Chapter 37: I Am Irreconcilable with Gambling and Drugs

Time arrived at the second day, but on this day, neither Yugi, Hayato, nor Kaiba came to school.

"Hey, Anzu, do you know where Yugi and the others went?" During the class break, Jonouchi leaned toward Anzu, who was facing the mirror applying makeup. "Also, how come you've started wearing makeup out of the blue today? Are you going on a blind date or something?"

"Do you think I'm the same as you boys? *Yawn*~~" Halfway through her sentence, Anzu couldn't help but let out a decidedly unladylike yawn, which proved contagious as Jonouchi involuntarily yawned as well. "You and Honda weren't around last night, and something huge happened."

"Don't tell me Yugi ran into a blonde, big-chested, long-legged girl on his way home and fell in love at first sight?" Honda cracked a small joke, but immediately shut his mouth to listen to Anzu recount the events of the previous night.

Hearing that Kaiba had forcibly taken Grandpa Sembei away, both of them were incredibly indignant: "Damn it, how dare he treat Grandpa like that! I'm definitely going to settle the score with that bastard Kaiba!"

"You probably won't be able to do that." Anzu glared at Jonouchi, who was making a fuss and interrupting her. "Do you guys remember that virtual image system Manjoume used last time? There's a complete version on the top floor of the Kaiba Corporation. It doesn't just perfect sound simulation; it even reproduces the physical impact of attacks."

"Yesterday, Yugi summoned an invincible monster called something like 'Exodia.' Its attack power was infinite, and it directly drove that bastard Kaiba into a mental breakdown." After a pause, Anzu continued, "However, during the duel, Kaiba summoned 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon,' which at one point dropped Yugi's Life Points to just 50. That's why Yugi collapsed from exhaustion right after the duel ended last night."

"As for Hayato, he was the one who recounted the details of the duel to me just now, saying you guys would be curious. He was the one who brought Yugi out of the Kaiba Building and stayed at the hospital all night to look after the unconscious Grandpa Sembei. He didn't close his eyes until Yugi woke up this morning, which is why he took sick leave and didn't come in."

"Those two idiots, Yugi and Hayato, actually didn't notify us about something this big. Not only did they make us make a wasted trip to Kame Game Shop yesterday, but we're only just finding out about it now." Jonouchi looked furious, but the worry for Hayato and Yugi in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Honda chimed in, "Exactly, they don't treat us like brothers at all. Good friends should be able to share whatever problems they have. Let's go visit them this afternoon."

"Sure, no problem," Anzu agreed readily, but Honda looked somewhat embarrassed.

"I say, Honda, don't tell me you're thinking of saying you don't want to go?"

"It's not that, I just... I just have something I'm not sure if I should say." Honda hesitated, scratched his head, and finally spoke up. "Yesterday, I didn't give out that puzzle."

"Didn't we agree you'd give the gift when the classroom was empty after school?"

"It's just... it felt a bit awkward to go rummaging through a girl's desk..."

————Still not given————

Jonouchi and the others first went to Domino City Hospital to check on Grandpa Sembei. Although he had fainted from shock yesterday, since Grandpa Sembei was a player of "Exodia," his luck was naturally not too bad. Furthermore, because Manjoume Shuji's driver was very skilled and got him to the hospital promptly, he had already woken up last night.

However, considering that heart issues are no small matter, the doctor recommended that Grandpa Sembei stay in the hospital for a period of treatment.

"Thank you all for coming to see me, everyone." Seeing Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu come together to visit him, Yugi was deeply moved and gave his friends a deep bow.

"Don't think you can just brush this under the rug by thanking us, Yugi." Seeing how serious Yugi was, Jonouchi stepped forward and used his forearm to protect Yugi's big head. "To have something this big happen and not tell us—if there's a next time, I'm definitely going to teach you a lesson."

"Haha, you guys really have a great bond." Sitting on the hospital bed eating apples sliced by Anzu, old man Sembei watched Yugi and Jonouchi fooling around and smiled with relief.

"Oh, right, Grandpa, I heard from Yugi that you used to be a quite formidable Duelist. Is that true?" Jonouchi remembered something and let go of Yugi's head to ask.

Muto Sembei looked nostalgic: "Of course! I was quite a formidable Duelist back in the day; my skills were top-tier. If you were to take me as your master, I wouldn't mind teaching you a few moves, you know?"

"Really?" Jonouchi looked very excited. "Then Grandpa, you have to get well quickly and then teach me how to duel!"

The group stayed in the hospital for a little while longer before deciding to leave so as not to disturb Grandpa Sembei's rest. Furthermore, they planned to go to Hayato's house to visit him next.

Although Yugi wanted to go as well, considering that Grandpa needed someone to look after him, he didn't plan to leave. However, the old man patted his chest vigorously to indicate he was doing fine and chased Yugi out of the ward, telling him to go visit Hayato, who had stayed by his side all night.

Anzu had obtained Hayato's address from their teacher. Since Yugi hadn't gone to school today, if Jonouchi or Honda had gone to ask, the teacher would have suspected they were going there for revenge. Only Anzu, being a girl who was usually well-behaved and had excellent grades, could use the excuse of "delivering today's class notes" to get the address from the teacher.

"I didn't expect Hayato to live in such a luxurious place~" Looking up from the bottom of the slope, Jonouchi saw a large residential area situated at the top of the hill; Hayato's house was over there.

Honda looked at the surrounding environment: "Although this isn't planned as a villa district or a wealthy residential area, because the surrounding facilities are complete, the transportation is convenient, and there's a vast view of the sea, many powerful and wealthy people actually prefer living here."

Walking up the slope, Yugi and the others quickly found a two-story house with a wooden sign hanging by the gate that read "Kobayashi Family."

*Ding-dong~*

Before Yugi and the others could identify themselves, Hayato's voice came through the intercom at the door

"I didn't order takeout, I'm not shopping online, the utilities are paid for a year in advance, there are no natural gas pipes in this house, and I absolutely will not touch gambling or drugs!"