Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. A variety of people do at this point depending on the country, mostly 4Kids and Shonen Jump.

A/N: A buddyshipping and Jounouchi background fic. I had to do it. I mean it is only the greatest pairing the world has ever known and Mr. J needs attention.

Okay, something called NHK is mentioned that would be the Nippon Hoosoo Kyookai which is basically the PBS of Japan only it shows anime. It's a general public station that depending on the day and time shows everything from sumo to soaps, anime to news. Much like NBC in America and BBC in Britain. It's a small world after all.

But That Was Then
Chapter 1: Unexpected Caller

Honda pushed the door of the apartment open with his back. His hands were full of various books, papers and some disagreeable mechanical pencils. He had to admit that the workload of university had taken him by surprise. He was carrying more than he ever did in secondary school to and from the apartment which was quite the balancing act on his motorcycle. He looked over into the small apartment. Blanky, his aging German Shepard, cocked her head toward him as she rested on the sofa. She was over a decade old now and no longer bounced around at her master's every return. She lifted her head for the arm of the sofa and perked her ears. "Jou gone, girl?"

Blanky whined a little and hobbled off of the sofa. Jounouchi Katsuya was out at the moment. He had never graduated from Domino Secondary school. He just stopped paying the tuition and didn't come back some time in his fourth year.

Honda had disapproved but there wasn't much he could have done. Jou was a grown man after all. He couldn't tell him what to do like his mother. Well, more like his mother should have. Messy family to say the least. Honda put his text and notebooks down on the small table used as a dining room and threw down his backpack. He knew that a good three hours of homework were ahead of him but he wasn't up to it at that moment. The heavy work load of school and making sure that Jounouchi didn't run away to do who knows what was taking its toll on the college student.

He sighed and pet his elderly dog on the head as she looked up at him, tongue dangling out of her mouth. "So you have a good morning, girl?" He said and walked over to the refrigerator to look for something to eat. The small icebox was crammed with leftover take out. They didn't cook, no self respecting Japanese bachelor would. But thanks to Jounouchi, there was always more than enough take out for ten bachelors. Jounouchi could certainly eat a lot and buy a lot of cheap food too. "I should take you to the park sometime this week. You haven't been walked in days." He said trailing off to Blanky. "Its not good for your arthritis to just sit around in here. I should ask Jou to do it."

The dog cocked her head and walked stiffly back to the couch. She was old and arthritic and it would suit her just fine to simply sleep on the couch all day. She followed her still babbling master with her eyes. He was a nice boy but he really needed to stop acting like she was going to answer. Also to stop talking to her like she was his grandmother. Blanky lay her head down. BEEP! She shot up like a flash and backed to the end of the couch with a wimper.

"Jou, muted the answering machine again." Honda groaned and walked over.

Devil machine. Blanky thought to herself trying to calm down after un-muting the telephone recorder.

Honda looked down at the screen which had to flashing "1" illuminated. He shrugged as he pushed the button. He assumed it was his mother. She liked to check in on him what seemed like every thirty minutes, more or less.

"Hey, Katsuya. Its Jounouchi Jiro. Its been a while... and you never seem to call. I'm in town and I want to see you. I know it was rough back in secondary school for you. You were never real good in your classes. It doesn't really matter now but... you running off and quitting... and getting in trouble. It doesn't matter anymore but... Don't know when you'll be home but call me back. I want to see you."

Honda stopped dead. Jiro was Jounouchi's father. Jounouchi hadn't heard a thing from him in almost three years now. Thank God. It had taken a lot too. Honda didn't exactly know what to do about this but before he could completely come to any sense at all.

"Honda! Blanky!" Jounouchi said with an enormous grin as he came in the door of the apartment. "Don't stop staring at the answering machine on my account!" He said almost in a roar. He was a loud young man to say the least.

Honda looked up at him. If he weren't so loud, he wouldn't have noticed. "Huh?"

"Yeah! See Honda, when we're not here, people can leave a message. Do I have to slow down?" Jou said mockingly, leaning his chin on Honda's shoulder.

"Shut up!" Honda said shoving Jounouchi's head off of his shoulder.

Jounouchi grinned and chuckled to himself. "So why you staring at the phone? Did university finally break your brain? I told you school wasn't good for you."

Honda ignored him and sat down on the couch. He flicked on the television and began flicking at fast as he could looking for anything that wasn't Pokemon which seemed to be on every channel in the land of the rising sun. Jounochi cocked his head a little. It was a very dog-like gesture that he almost made when he was confused. Honda wasn't being himself today. "You just skipped Sumo."

"I don't wanna watch two fat guys jump on each other."

Jounouchi sighed indignantly. "That is not the Japanese half talking."

Honda stopped on an old Bruce Lee movie. He liked kung fu. Kung fu had people getting kicked in the face. He liked that.

Jounouchi fidgeted nervously. "Did I break something?"

"I don't know. Did you?" he said not looking away from the movie for a moment.

Jounouchi groaned and looked over at the answering machine. He idly pushed the replay button. The message played and Honda looked over at his friend nervously. "Is that it?"

"Yeah... that's it."

Jounouchi continued to look at the machine. His head hung slightly. "What d'you think he wants?"

"I don't think you should see him."

"Honda, what do you think he wants?"

"It took this long to get away from him, Jounouchi."

"Hiroto, that doesn't answer the question. What do you think my father wants?"

Honda sighed. "I can't answer that."

Jounouchi looked way for a moment. He was thinking. Honda couldn't answer that, naturally. He didn't know any better than him why his father had called. Jounouchi looked at the phone for a moment then picked up the receiver and dialed.

Honda got up angrily and pressed a button to cancel the call. He was only a few inches away from Jounouchi's face. He only had a few inches on him but he was going to make them count. "Jou, you don't need to call him. Just because he's your father doesn't mean he has the right to tell you what to do. Not after..."

Jounouchi almost snarled. Honda knew well enough not to mention that. Honda didn't back away right away but it wasn't long before Jounouchi's stare got the message across. "He's my father and I'm going to handle it. You go do your homework or something."

Honda backed up away from the phone and scowled. "You're making a mis..."

Jounouchi glared at him firmly.

Honda put his hands up and closed his eyes. "Fine. Don't listen to me. But you're setting yourself up Jonouchi Katsuya."

And with that, Honda turned his back, scooped up his books from the table and went into the other room. He was discontented, huffy almost, over it. He put up quite a show making sure Jounouchi noticed his disapprove.

Jounouchi shook his head. Honda had a tendency for that. The melodrama was something that Honda used to an end. He shrugged it off, dialed in the number and slouched leaning against the sofa. The phone rang in his ear several times. He didn't know what he would say. He hadn't seen the man in almost three years. The phone rang again. They hadn't ended it on the best note either. He had run off and just didn't come back home. It rang again. He assumed that Shizuka had told him what happened to him. He hadn't cut himself off from her. Click. Jounouchi suddenly felt a lump in his throat. Perhaps this was going to be harder than he thought. "Hey..." He could believe he had said that. His voice hadn't cracked since he was fourteen.

Jiro laughed nervously on the other end. It truly wasn't any easier for him than his son. The conversation would go like that. "So you go the message? I was a little worried you wouldn't call."

Jounouchi cleared his throat. "Yeah... it was on... the machine." He had started to sweat. It was embarrassing acting like this. Dishonorable and immature at best for him to act in this way.

"Yeah... I left a message. I'm in town Katsuya. I've all ready seen your sister, she seemed happy to see me..." There was an awkward silence as if he didn't know where to begin. "I wanted to see you sometime soon. Its been a few years and... we need to sort this out. To fix it between us."

Jounouchi winced at the mentioning of reconciliation. Things were so much easier just hating him and having it done with but this. "If my sister wants me to..."

"She does. She thinks we can work things out."

Jounouchi squirmed and cleared his throat. "Just one lunch Katsuya. One lunch to hear me out. For your sister."

"For my sister." Jounouchi said heavily. He couldn't say no to Shizuka; even if, it was his father she asked for.

"Good." Jiro said with a sigh of relief. "It'll go well, Katsuya. It will."

"Yeah... bye Jiro."

"Bye... Katsuya."

Jounouchi cocked his head over his shoulder and walked over to the bedroom door. He pulled it open quickly sending Honda toppling over himself onto the floor. "Nice, Honda."

Honda hurried to his feet and brushed himself off. "What for Shizuka?"

"Nothing.. besides it's none of your business. This is my father. I'll handle it."

Honda snarled. "You shouldn't do whatever it is you're thinking about doing. Don't you remember before when you were living with him."

Jounouchi couldn't gauge how to respond. Honda wasn't out of line on this one.

"Shizuka doesn't know what happened. If she didn't, she wouldn't be.. whatever she's asking! She doesn't know, Jou."

Jounouchi looked down for a moment. He was thinking not an altogether common hobby for the young man but desperate times call for desperate measures. "Its one lunch. Its not going to be anything. Shizuka just wants me to have lunch with him."

Honda sighed and crossed his arms. "What about you?"

"Its for Shizuka. She needs me to do it."

Honda nodded. Jounouchi had that stubborn Japanese honor to a fault. He loved that. "I suppose she does." Honda sighed again. "Just don't expect miracles, Jounouchi. Not with Jounouchi Jiro."

Jounouchi grinned and chuckled.

"What is it?"

"You heard me on the phone?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"I sounded as awkward as you do."

Honda fumed. "I do not."

Jounouchi grinned mischievously. "You act do so. You talk like a teenage girl on the phone. Which explains your disinterest in only the greatest sport on television which happens to be on NHK right now."

"You and your sumo."

"Best... sport... ever."

"Whatever, Jou."

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