You do really have to give it to Jonouchi for being big enough to see his error and make ammends. Lets face it, without Yugi he may have been well on a one way train to jail or worse.
More in depth here, I've always liked the relationship between Yugi and Jonouchi and the way they interact. When ever I look into these two and try to evaluate them I always get this vibe from Jonouchi that says he is so totally grateful to Yugi. It always made me ask 'why'? Sure, things weren't great with his dad, and with his mom and sis gone that did hurt, but what was really behind his change of heart? (Pun not intended.) What was it about Yugi that made him so addamant about picking on him in the beginning. What was it that drove Jonouchi to step up and rearrange his attitude? What was he hiding? What was he thinking?
I have my own ideas about this.
And here they are.
Enjoy.
Okay, you all know the drill. I have to take up valuable space and time to say that I do not own any part that is the coolness of the Yu-Gi-Oh universe. That honor goes completely to Kazuki Takahashi. Authoress bows subservantly before her shrine of great creators... "We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We're not worthy"
Amazin'
Inter-Island Championship, Tokyo, Japan.
"GO! Red Eyes Black Dragon! Attack!"
The hologram of the infamous Red Eyes hurtled forward towards its final opponent with a fiery roar, its sharp talons reaching out in its enthusiasm to rend the hapless little Gora Turtle of Illusion to holographic pieces. And this it did with an almost unnatural gusto leaving the turtle to explode, shards of its previous form scattering to nothingness in the center of the ring.
From around the dueling arena a thousand cheers went up as the life points of the turtles owner flicked quickly down to zero leaving one lanky blonde on the other side of the field standing with a smile and a scant 400 life points of his own.
Phew!
'Dat one was a close one.
'Dat turtle's effect keep me from usin' every trap and magic card I had.
Good thing for me good 'ol Red Eyes came up to help when he did or ida' been toast.
But I did it.
And man!
Just listen ta' 'dat crowd!
I never get tired a' listenen' ta' 'dat sound.
Heh.
Its hard ta' believe 'dere was ever a time when I didn't get ta' hear it.
Seems like forever' now but I still remember it.
Ya' know what's funny?
If anyone, three years ago, had told me who I was gonna be by the end of it, I never woulda' believed 'em.
I mean me, Jonouchi Katsuya, a world famous Duel Monsters player?
Who woulda' thought?
But yeah, its true.
Sure its cool and all.
Who wouldn't wanna' be world famous?
I kinda' do like the attention and all.
But I know someone who doesn't care a bit about it.
He's da' reason I'm who I am now.
He's da' reason I may even still be here at all.
Sure I look all tough, but 'dat ain't all 'dere is in the world ya' know?
And he helped me see 'dat.
I'm talkin' 'bout my best bud, Yugi.
He's one a' da' greatest guys I've ever known in my life.
He may not look it but 'dere ain't no one like him.
Yeah, he's a little shorter 'den 'da rest of us and he's got some pretty weird hair but believe me, 'dat don't have nutin' to do wit' what he is inside and what he means ta' me and my friends.
Now I gotta' be honest.
It didn't start off like 'dat.
In the beginning I couldn't stand him.
I used a' think he was a geek and major wimp.
A loser really.
But man, was I wrong.
The only loser around back 'den was me.
I'm embarrassed to say it now but I was.
I was hard on 'em 'den.
Thought he was some kinda' girlie boy or somethin'.
My buddy Honda and me, we picked on him every chance we got.
I even took a piece of da' puzzle and threw it inta' da' swimmin' pool before he had it finished just ta' teach him a lesson.
Da' sad thing was I didn't even have a lesson for him.
I guess I mostly did it 'cause he just didn't make sense ta' me and it bothered me non stop.
I mean, how does dis' little shrimp of a kid go around everyday like it's da' best day of da' world?
I'm serious.
We'd pick on him one day and 'den da' next he'd come in and he was as happy as if no one never did anything to 'em.
I didn't get it.
But 'dat wasn't even da' worst of it.
Da' thing I hated most about 'em 'den?
It was 'the look'.
He used to give us 'dis look when we were pickin' on him like, 'I know you can't help yourselves from doin' 'dis so I won't fight back and I'll forgive ya's.'
Can you believed 'dat?
Who did he think he was?
Who gave him the right ta' pity us?
Why da' hell did he think we needed any pity at all let alone his?
And a' 'course the more we picked on him, da' more he gave us 'da' look'.
Didn't matter what we did or how hard we tried, he would always just give us 'dat look.
Drove me nuts.
Da' only thing 'dat made me madder was when Anzu would step in and mess all our fun up.
I was startin' ta' think she liked him or somethin'.
I mean she did, but not like 'dat anyway.
They were best friends.
Like me an' Honda.
'Cept she was just annoyin'.
I mean, back 'den she was, not now.
Do me a favor?
Don't tell her I said 'dat, okay?
She's my friend and all too but she don't mess around.
I bet you ain't never had ta' try an' recover from one a' her right hooks.
Believe me, she may be a lot a' things but weak ain't one a' 'dem.
Anyways, me an Honda just kept tryin' ta' pound Yugi down, ya' know, break his spirit.
What we didn't realize was 'dat you couldn't do 'dat to 'im.
His spirit wouldn't break.
'Dere was somethin' inside him 'dat never let him give up.
I was too much of a moron 'den to get it, but I eventually figured it out.
'Course 'dat didn't begin until da' day Yugi changed my life.
We had 'dis real jerk in the school, Ushio, he used a' do da' old protection racket.
He'd pick out da' weakest, easiest targets and 'den set 'em up ta' get revenge on da' guys 'dat worked 'em over.
The problem was 'dat he didn't give 'em a choice ya' know?
And I gotta' be honest, if someone offered me 'da chance ta' kick the stuffin' outta' 'da guy who beat me up everyday, Ida' taken it.
But Yugi… he didn't.
Even when Ushio threatened him.
And then he did 'da thing 'dat I won't ever forget as long as I live.
He said he wouldn't hurt his friends.
Friends?
Us?
I thought I was dreamin' or somethin' when I heard 'dat.
How could we ever be friends?
All I ever did was pick on 'em.
Why would HE ever want to be friends wit' me?
I hated 'im, right?
And 'dats when it suddenly all made sense ta' me.
It wasn't Yugi I hated.
Never had been.
It was me.
I hated myself.
Talk about wearin' blinders!
Man!
I used ta' think I was so tough…
Used ta' think I was so great…
But it was Yugi all along 'dat was da' tough one.
He not only lived through ever dirty trick we gave 'im but he got a beatin' worse 'den what Ushio gave Honda and me and he took it and never once complained.
It was Yug who was the great one.
He had the chance to do somethin' most pick ons spend 'dere whole childhood dreamin' of and he wouldn't do it.
I knew 'den why I was always pickin' on Yugi.
I guess I sorta' knew all along.
I picked on 'im 'cause I was mad at myself.
He was somethin' I knew I could never be.
How could I?
I mean, 'dat's not what everyone wanted me ta' be right?
Da' cops figured 'dey had me pegged as a loser for da' rest of my life.
Da' teachers knew I was a loser.
Da' kids in school treated me like one.
Even my dad thought I couldn't amount ta' much.
So I guess I just fit myself into 'dere, whatta' ya' call it?
Oh yeah, stereotype.
They say if a kid hears people call him stupid ofen' enough he grows up believin' it.
Guess 'dats what happened ta' me.
I was so used ta' people thinkin' I would always be a loser 'dat I just turned myself inta' one.
Da' only people 'dat seemed ta' 'preciate me for it was da' guys from my old Rintama gang.
'Dey liked losers like me 'cause 'dey were da' same.
Birds of a feather, ya know ?
But Yugi…
He wasn't like any a' 'dem.
He was a nice guy.
A good guy.
An honest guy.
A guy who never stooped ta' our level and a guy who never gave up on tryin'.
All 'dose things I wasn't.
Why would he ever wanna' be my friend when it was pretty obvious what I was?
Well, it was obvious ta' everyone but him.
Maybe 'dat's why he said it.
Maybe he didn't see me like everyone else did.
Maybe he thought I could be more.
Pretty weird concept, huh?
Me?
Better?
Yeah, and rich CEO's can learn ta' help others.
Tell me another fairy tale mommy.
Now I coulda' just ignored 'dat it happened.
I coulda' just walked off and been happy 'dat Ushio was gonna' just go after Yugi and not me.
But somethin' wouldn't let me do 'dat.
He stuck his neck out for me and Honda and took on somethin' he didn't have to, especially after all da' junk we pulled on 'im.
I felt like I owed 'em somehow for what he did.
Normally, I woulda' hated da' idea of owin' anyone anything.
But for some reason, I really wanted ta' do somethin' for Yugi.
So I figured I could start by goin' an gettin' 'dat puzzle piece I swiped from 'em and give it back.
Let me tell ya, swimmin' fully dressed ain't no picnic and walkin' 'round in wet clothes and squishy shoes definitely wasn't my idea of fun, but for 'da first time in a long time, probably since before my mom and sister left, I actually felt good about myself.
And I liked feelin' good.
It was definitely somethin' I could live wit' 'dat's for sure.
For a few minutes I didn't feel like a loser anymore.
'Course now, I felt like I owed Yug for 'dat too.
Ya' know what though?
I didn't care.
I coulda' owed Yug for 'da whole world and I wouldn't 'a cared.
I just wanted ta' keep feelin' good and Yug made me feel 'dat, so, I made a choice 'dat day.
I decided if Yugi could be good enough ta' treat me like 'da someone nobody else thought I could be, 'den I could be man enough ta' treat him wit' all 'da respect and decency he deserved.
I made 'da choice to become his friend.
Whether he really meant ta' become friends with me or not didn't even matter.
He wasn't gonna' have a choice and I was gonna' make sure it was worth it for 'em.
And I have.
At least…I'm pretty sure I have.
But anyway 'dat's how it all got started.
Heh…
Honda thought I was nuts.
He couldn't believe it when I told 'em me and Yugi was friends.
He didn't want nutin' ta' do wit' it.
I tried once or twice ta' explain it to 'em but he just didn't see it 'da way I did.
Guess he just needed ta' see it for himself.
And his chance came not too long afterward.
'Dat goof ball.
He fell for 'dis girl in homeroom and man, when I say fell, I mean, FELL.
Hard.
Her name was Miho but everybody called her Ribbon 'cause a 'da little ribbons she tied her pony tail wit'.
She was okay I guess.
Nutin' special in my book but Honda was lost for her.
He wanted ta' make an impression and give her a really special gift, but he didn't exactly have a ton a' money or 'da smarts back then to get somethin' really romantic like.
So I told Yug about it and asked if he thought 'dere was somethin' in his grandpa's shop 'dat Honda could give.
When we got 'dere, Gramps pulls out this puzzle thing 'dat you write on and Honda thought it was great!
He musta' known he was too much of a nut case ta' write somethin' decent so he gave it ta' Yug and tells him ta' do it.
I couldn't even begin ta' imagine what he would write since, lets face it, 'da guy was about as romantic and active as a condom machine in a girls bathroom but he took it and wrote somthin' and even wrapped it wit' a ribbon.
Nice touch 'dere Yugi.
So anyway, we all decide ta' just slip 'da present in Ribbon's desk and wait ta' see what happened.
We never woulda' thought 'dat what happened would have.
'Dat devil woman of a teacher orders us ta' clear our desks out for an inspection!
She musta' a' been on 'dat time a' 'da month or somethin' cause she was in a rare mood 'dat day.
I mean she's nasty and mean sure, but she was just down right brutal 'dat day.
So she sees 'da present on Ribbon's desk and starts gloatin' over 'da fact 'dat she's gonna' get ta' throw someone outta' school for underage datin' and all.
'Course she don't know 'dat most still did anyway even if it could get ya' expelled.
Lets face it, high school kids are gonna' date and 'dat's just 'da end of it.
Ya' ain't gonna' stop 'em.
But she thought it was somethin' special ta' degrade 'da kids first and 'dat's what she did.
She opened 'da box and started puttin' 'da puzzle together so she could see who she was gonna' expel.
Just when she gets ta' puttin' Honda's name in, Yugi stands up and says he put 'da box in 'dere.
I never heard 'da class so quiet in all my life.
For one second all anyone could do was stare at 'em like 'dey were in shock.
I can't blame 'em.
Who would ever think Yug would be brave enough ta' do somethin' like 'dat?
I knew 'da truth though and when I saw Yugi sacrificin' himself again for someone who didn't like 'em, I knew I couldn't let 'em do it alone, so I stood up wit' 'em.
Sure everyone started starin' at me.
But at least 'dey weren't starin' so hard on Yugi any more.
I guess Honda started feelin' bad 'dat we were takin' 'da hit for him so 'den he stands and says he did it.
'Dat stupid teach didn't even get it when I told her 'dat none of us were lyin', 'dat we all put it in 'dere.
She just laughed all high and mighty like and said she decided she was gonna' expel all of us no matter whose name she reveled.
But she never got to it.
The next thing we know, her make up just about explodes off her face and man, I gotta' tell ya'!
I ain't never seen a face like 'dat my whole life!
Everyone all thought she was some kinda' beauty or somethin' and 'dere she is, nutin' but made up ta' look pretty.
Talk about nasty!
I still get 'da chills just thinking about 'dat face.
When it was all done and over Ribbon ended up turnin' Honda down anyway but at least he didn't come away empty handed.
He had a new friend and just like me he started turnin' into somethin' a whole lot better then what he started as.
I'm not sayin' 'dat Honda was ever a bad or worthless guy, not like me anyway.
But I always got 'da feelin' like he was lookin' for somethin' ta' believe in…ta' look up too.
He always sorta' followed me, and even though we picked on each other all 'da time, I was still usually 'da lead.
Can you imagine me a role model?
That's 'da way it sorta' seemed back 'den.
But 'den Yugi worked 'dat weird magic a' his and now Honda was his buddy too.
We still hung together and all but after a while he started ta' change.
He was still tryin' ta' be mister cool and keep his secrets to himself and all but he started ta' open up a bit more 'den he ever did wit' me and even started doin' things more on his own.
It was like he getting' some kinda' confidence or somthin'.
Confidence 'dat he could be himself and do what he wanted or make a decision and not need ta' look up ta' someone ta' see if it was cool.
And he was doin' great at it too!
Ya' shoulda' seen 'em in Duelist Kingdom.
He was cheerin' me and Yug on and runnin' around savin' Mokuba and even stopped poor ol' Bakura when his nutty spirit took over again.
Oh!
And 'dere's 'dat whole Battle City thing too.
I didn't get a chance ta' see 'em much 'til near 'da end but 'dat was cool since he was keepin' an eye on my sister for me.
Yeah, I know.
He's got a thing for her.
And don't tell him I said this, I don't want him gettin' all excited 'bout it or nutin', but I don't mind 'dat too much.
Well, I do mind, but not 'cause he just happens ta' be my friend.
Its just, well, he's still a guy and bein' one too I know how we sometimes think.
Or don't think.
But my sis handles him and dice boy pretty well though.
She's tough.
She musta' picked 'dat up from me.
Speakin' a' da dice geek…
Now 'dere's a nut job if ever I saw one and I've seen a few!
He's not so bad though.
He figured out 'dat Yug was cool and not 'da cheater he thought he was.
I know I'm hard on him sometimes, but he's gotta' remember 'dat its MY sister he's fightin' over.
And besides, I never really completely forgave him for 'dat whole dog suit bit.
Sure, he's come along way since 'den and he's been a big help and all but I just like ta' remind him who's top dog here.
Uh, did I just say……
Never mind.
Well, I know I kinda' got off subject here, but 'dat's what happens when ya' start talkin' 'bout Yugi and what he's done.
I guess you could say 'dat when ya' start talkin' 'bout what he's done for one, you're really talkin' 'bout what he's done for all of us.
He's kinda' like 'dem dream catcher thingies 'da American Indians used to make.
When you met him he sorta lets your good side through and keeps the bad stuff on da' other side, ya know?
He helps 'em turn into better people and he never gives up believin' that they can change.
He just has 'dat knack for making people see that things aren't so bad and they don't have to be alone.
And no matter how bad a person is he never stops tryin' and he never lets himself hate.
He's like da' best 'dat society has ta' offer.
I once heard this sayin', "The richness of a man's heart is not measured by the amount of love he gives, but by the amount of love given back."
If 'dat's 'da case, 'den my pal Yugi not only has 'da biggest heart in 'da world, but he's 'da richest guy in 'da world too.
And I totally believe 'dat.
Me, Anzu, Honda, Bakura, and yeah, even Otogi, we'd all do anything for Yugi.
Not just 'cause he'd do anything for us, which he has.
But, because he's our friend.
And for us, there ain't nutin' more important 'den 'dat.
Friend…
It really is an amazin' word.
'Specially when Yugi says it.
'A 'course when it comes ta' Yugi, just about everything is amazin'.
And so the randomness is over!
For now at least...
LOL.
Even though I've read quite a bit of the translated manga and Jonouchi does have his slang even in that, its no where near as defined as they make him out to be in the dubbed version. The bronx accent does kind of fit his movement and actions rather neatly, but it has unfortunately left me with this unstoppable urge to imagine that accent when ever I try to write something with him in it. Because of that one thing alone I find myself even crossing over between the Manga and Anime. It is immensly frustrating somtimes.
Because I tend to have a perfectionistic nature, part of me wants to keep my Yu-Gi-Oh and Card Captor Sakura fics pure to the original. But darnit! The Anime is so much fun its hard not to want to use it!
Keeping this in mind, I ask you dear readers (and reveiwers ...hint, hint...) to please forgive me if you happen to be a total purist, especially when I begin posting my other upcoming YGO chapter fics.
Either way for me, Yugi will always be totally sweet and cute, Anzu will be that perfect blend of cheerleader/friend/and maybe more, Honda will always be Mister Cool and Jonouchi will probably always have a bit of New York state of mind.
So thats my story and I'm stickin' too it.
Unless I decide to change it. ;-)
Until next time...
Trixie21