Serpent's Vow

7: Indirect Contact

They found him. They actually found Honda. Well, technically  Jounouchi found him, but still! They had even managed to separate Honda  from the other cultists. Apparently Jounouchi had all but dragged his  brainwashed friend around the compound on an extended tour. Whenever  Jounouchi asked for more details or insisted on seeing more of the  building, Honda obeyed.

Despite how obviously uncomfortable Honda  was with his guided tour and his constant efforts to make up an excuse  to get away, Jounouchi's requests were reluctantly obeyed. There seemed  to be an underlying hint of respect and maybe even fear in the way Honda  regarded Jounouchi. Yugi knew Honda respected his friend, but not like  this. This bordered on the kind of fearful respect the employees at  KaibaCorp regarded their CEO.

And it wasn't just Honda who looked  and treated Jounouchi that way. All of the disciples who interacted with  Jounouchi seemed to automatically differ to him except in matters  regarding direct orders from their 'god' Seth. Yugi shook his head in  wonderment. Whatever cover story Jounouchi was using seemed to be  working wonders.

Yugi had been carrying a folded pile of fresh,  clean laundry in his arms when he heard his best friend's voice. He'd  quickly looked around and ducked into the nearest doorway and waited. He  used the footsteps and Jounouchi's voice to determine how close they  were before deliberately stepping out into the hallway.

He  promptly found himself smooshed into Honda's chest with a mouthful of  the off-white cult uniform. Stumbling back in false surprise, he caught  Honda's arm with his elbow, pretending to lose his balance and drop his  armful of clothing. Unseen by anyone but Yugi, the spirit of the Puzzle  was leaning against the wall beside himself with laughter.

Granted,  watching Honda frantically apologize and help Yugi gather up the  dropped laundry while simultaneously preventing Jounouchi from helping  was amusing. Too bad the armed guards shadowing the two boys seemed to  disagree. Yugi kept his mouth shut and just smiled sheepishly and began  refolding the long tunics and dresses.

"I am so sorry," Honda went  on, folding a pair of pants and placing it back in Yugi's open arms.  "Please forgive the delay, First Prime." His dark eyes flickered up to  where Jounouchi stood watching. "This will not take long."

:First Prime?: Yugi asked, surreptitiously glancing at both Yami and Jounouchi.

Jounouchi  ignored the look and just waved away Honda's apologies. "No sweat," he  said, tucking his other hand in his pocket. "Set's probably still busy  with Setesh anyway. We got a little more time." Now he did look at Yugi.  "Who's the squirt?"

Yugi flushed bright red and bit his lip to keep his mouth shut. If he spoke now, he'd ruin is cover story. Still, he wasn't that short!

"One  of our newest disciples," Honda said, placing the last dress on top of  the pile and getting to his feet. He dusted off his pants and held out a  hand to help Yugi up, blushing when he realized Yugi's hands were full.  "I don't know his name though."

Jounouchi lifted his eyebrows and looked right at Yugi. "What's your name, bro?" he asked.

Smiling,  Yugi did his best to gesture to his mouth and shake his head. With his  hands occupied, it was the best he could do. Hopefully, Jounouchi would  catch on. Something dark flashed through the blonde boy's eyes,  hardening his gaze in a silent yet important question. Understanding,  Yugi shrugged and shook his head. Just as quickly as it appeared, the  shadow vanished from Jounouchi's gaze.

"Huh," the blonde said. "Must be deaf."

Hey!

"Um,  I believe he can hear us," Honda said, glancing at Jounouchi in mild  annoyance. "He just can't speak." He blinked in realization and turned  back to Yugi in surprise. "Are you mute?" he asked.