"Of course he would. A teenager with all the power and money? He wouldn't have anything better to do."

"Oh goodness!"

Bitter anger crashed into Honda. He clenched his fists and grid his teeth. How dare they talk about Seto that way! He snarled, "You people don't know anything."

A boy about his age looked over his shoulder at Honda, "Oh yea? Just what do you know about Kaifuck, huh Newbie?"

Honda growled, "A lot more than you, you little shit. Show some respect." he watched the kid face him with an angry gleam in his eye, "Or maybe I'll just have to give you a lesson in manners."

"You wanna go, Punk?" the boy asked, rolling up his sleeves. He placed his hands on Honda's shoulders and shoved him back away from the group of people.

Honda pushed up his sleeves as well, "Like hell I do. Let's go, Pencil Dick." he wasn't going to let anyone get away with talking about Seto like they had. He was going to teach them all. He wanted all of them to see just how beautiful their boss really was.

The other boy growled, pulling his fist back. He roared, aiming straight for Honda's jaw. Honda was faster. He took a hold on the incoming blow and twisted the arm around the offender's back. He was easily able to kick him in the back of the knees and set him down onto the ground. Immediately, Honda grabbed him by the collar and gave him blow after blow across the left side of his face.

Of course, a large group of spectators had gathered around. Some people had tried to pull Honda away, but Honda kept shouting, "Get away! Don't touch me!"

Hiroyuki was fetched and he had received an elbow in the gut as he tried to grab Honda's assaulting hand. His glasses had gone askew, but he kept preventing Honda from hurting the other teen any farther. Eventually, he got a good hold on him and threw Honda into his office. The spectator's cheered a little and several people went to the injured boy's side.

The older man straightened his glasses as he closed the door. He had shoved Honda in a chair and fixed his tie. Honda, without a scratch on him, sat disgruntled in his chair. He noticed there was nothing but a cool attitude coming from his boss. This feared Honda. Was he getting fired? "Are you going to kick me out now?" he asked.

Hiroyuki smoothed a stray hair, "Kick you out? I'm not quite sure yet. To be quite honest, I think you deserve a prize. That kid is, pardon my choice of words, an idiot."

A smile came from Honda. Hiroyuki was apologizing for saying the word 'idiot'? This was new to him. He sighed and said, "So, what's going to happen to me then?"

"Well, I doubt you'll be very popular in the mailroom now. At least, not to his cronies, and trust me...there's a lot of them." Hiroyuki picked up his phone, "Let me discuss this with upstairs. I don't think we've ever had a physical fight in Kaibacorp before. Even down in the lowly mailroom." he smiled warmly and began to dial.

There was an unusual comfort Honda had experienced when he saw that smile. It was almost like his own father was looking at him after he had T.P.ed a neighbor's house. There was disapproval, but Hiroyuki couldn't scold him with a straight face. There were a couple moments of silence as the phone rang. Honda was unable to hear his savior's voice, but the phone had been picked up. Hiroyuki folded his arms, "Hello, Sir. This is Hiroyuki from the dungeons." he laughed a little, "Yes I know. I don't know why I'm down here either." he cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, "Right. Well, I have an employee here who, for lack of better term, kicked the shit out of a coworker."

There were several moments of silence on Hiroyuki. Honda assumed he was being told his sentence. God how embarrassing. At least Hiroyuki didn't say my name.

"The question of unemployment is hovering in the air. Do you agree?" he nodded, "Uh huh. His name?" he glanced over at Honda and chewed the inside of his cheek, "Honda Hiroto?" he had guessed correctly, "Yes Honda." he nodded again, "Uh huh...mmhmm...of course. Right away, Sir." he hung up the phone and sighed. He turned and smiled at Honda, "Mr. Kaiba would like to see you about the matter personally."

Honda blushed, "W-what for?"

"Heck if I know. It was a rather unusual request." Hiroyuki removed and started to clean his glasses. He grinned as he slid them back on, "Mr. Kaiba hates to wait, you know."

Honda's eyes went wide, "Oh! Right!" he leapt from his seat and bowed, "Thank you, Sir." he said and hurried out of the room. He was in such a rush, his tie had gotten caught on the office door. Gagging, he reopened the door and laughed nervously, "uh haha." he waved at Hiroyuki, "I guess I'll see you later."

Hiroyuki waved a little and laughed, "I'm sure." and with that, Honda scuttled away.

It was familiar. The long corridor with the same as it had always been. Honda was surprised to see Hotaru wasn't at her usual position. He took a deep breath, walking down the hall with his fists held tight. He kept walking with the memories of what had occurred just the night before hidden away in the back of his thoughts. Jou...what he and Kaiba had done last night was something Honda still couldn't stomach, but that didn't matter. Nothing Honda thought mattered. He was as worthless as always.

He knocked on the office door with the same meaningless attitude. He almost just wanted to turn around and forget the whole damn thing. Was it really worth it to keep working for him?

"Come in already. I don't have all day." a more than irritated tone snapped from the other side of the doors.

Honda jumped, pushing hard on the door and stumbling in. He cleared his throat and fixed the collar of his shirt. He stared up at Seto and the anger was easily soothed. Honda mentally cursed his lack of control. He continued to stand in front of the large desk, waiting.

The taller boy smirked, "I'm sure you've been in this sort of situation before, knowing who your best friend is." Seto stood from his desk and raised an eyebrow, "I suggesting you explain yourself."

"I hit him because he was pissing me off." Honda explained. It was the only thing he could think of saying without confessing that he had really tried to be a knight in shining armor. He bit his lip and glanced away from the stern glare that was Seto Kaiba's eyes. What will I say? Should I lie? Lie? When was the last time I lied? Honda get a hold of yourself!

"May I ask what made you so PMSy that you had to punch him out? Saying he pissed you off is somewhat vague, don't you think?" Seto walked around his desk and leaned against the glass surface.

Honda watched with strange fascination. It was such a simple pose, but he had never seen Seto look more beautiful. He cleared his throat and decided that the best thing to do was tell the truth. Not the whole truth, but just enough to keep his job, "He was belittling you."

This wasn't what Seto had expected. His eyes went a little wide and his lips parted as he gasped quietly. His eyebrows were up so far, they were hidden behind his bangs, "You...defended me?"

A small blush went across Honda's cheeks. He quickly explained, "Well he umm you! You're my best friend's boyfriend. I couldn't let him get away with bitching you out behind your back." he inwardly smiled. He was a genius.

Seto didn't smile, but it was close. He nodded, "I see. Well, that was loyal of you. I expected no less from one of Yugi's fanclub." he sighed, "Well, I'm sure you've heard of the news of a promotion?"

Honda blinked, "Huh? Well yea." was Seto going to tease him before firing him?

The billionaire smoothed back his hair, "Well just picking a worthless idiot out of the bunch is a waste of time and time makes money. So, I think it would just be best to pick the best idiot out of them all right now." he smirked, "Congratulations. You start right now."

A wave of relief, shock, and even love swelled inside of Honda. He got promoted? Not only that, but he was working for Seto Kaiba! He beamed. He found no shame in being his "bitch". If anything, it was a blessing. He bowed his head and smiled, "Thank you, Kaiba."

There was a playful tone in Seto's voice, "For the last time, Honda. It's Mr. Kaiba and if you forget again, I'll reconsider hiring the village idiot."

x-x-x

Yay for Honda! Just an average day in the office really can be exciting, huh? Sorry this didn't really have much of a plot and there's been a lack of Honda and Seto 3, but with the way this fic is going, I wonder if it'll EVER happen. By the way, how did you like me updating two chapters at once. I know, I know. I'm awesome. tehe love you all!