Sorry it took so long to finally get around to updating. If you need an excuse, there's a list of fanfics that I'm updating in my bio. Hopefully that'll fight off all of your angry reviews. XD
Well, as you all know, Jonouchi and Shizuka live in Japan. So the idea that they speak/are fluent in English is... well, not a very good one. And not one I'll use, either.
So, now you get to see Jonouchi and Shizuka struggle in America.
I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. And probably never will.
Shizuka had fallen asleep hours before Jonouchi had, her head resting on his shoulder. Jonouchi tried to stay awake, he had to stay awake. He managed to stay awake for the first ten hours. Then he ran out of things to do or watch or read, and finally fell asleep.
He dreamt. Strange dreams that were forgotten as soon as he woke up. He couldn't remember what it was that woke him up, if it was his sister shaking him, the plane landing, the steward talking or one of the dreams, but he did know that by the time he did wake up, he was in America.
He stretched and yawned, and listened as the steward told them what time it was and where to go once the got off of the plane.
"So, where are we?" he asked his sister as the two of them walked through the airport.
"Vancouver," Shizuka answered, smiling.
"Vancouver? That's not in New York, is it? Where are we?"
Shizuka giggled. "Of course we're not in New York yet. We need to get onto another plane. We're in Canada right now, silly."
"Another plane?" Jonouchi exclaimed, then looked at his legs. "But I'm stiff. How much longer until we need to get onto the other plane?"
"About an hour. You have time to go for a run, if you want," she told him, and he grinned.
He got up and ran a few feet, until he noticed that he wasn't being followed. "Shizuka?" he asked, looking around frantically until he saw her still standing where he left her.
"Big brother! Where are you?" she asked, looking around.
Jonouchi bit his lip, remembering that his sister couldn't see well and angry with himself that he had forgotten. He walked over to her, and forced a smile. "Want a piggy-back ride?" he asked, and when she nodded he kneeled in front of her.
—
When the two of them finally arrived in New York and exchanged their money, Jonouchi finally realized how lost he was.
He stood in front of the payphone, looking for a coin that said "25 cents". He kind of wished that he had thought of the currency before he had left. His friends probably could've helped him learn about this sort of stuff.
"Is anything the matter, big brother?" Shizuka asked, touching his arm.
He laughed, and quickly explained to her that nothing was the matter, then continued searching through his coins.
"Excuse me," someone said from behind him. He jumped and spun around, and saw a smiling Japanese business man. "Do you need any help?"
Jonouchi looked at his sister, then at the money in his hand. He swallowed his pride and then nodded.
"I'm not sure which one of these is 25 'cents'", he said, feeling awkward and looking at Shizuka out of the corner of his eye.
The man laughed and pulled a silver coin out of Jonouchi's hand. "This is it. Who are you calling?"
"I need to call the cab people," Jonouchi told him, feeling a little better. "I need to get a ride to the hotel."
The man smiled a little. "Do you speak English at all?"
Jonouchi stared at him in horror as he realized that no, he could not speak English, and that he was in America, an English speaking country.
The man began to laugh, and Shizuka looked at Jonouchi in shock. "I thought you could speak English!" she exclaimed.
"Don't worry about it. I'll call them for you, okay?" he said, smiling, and both Jonouchi and Shizuka gave him their thanks.
After speaking for a brief time on the phone, the man turned to them. "What hotel will you be staying at?"
"Holiday Inn," Jonouchi told him, the word feeling awkward in his mouth.
The man wrote something on a piece of paper, and handed it to Jonouchi. "Give the driver this when he comes," he said.
"Thank you," Jonouchi and Shizuka said in unison, bowing.
"It's no problem at all," he handed Jonouchi another card. "Call me if anything else comes up, and I'll see if I can help. My name is Sakurai Akira. Your's are..."
"I'm Jonouchi Katsuya. This is Kawai Shizuka. Thank you again, Sakurai-san," Jonouchi said, and Shizuka bowed again.
"You're welcome," he said, smiling. He looked out the window, and then turned back to them. "Well, my rides here. It was a pleasure meeting you two,"
"It was nice meeting you, too, Sakurai-san!" Shizuka called, waving to him as he left. "He was a nice man," Shizuka said, turning towards Jonouchi.
Jonouchi looked at the card that the man had given then, and stuffed it into his pocket roughly. "Yeah, I guess."
"I can't believe you don't know how to speak English, though!" Shizuka exclaimed, and Jonouchi grinned sheepishly.
"You know how, don't you?" Jonouchi asked.
"I know a little bit, hardly enough to get us around though. Didn't you learn how in school?"
Jonouchi cleared his throat uneasily, before looking out the window. "I think that's our ride, let's go," he said, grabbing Shizuka's hand and leading her out of the airport.
"You guys the Japanese folk?" the driver asked in English when Jonouchi opened the door.
Jonouchi scratched his cheek; the only word he recognized was Japanese. Shizuka popped her head into the car and smiled. "Yes," she said in English as well, before taking the paper that the man had given them earlier and giving it to the driver. "We go here?"
The driver nodded, then jerked his thumb to the back seat. "Get in," he said.
Shizuka blinked, then looked at his thumb, and climbed into the back. Jonouchi got into the front.
"You guys don't speak English, do you?" the driver asked.
Shizuka thought for a moment, before nodding. "None," she pointed to Jonouchi. "Little," she said, pointing to herself.
"Who called, then?" the driver asked her. She looked at him blankly, before he mimed a phone.
"Sakurai-san. Nice man. Met building," she told him, and he nodded.
The rest of the car-ride was silent.
Constructive Criticism more than welcome. Flames will be mocked.