First Move, Last Word (Part 1)

DIMENSION: MANGA: (The One That Saves the Day)

Shizuka watched Honda. I have to tell him about the one night stand. How? He'll hate me. He deserves better. How do I tell him?

"Look, there's something I want to talk to you about. I?" Honda moved her away gently from the crowd. "When I was in the afterlife, I had time to think about regrets in life. What I wanted, and what I couldn't have."

Honda tried to smile. "You really are the sweetest thing on Earth, you know that don't you, Shizuka? You're a wonderful woman, but I admit. I mess up. I still like other women, but I know that I'd never goof on you. There's only one thing I really want, and I was going to play your brother Duel Monsters to do it."

"Duel Monsters with Jounouchi?" Shizuka asked. "That's asking for trouble."

"That's asking for years of playing most likely. It was how he'd give his consent for me to even attempt what I'm about to attempt." Honda bent down. "I'll mess up. You'll mess up. We'll both mess up. In the end though, I want someone that I can love every day, and that I can have a family with."

Shizuka's eyes were growing wider. "Honda, what are you doing?"

"I'm saying that I don't want to spend years trying to get consent. If Jounouchi doesn't want me in the family, then he'll just have to deal with it. I have a ring, but it's not on me," he admitted. "Sorry."

Shizuka started to back away some. "Are you asking for marriage?"

"I'll make sure you're always safe. I can even hire someone to stay with you to help during the daytime if you want," he assured her. "Especially when we have kids. I'm thinking boy and girl, but I'd love either one." He held his hand out toward her. "Shizuka?"

Shizuka didn't say anything at first. Then. "When did I ever say I wanted kids?"

"Well, kids come naturally," Honda insisted. "Your home all the time, of course we'd make a family."

I don't want kids. He wants me to stay home, thinking that I will never leave without him. I just helped to save the world and he still thinks I am helpless. Shizuka looked at Honda on the ground. Kaiba. No, the world is saved. I was living with him because of the dragon. He gave it back to me, so that I could come back, but? The world is saved.

That excuse, it was gone now. One of her potential futures was right there in front of her, begging her to choose it. Choose it with a life of staying home, having kids and a live-in nanny.

"I need an answer," Honda insisted. "Now that I have my life back, I want a life that I really want. Say yes?"

"Easy, Jounouchi," Mai warned him. "If Honda cares, he's doing the right thing, and you know it."

"Damn it, Honda!" Jounouchi yelled at him. "Did death scramble your brains or something?"

Shizuka scratched at her cheek lightly. How do I get out of this? "Honda."

Honda continued to smile. "You'd make a great mom, and I'd come back to you every day. I'd be loyal, I promise. I'd watch out for you Shizuka, you'd always be safe."

Shizuka opened her mouth but found herself catching something in her hands. Keys?

Honda stood up and looked at Kaiba. "Why did you throw a pair of keys at her?"

"They are to my estate. She lives with me, remember? She holds the Blue Eyes White Dragon," Kaiba reminded him. "You're embarrassing yourself, go away."

"You already used her to save the world," Honda complained. "You need to back off of her."

"You never know when a monster is handy. Might need it again some other day. Let's go, Shizuka. I probably have a lot of damage control with Mokuba to handle for the company," Kaiba told her. "We can't dawdle all day around here."

Shizuka looked at the keys. He still wants me! "I have to go, Honda."

"What? But, Shizuka?" Honda looked next to him and got punched by Jounouchi.

"Great your back to living, but your mind is screwed up, I can't believe you did that!" Jounouchi grabbed him off the ground. "I died too, you know, and you don't see me grabbing Mai and asking for marriage."

"You already did that," Mai reminded him, "before I died."

Honda punched him right back. "Knock it off, I need to get some things set straight." He went after Shizuka.

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"Atem, get us home already," Kaiba insisted as he approached Atem. "No need to linger with the garbage down here any longer." He looked toward Satiah. "You can come if you want to. You don't have to live off of Yuugi's family."

Hm? "She's not a burden." Atem glanced toward Satiah.

"She is good for Mokuba," Kaiba answered. "I am keeping what winnings I do have safe," he answered.

Atem drew his attention to Satiah. "Those are harsh words to use for people. I wouldn't go with someone using such words."

Satiah was thoughtful. "You do know how to dress your ladies, shelter them, and feed them. An obvious obligation of sex and family would be worth the risk, however?" She glared. "You also called me an Egyptian whore. I'm torn between luxury." She looked toward Bakura. "And my own self esteem." She looked toward Atem.

"I can answer that for you then," Atem said. "In case you didn't know, I officially took her as a wife. The answer is no, Kaiba."

"That was for show," Bakura said back to Atem. "Set is no longer a threat; you should undo that statement. She is not yours to command."

"True. She isn't," Atem agreed. I don't want Anzu to lose her again, but I should be mindful of her own feelings as well. "The choice is yours, but you have the answer I'd choose."

"Hey, you!" Honda shouted, pointing at Kaiba. "Atem's right, you don't have say over anyone." He looked at Shizuka. "He doesn't have any say over your life, even the Pharaoh has to agree with that one."

"Not the right words to use, but generally," Atem agreed. "No one has the rights to anyone else."

"For the last time?" Kaiba glared at Honda. "I'm not throwing chains around her. It's her decision. I just offer a lot more in my investment than you do."

"Kaiba's good at heart?" Mokuba tried with Satiah. "I don't mind if you come? You and Shizuka are great people, and our place is plenty big enough."

Satiah smiled and kissed Mokuba on the cheek. "You are a good person, and I will come see you often. I will decide upon this later, but I doubt I will accept. I believe your brother is making the gesture to feel better about another action."

Mokuba smiled and glanced at Shizuka. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"I forgot you were still here," Kaiba said to Honda. He shooshed him away. "Leave already."

"You're free, Shizuka," Honda said to her. "Even Kaiba admitted it so-"

The tension in that moment. Wanting to just get out but getting blocked by Honda. The nerve of what Honda did, along with the words that Kaiba was using that was making it that much harder to- "I screwed Kaiba!"

"Uh?" Honda stared at her. "What?"

Then, her senses came back. "One night stand, alcohol, end of world, you just died, it was all jumbled."

"No, no, no way!" Honda covered his ears. "I just died and-and- you fucked Kaiba?!"

"The what?!" Jounouchi had ran over. "The fuck is going on?!"

"Guys, Mana!" Mai yelled at them from her corner.

Shizuka winced. "Sorry. It wasn't like that, Honda."

"Oh, you suspected it the whole time, Jounouchi," Bakura said taking over Ryou Bakura. Of course, he wanted to come over. "Not that big of a deal. I fucked Masika just fine before and Atem and Yuugi don't care."

"Don't even say that," Atem warned him. "If you want to be able to come to the game shop, you must be nicer."

"Don't cast a slutty glare on her," Kaiba declared to Honda. "It's not like he was pristine, Shizuka, he was practically screwing Satiah."

Satiah raised an eyebrow. "I did not have any intercourse on the borders of the afterlife. We were just naked and holding each other."

"Miho didn't know Honda was such a player," Miho said to Honda as she came over. Most had come over now.

"I'm not," Honda disagreed. "I never did anything against Shizuka." He looked toward Shizuka. "I never did. I gave my life to save Satiah, that's what that weirdness is about, she'd vouch to that."

"He was a gentleman who saved my life," Satiah said for him.

"No. I know. You aren't at fault. You've been loyal and kind. The alcohol and changing world just got to me, but it's no excuse for me," Shizuka said. "I'm sorry."

"You never said a damn thing about this, Kaiba!" Jounouchi accused him.

"He didn't want to make the dragon reject him," Shizuka said to Jounouchi. "I asked him not to say anything too."

"Well, damn it, you aren't pregnant, right?" Jounouchi asked his sister. "That's what those gods do. Ooh, that's what they do!" Jounouchi looked back toward Honda. "It's okay, Honda, it was a one-night stand brought on by the gods. The gods, they like to create kids and fusions and pregnancy and whatnot. It was fate."

"Right." Honda looked toward Miho, then back at Shizuka. "Right? Right. Pregnant?"

"She isn't pregnant," Bastet answered. "Mortals."

"No, but to save her, a price had to be paid, they said that," Jounouchi revealed to Honda. "Seriously, blame me and the gods, not her." He held his finger up. "Not that I'm giving a yes for her or anything, it's just that, Shizuka's decent. Only the gods could mess someone like her up."

"Oh." Honda glanced at Shizuka. "I guess I get that. Still, it was Kaiba." Gruff. "Sorry. That's why you're going with a guy that calls you 'winnings'." He touched her hand. "I'll take care of you, Shizuka. I don't care about this one-night stand caused by the gods."

"I'm not winnings, and I'm not here for investments." She glanced toward Honda. "I sacrificed my life to save the world and you still treat me like a baby." She put her hands out both ways. "No to marriage, no to winnings!"

The world might be saved, but Shizuka's was falling apart. Kaiba, I can't, he still talks like I'm nothing but a prize he deserves. Honda's right about that, but I can't be with Honda. He wants a loving wife and a family. That's what he figured out while he was gone. She didn't know the next step, but she couldn't handle either of them anymore.

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