Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Joey ❯ Track 2 - In the End ( Chapter 2 )
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Drama | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.28.2003 | Updated On: 06.22.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.4K | Visits: 530 | Status: Completed
By Alecto Perdita
Track 2 - In the End
Rating: PG-13
Revised: June 22, 2005
Warning(s): Shonen-ai & Kaijou
Email: alecto.perdita@gmail.com
Website: http://cocytus.eternity-inc.net
Mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/cocytus/
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the intellectual property of Takahashi Kazuki, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. All situations, opinions and characters not belonging to Takahashi Kazuki are the intellectual property of Alecto Perdita.
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I’m surprised it got so (far)
Things aren’t the way they were before
You wouldn’t even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me
In the end
You kept everything inside and even though I tried / it all fell apart
What it meant to me / will eventually / be a memory / of a time when I
I tried so hard
- "In the End" by Linkin Park
I could remember the day Jounouchi left like it was just yesterday. It was around this time about ten years ago. We had all just graduated from high school a few weeks ago. I was lucky the school even let me pass. Apparently, I had one too many absents but they had decided to graduate at the last moment. Anyway, summer was in full swing and most of my classmates were indulging in the joys of their youth before being shipped off to college. I was too busy working, as usual.
It was an unusually hot summer that year. I was glad I was in my nicely air-conditioned office for once. Mokuba laid asleep on one of the couches lined with the side of my desk. The television set droned on about the recent recession in the American stock market and its effect on the world economy. I wasn't listening though. I had already heard it all this morning and the morning before that.
The lights on my phone lit up, indicating a call from his secretary. I pushed the red button. "What?"
"Seto-sama, there's someone here insisting on seeing you."
I continued to type. "Do they have an appointment?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line and a rustle of papers. "No, Seto-sama."
"I'm busy." My eyes didn't leave the computer screen. "Tell them to make an appointment and come back later."
I heard a few brief words exchanged over the phone that suddenly escalated into hysterical shouting. I frowned at the phone and my hands stilled.
Mokuba sat up on the couch and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He walked over to the side of my desk. "Nii-sama, what's going on?"
I ignored my little brother momentarily as I spoke into the phone. "Who is that?"
"Jounouchi," I nearly fell out of his chair. "Shizuka."
I froze. What was she doing here? "Let her in."
The double doors swung open and Shizuka stepped into the office. Her eyes were red from crying earlier and her cheeks tear-stained. Mokuba raced up to her and pulled over to one of the couches.
I stepped out from behind my desk. "What's wrong?"
Shizuka hiccuped when she tried to speak. Mokuba ran over to the water cooler and returned with a cup of cold water. She gulped down the drink and then stared at the cup.
Mokuba nudged Shizuka's side. She looked at him in surprise. "What happened, Shizuka-onee-chan?"
Shizuka turned her gaze to me. "Onii-chan...he... I didn't know who else to go to right now. Okaa-san is in Tokyo until later tonight and I don't know how to reach her."
My heart began to beat faster. "What happened to Jounouchi?"
"He ran away..."
There was silence as her words sunk into Mokuba and me.
"Jounouchi ran away?!" Mokuba jumped to his feet, voicing my own disbelief along with his own.
She buried her face in her hands and began sobbing again. Mokuba was at a lost at what to do. He looked to me. I noticed a piece of loose leaf at Shizuka's side. I picked it up and recognized the messy handwriting as Jounouchi's. It read:
Dear Shizuka,
You Onii-chan is an idiot. I can't stay here any longer. Everything's just become too much for me to accept. I can't handle this. I need some time away. I don't know when I'm coming back. I don't even know if I'm coming back at all. I'm sorry your Onii-chan is such a coward. Take care of yourself and Okaa-san. And tell Yugi and the others I said good-bye and that I'm sorry. I'll miss all of you.
Jounouchi's messy signature was scrawled across the bottome of the paper. The note looked like it had been written at the last moment possible. The bastard didn't even have the decency to take the time to write a long neat letter.
My numb arms fell to my side and the note fluttered to the floor. "He really left..."
Shizuka's sobs were muffled by her hands but her words could be heard clearly. "Onii-chan no baka!"
Jounouchi ducked into the cafe. He glanced over his shoulder and hoped to God that he had finally lost the paparazzi. Sophia already had a table and was waiting for him. He slumped down in his seat and continued to glance around in suspicion.
Sophia laughed. "What's wrong, handsome? Boogie man after you?"
Jounouchi glared at her. "Worse, the supermarket tabloid."
She speared a piece of chicken with her fork. He watched nervously as she dug her utensil into the piece of meat. She was unnerving like this at times. "The joys of being a big time movie star, huh?"
Jounouchi sunk further down in his seat.
"And sit up." Sophia scowled. "It's bad for your posture." She put down her fork. "It's because your real name has finally gotten out, and the papers were finally smart enough to relate you to the artist, Jounouchi Shizuka. The tabloids are trying to get a hold of your old records and everything."
He groaned. "Great! Is it too late to get out of going to Japan?"
"Yep!" She chirped, sounding way too cheerful for his liking. "You've already given your commitment to the directors."
"How can you be so goddamn cheerful at a time like this?" He gestured to the nearest waiter.
"Because this is the greatest press promotion we can hope for. People are going to be lining up outside the theaters to see the movie when it's out. This also puts you a step up on the Japanese market. And don't forget, I strive best admist chaos." She folded her hands and continued to grin like a maniac.
"And that's why you got expelled from high school..." Jounouchi hid behind the menu as she shot him a death glare in return. "There's really no way to get out of this trip?"
Sophia picked up her fork and waved it at him. "Even if there was, I wouldn't tell you. You're going and that's the end of the story. You gotta stop running at one point."
"How the hell did they get my real name anyway?"
She began to whistle innocently.
Jounouchi slammed his fist down on the table. The other patrons turned their attention to Jounouchi's table. "What the hell? Sophia, please tell me you didn't!"
Sophia flashed the other patrons of the restaurant a quick grin. "Don't worry, folks, nothing to see here. I just forgot to force-feed him his medication today."
The other customers turned back to their meals hesitantly.
He gritted his teeth. "Sophia..."
She propped her elbow up on the table. Very unladylike of her. "Look, Katsuya. It was gonna get out sooner or later. And look at it this way, the sooner it's out, the sooner the tabloids will find something new to rave over. At least, they'll be 'reporting' on something true for once. Think of it as a service to the community."
"I trusted you, Sophia! How could you pull a stunt like this?" He sunk into his seat, wishing he could just disappear.
"At least when you go visit your sister when you're in Japan, she won't be caught by surprise."
"Who said I was going to see Shizuka?"
"Oh, I didn't tell you? I already got you a month off in Domino. I booked the hotel rooms already and set up a few interview with the local media. You'll be happy to know that your sister's fiancé is one of the editors of the city's largest paper." She counted off each item on her fingers.
Jounouchi buried his face in his hand. "Great, I'm completely screwed. Honda's probably gonna be pounding down my door before the day is over. And since when was Shizuka engaged? I wanna meet this bastard."
She shook her head. "I'm not telling. You'll meet him soon enough. And you're not 'screwed', Katsuya. I'll make sure they won't kill you, though I can't guarantee you won't sustain any bodily injury at all."
He decided it was a good time to start writing his will. "I'm so fucking screwed..."
Yamato Kimiko slammed the day's edition of 'Domino Times'. The two work tables facing each other shook. The other reporter that sat across from her looked up. She yanked her chair out and plopped down on her seat. She glared at the paper.
Kujaku Makoto, the reporter who sat across from her, snickered. "What's wrong, Kimiko-chan? An intern get in your way or something?"
"That bastard, Honda, edited my article out again!" She glared at the newspaper as if this was its fault.
Makoto walked around their desks and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Kimiko-chan, I told you not to pry into Honda-san's life, especially when it comes to his fiancée. You know how protective he is of her."
Kimiko shrugged his arm off. "I don't care. He has no right. He's had it in for me since I published that article about Kaiba Seto. I'm a reporter! It's my duty to expose the under seams of society. The public has a right to know and I have a duty to report it."
He tweaked her nose. "Face it, Kimiko-chan, you're just a busybody and a gossip, and you know it. Not that it's really your fault, you started in the entertainment section. They left you with a bad habit of searching for scandal."
She jerked away and turned her death glare to him. "I bet Kaiba paid Honda to keep me down. I'll show him."
He rolled his eyes. "You know Kaiba Seto could care any less about what you wrote anymore than he cares who you are. Any slight on Kaiba-san's reputation is one on his spokesperson. You know that man takes his job very seriously. And here's a little advice, I'd lay low for a while if I were you."
She stabbed her pencil into her desk. "And they say I have problems. That man has some control issues. No wonder, he's dating his psychologist."
"Malik Ishtar has connections you don't want to mess with. Journalism is a combination of noble and some not-so-noble compromises. We don't ask certain questions just begging to be asked if we want to get picked on at the next press conference. And Malik has the power to make or break your career as a journalist."
She wanted to wipe that smug little smirk off his face with her fist. "Yeah, well, I got some connections too," she pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and waved it in front of Makoto's face. "You'll never guess what I found out. Date and time of Joey Katsuya's arrival at New Narita Airport."
Makoto lunged at her and tried to grab the paper. She pushed her chair away and he crashed into her desk. He did the only thing he could. He dropped to his knees and begged. "Please let me see! You know how big of a fan I am!"
Kimiko snorted. "That's only because you'd like to get him into your bed, fag," she smirked. "I'm going to get the real story straight out of Joey's mouth. The paper won't be able to turn down a break-through like that." She looked down at him. "If you're good, I'll let you tag along."
He nodded in earnest. "I'll do anything!"
"Good," her grin widened. "There's plenty you can do for me."
Mutou Yugi tugged uncomfortably at his black suit. His wife, Mutou Anzu, stood besides him in a solid black kimono with only a string of pearl around her neck. Their hands were intertwined, seeking whatever comfort they could get from each other. They were greeting the condolence callers at the door to the ceremony hall. The air was thick with the scent of incense.
Yugi's mother, Akane, was kneeling by the altar, dressed in the white shinishozoku. It was a disturbing contrast to the sea of black. Many of Sugoroku's acquaintances in life roamed the room. They were all gathered in little groups near the wall as they waited for the wake to begin. Yugi was mildly pleased that so many of his grandfather's friends had been able to attend the wake on such short notice, even Rebecca Hopkins and her aged grandfather had made it.
Mutou Sugoroku had passed away unexpectedly about two weeks ago, despite all signs of being perfectly healthy. He had, at least, died peacefully in his sleep. It was a terrible blow to the Mutou family though, both emotionally and financially. With Anzu, pregnant and unable to work, and the game shop hadn't been doing as well as Yugi would have liked, the expenses of the preparations for the funeral were a bit overwhelming. Yugi shook his head. This was not the time to be worrying about money.
The apparition of the other Yugi slipped up besides him. It was improper for Yugi to wear the Millennium Puzzle to the ceremony but he had set the Puzzle by the altar so his other self could still attend the wake. The other Yugi simply stood besides Yugi and he was grateful for that.
Yugi turned his attention to the new arrivals. A tiny grin slipped across his features. "Minna..." He should have expected that they'd come together.
Shizuka ran up to Anzu first and embraced the older woman. "Oh Anzu-san. How do you feel?"
Malik Ishtar and Bakura Ryou approached Yugi first, hand in hand. They presented him with a blank envelope. Yugi glanced at them with a questioning gaze. "It's koden. [1]" Bakura supplied before frowning. "Don't tell me no one else has given you any."
Yugi shook his head. "Oh, no. We've gotten so. It's just that you didn't have to."
Malik scratched the back of his head. "Yea, Ryou took care of that. This is my first Japanese funeral." He glanced around nervously as if someone or something was going to jump him.
Isis Ishtar slapped her brother over the head. "It's a wake and if you had only read up on it like I told you to."
Yugi stared at Isis in surprise. "Isis-san, I wasn't aware that you were in Japan."
Isis smiled. "I just flew in yesterday. Rishid is taking care of everything in Egypt so I could come visit Malik. I'm sorry for your loss, Yugi and I thought I should come and pay my respects." She handed him her koden.
"Arigato, Isis-san."
Kaiba rolled his eyes and handed Yugi his own koden.
Yugi stared at Kaiba with wide violet eyes. "I can't take that, Kaiba-kun."
"And why not?" Kaiba asked.
Malik snorted. "Because knowing you, you nut, you probably gave him a year's salary right there."
"Just take it, Yugi," Kaiba grunted. "You need it."
Yugi accepted the check with trembling hands. "Arigato, Kaiba-kun, Bakura-kun, Malik-kun, and Isis-san." Someone stuck another envelope in Yugi's face. He blinked.
"From me and Shizuka." Honda muttered.
Yugi smiled. "Arigato, Honda-kun."
Anzu and Shizuka were chatting quietly on the side.
Shizuka placed a hand over Anzu's bulging stomach. She gasped slightly. "He kicked!" She twirled around and grabbed Honda's hand. "The baby kicked, Hiroto," she sighed. "I want a baby..."
Honda could only blush in response.
"Not until you're married, young lady." Kaiba scowled, sound all too much like an absent brother.
"So when's the bun in the oven going to be ready?" Malik pulled his hand away from Anzu's abdomen.
"Two more months," Anzu stared at the floor with downcast eyes. Her grip on Yugi's hand tightened. "I just wished Ojii-san had lived long enough to see his great-grandson."
Bakura tugged on Malik's sleeve and led his lover to the altar. They knelt down and Malik stared at the altar, unsure of what to do. After watch Bakura bow his head three times to the floor, he followed suit. Instead of offering incense (the tray was already full from all the previous arrivals), they each placed a Magic & Wizard card on the altar. Bakura gazed fondly on his Change of Heart card that rested next to Malik's Revive Slime. They preceeded to bow again to Akane afterwards.
Shizuka and Isis followed them. Shizuka offered a sketch of the Black Magician and Isis the Reverse World card.
Honda turned to Kaiba, Anzu, and Yugi. "We have to talk later." With those words, he went to make his own offering of the Commander card.
Kaiba nodded to Yugi and Anzu. He knelt down before the altar. He bowed three times and looked up at the photograph on the altar. He laid his card among the various other trinkets offered. It was the Korean Blue Eyes White Dragon. He was surprised to see the English Blue Eyes he had ripped some thirteen years back laying among the offerings. He looked back up at the photo. "I never did apologize for that, Mutou-san. Gomen nasai. Better late than never, ne? A Blue Eyes for a Blue Eyes." He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to meet Yugi's gaze.
Yugi smiled fondly at the picture of his grandfather. "He knows, Kaiba-kun. Come on, the ceremony's about to start."
After the wake ceremony, Yugi led Anzu, Honda, and Kaiba to a private room where they could talk. They all settled down on the couch in the room and waited for Honda to report whatever news he had.
"Is the other Yugi here? You're not wearing the Puzzle today."
Yugi tugged at his tie. "Don't worry, he's here. I'm not wearing the Puzzle but I still brought it to the wake." He glanced to his side where the shadowy ghost of his other self stood against the wall.
The other Yugi nodded to his aibou. "Just tell him to say whatever he needs to say. I can hear him."
Yugi relayed his other half's message to Honda. The man chewed nervously on his lower lip and took a deep breath. "Kaiba, remember what we talked about a few weeks ago at Shizuka-chan's last exhibition?" He glanced at Kaiba out of the corner of his eyes.
Kaiba paled. "You don't mean..."
Honda nodded gravely. "That's it."
"What's it? Anzu glanced between Kaiba and Honda, searching for some kind of clue to what they were saying.
"Jounouchi." Kaiba muttered. He clenched his fist and stared down at his lap.
Yugi leapt to his feet as the other Yugi jumped forward. "Jounouchi-kun? You found him?!" They exclaimed in unison though you could only hear Yugi's voice.
Kaiba leaned back in his seat and massaged his temple. "Yes, that mutt is still alive, would have spared us a lot of trouble if he wasn't."
Anzu glared at Kaiba before her gaze softened. "Don't say that, Kaiba-kun, you know you don't mean it. There's no point to trying to pretend like you don't care about him. We all know."
"Whatever." Kaiba turned away.
Honda cleared his throat. "Anyway, Jounouchi is an American movie star now. He calls himself Joey Katsuya. There are rumors running around on the web that Joey is actually the brother of Japanese artist, Jounouchi Shizuka. Someone released his real name on the internet and now there's a storm. All the American tabloids are scrambling to get the story and the Japanese media has just caught wind of it. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this from Shizuka."
"We shouldn't be keeping it from Shizuka-chan. She'll be so mad once she finds out you've been keeping this from her, Honda." Anzu shook her head.
Honda threw his hands in the air. "I wanted to break it to her gently! You remember how depressed she was for months when Jounouchi ran away. Now I can't keep it from her even if I wanted to! Jounouchi's coming back to Japan this weekend!"
"This weekend?" Yugi squeaked. "What are we going to do?"
Honda threw himself down the the couch opposite Yugi and them. "He's arriving at New Narita Saturday morning. There's bound to be tons of reporters there to receive him. I'm going to make sure he doesn't do something stupid again. But Saturday's my day off and Shizuka's rest day, I don't know what I'll do."
Anzu sat up straighter in her seat. "Don't worry, I'll keep her busy. I'll make sure she doesn't turn on the TV or anything." She gave Honda a thumbs-up. "Just pound some sense into Jounouchi’s thick head for me."
"I’m going with you." Kaiba’s voice brooked no arguments. A certain fire in his eyes, one that they had thought to be extinguished years ago, was apparent.
Yugi looked over to his other half. The other Yugi smirked and nodded. "And we’re going with you too!"
Jounouchi stretched his arms. "I hate airplanes. It’s too cramped for my taste."
Sophia snorted. "We were traveling first class. We had four times as much space as any couch."
Jounouchi and Sophia picked up their luggage and left the custom inspection area. They entered the arrival lobby. People pushed and shoved, rushing along with their daily lives. Businessmen were yelling into their cellphones as children cried to their mothers. Jounouchi had forgotten how crowded and cramped Japan was. It made LA look like the countryside. [2]
Sophia looked around. "Our contact should be meeting us here."
"You make it sound like we’re on a secret mission."
She glared at him and he shut his mouth. She continued to search for her target. Suddenly, she stopped. "Oh shit..."
He looked up. He froze. "Double shit..."
A group of reporters and cameras came flying in their directions. Jounouchi had to turn away from he wasn’t blinded by the collective flashes of the cameras. He jumped back as someone stuck a video camera in his face.
"Joey-san, is it true that your real name is Jounouchi Katsuya?"
"Are you related to Jounouchi Shizuka?"
"Have you come back to make amends to your sister?"
Jounouchi glanced around him. He was trapped. No one was supposed to know their arrival time at the airport. He had been looking forward to that bit of peace, quiet, and anonymity.
Sophia stepped in front of Jounouchi. She cleared her throat. The reporters continued with their questions. "Excuse me!" She screamed in English. The lobby was silent as her voice echoed off the walls. She switched to Japanese. "Joey will not be taking any questions today. As you are aware of, Joey already has a lot of interviews lined up in the next few months. He’ll be more than happy to answer your questions then."
The reporters were silent for a few more seconds. The noise started up again and so did the questions.
Sophia took deep breaths, counting to ten under her breath. Jounouchi looked at her nervously before edging away. She turned her wrath openly onto the journalists. "Didn’t you hear what I said, you blockheads?!"
The lobby became silent again. All occupants of the room stared at Sophia with wide eyes.
"Jounouchi-kun!"
His head snapped up. His heart froze. He knew that voice... But the last time he heard it was ten long years ago... "Yugi...?"
The mob of journalists parted like the Red Sea. Yugi ran up to him and stopped right in front of Sophia. He bent over and tried to catch his breath. He looked up and smiled that wonderful smile of his. "Jounouchi-kun..."
"Jounouchi, you bakayaro!"
Honda appeared suddenly in front of Jounouchi and grabbed the lapels of his shirt. "I’m going to kill you for what you put Shizuka-chan through!"
Yugi tugged on Honda's arm. "Let go of him, Honda. We should be happy Jounouchi-kun is back!"
Cameras flashed with a storm of shutters.
"It’s Jounouchi-san’s fiancé."
"So it is true!"
Honda shook Jounouchi. "Do you hear me, Jounouchi? How could you just get up and leave like that?"
Jounouchi stared past his old friend. He could even fell Honda shaking him. Kaiba... He saw Kaiba watching from afar with those blue eyes. Kaiba was almost lost in the faceless crowd that chose to ignore Jounouchi. Their eyes met and locked.
"Shizuka-chan, would you like something to drink?" Anzu hovered in the kitchen doorway.
Shizuka stood up from the sofa. "I can get it myself, Anzu-san. You shouldn't be moving around so much!"
Anzu waved the younger woman away. "You're a guest in my house and I'm the hostess. So sit right back down."
"Let me help." Bakura, whom had been let in on what was going on last minute with Malik, jumped to his feet. The two disappeared into the kitchen.
Shizuka sighed. She looked around the living room. Yugi's house never changed. It looked as it always had. Anzu did give it a woman's touch that had been lacking before since Yugi's mother was rarely home. Various photos and trinkets laid around the house. They weren't arranged in any particular manner. They just fell in with the general decor of the house without effort.
She picked up one of the frames off a shelf. The photo had been taken at her brother's graduation. Almost everyone was in the picture. Yugi, Anzu, Bakura, Honda, Kaiba, Mokuba, Yugi's grandfather, her Onii-chan... Even in the picture, Jounouchi was standing as far away from Kaiba as possible. If only the two had been able to work things out as normal people then things would be different that day, though she failed to acknowledge the fact that the two weren't normal people. She set the frame back down. It was just too painful to think about...
She settled back down on the couch. Anzu and Bakura were taking a long time. She could hear the faint whispers of a quiet conversation through the kitchen door. Honda had been acting weird that morning. It almost felt like everyone was trying to hide something from her. It wasn't everyday that Honda, Kaiba, and Yugi made a trip together down to Tokyo for no apparent reason. It was just too quiet... She picked up the remote control on the coffee table and turned on the television.
"Shizuka-chan! Don't!" Anzu came rushing into the room without warning.
"This is not good." Bakura muttered. Shizuka had turned to one of the music and movie channels.
Shizuka stared at the screen with an open mouth. There was her fiancé holding her brother by the lapel of his shirt. "Onii-chan...? Hiroto? This is a joke right?" She looked up at Anzu and Bakura with tears shining in her eyes.
"Oh, Shizuka-chan, gomen." Anzu embraced Shizuka tightly.
Jounouchi couldn't tear his eyes away. Kaiba...was as handsome as he remembered. Kaiba was still Kaiba. He shivered. He could feel the other man's steel gaze pierce through his soul. Kaiba's eyes had always had that effect on Jounouchi. His world began to spin.
Honda left go of Jounouchi's shirt and stepped back. Maybe it would be best to let Kaiba handle this. Sophia stood in the background and waited for this drama to play out.
Kaiba approached the small group with slow and deliberate steps. Cameras clicked and more questions flew over them. He stopped right in front of Jounouchi. "You came back... Jounouchi..." His eyes were unfathomable.
Jounouchi never knew his name could sound so beautiful until that moment. The colors around him blurred and the world around him almost fell to pieces. "Kaiba..." He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.
A sudden fist that connected with his abdomen caught Jounouchi by surprise. His vision darkened. The floor loomed dangerously close as his legs gave out under him.
"KATSUYA!"
Was it Sophia...?
He was falling...
Eyelids fluttered closed....
Was it going to hurt when he hit the bottom...?
A familiar pair of arms caught him.
He never hit the floor.
The embrace tightened...
Drowning...
Drowning in a sea of stormy blue...
Jounouchi...
I'm home...
He smiled. Only a fleeting moment of comfort...but it was more than enough.
I hit you and you hit me back
We fall to the floor the rest of the day stands still
Fine line between this and that
When things go wrong I pretend the past isn't real
I'm trapped in this memory
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake slow to react
So even though you're close to me
You're still so distant
And I can't bring you back
- "With You" by Linkin Park
[1] koden- The Koden has originated from returning the money for the incense. At present this system has been established for the purpose of giving an offering to the deceased and reducing a financial burden of the family based on the concept of the funeral rite as an affair relating to the whole community.
[2] Japan is a very small country with a very large population. Although it does not boost the largest population, it has one of the largest population-density. It results in overcrowding, especially in modern cities like Tokyo.
Despite the fact that Shizuka's official surname is actually Kawai, I decided to use Jounouchi for the purpose of this story. Obviously, it relates the two more readily.