The sun was setting outside of the cafe, where Jou had recently met up with Mana. For the first time in a day, he had a smile on his face. He felt so much better about his incident with Honda at the hospital. Jou sighed, then decided to head on home. As he walked, he spotted a tall, familiar figure in the distance.

Honda walked down the street, trying to find the cyber cafe he had been told was close by, so that he could continue his research. He sighed and closed his eyes as he continued walking, subconsciously weaving around the few people on the sidewalk. He hoped he found a more solid lead soon, the late nights were starting to catch up and being out late under such conditions was not the wisest idea. He wasn't even sure why he was still doing this, except to have a distraction from thinking about other aspects of his life.

Jou walked cautiously towards the familiar figure. His heart beat faster with each step. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the young man as his friend Honda--the same Honda that Jou confessed his true feelings to. Now, he thought seriously of turning back. He was just too nervous to face him again. But... Jou was never one to turn a back on a friend...

Feeling that someone was watching him, Honda stopped and opened his eyes to glance around. He did a double take when he saw Jou standing there looking at him. "Um, hi..." he said as he raised a hand in greeting and tried to meet Jou's eyes. "I didn't expect to see you..." He looked away in embarrassment, sure that Jou would leave any second.

"Hi..." Jou greeted Honda. He looked away shyly. What to say, what to say... Was he expected to say anything? Jou finally faced him "Um... Honda-kun... I'm... sorry..."

Honda's gaze snapped over to Jou and he stared for several moments. "Why? I'm the one that ran off like an idiot." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away again.

"N-no... I am, for... telling you too soon..." Jou shoved his hands in his pockets. "Um... I should have known you weren't ready..."

Honda slowly looked back to Jou. "No, I guess I wasn't ready for that," he finally responded and shrugged. "I still feel guilty about reacting so badly, though. You deserve..." No, he promised himself he would stop using that word. He swallowed and made sure to look Jou straight in the eyes. "I should have taken it better than I did. So, where do we take things from here?"

"I... don't know..." Jou blushed. "I... still... feel this way for you..." He swallowed hard. "But, because of that, I want you to be happy... I want you to feel good about yourself. If you want us to be friends again... that would be okay with me..."

"Really? You'd do that..." Honda smiled without even realizing it, the reaction coming completely automatically. A small part of Honda's mind warned him against accepting the offer, arguing that the situation was already unnecessarily awkward and he'd just end up hurting Jou again. The larger part of him, however, was just relieved that the blond was still willing to talk to him, regardless of the reason. "That--that means a lot to me." He glanced around, finally noticing how many people were still out on the street. "So, you wanna go...hang out or something?"

"Um... can I come over to your house...?" Jou asked meekly. "And, um... I'm glad you still wanna be friends, because... it's what I want, too. I want us to be together, even if we don't feel the same way about each other."

Honda blinked a few times, not completely anticipating that answer. "Uh, sure, right." He turned away quickly, hoping he wasn't blushing too much. "This way," he said and gestured for Jou to follow as he took a few steps away. He stopped and glance over his shoulder to make sure his friend was really following.

"Okay..." Jou smiled shyly behind the fist that he put to his lips. He walked to Honda, more and more quickly, until Jou was finally walking beside him. Jou was so much happier to be able to talk to Honda again, after all those days of being depressed.

Honda looked over and smiled as Jou walked next to him. Resisting the urge to toss an arm around his friend's shoulders, he stuck his hands in his pockets and tried to think of a safe topic of conversation. "So, anyone else come visit you at the hospital after I...left?" Okay, maybe that wasn't the safest question, but it was too late to take it back now.

"No, no one else..." Jou replied. "but, that's okay. I got to visit the other me in the hospital. Yuugi seemed to be really, really worried about him. I don't blame him..." He tried meeting Honda's gaze, resisting the urge to stare in his eyes, no matter how beautiful they were. "It's kind of sad that so many people are ending up in the hospital, but that's good, because I get to visit my friends."

"Huh, I haven't seen him in awhile," Honda commented softly to himself. "Yeah, I guess so," he raised his voice again to a normal level. "It is more convenient to visit people when you know exactly where they're supposed to be. Still, I'd rather visit people at home, especially since the hospital staff isn't too happy with me right now." He glanced over. "Heh, sorry, guess that's not the best topic to pick. What would you like to talk about now?"

"Um..." Jou ran around in his mind, trying to find a safe topic, himself. "...How's your kitty?"

"Sevikir's doing great." Honda grinned. "He's really vocal, and pretty energetic. Oh, he likes to pounce. I don't know if I warn you about that. His claws aren't very big, but they can kinda hurt if they catch you the wrong way. If he pounces on you while you're visiting, don't take that to mean he dislikes you or anything. He's usually sweet."

"Oh... is he a good kitty, or a naughty little kitty?" Jou asked cutely. His mood had improved from the mentioning of pets.

"Definitely a good kitty, even when he decides that two in the morning is the perfect time for playing. I guess that's what kittens tend to do, though." Honda glanced around the neighborhood they were walking through. "We're gonna turn up at the intersection," he said as he pointed and walked slightly closer to Jou. "I kinda expected him to sleep more, though," he chuckled slightly as they rounded the corner.

"I read somewhere that cats sleep for 22 hours per day," Jou informed. "I think the other two hours are when they run around and play. If they play so much, maybe that's why they're tired," he said with a giggle.

"Yeah, I heard something like that too, that's why I'm surprised that he has so much energy all the time." He shook his head but continued grinning. "Seriously, I think he sleeps less than most people, which is not normal cat behavior. Maybe it's just a kitten thing, and he'll take more naps as he gets older or something."

"Okay. Maybe he will settle down as he grows up." Jou looked up at the sky. It was turning from its previous vermillion to a deep purple. Not a star was visible yet, however. "They sky is beautiful, don't you think?"

Honda glanced up and slowed to a stop. After several moments of silence he responded, "Yeah, it is beautiful." He swallowed nervously, realizing that if this was a romance movie, not that Honda watched romance movies or anything, this would be the point where he'd be expected to say something really sappy or kiss Jou or something like that. Taking a deep breath, then letting it out slowly, he looked over at the blond from the corner of his eye, hoping he wasn't expecting a sudden, movie-like, romantic gesture.

"I miss it..." Jou said dreamily. "Because... I usually go home alone. And now, I'm not supposed to do that anymore." He lowered his head momentarily, then looked back at Honda. "But, I guess I'm safe if I walk with a friend, right?" He smiled at him, then continued his step.

"Yeah, that makes sense." Honda nodded slightly and hurried to catch up to Jou. "Hey, wait up. I thought I was supposed to be the one leading here, unless you think you can find your way to my place without my help." He pushed his hands farther into his pockets, again resisting the urge to pull Jou close. "'Cause if you can to do that without ever going there before, I'll be amazed."

"Oh, heh," Jou blushed. "I'm sorry, I guess I was lost in thought..." He rubbed the back of his blonde mopped head nervously.

Honda smiled. "Nah, that's okay. I was just teasing." He glanced up at the sky, then back down to the blond next to him. "You're right though, the sky is really great. I don't know why I never really stopped to look before. Hm, wonder what else I've been missing out on." He looked down at the sidewalk as he continued leading Jou. "So, what else can we talk about?"

"Um... Hm." Jou thought to himself. The night sky certainly was beautiful. He did enjoy himself. But, it would have been more enjoyable if Honda had actually agreed to be his boyfriend. Now, what else to say... "Hey, Honda-kun... will I meet your roommate? ...Or have I met him... or her...?"

That question stopped Honda for a moment. He hadn't bothered to think about who knew what until now. "Oh, um...you remember Rishid...from Battle City and all that? Yeah, I've been living with him for the past several weeks." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess I didn't say much about it on my journal at the time."

"Oh, really... Is he nice to you?" Jou questioned.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't see him all that much, even though we both work at the Kaiba mansion. And recently I've been busy researching stuff about Shadow, so I'm not home much, and he's off...well, I'm not sure what he's off doing, probably trying to catch Shadow or something. But yeah, so far it's all been pretty good." Honda glanced over. "So to kinda answer your earlier question, I have no idea if he'll be home or not."

"Oh, okay..." The mention of Shadow made Jou shiver. "Are we almost there...? I'm a little scared..."

"Yeah, it's just on the next street. Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I guess I kinda took the long way of getting here, since I'm still trying to figure out my way in relation to a new place." Honda turned at the corner and pointed down the street. "See, right over there."

Seeing the house in the distance, Jou grinned broadly. It looked so much better than his apartment complex. "Rishid must be a real nice guy to let you live here!"

"Yeah, I know." Honda couldn't help but smile at the other boy's enthusiasm. The small house wasn't much compared to the Kaiba mansion, or even the other houses around it, but he knew it was a major improvement to living in an even more cramped apartment. "It really is great. I'm not gonna question how I got so lucky." He sped his steps up, wanting to get inside faster.

"H-Honda, w-wait up...!" Jou quickened his steps to a slight jog. "Are you racing or something...?! That's not fair; I won't win...!"

Honda slowed so that Jou could catch up. "Heh, sorry, just in a hurry. Guess it's not very nice to make you rush so soon after getting out of the hospital." He continued at a normal pace again. "I think I've annoyed a few of the neighbors already, from times I've run down the street for the fun of it. They're slowly getting used to me though."

Jou grunted and gripped his side. "Oh, I see..." He slowed down, walking beside his friend. "It must be fun to run all over the place. Too bad I can't do that for very long. Well, I can still run, but my side starts to hurt a little. Walking is pretty fun, too. Sometimes, I walk around town and look at stuff. I like going to the pet store just to look at all the animals." Painted on Jou's face was a childlike smile.

Honda smiled at Jou, trying to push down the guilt of possibly putting his friend in physical pain from having to rush to catch up. "Heh, I walk around town sometimes too. Don't think I've been to the pet store in a long time, though. What's your favorite animal?" he asked as they neared the house.

"My favorite...?" Jou hesitated for a moment, deep in thought. "I... like lots, actually. I... like the kittens, and puppies, and rabbits, and hamsters, and mice, and turtles..." He sighed. "I should go to the zoo more often... Maybe I should be a vet. But, some people keep pets like snakes and spiders, and I don't like those..."

"Good thing I have a kitten instead of a snake, then, huh?" Looking away, Honda quickly covered the short distance between them and the front door of the house. He unlocked the door and gestured for Jou to follow him in. Glancing around, he was unsure if he was relieved or slightly worried that the house was empty. "So...here's the house."

Jou timidly entered the doorway and glanced around. It did look so much better than his own apartment. Honda was so lucky to live with Rishid instead of an alcoholic father like poor Jou. "So, um... thank you for letting me come in." He felt a little tug at his pant leg.

"Hey, no problem. You wanted to come over, and I don't see any reason for you not to." Honda shrugged and pushed the door shut behind Jou, and glance down. "Heh, looks like you have a new friend already." He leaned down and pick up a small black kitten by the scruff of its neck. Sliding a hand underneath, he held it up to chest level and smiled at Jou. "Meet Sevikir."

The gleaming eyes of the little kitten made Jou smile as well. Sevikir was just too adorable! Jou couldn't fight back a squeal when it mewed at him. "Hello!" He reached out to gently pet the kitten on its head. "You're so cute....!"

Honda continued smiling as he shift his gaze back and forth between his friend and the kitten. "You wanna hold him?" he offered suddenly. "He really seems to like you." He glanced about. "Probably best if we sit though, just to make sure he doesn't fall."

"Sure!" Jou accepted. The kitten was placed into his hands. It sniffed Jou's face and licked it. The tickling sensation made Jou giggle. He sat down with the purring little furball and said, "Thank you so much, Honda-kun. You're a wonderful host."

"Um, right. You're welcome, I guess." If Honda had realized that seeing a kitten would make Jou so happy, he'd have seriously considered trying to sneak Sevikir into the hospital for a visit. "So, you wanna drink? I think we have some sodas in the fridge, maybe." He glanced down at his friend sitting on the ground and shuffled nervously where he stood, undecided between sitting and remaining standing.

"Oh, you do...? Then, I'd like one, please." Jou returned to tickling the kitten, who was now rolling on the floor. "Se-kun, you're sosososoooo cute...!" He cooed.

Honda stared for a moment before turning and leaving the room. Without bothering to turn on the kitchen light, he made his way to the fridge. Opening it up, he scanned the contents before pulling two sodas out. As he set them on the counter, he felt a movement at his ankles. Turning around, he saw the household's other kitten staring up at him. "Hey, you hiding?" he murmured to the feline, keeping his voice low enough that it wouldn't carry outside the room. He stroked the cat's head briefly and gave it a small smile. "I'll spend some time with you later, 'kay furball? I think Jou and Sevikir want me to be with them, and I can tell you don't want to go out there." Shaking his head as the kitten darted off again, he picked up the two sodas and carried them back to Jou. "This okay?" he held one out as he sat down next to Jou.

"Yes, thank you," Jou replied. He took the soda can and opened it. Sevikir touched his nose to the can. He batted his arms around Jou's hand. Jou tapped Sevikir's head to settle him down.

Honda leaned over and rubbed the back of Sevikir's feline neck. "Cut it out," he softly urged the kitten. "I told you to play nice when people come over." He glanced over at Jou's face. "Maybe I should hold him again, until he settles down more." Setting his drink down, he gripped the cat's neck between his finger and thumb and pulled gently.

"He's so cute, though," Jou said, taking a sip of his soda. "And at least he's friendly... and he doesn't mind me calling him 'Se-kun'." Jou took a look out the window. It sure became dark pretty quickly. "Honda, what time is it?" he asked.

"Huh?" While Honda's attention was split between Jou and Sevikir, the kitten slipped out of his grip. Sitting up again, Honda considered the question. He couldn't see a clock from where he was sitting, so he had to rely on a guess. "Um, after seven, I'm sure. Why, do you need the exact time?" He started to stand up again. "There's a clock in the kitchen I could check, if you need me too."

"Oh, um. Okay. Because I'd like to get home pretty soon now that it's dark, and..." Fear was displayed in Jou's amber-brown eyes. "I don't really want to go home alone..."

Honda tried to give him a reassuring smile. "No problem. I can walk you back home, if you want. You want to get going right now?"

"Yeah, thank you..." Jou stood up, and headed for the door. Once Honda was there as well, they headed outside. It felt so good to be friends again, Jou thought.