IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!! - This is the Yu-Gi-Oh! Yaoi portion of the Shipping List in order. Be forewarned. Some "pairings" will not be fluffy and cute. But they will all, hopefully, be believable. Rating's will vary.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi
Author's Notes: I dueled in a tournament today and lost. I usually win so it's sad but I had fun anyway because you get to meet other duelists and test out decks. Losing is part of the game, too (you know, unless the whole world is depending on you...).
Rating: K-G
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shipping List #12
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Aquaintanceshipping (Hiroto x Roba) - "Make a Man Out of You"
Roba had decided to take self-defense classes. His instructor, Hiroto Honda, volunteered at the community center on the weekends when Roba had been able to schedule his classes.
Honda believed that all men should have the ability to defend themselves and others when necessary and that was exactly why Roba had applied for lessons. He had four younger brothers and one of them had come crying to him on the playground. He'd been harassed by a bully but Roba had been unable to do anything to help him. "Espa" Roba was a duelist, small and timid off the field. He hated it but when his brother had come to him crying, the best thing he could do was to take his siblings and leave the playground.
What Roba liked about Honda was that he had not taken one look at him and deemed him a hopeless cause. Honda had taken one look at him and said "Let's get started." Well, actually he said, "Hey, aren't you that kid that dueled Jou in Battle City?" but the 'Let's get started' had come shortly after.
Honda was always telling him that his success was more a matter of confidence than skill. Anyone could learn to fight…little kids, grannies… but you couldn't do anything without confidence. Confidence was the first lesson Honda had taught him. He had reminded Roba that no one else would be willing to do his job for him and he had gotten him mad enough to give it everything he had.
The second lesson that Honda had taught him was that size wasn't everything. A person's size could be used against them with minimal strength. In no time at all, Roba had learned how to throw a man twice his size to the ground. It was a liberating feeling and it had made him extremely proud of himself when Honda had praised him for it.
Honda made Roba feel as though he could do anything, as though nothing were out of reach if he only wanted it bad enough. Honda referred to that feeling as the feeling of discovering true masculinity. The martial arts in any form were an expression of honor and even though any man could be strong, only a true gentleman could be thus with honor. A true man, Honda said, was a man of honor. And the true test of martial arts was to create a harmony of that feeling of power and the restraint of honor.
Roba had learned so much more in that class than just how to defend himself and his brothers. He had learned to be a better person. He had also learned that he was, without a doubt, gay. He had thought before that maybe it was the case, but now he knew for sure. The more he watched Honda, the more he respected him, the more he realized that only such a person as Honda whom he could respect on equal terms would be a person he could imagine himself spending his life with.
It had taken him many hours of contemplation to arrive at this conclusion but the more time he spent with Honda the more he realized that he had never really liked girls anyway so his crush on the older teen wasn't really such a terrible shock. It started as admiration but over the course of his time at the youth center it had evolved into a desire to please the other and finally into just enjoying their time together more than anything else.
It was Honda who had cemented his confidence, so with confidence he asked one morning, before their lesson had begun, "Do you think it matters if a person's gay or straight? I mean, that doesn't have anything to do with being strong, right?" He didn't think so, but he wanted to know Honda's opinion.
Honda had turned to him, giving a different, sort of scrutinizing look. "No…" he answered, thoughtfully. "Some people may think being gay means a guy's a sissy but I don't see how that could possibly affect your ability to kick someone's ass. I happen to know some very honorable gay dudes, people I trust with my life. It doesn't make a difference. … Why?"
Roba smiled to himself. "I kind of like you." It had come out a bit quieter than he might have liked, but he'd said it plainly so he was proud.
Honda's eyes widened slightly. "Well…I think maybe…our ages are a bit different…" he said, carefully.
Roba lowered his gaze. He hadn't really thought about that. "Yea," he consented "I guess."
"But hey," Honda continued "after my hours are done here, I've got time for lunch. I'll treat."
Roba's smile returned and he nodded.
Roba had learned a great deal from Honda during their weekends at Domino City's youth center, including patience.
Post whatevers: Is satisfied. -nodds- Honda is different (we get to see different aspects of him) in the first series than in the one we're all familiar with. It's good for everyone to see that series too. Next up is Atemu x Seth x Touzokou (thief king Bakura). As always if you liked, please review. Ja!
