The gang go for a fun day out to Domino Park, but guess who turns up?

No specific warnings for this chapter. But I will mention that I do not own Yugioh.


Chapter 17.

Secrets.

The walk to their meeting point would only take about ten minutes at a brisk pace.

As they prepared to leave, Anzu messaged Honda to say they they were on their way. She did not get a reply from him so they had no idea if he had received the message, but of all her male friends he was usually the most reliable when it came to remembering to switch his phone on!

"Didn't you say Mai was coming too?" Yugi asked. "Maybe you should let her know as well," he suggested. Nodding, Anzu sent the same message to Mai.

The trio started walking.

"Hey!" Katsu began, "Can I ask you two a favour?" Her voice sounded a little stressed, causing Yugi and Anzu to look at her with concern.

"What sort of favour?" Yugi furrowed his brows in concern.

"Of course you can," said Anzu, giving Yugi a hesitant side glance to gauge his reaction. If Katsu was going to ask them to tell more lies to Honda...

"About me and Kaiba-" At their expressions, Katsu paused hesitantly and almost swallowed her tongue. "I.. I would appreciate if you don't say anything to Honda or Mai about me staying with Seto last night."

"Are you sure about that?" Said Anzu tersely, checking her phone again for any messages. "They're bound to find out!"

"I'm not quite so bothered about Mai finding out. It's that hot-headed idiot I don't want finding out."

"You can trust us not to say anything," Yugi agreed, even though deceiving Honda made him feel bad.

However, Anzu voiced her concerns more readily. "I know he can be a hothead but I still think he deserves to know," she stated. "Secrets between best friends can cause problems."

Katsu could see her point, but Jonuchi had known Honda since middle school and was aware of how conservative he could be about such things. Plus, Honda had already had harsh words with her over her decision to go on the first couple of dates with Kaiba. She had promised him that she would not see Seto again, but had gone back on that promise. "Believe me! It will cause a bigger problem if I tell him. I will take the risk."

Anzu was not happy about being complicit in keeping a secret that could leave a permanent scar on their bond of friendship. "But he will know that I know about you and Seto because you're living at my house! It's unfair to ask us to lie!"

"Anzu's right Katsu," Yugi added, finally willing to voice his own concerns. "I think you should talk to Honda. We will be there with you if it helps?"

"Nah, I won't let you two take any blame for my decisions. I've decided, I ain't telling him. End of!"

Anzu sighed. "Well, it's your decision. So I guess we will have to go along with it. But! Don't you dare tell Honda that Yugi and I agree with it!"

"Hey! What da ya take me for?!"

The discussion ended as they reached the meeting point, to find Honda and Mai waiting impatiently. Mai gave them a rather austere look. "Where the hell have you guys been?! We've been waiting nearly twenty minutes!"

"Didn't you get my message?" Anzu asked. "I sent it nearly fifteen minutes ago."

"What message?" Asked Mai, holding out her phone to show that she had not received any messages.

Anzu produced her phone and showed them the messages. She groaned when she noticed that in her haste she had sent the message intended for Mai, to Miho instead. Miho had sent back a question mark. Anzu blushed. "Well, we were walking when I sent it so I must have tapped on her name by mistake, as she's right next to your name." Before her friends could tease her for the mistake, she quickly pointed out that she had sent the same message to Honda, correctly.

"Yeah, except the moron never carries his phone," Katsu remarked, smirking at him in an effort to wind him up in the way Jonouchi often did.

Honda scowled at her and pulled his phone out of his pocket just to prove that he did have his phone. "See! I do have my phone." He smugly waved it under Katsu's nose.

She swiped his hand away. "Yeah... okay smart-ass. Now check ya messages."

The way Katsu and Honda were heckling each other, reminded Yugi of just how much Katsu's personality still resembled Jonouchi's. It gave him a small amount of hope that his friend was not entirely lost.

Honda huffed when he saw the message icon flashing, confirming that he had indeed received the message.

He grinned at them apologetically. "I was babysitting Koji last night and forgot I left my phone on silent." He always put it on silent when he babysat, so as not wake his nephew. Getting that little brat to go to sleep was hard enough as it was, without his phone beeping and waking him up again.

Before Katsu could do what Jonouchi would normally do and make a big thing out of it to wind Honda up, Yugi chipped in. "So!" He said, loud enough to gain their attention. "What do you all want to do?" They all looked at each other, shrugging.

"Dunno!" Katsu muttered. "How about bowling?"

Mai sneered at the idea. "Why do you want to be indoors on such a nice day?"

"It is a bit too nice to be indoors," Anzu agreed. "How about we have a vote? I suggest the zoo."

"I suggest the Theme park," said Yugi.

"I know it's indoors," said Honda. "But how about the museum? They've just added a vintage motorcycle display that I wouldn't mind seeing."

At the mention of the museum, Anzu shuddered. She still remembered what had happened with Mister Kanekura after he had tried to steal Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, in order to sell it to a private collector.

She looked at Yugi cautiously, and noticed that he was actually smiling at Honda's suggestion. She knew that he had always loved visiting the museum with his grandfather, so it would probably take more than some corrupt creep stealing his Puzzle and then being murdered by Shadi, to put him off.

Luckily, Mai came up with a better idea. "I would much rather go to Domino Park! Maybe we could hire a rowing boat and then do as Anzu suggested and visit the Zoo."

"I like that idea," Yugi nodded; he had good memories of the the lake. It was where his father would take him whenever he was home on vacation. When Yugi as seven, his father had taught him how to paddle a canoe, and roll it through 180 – it had been fun.

"Domino Park it is then!" Anzu concluded, with a smile.

As soon as they arrived at the lake, they hired a rowing boat.

Honda remembered the last time he had gone to the lake with Jonouchi. They had been thirteen and had fought with each other over who would take the oars. Neither would compromise and take one oar each, or take turns, because Jonouchi was being over zealous about showing off his rowing skills – of which he had none whatsoever. To avoid capsizing the boat, Honda had eventually conceded, only for Jonouchi to thrust the oars through the water with so much enthusiasm that they had skimmed the surface, shooting water all over Honda. Jonouchi had fallen about laughing and the resulting fight had ended with them both falling into the water.

Now, as he reminisced, Honda found himself missing his goofy, idiotic pal. They had been given such a telling off by the boat owner and banned from the lake for the rest of the summer. What good fun those holidays had been.

"Who wants to row?" Anzu asked, snapping Honda out of his reminiscing.

Katsu chuckled at her own memory of Jonouchi fighting with Honda and falling into the lake. She was about to open her mouth to say that she would take the oars, when Honda quickly pitched in. "Under no circumstances do you let Katsu get hold of the oars!"

"Hey! I know how to row! That was an accident!"

Yug, Anzu and Mai looked at them questioningly. What was an accident?

"You're completely incompetent!" Honda retorted. "You soaked me and almost hit me with the oar!"

"Will you idiots stop it?!" Anzu scolded. "Honestly! I would have thought you would treat each other a little differently now that... well," she hesitated. Now that Jonouchi is not here."

"I don't mind rowing!" Yugi suggested, meekly. "My dad loves canoeing and we often come here when he's home."

Anzu looked at Yugi with surprise! She vaguely remembered Yugi mentioning that his dad was a member of the Domino Canoe and Yachting club. She had not realised that Yugi could paddle. "I thought you had to pass a proficiency course, or something, to hire a canoe?"

Yugi puffed out his chest proudly. He was not best known for his sporting prowess. Sure, he could run very fast, but had spent more time running away from bullies than putting any effort into getting into the track team. "I have a certificate and a badge. I learned when I was seven."

Katsu patted him on the back. "You never cease to amaze us Yuge!"

"Why have you never told us about it Yugi?" Anzu asked, smiling at him proudly.

Beside him, Yami Yugi hovered, looking intrigued. What was a canoe?

Yugi shrugged. "Oh! You know... There's never been a need to say anything." He was never one to brag about his accomplishments.

Honda grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Looks like you get to row then Yugi."

With Katsu still mumbling that it was not fair that she was not allowed to row, the group of friends made their way down the pathway to the kiosk and boat-house, and hired a rowing boat.

Yami Yugi hovered at Yugi's shoulder, observing, as his aibou sat down and skillfully guided the boat away from the jetty. "I must say Aibou, I'm very impressed. Your talents know no bounds," he teased.

"You're too easily impressed Other Me. It doesn't take talent; anyone can row a boat. Except, maybe, Jonouchi. Would you like to switch so you can have a go?"

Yami Yugi shook his head and stretched himself out on a spare seat. "I'm enjoying the sunshine." Something deep within told him that in his lifetime he had liked the sun. Even though, in spirit form, he could not feel its heat, he still loved that the world seemed a much brighter, more positive place when the sun shone.

Thirty minutes later, Yugi guided the small wooden boat back into the jetty. His friends had all been content to sit in the boat and soak up the sun, while Yugi got a workout, pulling on the oars. He didn't mind; it would help tone up his muscles a bit and hopefully impress Anzu.

Back on dry land, they decided to go to the beach cafe for one of their awesome milkshakes.

::::::::::::

It seldom happened, but today was one of those days when Seto Kaiba just could not be bothered to work.

After dropping Katsu off, he and Mokuba had gone straight to KC HQ. But after thirty minutes gazing out of his office window, he was bored.

His office overlooked the city. He could see from the shopping mall and train station close by, all the way to the passenger terminal, commercial docks and warehouses that lined the whole of Domino's coastline.

The port of Domino was conveniently placed in the Chiba region, facing Tokyo Bay, and had grown from a small fishing port into a prosperous town as a result.

To his left, Seto could see the museum and the university, which were both close to Domino National Park. Domino boasted a huge park, consisting of many tree lined walks, popular cafes and a large boating lake, that stretched from Domino, almost as far as the Pacific Ocean. He had not visited there since an outing arranged by the charity that ran the orphanage, when he was eleven. It had been one of the few enjoyable days out he had experienced.

His office door was suddenly flung open and Mokuba bounded in, full of excitement. Seto smirked to himself at his brother's exuberance. If any other employee barged in without knocking, he would fire them.

Pivoting round, he looked sternly at Mokuba. "I thought I told you not to keep barging into my office without knocking?!"

Mokuba did not even flinch. "Sorry Seto, forgot. Wait until you see the awesome upgrade I have made to the security system!" He beamed, excitedly.

"Later," Seto growled dismissively, but then checked himself. "Okay, but quickly. I was thinking we could go out for the afternoon."

Mokuba forgot about showing Seto the upgrade he had installed. "Really?! But what about testing the dual simulator like you wanted?" The duel simulator was Seto's baby. There were still some issues with it but it was very close to being installed in Kaiba Land, where it would be opened up to the paying public. He had thought Seto was in a hurry to finish the testing.

"It can wait. Do you remember the last time we visited Domino Park?"

"Yes, just about. It was while we were still at the orphanage, wasn't it?"

"It was. Do you fancy going there now?"

"You bet I do!" He grinned, bouncing about excitedly. "Can we get a boat and have one of their giant ice cream sundaes?"

"Of course. Let's go." He grabbed his coat off its hook and strode towards the door. Mokuba dumped his laptop on Seto's desk and scurried after him.

As they headed for the lift, Seto tapped the communicator on his lapel and ordered Isono to bring the car round to the front of the building.

::::::::::::

Having found a seat outside in the sunshine, the gang sat down and placed their orders for milkshakes and sundaes. Just as Jonouchi would normally do, Katsu ordered the Mount Fuji; which consisted of a chocolate brownie on the bottom, layers of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, topped with huge swirl of whipped cream and finished with chopped nuts. It was usually recommended as a sharing desert, but Jonouchi always managed to devour one on his own.

However, after last night's belly buster, Katsu found herself struggling. She found it a bit too sickly and sweet for her taste buds, and just did not have Jonouchi's hollow legs when it came to food.

Honda laughed when she sat back and rubbed her tummy. "Not like you to struggle to finish one of those!"

Katsu pouted. "I can't eat as much as I could and I went out for a huge meal last night. I had the parfait which was a bit too similar to this." She almost cringed at the admission of going out for a meal last night. She had not meant the slip-up. Honda was bound to question where she had gone, and with whom? She dare not let on it was with Kaiba and would have to invent a good excuse.

Honda narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Who did you go with?" The other three were not complaining about being full, so it could not have been with them.

"I know what you're thinking. It wasn't a date, okay? And if it was, it's none of your business." The redness of her face was proof that it must have been a date.

"So!" Honda was a little miffed about being left out. "Do any of you know about this date? Or is it a secret?"

Mai shrugged and looked just as puzzled. "Don't ask me!"

"Well... we sort of know," Yugi nervously answered, trying not to stutter. "B.. but, it wasn't actually a date, as such..."

"You and Yugi went on a date?!" Mai gasped.

Katsu smirked, relieved that she had found a way out of admitting she had been with Kaiba. "Yeah, me and Yugi went out together last night," she stated, boldly.

"It wasn't that sort of date!" Yugi's face coloured up as he tried to support her lie. "We were just hanging out, as friends, like we always do. Katsu ate too much!"

"What about you Anzu? Do you mind Yugi going out with Katsu?" Mai teased.

"Mai! Of course I don't mind! I trust them! What are you suggesting?" Anzu's voice was slightly tense. Come to think of it, how would she feel about Yugi and Katsu hanging out together? It was not quite the same now that Jonouchi was a girl.

Honda guffawed. "Don't worry Yugi, I'm not jealous about you having two girlfriends."

Yugi's jaw flapped and he almost choked on his milkshake. "It's not! It's not like that!" He could feel his other self laughing. "Other Me!," He growled. "Stop laughing at me and.. help?!"

But the spirit remained hidden inside the Puzzle.

As they chatted, none of them noticed Mokuba and Seto walking along the path towards the boating lake.

Mokuba stopped walking and shook Seto by the arm. "Look! There's Yugi and his friends. Katsu's with them." He was a little surprised that he could not see Jonouchi with them as well.

Seto looked over in the direction his little brother was pointing. "Yes, I can see, Mokuba!" He responded sharply. Usually, he would go out of his way to avoid them but... Katsu was there.

His heart did a little flutter in his chest at the sight of her laughing and chatting and sitting...

-His insides knotted sharply as he scrutinised the seating arrangement. Honda and Katsu were on one side of the table, sitting on the bench seat, far too closely. While Yugi was sat opposite them, sandwiched between Mai and Anzu.

It did not take much effort or him to imagine that Honda was trying to get his hands grimy paws on Katsu! Without saying anything to Mokuba, he stomped over to where they were sitting. He would soon put a stop to whatever it was that Honda had on his tiny little mind.

He approached their table, just in time to hear Honda saying something about being jealous, while Yugi was making himself look stupid by spluttering into his milkshake.

"Who is not jealous, Yugi?" He asked, pointedly.

"Kaiba!" Yugi shrieked, almost jumping out of his skin.

Honda narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Not the sort of place I would expect to see you hanging out!"

"It's for Mokuba! I wouldn't be seen dead eating at a dump like this," he sneered dismissively. He then caught Katsu's eye and his face flushed. He cleared his throat. "But since we're here, we may as well join you."

"Of course you can," Anzu shuffled closer to Yugi so that Mokuba could squeeze onto the bench seat.

Honda looked at Katsu suspiciously when she patted the space beside her for Seto Kaiba to sit down. Was something going on between them?

"Hey guys! Where's Jonouchi?" Mokuba blurted, before Honda could open his mouth to ask Katsu and Kaiba if they were an item.

Anzu and Yugi both tried not to look at Katsu, as Yugi answered Mokuba's question. "Jonouchi has gone to stay with his sister!" He blurted.

"He will be away for a couple more weeks. His sister is not very well," Anzu hurriedly added.

Mokuba pouted. "It's a real shame Jonouchi had to go away just when you came to stay with him, isn't it Katsu?"

Katsu tried not to grimace. The kid had no idea...

The group of friends gave him rather superficial smiles. Thank God he did not know the truth!

Realising that she should say something, Katsu cleared her throat. "Yeah, it is a shame. I got onto the student exchange programme, just so I could come and see my cousin! He was full of wanting me to meet his friends. But stuff happens. Shizuka's vision is really bad. She is going to need an operation real soon and she wanted to see her brother while she could still see, just in case the operation doesn't work."

"That's terrible!" Mokuba gasped, his eyes going wide. "What will happen if the operation doesn't work?"

"They can only operate once. If it fails, she will go completely blind," said Katsu, sadly, wiping at a tear.

Seto took her hand and squeezed it. Shizuka was Katsu's cousin, so of course she would be upset.

"But it won't fail," Katsu sniffed, acknowledging Seto by absent-mindedly clasping her other hand over his. "Thanks to Yugi, Shizuka can now afford to latest eye surgery."

Seto narrowed his eyes and glared at Yugi. That's right! Not only had Yugi defeated Pegasus and saved everyone, he had also given Jonouchi his winnings. Seto hated do-gooders. And he still found it sickening to think that it had been Yugi who had saved himself, Mokuba and Kaiba Corp. The very fact that Yugi was always so damn nice too everyone made him gag. In fact, sitting here with the dweeb squad was sickening. Was this girl really worth all this humiliation?

He suddenly felt very self conscious and out of place. However, the beaming smile on Mokuba's face as the waitress approached and asked for their order, gave him an excuse for being here.

"What are you having Seto?" Mokuba's voice cut through his thoughts, alerting him the the fact that everyone was staring at him.

His tummy rumbled but there was no way he was going to eat anything in front of the dweebs.

"Just a black coffee, extra strong, two sugars," he stated, blandly.

As soon as the waitress left with Seto's order for coffee and Mokuba's order for a Mount Fuji, Honda cleared his throat. He had spent the last few minutes rehearsing what he was going to say, because he did not want to raise any sort of suspicion about Katsu's true identity.

However, it was obvious that his friends knew about Katsu and Kaiba's relationship, and he felt hurt that they would keep him out of the loop.

Was it because they did not trust him? Did they think he would throw a wobbly about Katsu dating Kaiba? Too frigging right, he would. "You went out to dinner with him last night, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me?" His attempt to sound casual about it failed, and instead, sounded accusing and bitter.

Seto interpreted his tone as jealousy. Was Katsu double dating? He bore into her with an accusing glare. "Are you and this loser on a date?"

"What?!" Katsu shrieked. "No way would I date that loser! He's Jonouchi's best friend! He'd kill him if he touched Me!" That was no lie!

Realising by Kaiba's body language that the jerk was prepared to fight him over Katsu, he threw his hands up. "Hey! Lighten up dude! She's right! I wouldn't touch her with a barge-pole, let alone with my..."

"Yes!" Anzu interjected, loudly, before Honda said something crude. "-I think we get it Honda!" Still concerned that Honda and Kaiba were about to punch each other, she added. "Kaiba, I can assure you that Honda and Katsu are definitely not dating."

"Yeah," Katsu agreed. However cool it would be to see the pair of them fighting over her, she knew she had to prevent a scene. "Please don't be jealous Seto, they are my friends. They have been real good about looking out for me when Jonouchi... er... left. Without them, I would have been totally lost." Screwed more likely, she thought.

Feeling stupid for almost behaving like a total jerk in public, Seto huffed. "Don't stress yourselves. I'm not about to hurt your friend."

You think you're capable of hurting ME?! Honda seethed to himself. He was desperate to speak out, but kept quiet. He knew when to be the better man, and quit. But he would still give his friends a roasting later for keeping secrets from him.


Although I give a location for where I think Domino might be, it's just speculation as I don't actually know where in japan Kaz imagines it is. Anyone else have any ideas/theories? If so, I would love to hear them.