When it came to friends, Ryou honestly believed that there were none like Honda and Anzu.
They had met on Ryou's first day of school two months earlier. He had been sitting at his desk eating his lunch when Honda walked over and introduced himself in what Ryou would learn to be his usual forthright manner. "Hey, I'm Honda Hiroto and there aren't any shy kids allowed in my classroom. Now stop hiding behind your food and tell me your name."
Ryou blinked at him in puzzlement. He was very tall and had dark brown hair styled in a thick spike above his forehead. He also had a very friendly smile that took away most of his imposing disposition and the brashness he had approached Ryou with. Before either of them knew it, Ryou was smiling back with complete ease. "I'm not shy. I'm just quiet. And if you hadn't been asleep during the beginning of class you would know my name already."
Honda looked shocked for a second before he laughed and dragged his chair over to sit. "Okay, so you're not shy. You sure fooled the hell out of me, though. I mean, you look shy. And I've never seen a guy try so hard to lose a group of women the way you did this morning."
"That's because they were pulling at him and squealing like the pigs they are," commented a new voice.
Both boys glanced up to find a pretty, short-haired brunette with blue eyes standing next to the desk. Honda groaned at the sight of her and she smacked him upside the head with the stack of papers she held. She then turned to Ryou and bowed. "Hello, Bakura. I'm Mazaki Anzu, President of our freshman class. The principal asked me to give you these forms for you and your parents to look over and sign. They're mostly class activity and field trip permission slips, along with information about school clubs and organizations."
Ryou tensed a bit as he took the forms. "Thank you. But um, please call me Ryou. I prefer it over my last name."
"How come?" Honda wanted to know.
Ryou looked down at his desk. "I just do."
"Quit being so nosy, Honda," Anzu scolded.
"I'm not nosy!"
"Then stop asking questions!"
"How am I supposed to get to know him if I don't ask questions!"
"He said he preferred Ryou! That should be enough!"
"Damn you, Mazaki!"
The two now stood in front of each other, breathing hard and glaring for all they were worth. Honda's height advantage didn't seem to affect Anzu in the slightest, and Honda didn't look like he had any problem with punching her right there in the classroom. Worried, Ryou put himself in a position that would soon become a second home to him: Right between them.
"Please stop fighting."
Both averted their attention to him and took in the worried yet determined expression on his face. Honda was the first to soften and then scratched the back of his head. "Hell, we're not fighting. We're just doing what we've always done. Arguing and getting on each other's nerves."
"It's been going on since middle school," Anzu added. "The three of us argue just about every time we see each other."
"Three?" Ryou questioned as he settled back down in his seat.
"Yup," Honda replied as he offered his chair to Anzu and then leaned against Ryou's desk. "Jounouchi Katsuya. My old best buddy."
Anzu blushed a bit at the name and Ryou took note of it before asking Honda, "Why is he your old best buddy? Did something happen to him?"
Honda waved a hand. "Nah, not really. His Mom got some big new job at Kaiba Corporation and his family moved to the richer side of Domino. He still goes to school here though because, like he says, 'Jounouchi Katsuya ain't goin' to no new school with a bunch 'a snotty rich kids.' "
Anzu giggled at Honda's imitation. "Right. He has to leave school right away to catch the bus back to his neighborhood. So between that and the distance and homework and our after school responsibilities…we just can't hang out as often as we used to."
Ryou was willing to bet that in Anzu's case, those weren't the only reasons. Honda then confirmed it by cocking his head in her direction and then making a sloppy, love struck face.
Anzu caught it out the corner of her eye and jammed an elbow into his hip. "So now, I'm stuck with this moron all by myself."
Honda grabbed onto his side and wheezed in pain. Then he gave Anzu a small nudge in return and said, "Hey, you're not the only one who's alone and stuck! I need some back up, too!" He turned to Ryou. "How 'bout it, Bakura? You want to help stop us from killing each other?"
Ryou tensed again from the name but nonetheless grinned at both of them. "Where can I buy a referee shirt?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So Ryou, did you see that guy again today?" Honda asked in between bites of his chocolate doughnut. Crumbs dropped down onto his school uniform and he smushed them into his white shirt as he tried to brush them off.
Anzu made a face and pushed her bangs away from her eyes. "You're so gross, Honda. Why didn't you grab some napkins with that thing like any normal person would have?"
Honda opened his mouth to reply and more moistened crumbs tumbled down his front. Ryou passed him a napkin before Anzu could do anything crazy like stuff her cinnamon roll up Honda's nose.
The three were standing on the front steps of Domino High. Around them, students chatted about homework and teachers. A small group of boys from the soccer team had started a fierce game of kick back near the street. The first class bell was set to ring in five minutes.
Honda used the napkin and scrubbed at the mess on his shirt. This only served to make a bigger mess so he shrugged and buttoned the jacket up to his throat. "Oh well. That's what Mom's are for, right Ryou?"
He shrugged. "I guess so."
Anzu gave Honda a glare that could've melted sheet metal. To his credit, Honda looked properly embarrassed and apologized with, "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to…I just forget sometimes, you know?"
"Yeah, most idiots do have memory problems," Anzu told him.
"Shut up, Anzu!"
Ryou wanted to smile as he took his usual place between them. Honda's slip hadn't really bothered him and it wasn't worth arguing over, but by now he couldn't imagine things any differently with them. Still, he had to say, "I think it's time to play the Good Points Game."
Honda groaned. "Now? Come on, Ryou, do we have to?"
He nodded. "One each."
Anzu looked at Honda. Ryou had made up the game not long after they had all met in order to keep some sort of peace between the two friends. The rules were simple: When things got heated between them, they had to give each other one sincere compliment each. If it was more than heated, then the compliments rose to two each. And if things really got out of hand...well, Ryou had yet to decide because thankfully, his friends hadn't reached that point yet.
The game had seemed silly to Honda and Anzu at first but after awhile, they realized that it actually helped them get along better than ever. Honda thought that it was because they had finally grown up a little. Anzu, however, believed that it was just due to Ryou himself. Because she couldn't remember ever liking Honda as much as she did now before Ryou moved to town.
She eyed him for a few moments. "He did a great job on his hair today. It looks really nice."
Bulls-eye. Honda grinned and ran his hand through the pointy, dark brown mess. "Thanks. Okay, my turn." He screwed up his face and thought.
It didn't take long. Inspiration bounded off the school bus ten yards away in ratty sneakers and messy blond hair, followed by a shorter boy in glasses that Honda recognized as Hanasaki Tomoya. He and Inspiration appeared to be comparing something in their hands as they walked past the three friends and into the school.
"What is it?" Ryou asked as he followed Honda's gaze.
He snickered. "Anzu's good point. He just went inside."
She whirled around and then turned bright pink as her purse and book bag crashed to the ground in her haste. Honda tried to cover up his laughter as he bent down to get them for her.
She grabbed her things and hissed, "That wasn't funny!"
"No," Honda admitted with a smirk. "But I'm right, right? You could've fallen for worse guys than Jounouchi. Besides, he drives you crazy whenever he's around so to me, that makes him one of your good points."
Anzu's pretty face pinched into a scowl.
"You're ruining the game," Ryou told Honda.
"Okay, okay." Honda took a moment to think again. "Anzu, you made a weird but good choice when you fell for Jounouchi. He's a rough, loudmouthed idiot who gets lousy grades but I know he's still a good guy who watches out for you. So…there's your good point. Jounouchi."
It was definitely the oddest compliment he'd ever given her. Still, Anzu found herself somewhat pleased. If nothing else, Honda's honesty about her judgment was much appreciated. "Thanks, Honda."
"Yeah, you're welcome."
The bell rang then and the three of them headed inside. The first stop was the locker room, just to the right of the front entryway. Inside, shouts and clangs echoed as people changed shoes and put away their lunches. The three friends separated to do the same.
A few kids called out a good morning to Ryou as he switched footwear and he nodded politely in return. He had just stored away his sneakers when a screech rose above the noise in the room.
It was a screech that Honda had been on the receiving end of so many times that there was no mistaking the person it belonged to. Ryou grabbed his bag and ran for the 'M' row of lockers.
He met Honda along the way and the two of them skidded past a few kids into their desired locker aisle.
A group of girls had somehow restrained a furious Anzu by the arms and shoulders. Jounouchi lay dazed and bruised at their feet.
Honda took one look and laughed so hard that he had to lean against Ryou for support. The sound snapped Jounouchi from his stupor and he tilted his head back to send an angry look behind him. "S'not funny, Honda."
Honda only laughed harder and even Ryou found it hard to keep from smiling. Jounouchi just grumbled as he climbed to his feet and shook away the last of the daze. Then he turned to Anzu and griped, "All I did was say good morning. You didn't hafta clobber me."
"You didn't have to smack my butt while saying it!" she shot back.
Jounouchi just shrugged. "Yeah, well, I guess I just forgot how uptight you were. All my other girl friends don't mind it."
He turned around then and missed the look of horror that froze onto Anzu's face. Then Jounouchi brightened as he finally noticed Ryou next to Honda. He pulled a deck of cards out from his frayed pocket and then held up the top one. "Hey Bakura, lookit this! It's called Copycat. When you play it, it becomes any card on the field! Cool, huh?"
Ryou stiffened. "My name is Ryou. And I don't play Magic and Wizards."
Jounouchi blinked. "What? Sure ya do! Hanasaki told me that you gave him his very first Deck when you moved here."
Honda gave Ryou a surprised look. "I didn't know that. Why didn't you tell me that you played?"
"I don't!" Ryou insisted as he stepped back. "Really, I don't. I stopped playing months ago."
"How come?" Jounouchi wanted to know.
Ryou didn't answer.
Thankfully, the girls had released Anzu and she pushed past Jounouchi to stand next to Ryou. "Leave him alone. It's none of your business why he doesn't want to play your stupid card game."
"Jeez, calm down Mazaki. Sorry for being nosey, Bakura."
"Ryou," he corrected again.
The second bell rang and the five of them walked back out into the hallway. Once there, Jounouchi flashed the group a parting peace sign and then headed into class 1-A.
Anzu frowned as she watched him go. "Other girlfriends. I bet they have more air in their heads than their chests."
Honda couldn't resist. "Actually, I heard that it was all in their chests."
Ryou moved just in time to be missed by the purse as it smacked repeatedly against Honda.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!" He cried, shielding himself as best as he could. "Dammit Anzu! Ow!"
She gave him one last wallop before she ran into class 2-A. "See you at lunch!" she called over her shoulder.
Honda held his battered arm as he and Ryou continued down the hall. "What the hell is she carrying around in there? The Great Wall?"
Ryou laughed.
They entered a noisy 3-A and stood behind their desks. Hanasaki waved hello to Ryou from the front of the next row and he waved back. He had forgotten that he had given the boy his old deck. It had been what…almost seven weeks ago? No wonder Jounouchi had been so surprised when Ryou had told him that he didn't play anymore.
But that had been the point, hadn't it? He wanted to forget all about his past connection with Magic and Wizards and for the most part, it was working. He was in a new place with new opportunities and responsibilities. More importantly, he had Honda and Anzu.
The chatter died down as Mr. Togamashi walked in and stood behind his own desk. He was a slight man with dark hair and a no-nonsense voice. "Good morning. You may be seated."
The students bowed and then sat. Togamashi went to the chalkboard and started writing down assignments.
Papers fluttered and pencils scratched as the students set about taking notes. After a minute, Honda leaned across the aisle and whispered, "Hey Ryou, you never answered me. Did you see that guy again today?"
A fake gold eye crossed Ryou's mind and he pressed a hand to the pendent hidden beneath his jacket.
It had been seven days since the strange man outside of Pegasus's.
"No," he whispered back. "I didn't."