A/N: I found the idea of the internet misinterpreting Jounouchi and Kaiba's relationship funny enough to write this piece. This is one of my old middle school ships when I was still deep into yugioh and thought to finally write about them.
Thanks for reading!
-Lucicelo
Jounouchi woke up with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
At first, he thought he woke up late for his shift at the cafe, but remembered he had two consecutive days off. Somehow, he managed to snatch it away from other students who were vying to go on vacation. All Jounouchi wanted was to catch up on chores and fiddle with his Duel Monster deck. After all, the newest tournament was on the horizon, and he saved up enough money to take time off for this occasion.
His boss, a big Duel Monsters fan, gave him leeway in participating in tournaments. At his interview, the man asked for his autograph. The ego boost pushed Katsuya through days of sudden traffic in the cafe and terrible customers. Then again, snatching an autographed photo of Yugi and Otogi made the man more eager to agree with Jounouchi's sudden time off sign ups.
If he managed to make it to the top five, his manager pushed his sign off days to top priority.
Jounouchi was certain his coworkers despised him for this boom, but he didn't care. He took their sick day shifts whenever he was capable of doing so. None of them did the same for him and they didn't know him outside of work. They knew of Jounouchi Katsuya of the Duel Monsters circuit and the diligent worker. Private life Katsuya was none of their concern.
Good thing these tournaments gave veteran duelists an alert a few months in advance. This gave him an opportunity to plan out his days off or to explain to his boss as to why he needed a weekend off.
Balancing school, family, friends, and work, made for multiple exhausting days in a row.
Relaxing against his bed, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Then, he rolled over onto his side and grabbed his chilly pillow. Nuzzling his face against the fabric, he let out a large yawn and smacked his lips. Touching around the bed, he fished out his phone and laid back to check for notifications.
He was shocked at the bombardment of text messages from everyone who had his number. When he tried to click on one message, more messages came in. Clicking back, he noted that the ones with the most messages were from Yugi, Hiroto, and Anzu.
When he tried to answer Hiroto's frantic message, his phone rang. Someone other than telemarketers were trying to call him.
His friends almost never called him.
Thinking this was an emergency, Jounouchi quickly sat up on his bed and answered the call. A request for facetime was pressed and Yugi's bouncing form popped on screen. Then, a request came from Anzu and Hiroto. Jounouchi answered them.
Yugi, Anzu, and Hiroto greeted him. Their smiles, well Yugi and Anzu's, Hiroto looked constipated, made Jounouchi feel a bit better. They didn't look like they were in trouble.
Yugi broke the one-sided tension with a beaming smile. "Jou-kun, I am so happy for you!"
Anzu quickly backed him up. "We are so happy for you! Isn't that right, Hiro-kun?"
Hiroto grumbled. "Yeah…"
Jounouchi didn't understand what they were talking about. Nothing huge happened in his life recently. Shizuka was settling into their old high school and turned into an honor student. His parents were cordial, almost nice to one another whenever they met for a simple public cup of coffee.
As far as Jounouchi knew, nothing else should warrant a celebration.
"Uh…. what?"
Yugi insisted with blatant joy in his tone. "Congratulations on coming out! I knew you and Kaiba would patch things up and become friends. Although, I didn't think you two would skip the friendship and get together!"
Anzu nodded her head. "I'm more upset with the fact that you didn't feel comfortable enough to tell us. We wouldn't judge you."
Jounouchi tried interjecting. "Guys!"
Mouth forming a grimace, Hiroto snipped. "I would! The pompous prick is not good enough for Jou! There are far better guys out there for Jou to go out with."
Yugi huffed out. "C'mon now, Kaiba isn't the same guy from the past. If Jounouchi likes him, we should support him!"
Anzu nodded her head. "Exactly!"
Jounouchi laid back on his propped-up pillows, watching in horror as his friends descended into a two on one argument over Jounouchi's relationship. A relationship Jounouchi knew for a fact wasn't true. If he was with someone, his friends and his family would know about his new relationship.
Anything he tried to intervene, Anzu sent him a sympathetic smile and reassured him of their never changing friendship.
Jounouchi's face remained permanently red as the rest of the Duel Monsters circuit face timed him.
Despite the rivalries and backtalk, Jounouchi made friends with almost all the duelists in the league. He exchanged phone numbers with talented newbies and seasoned veterans. Jounouchi wasn't one to tip his nose at anyone who wanted to keep in contact with him. He liked having new friends to exchange Duel Monsters tips with.
Yet, the veterans were the ones who were bold enough to facetime him to talk about his news. One friend in particular, Mai, was grinning from ear to ear the moment their call connected. Jounouchi knew he wouldn't be able to escape without giving the woman something to think about.
Mai coyly smirked. "So…. how is rich boy in the bedroom? Can I have the inside scoop?"
"No! There is nothing to tell! And I'm still untouched, thank you very much."
"Lame! C'mon, Jounouchi-kun, you have to tell me something." Mai fluttered her lashes. "The fact that Kaiba romanced you is a tale I want to know."
Jounouchi snapped. "Why couldn't I have done the seducing?! I'm not that lame."
"Oh! So, you were the-"
Jounouchi interrupted her before she went on her "Mai!"
Donning silk pajamas with untied black hair, Otogi lounged against his bed. He kept his phone propped against a pillow as he tried hard not to yawn. Otogi looked like he woke up minutes ago, found out about the news, and rushed to call Jounouchi for the scoop.
Like Hiroto, Otogi shook his head about Jounouchi's pick for a lover. "Jounouchi, if you really needed a boyfriend, why did you choose Kaiba? What does he have that the rest of us don't?"
After Mai's chaotic phone call, Jounouchi's fire had dimmed to a simmer. "There is nothing going on. You really think Kaiba would let unknown people reveal his private information? I bet he's frantic getting his legal team to deal with this mess."
Sitting up, Otogi sent him a sympathetic look. "Oh, it's too late to go back in the closet. I mean…I have no liking for you as a lover, but I would have treated you well."
Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."
Not long after Jounouchi explained himself to more of his friends, he slumped against his couch. Well, his morning was far more exciting than he expected.
He never thought he would be the topic of a fake relationship rumor.
Out of all the duelists in the circuit, the women were the ones who dispelled relationship rumors more often than the men. Jounouchi overheard Mai's rantings of being linked with less than handsome men. Men that were not on her same caliber or disrespected her dueling prowess.
Jounouchi and his friends jumped into help. Backing Mai's claims with stories of these same men undermining Mai because she was a woman or due to the way she dressed. Her sexy attire didn't take away the fact she was a fierce duelist.
Anzu was glad she wasn't into the duelist scene to get her own false rumors. She was linked to high profile duelists like Yugi and Jounouchi, but she stayed on the sidelines. The old rumors of her being Yugi's girlfriend were debunked years ago.
Jounouchi tipped his head back and stared up at the ceiling.
He couldn't believe the public thought he was Kaiba Seto's lover. Their fights were legendary in the Duel Monsters circuit. Nothing about their interactions proved they were in a relationship. If anything, they were known for exchanging words before and after duels.
In recent years, Jounouchi and Kaiba matured beyond their high school squabbles. Maybe, their mutual tolerance of one another brought people to think they were falling in love.
Curious about who broke the news, Jounouchi sat up and grabbed his phone. He immediately went on social media and ignored the notifications. He was certain all of these people were congratulating him about Kaiba.
He found his relationship tag through having gone through the Duel Monsters tag. There were two of them: #puppyshipping and #violetshipping. The mention of anything dog related made him grind his teeth in annoyance, but he composed himself. The violet was explained through mixing the blue eyes white dragon and his red eyes black dragon. The idea behind the violet was somewhat cute.
Diving into the violetshipping tag, Jounouchi's mind was blown at the fanart and numerous posts talking about him and Kaiba. There was some nsfw content in some of the posts, but the images were cut in such a way that didn't show anything graphic to Jounouchi's eyes. Jounouchi was glad for these artists' foresight in not showing off everything. He was mortified enough at the fan theories he skimmed through which dissected his interactions with Kaiba.
He thought most people were intimidated by Kaiba's cold disposition. Other duelists made it a mission to avoid Kaiba whenever they crossed paths. More outspoken duelists swore at Kaiba's face or were stupid enough to ask him for a duel. The twitter users on his screen placed heart shaped emojis when talking about Kaiba.
This was mind boggling for him to see.
Follow for the latest updates! OfficialDuelMonsters - 11 hrs ago.
According to a close source to the pair, Kaiba Seto and Jounouchi Katsuya are doing more than exchanging insults in their duels. [Link]
The staff behind OfficialDuelMonsters, congratulate the couple on their relationship!
500, 345 likes 205, 359 retweet
Violetshipping forever HealingElfsCrown - 10 hrs ago
I knew it! And the duel monsters community called us delusional! [Link] OfficialDuelMonsters Thank you for the news! #violetshipping #takethathaters
2,590 likes 507 retweet
Kaiba needs Jou cuddles Kisskissfallinlove - 9 hrs ago
In response to HealingElfsCrown
I AM SCREAMING. TELL ME IT IS TRUE. #iamdying #dreaming
20 likes
Mai's Secret Lover HarpiesGang - 9 hrs ago
As a secret violetshipping fan, I am happy for you all! #violetshipping
70 likes 12 retweet
Violetshipping forever HealingElfsCrown - 9 hrs ago
In response to HarpiesGang
Lmao not so secret anymore! I'm happy to see a Mai fan join in on the fun.
59 likes
Mai's Secret Lover HarpiesGang - 8 hrs ago.
In response to HealingElfsCrown
I mean…rivals to lovers is a great trope.
3059 likes 350 retweet
Violet and dance shipping fan DancingOffbeat - 2 hrs ago.
In celebration of our boys getting together, finally, I finished this latest fanart I had gathering dust in my files. #violetshipping #finally #duelmonsters JouKatsuOfficial KaibaCEO
[ID: Jounouchi Katsuya and Kaiba Seto were wearing matching black suits with different colored ties. Jounouchi wore blue while Kaiba wore red. The pair clinked their champagne glasses. They smiled as they looked at each other.]
School is killing me softly JunkQueen12423 - 2 hrs ago
You have to be brave to tag them directly. Omg. I wouldn't be able to do that! Anyways, love the pic! [Gif of SpongeBob showing finger guns and a wink]
17 likes 50 retweet
Violet and dance shipping fan DancingOffbeat - 2 hrs ago
Such high-level celebrities won't comment back on my art, so tagging them is less heart ache inducing.
King of Games MotouYuugiOff - 10 minutes ago
This is so adorable! Look everyone! DancingAzureQueen, MotorcycleFiend, LovelyMaioftheHarpies, KaiMokuba_Official
15,890 likes 50,873 retweet
Violet and dance shipping fan DancingOffbeat - 1 minute ago.
Asdfgasdfg I got a compliment from the King of Games. Slap me, I'm dreaming.
Taking it in his own hands, Jounouchi went to his own profile and thought a bit on how to word his tweet. He knew his words could be twisted around, but he took his chance.
Prepping for DuelFest KatsuJou - 25 seconds ago
Kaiba and I are not together.
0 likes 300 retweet
His comment did nothing more than bring a surge of support.
No one believed his words.
The fans cited outside intervention for his apparent PR statement. Apparently, Jounouchi couldn't deny a relationship unless someone was threatening him. Jounouchi rolled his eyes. No one could control what he did. He was his own man.
There was no outsider who took charge of his account. He managed it himself but was careful in what he liked and retweeted. This wasn't like he was in high school; he was a veteran duelist, and his posts were criticized.
When Yugi posted his favorite junk food, the brand was sold out throughout Japan in a matter of hours.
Jounouchi was glad his influence wasn't up to that level.
As he looked through the comments, he noted that a popular Duel Monsters account thought people in the background were trying to silence the official Duel Monsters Twitter account. During the time Jounouchi looked through theories, the account took back their statement, apologizing for posting untrue statements. This line of thinking went haywire, bringing in opinions from other facets of dueling.
Jounouchi's statement did nothing more than fuel the fire.
Rubbing his face, Jounouchi forced himself into the kitchen to make himself a quick meal. All of this fuss did nothing more than make him hungry.
He skipped breakfast to entertain his friends and hear their support.
When he finished his meal, Jounouchi's phone rang. Picking up his phone, he looked down at his phone's screen and didn't recognize the number. He raised his finger, readying himself to deny the call when he received a text message.
Unknown Number: Answer me, mutt.
Sniffing his nose, Jounouchi scowled. Only one man called him a dog and it was his so-called lover, Kaiba.
Damn the man and his dog insults.
Video from their first Duel Monsters tournament caught the moment when Kaiba called him a dog. Further tournaments cameras filmed even more clips of these insults. Jounouchi knew it was to elevate rivalries, but this wasn't the case. Shippers elevated the dog comments into a master slash slave relationship.
It was embarrassing.
The phone ring again and Jounouchi picked up the phone. Accepting the facetime option, he held back the urge to glare at his so-called lover. "Kaiba." He greeted him with a scowl. "Got the news, did ya?"
Kaiba stared directly into Jounouchi's eyes. "Mokuba took it upon himself to tell me before media outlets bombarded my company phone line." He didn't sound disgusted; he was more or less neutral.
A good sign.
Jounouchi leaned back against his sofa, holding his phone in a gentle grip. "The gang told me. Yug was thrilled as can be when he congratulated us."
Kaiba grimaced.
"Oh! The other duelists are sending their congrats as well!" Katsuya grinned. "You should see their social media profiles. Everyone was shocked but is in full support of us. If anyone tries to shame your company, the internet will back you up."
"Excuse me?"
Jounouchi chuckled at the confused expression. "You really don't check the internet much do you? Who runs your social media?"
"I use it for updates on the company, not for personal interest."
Jounouchi wrinkled his nose. "Such a bore, Kaiba. You should check your notifications. The fans are probably fighting for you,"
Surprisingly, Kaiba listened to him. Kaiba turned his attention away from the phone to start typing on his laptop. Jounouchi watched various emotions go through Kaiba's face. He bit the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from laughing out loud as Kaiba kept on clicking through different posts. This went on for five minutes before Jounouchi coughed out loud to snap Kaiba out of it.
Kaiba turned to him with a slight flush to his face, but otherwise, remained stone faced.
"Uh...you're not mad or something?"
"No."
"Huh. I thought you would have been raging for people to delete their posts." Jounouchi said. "You seem the type to be offended."
"Not necessarily. I have read far worse about myself on the internet. I'm not ignorant." Kaiba stared at Jounouchi for a moment before he asked. "Would you like to go along with this so-called relationship?"
Jounouchi began to laugh. His phone trembled from how hard he started laughing as he kept a tight hold on it. Looking down at the screen, Kaiba's deadpanned face extended Jounouchi's laughter.
Jounouchi's laughter lessened enough for him to comment. "Oh...you're serious."
"Yes." Kaiba nodded his head. "From your unhelpful statement," Jounouchi pouted. "No one believed the actual truth. We might as well go along with this relationship. We go along with a few dates or so and then we split on good terms."
Jounouchi thought about this idea, and it didn't sound like a bad one. They were tolerating each other's company so far. This phone call was going along well and Kaiba was saying more a few words to him. There were no insults exchanged between them.
"Okay...let's do it."
Months later, Jounouchi snuggled against Kaiba as they watched a movie on a large screen tv. With both legs on Kaiba's lap, Jounouchi seemed to almost climb onto Kaiba's lap. Kaiba's arms held Jounouchi close to his body. Not at all uncomfortable in having his lover draped over him. The pair was almost never seen without body contact.
Jounouchi somewhat paid attention to the screen, but he couldn't help but look up at Kaiba's face. Kaiba peered down at him with amusement before pressing a kiss on Jounouchi's forehead. Sharing a light kiss, Jounouchi laid his head against Kaiba's chest.
The previous plan of keeping their relationship as a fake one soon fell through after the first date. After their first kiss, the idea was tossed out the window and the pair became official.
No one other than their siblings knew the truth of how they got together. They didn't treat their siblings like they were children. Shizuka and Mokuba were far more perceptive than people gave them credit for. They would have seen right through their big brothers' ruses.
Kaiba and Jounouchi knew their siblings would have made them feel bad for concealing the truth from them. Mokuba would have wrung out the guilt. Shizuka would pout to show her sadness.
Looking back on the original post, Jounouchi and Kaiba thanked whoever made up the lie. Well, Jounouchi thanked the person, Kaiba made no statement on the whoever this stranger was. At the end of the day, this misunderstanding caused Kaiba and Jounouchi to get together.
They were happier for it.
The end.