Honda walked around aimlessly, somehow finding himself at the mall.

Rishid, meanwhile, was standing in front of a Hotdog On A Stick, ignoring the tang of pseudo-meat being basted, and wondering what on earth Ryou Bakura could possibly want for his birthday.

Although Honda had eaten cake at Ryou's party, he was still a bit hungry. So, he walked towards the food court. "Hm, what should I get? Hotdog, maybe?" His thoughts were interrupted as he ran into a slightly familiar figure.

Rishid was trying to decipher the strange characters on the shop signs, and had just given up on that and opted to head for the nearest clothing store. Having been staring up at neon lights for the past three minutes, he hadn't noticed Honda walking to the hotdog venue--naturally, Rishid managed to bump right into the teen.

"Sorry, man," Honda replied automatically. "...Wait, I think I know you. Um, Malik's brother, right?"

"Forgive m--" Rishid paused automatically to allow the other person to speak, once Honda began. ... "Yes, I am." He studied Honda for a moment, recognizing him but only vaguely remembering a name to go with the face. "You are a friend of Jounouchi's and the Pharaoh's, correct?"

"Something like that, I suppose." Honda looked around, "So, what brings you here?"

"Shopping for a gift, I'm afraid." Had Rishid been more prone to facial expressions, would have had a very wry frown on his face indeed. "And you?"

"For Ryou, I'm guessing. I was just wandering around after I left his party." Honda pushed down a shudder. "It was getting strange." He thought for a few minutes before continuing, "Do you need any help looking for a present?"

Rishid nodded. "I wasn't able to attend the party" because I'm antisocial "but I would like to drop off a present for him at his house. ...I'm afraid I don't know him that well, so any assistance you could give would be...wonderful, actually." The man teetered between staying safe and indulging his curiosity, and after a brief pause asked, "Strange how?"

Honda considered whether to tell him, and decided he should. "You didn't miss much. Seto, Siegfried, Yami, and Seth were having some kind of fight. Malik and Diabound decided to drag them outside and hose them. They came back inside, another fight broke out, so I left with the other Siegfried." Honda shrugged, "You can ask Isis and Malik for more of the details. I wasn't really paying attention. Anyways, back to you." Honda smilled at the taller man, "Which direction shall we go?"

"Hm..." Rishid had been a little worried about something like that happening, and though he still regretted not having been able to go, a part of him thought it was probably for the best. "I was thinking of browsing through that shop first...what do you think?" He gestured at a popular clothing shop.

"Looks good to me, though I wish I knew what clothes Mokuba gave him." That thought made Honda stop for a moment. "I guess you want to know what Ryou got, right?"

Rishid blinked once. "Actually, I hadn't thought of asking, but that is a very good idea. What should I not get Ryou?"

"Well, Mokuba got him a car. I didn't actually see it, since he said that it would be delivered later. He also said that there would be clothes and porn in the trunk. Malik gave him a picture frame. I gave him some t-shirts and a little bit of money, and..." Honda tried to remember who else had brought a present. "And Siegfried gave him a ridiculous amount of money." Honda patted his pockets, pulling out a slip of paper. "For some reason I have the check, guess I need to go back there tomorrow and give it back. Ryou also got some letter about some prize thing, a cruise to the Bahamas or something. Not sure if that's real or a fake, though." He put the slip of paper back in his pocket. "Eh, sorry for rambling."

Rishid listened with a sinking feeling, as he realized that there was probably nothing he could actually get Ryou. Reluctantly he glanced towards the department store, which would have more options. "...What do you think I should get him, then?"

"You do know you're asking the guy who gave the most pathetic of the four gifts, right?" Honda looked away quickly. "I'd say you should get him either clothes or food."

Rishid frowned and nodded once; then shifting slightly, he asked, "Where can I find incense to buy?"

Honda blinked. That was an unexpected question. "To be honest, I have no idea."

"Hmm...well, clothes will work just as well for gifts. What sorts of things does Ryou like to wear?" Rishid had only seen Ryou a handful of times, and yet he couldn't imagine the slight boy wearing anything like what Malik did.

Honda thought about what he had seen Ryou in. "I think jeans and t-shirts, mostly. I don't know sizes, though, so I just stuck with shirts. Mokuba probably got him all sorts of ridiculous outfits, but there might be some decent clothing in there."

Rishid thought for a moment and nodded. "He will probably want some new jeans, then."

"Yeah, I thought about that. Think a sales clerk could help us? Like I said, I have no idea what size Ryou wears." Honda looked around briefly. "How about we try that shop?"

Rishid studied the displays and, after imagining Ryou's face over the manequin, nodded. "I think he'd like those."

"Great. Let's go in and see if we can figure out what size to buy." Honda grabbed Rishid's arm and gently pulled him into the store.

Rishid was a little surprised at first, but decided quickly that he didn't mind being led at all. "Ryou's lost quite a bit of weight...do you think we ought to buy something he could grow back into?"

Honda stopped to think about that, leaving his hand on Rishid's arm. "Hm, that is a good idea. Still doesn't tell us what size to buy, but probably makes it a little easier if it doesn't have to be an exact size." He suddenly realize that he was still holding Rishid's arm, and felt very self-conscious. "Heh, sorry." He quickly pulled his hand back, stepping away a bit.

"Ah, that's alright," Rishid answered, smiling faintly. Once they were inside the shop he paused and eyed Honda critically. "...What size do you wear?"

Honda fought the urge to blush as he felt Rishid's eyes on him. "Pants? Um, 34 by 25, I think."

"Do you think a size 32 would be close enough for him?"

"No, Ryou's waist is probably smaller than that. What's the smallest they have here?" Honda walked over to look at one of the many stacks of jeans.

"26, it seems," Rishid answered, frowning at a pair of almost-miniature blue jeans.

Honda looked over and sighed. "Well, that's smaller than I expected, but I don't think we can find anything long enough in that size. For Ryou, it's probably better to make sure they're the right length. Worst case is he has to wear a belt. He probably does that now."

"Hn...what length do we need to buy for him? He's a little shorter than you are, right?"

"Yeah, by a few inches. Look for something like 23." Honda looked back to the stack of jeans in front of him. "This would be easier if pants were all arranged by size instead of brand and type."

Rishid carefully pawed through a stack of pants. "...Does the brand matter? Is one better than another?" He really hoped not--this was proving difficult as it was, but then again, it wouldn't do to give Ryou something if it was only going to fall apart as soon as he put it on.

"To Ryou? I doubt it." Honda continued looking through the stacks, pulling a few out. "Now, if we're talking about Mokuba, then brand is about the most important thing to consider. Of course, Mokuba probably buys his own pants, so it's a bit of a moot point." He looked up, idly wondering what the sales clerk thought of them. "Find anything?"

"I considered buying Mokuba's brand, but...from what I've heard, it's nearly a hundred dollars for a pair of pants. What do you think of these?" He held up a pair of stone-washed jeans; they were the only ones in that color that didn't already have holes in the knees.

Honda paused in his efforts to find pants. "Hm, those look good, no huge holes already ripped. What size?"

Rishid checked the tag quickly, glad that he only had to find numbers this time. "25 by 30."

"Are you sure?" Honda stepped closer, trying to see the tag. "I'd expect that to be the other way around."

Very careful not to show that he was uneasy about having read the tag wrong, he held it out a little to Honda and waited. "I've never done much shopping before...."

"That's okay, I've made the same mistake. Most of my clothes are from the last time my sister dragged me shopping." Honda looked at the tag, then at the jeans he was holding. "Those might fit Ryou. I haven't seen anything better yet."

"Ah, Malik usually did all of the shopping...I honestly can't remember the last time I was in a store like this." Rishid nodded, pleased that they'd found something that might pass as a gift. "I'll get a few more in the same size, then...he might like some other styles."

"I can believe that." He turned, intending to help look for more jeans, when he realized that he was already holding some. "These are the same size. How many, do you think?" Honda held the small pile out for Rishid.

"Mm...maybe two? Or three? Or is that too many?"

"Ryou will probably be thrilled with two, but then again he was thrilled to get any presents. You can buy three if you like." Honda shrugged. "You're the one paying for them."

"I'll get these two, then...thank you." He carefully replaced the extra pairs. He had some idea of what else he wanted to give Ryou, but he still wasn't sure if that would be enough. As he was paying for the jeans, though, he looked back at Honda and said, a little guiltily, "...You were headed for the food court, weren't you?"

"Um, yeah, I was. I guess if you don't need my help anymore, I'll go get some food." Honda shuffled nervously, not really wanting to leave.

"I'm sorry--I didn't mean to take you shopping instead of you getting food." Rishid took the bag from the cashier. "Would you mind if I accompanied you?"

Honda looked over at him and smiled. "I don't mind at all. This was...kinda fun, in a strange way."

Rishid smiled a little and nodded back at the food court. "What are you in the mood for?"

Honda hadn't thought that far in advance, usually he just walked around until something interested him. "Um, pizza."

"Alright." Pizza was most agreeable, Rishid had decided. Not being a fan of meat, it was hard to find fast food actually decent enough to eat.

Since there were only a few people at the food court, Honda had no trouble finding a table after buying a slice of pizza and a coke. He sat down, trying to watch Rishid and the other mall patrons at the same time. "It's kinda funny. Almost every time I come here, I end up running into someone."

Rishid blinked, finished swallowing the sip of Sprite. "Perhaps you just draw them to you."

"I guess that's possible. I never thought to look at it like that. Makes me wonder why I haven't run into Yugi or Jou, though."

"Hmm...are you no longer friends with them?"

Honda opened his mouth to answer, then stopped to consider it. "Actually, I'm not sure. No one suddenly declared I wasn't their friend, or anything like that. I guess we just haven't crossed paths since I got back to Domino." Honda chewed on his pizza as he thought some more. "I've run into plenty of other people, so it's not like I've been bored or anything. What have you been doing lately?"

"Really, not much of anything. I was staying in Egypt, but after a few months there wasn't much else for me there...so I came back to my family." Rishid cut a piece off of his calzone, but paused to speak again before eating. "Where did you go outside of Domino, and what was it that brought you back?"

"Ironically, I left to visit some assorted family and friends of the family. I'm still not completely sure why I came back. I guess part of me hoped someone would care." Honda looked away, embarrassed that he had revealed so much. "It's not all that important."

Rishid, not given to outward expression, found that he was able to smile honestly, sympathetically, only when Honda had turned away from him. "...I understand what you mean." Although he was normally soft-spoken, this was said even more quietly than usual. "Did you find the family you were looking for?"

"No. I'm not sure what I was looking for, but I'm pretty sure I didn't find it." Honda stared at his coke for several moments before looking up guiltily. "Could we pick something else now? I don't really like talking about my family."

Rishid was quiet for a moment, musing over...well, his own family, mostly. He studied Honda silently, before nodding once. "Of course. I didn't mean to...well. What did you enjoy about being away from Domino?"

"I got to meet some new people, even if I didn't bother to stay in contact with them. And I liked people talking to me for me, not just as a way to get closer to Yugi and Jou." Honda laughed a little. "It sounds dumb, but I actually enjoyed the chance to be by myself instead of just part of a larger group. I'm not sure my family was exactly thrilled that I spent so much time wandering around alone, but it was fun."

"People often forget that they make up society, rather than a society making up them. It's easy to forget you are an individual, when you're made to follow whatever the majority decides." Rishid hesitated, then hastily took another sip of his soda. "So it does make sense, that you needed to get away for a while. Did you go to another city, or was it somewhere more remote?"

"I didn't get to stay in one city for long, different people kept dragging me from place to place. Aunts and uncles, distant cousins, my sister, various business associates of my father. I don't even remember now where I was." Honda looked over, slightly surprised. "I'm sure listening to me isn't all that interesting. What else would you like to talk about?"

"No, I really don't mind," Rishid answered. Truthfully, he preferred listening to others as opposed to speaking; and having had no one to speak with since teaching Malik to cook, he was actually really glad to have someone sitting across from him now. But he'd already decided not to say that, so instead he added, "Did you hear about the--er, zombie break out in Tokyo?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen any sign of zombies, though, so I'm not sure what's going on." Honda held back a laugh. "I wonder what's next, werewolves?"

Rishid coughed a little on his Sprite. "I hope not! There's a full moon coming, the last thing we need is someone growing a hide and scratching at our legs...."

"That would probably be worse than zombies. I don't want to imagine what kind of weirdness and supernatural hunters that would bring here." Honda sighed. "I guess I should get going, let you go give Ryou his present or go home and wrap it first."

"Mm, yes..." Rishid glanced down at the bag, wondering how exactly he should go about wrapping up the pants--maybe put them in a nicer bag? He looked back up at Honda and smiled. "It was nice speaking with you."

"Yeah, it was nice. Glad I could help you, even if I didn't do much. Maybe we could get together some time and talk more." Honda looked at the ground and scuffed his toe on the floor, hoping his suggestion wasn't taken the wrong way.

"I'd like that." He glanced at the hotdog stand and then back at Honda. "Do you come here often?"
fai tiger: "Heh, yeah. Probably more than I should. Why?"

"Perhaps we could meet up here again sometime, then."

"I...I'd like that." Honda was surprised at how true that was. "Should I just keep coming back and wandering around, hoping to see you?"

Rishid nodded once. "At least until I get a telephone, and we can coordinate better?"

"Okay, I guess that works. I'll try to come by the food court to look for you the next time I'm at the mall. Hopefully the one day I don't come won't be the one day you do."

Rishid chuckled a little at that, and offered his hand. "Until then."

Honda put his hand out as well and shook. "Until then."