Honda's Ghost Part 22

AN - and back to your regularly scheduled Monday post. :)

It probably wouldn’t surprise you to hear I have a temper.

It usually surprises me.

It took a while for Jonouchi’s meaning to sink in, and all the angles of it.

After it did, I was furious.

That may or may not surprise you. It surprised me. I didn’t think I could hold out so long, but I was so very angry and confused and hurt.

Right or not, and I didn’t want to admit it but Jonouchi was probably right, I didn’t speak to him again that week, or the next.

I was always in some sort of pain these days.

It was not my intent to be cruel, although I could tell I worried Jonouchi. I wasn’t entirely sure if he worried for or about me. Either way I knew he was watching and I retreated behind Honda more often than I like to admit.

Sometimes I got the feeling Honda was amused with me.

Later I would probably be amused with my actions, once I had gained enough distance from the matter.

No, strike that, I was already darkly amused at my actions, and some cruel part of my mind was waiting for me to draw blood.

Kaiba Land came much too soon, and I found myself having to fight with Honda’s sister about taking her son.

There was no way I was taking an infant into something as deadly as Kaiba Land.

I had to remind her that I was her brother, not her slave, and flatly refuse. The guilt laid on was so thick I almost chocked on it, but no, I wasn’t risking a child. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be risking Yugi.

He sulked. I ended up babysitting the night before, and yes I do mean me and not Honda.

Honda told the others that he would meet them there, I knew Jonouchi and Yugi intended to go to the Arcade that evening. Anzu had turned down the ticket, saying she had work commitments, but Hanasaki was eager.

I felt guilty, but Kaiba was unlikely to hurt innocent bystanders, so Hanasaki should be safe as long as he didn’t make himself a target.

I did warn Jonouchi that something was going to go down at the amusement park. I don’t know if he believed me.

I felt ill prepared for the events ahead of me.

I truly had no idea what Kaiba intended beyond another card game, but the deadly nature of events so far made me wary, more so than I would have been otherwise.

I packed several useful things, thankful for my long coat and many pockets. Simple, useful things.

Like a box of matches, a packet of mini screw drivers, thread and needles, wire, a small pair of scissors, a notebook and cards. A pretty strong magnet I had been pleased to acquire. Then there were things like elastic bands and other random bits and pieces I had picked up.

I hesitated to take a knife, but decided to take a small one in the end, they were useful for things other than sticking them in people. I strapped it to my back, trusting it would stay hidden unless I needed it.

I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want Honda to die either.

I couldn’t help but feel I was walking into the lion’s den.

Or maybe a scorpion pit. I glanced at Kage, the thought amusing me.

It was probably a bad mix, black humour and dark fury, but it was a familiar mix, I could walk this knife edge.

The crowd was insane. I mean I knew it was going to be, and had I been in any other mood I would have quailed upon seeing it.

I do not like large crowds, people pressing too close, the noise, the confusion, the inability to see clearly.

Honda had one advantage over me in that he was tall.

Usually I would have grinned and bared it, but I had Honda. He also wasn’t afraid of crowds, and far more skilled at moving among them than me, so I tossed control over to him and curled up around his thoughts to watch intently.

This left Honda deciding where to go, but it wasn’t like I had any better ideas.

The big attraction was Death T.

That name should have worried me, but surely Kaiba wouldn’t be that blatant? Surely he didn’t intend to start off his dream with bloodshed?

It was probably just a name. No hidden meaning.

Surely if someone died the authorities would shut down the park, Kaiba couldn’t want that.

I hoped.

I hoped in vain.

I should have known.

The worse thing, the very worse thing about this world was how deadly everything was compared to what I expected.

I guess at some point I shall stop being surprised and horrified.

Well... on an intelligential level I realised I should be horrified. But my mind had narrowed to the silver bright of focused fury, all I wanted was destruction.

Normally I consider myself like a lake, calm on the surface with dark currents stirring rapidly beneath.

But here? Now? I was ice, shattered glass, sharp edges strained with blood. I was cold and furious and murderous.

My feelings about Kaiba preparing a number of Death traps for Yugi were nothing like the fury I had felt when Jonouchi was taken.

This was loneliness layered upon hurt layered upon protective fury.

I kept my eyes open for Yugi and Jonouchi, but didn’t see them. That was probably a good thing.

I have no idea how Honda was maintaining his composure. No idea why he wasn’t been torn to shreds in the glass storm of rage in my head.

The staff started encouraging people to go into the Arena, as Kaiba was going to duel.

“Honda!” Someone shouted, and waved, darting through the crowds.

“Hanasaki” The smaller boy was almost bouncing in place.

Oh dear.

“Isn’t this place great?” Hanasaki said, and started babbling about everything he had seen so far, holograms and games and the words flowed over and around me.

Dangerous.

We got seats near the front of the arena, only a dozen rows up.

I don’t think I wanted to hurt Hanasaki. The thought left me empty. I knew if I was in my right mind I wouldn’t want to hurt the boy.

Oh.

I didn’t want to hurt Honda either.

The storm in my mind had been careful, precise, it flew at my command.

Honda was to be protected, so there was a null patch, the eye of the storm, that surrounded him. Eerily calm, and probably uncomfortable.

Always uncomfortable. Wasn’t I curled around Honda’s thoughts, infiltrating his mind?

Then everything stopped.

The World fell away.

Grandpa.