I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters in this story *sobs*

Hello again everyone. Do to me going on vacation soon. Hurray! A week of wonderful no work. I decided that I should upload all the stories I've been working on since the last time I wrote something. This story here is the longest one out of the three I have ready to upload. I didn't want this to be too overwhelming for one chapter so I'm splitting it up in several chapters and uploading it all at once. I hope you enjoy this.

Warnings: Violence, language, yaoi (MaleXmale) and slight out of character

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I glared down at the smaller, spiky haired man before me. I still couldn't fathom why I complied with his endless requests to come to Domino Hospital. It could have been the hundreds of voicemails left every two minutes. Now, looking down at him as he glared up at me, made me rethink my decision. He wordlessly grabbed my arm and pulled me into a nearby room. Sure, now he chooses to say nothing. I quickly pulled my arm out of his grasp. I was about to tell him that he should never touch me when my eyes drifted to the person lying on the bed. At first, I didn't' care who's room Yugi chose to bring me into, but my initial response died on my lips. There lying pale and motionless on the bed was Jounouchi. I understood why Yugi was upset. The last time I saw Jounouchi was about two weeks ago. We didn't leave on good terms, but nothing in my calculating mind could explain the solution as to why Jounouchi was here. Without moving my gaze away from the blond, I questioned his smaller friend, "What happened?

"This is your entire fault."

The shock of the accusation and the venom in Yugi's voice broke my gaze. "How do you figure that? I haven't seen him in over two weeks."

"He's been here for five days."

"You can't accuse me of anything. When he left my office, he was fine. I didn't hurt him."

"Not physically."

"Explain."

Yugi growled and turned his gaze over towards Jounouchi. The anger slowly melted from his eyes, and he gave a heavy sigh before moving closer to the blond. He took his hand carefully into his own. "He had high hopes that he could tell you how he felt. He thought you felt the same. He took a huge chance going to you because he felt incomplete. When you turned him down, his laughter disappeared. He didn't want to fight any longer. I tried to convince him that there was someone other than you out there and that you were a fool to not want him. He didn't care. It was suppose to be you or no one. Nothing I said over the phone could convince him that everything would be okay. I just wanted him to hang on until I returned home with Grandpa. When we returned, the shop was closed and locked when he should have had it open. I went looking for him upstairs, thinking that he might be sick, but he was sleeping on his bed. I tried to wake him several times, but nothing worked. He was never a deep sleeper. We called the ambulance and they brought him here. They said it looks like he hasn't eaten or drank in a couple days. I last spoke to him three days before I found him. There is nothing physically wrong with him. The doctors can't explain why he won't wake, but I've come to believe it has something to do with you. He was fine until you rejected him. That was when everything fell apart."

I rolled my eyes, trying to keep my strong emotionless face up even though I couldn't believe what was happening. It wasn't like I wanted to reject his love; I just couldn't accept it to be the truth. "You can't blame this on me. He came to my office in between my meetings and confessed his love for me. Then, he expected an answer right away. I didn't even get a chance to think. Someone you thought hated you since the moment you met walks back into your life and says that they are in love with you, what would you think? What would you do?"

"I wouldn't cruelly kick him out of my office. I would try to understand."

"Understand?" I roared. "What was there to understand? I didn't think he was serious."

"You didn't even question him," Yugi growled back. He gently placed Jounouchi's hand down and moved back over to me. "You didn't even think about anything except for getting him out of your office."

"I needed time to think. How was I supposed to know that he would take it so hard? The old Jounouchi could take a hit and still get back up."

"This is different! He thought you felt the same. It took everything he had inside of him to walk into your office and say that. Now look at what has happened to him. If you would have just told him that you needed to think about it or let him down a little more gently this wouldn't have happened."

"You don't even know what has happened. All you know is he won't wake up."

"You are despicable, Kaiba. I don't even know why I told him he should try. I thought you would be more understanding. I thought you had changed."

I was about to respond back when a bright light starting from the center of the room exploded around us. I placed my arm over my eyes, attempting to shield them from whatever was blinding me. The light felt warm and strangely familiar as if I felt something like this before. When the light faded, I looked down at Yugi who had fallen silent and had his hand over his heart. I looked up at Jounouchi who looked as if that light didn't faze him. I sighed and noticed that my afternoon appointment would be arriving at my office soon. "We'll discuss this later when I don't have someplace to be." Yugi nodded and remained silent. It was as if that light calmed him completely. I didn't question it.

I was about to leave the hospital quickly when a sudden thought came to my mind. Were Yugi and his grandfather able to handle the hospital costs of a coma patient? I don't know why I cared or even what prompted me to stop at the nurse's station. I pulled out one of my business cards and handed it to the black haired nurse sitting by the computer. "I'm Kaiba Seto. I would like to talk to the doctor in charge of Jounouchi Katsuya however I'm late for a meeting at this moment. If you could give him my card I would appreciate it. Also, I would like any medical bills regarding him to be charged to me. I will pay for everything he may need."

The nurse nodded. "Of course, Kaiba-sama. May I ask the reason for wanting to talk to Jounouchi-san's doctor?"

"Let him know that I will become his power of attorney and all decisions will go through me."

The nurse didn't question further. It was true I was planning on making that happen, but first I had to convince his next of kin to sign the papers. "When would be a good time for the doctor to call?"

I glanced down at my watch. "Anytime after five. The paperwork should be finalized and filed with the appropriate personnel in the hospital. Thank you." I turned and left the nurse, pulling out my cellphone as I walked through the hallways. "Roland, get power of attorney papers drawn for Jounouchi Katsuya. Then find out who his next of kin would be and have them signed. I want all decisions regarding his health to come through me since I'll be paying for everything he needs. Have everything filed with the hospital no later than five. I don't care how you get it done just do it." I hung up the phone without a response, not even thinking about asking Yugi if he was the next of kin considering that he was allowed without question into Jounouchi's room. It didn't matter at this point. I had a closing deal with the artist of my new game this afternoon and it looked like I would be a minute or two late. I growled in annoyance. I hated being late.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The day was long and exhausting. I found myself pulling my body through the hallways of my empty mansion. With Mokuba away to college, everything felt strangely lonely. I placed my suitcase on the table by the door so I could just grab it and go the next day. I went through the events of only a few hours ago. It turned out Yugi was the next of kin, and it took several hours to convince Yugi that I was only looking at his best of interest. I wanted to guarantee that Jounouchi will get the best doctors known to man. I rubbed my eyes and sat down on the stairs. The reality of the situation had been plaguing me the entire ride home. Something clearly had to be wrong with Jounouchi in order to lock him in that coma. At first, I had planned on moving Jounouchi into one of my private hospitals to have one of my doctors testing him, but his doctor surprised me. He had done all the main tests already and they all came back negative for anything serious. He was extremely optimistic that he would properly diagnose Jounouchi and pull him out of the coma. Yugi would be more happy if I left him there than automatically moving him.

I pulled my jacket off and draped it over the railing. Rubbing my eyes again, I rose and continued upstairs to my room. I loosened my tie along the way and left it hanging around my neck. I opened my door and shut it before staggering over to the bed. Collapsing face down on the mattress, I managed to unbutton my shirt slightly before curling up on the bed. I didn't care that I was still fully clothed or not under the covers. I just wanted sleep and couldn't understand why I was extremely tired. I've had other days more stressful than this one, and I don't recall being this tired afterwards. Finally willing my body to curl under the comforter. I fell asleep quickly, knowing that tomorrow was another day.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Quiet sobs coming from a child awoke me from my deep sleep. My eyes slid open, trying to find the child that obviously snuck into my house. I don't know how he or she managed it, but I hated seeing children cry. The first thing that shocked me when I opened my eyes was that I wasn't in my room and that I was standing by a wall. I moved my hands in front of my face, seeing that I wasn't tied down. I was confused on how I got in that room. I knew for a fact that I was in my room when I fell asleep. I ignored that for the time being, hearing the sobs growing. I looked around the room until I spotted a blond haired child curled up in the corner beside a dresser. I moved slowly over towards the small child. "What's wrong, little one?" I whispered, but the child didn't even budge. I went to place my hands on his trembling shoulders but they moved right through him. I gasped and backed away from the child, looking at my hands.

They seemed normal to me and I wasn't falling through the floor. I reached slowly towards the dresser beside the child and watched my hand go through it. I moved over towards the wall and placed my hand against it. It was like I couldn't touch anything in the room and I couldn't leave it. I heard footsteps coming. The child's head shot up, giving me perfect view of him. He looked like a smaller version of Jounouchi. The blond moved quickly and slid underneath the bed. I remained in the corner, knowing that I couldn't do anything in this strange world. "You little brat, where are you?" The tall blond man leant down and grabbed Jounouchi by his foot, dragging him out from under the bed.

Jounouchi screamed as the man twisted his foot and tossed him on the bed. "Your teacher called, concerned that you are looking sick. Why would she think that?"

Jounouchi backed away from his father and looked up at him with scared eyes. "I-I don't know, Father." The older man grabbed his son's arm and twisted it behind his back. Jounouchi cried out. "I'm sorry, Father," he screamed.

I growled, unable to watch anymore. I tried to grab Jounouchi's father, but much like before my hand slid right through him. I watched in horror as he pulled his hand back and slammed it into his son's stomach. He threw him across the floor, hearing Jounouchi's back and head smashed into the nearby wall. "Don't let it happen again."

Jounouchi continued to tremble and cry. "I-it won't, Father." His father snorted and walked out of the room. I knelt down in front of the younger version of Jounouchi, wishing that I could touch him. I hated when people abused children. Even though Gozaburo rarely physically abused me, he caused me enough mental strain to turn me into someone I never wanted to be. The blond pulled himself across the floor and slid back under the bed. I could still hear his sobs. I closed my eyes for a second, hoping that this wasn't a real memory from Jounouchi's past.

When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at the familiar ceiling in my room. I felt moisture around my heavy, tired eyes. I wiped the obvious tears away and rolled on my side, feeling far more exhausted than when I went to sleep last night. I glanced at the clock, noting that I could go back to sleep for another two hours, but the lingering affects from the dream left me unable to fall back to sleep. I rolled on my back and continued to stare up at the ceiling. I felt restless and knew that there was no way I could go back to sleep. Pulling myself out of bed, I staggered my way towards the bathroom, shedding my clothes along the way.

The hot water was enough to soothe my sore muscles but not enough to wake me. I towel dried my hair as I chose the outfit for the day. Even though it was six months since Mokuba started college and decided to dorm there, it felt strange not having to wake him in the morning. I came and left whenever I felt. After dressing, I moved downstairs to retrieve my suitcase and start the day. It was too early to start work and the dream was still bothering me. I took one of the simpler model car and drove down to the hospital. Now that I was Jounouchi's next of kin, I could access his medical reports without question. I wondered how far back they had. Did Jounouchi ever go to the hospital for the damaged done to him?

The nurse was of course different from the night before, but I had everything filed correctly. "I'm Kaiba Seto and I would like to see Jounouchi Katsuya's medical records." The red haired nurse looked up at him before moving over towards the thick binders behind her. I thought it was strange that she didn't ask for my identification, but I'm used to people recognizing me. She set the binder down in front of me. "Thank you." I started flipping through the large book. "Is all of his records here? I'm looking for something in his childhood."

The nurse looked up at me. "The older documents are usually filed elsewhere, but since Jounouchi-san hasn't been to the doctors very often, they are all here."

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like when he was a child, he was always going to the doctors for check ups and illnesses, but it seems after he turned about eight or nine, he stopped coming as often." I was shocked. That was about the age I would guess Jounouchi was as in my dream. The nurse flipped towards the older information.

I looked over the information noticing that there was limited information on injuries, but there was some. "Did the doctors do a complete physical exam of him when they brought him in?"

The nurse walked back over to me, clearly becoming annoyed that I wouldn't let her continue her work. She flipped the binder back over towards her and looked through the pages. She stopped at the page that showed a drawing of a body and marks along the sketch. "They recorded several scars around his body and it looks like he might have fractured or broke his ankle at some time but it was never set right. The doctor doesn't believe that it has anything to do with the coma."

I closed the binder. "Thank you." Quickly walking into Jounouchi room, I moved over to his bed, noticing that Yugi wasn't here. I pulled up the chair and sat next to Jounouchi. I don't like to admit that supernatural things always happen when Yugi's involved, but that flash of light from yesterday made me suspicious. I could pass off last nights dream as just that a dream, but with the fact that they found something wrong with his ankle, I began to believe it was more of a memory. It still doesn't explain how I got that memory unless that light was the reason for the memory. If I was affected by the light, perhaps Yugi was as well. That was something to ask him about later.

I placed my hand on Jounouchi's. I don't know what that light was, but I don't think Jounouchi had anything to do with it. He never possessed the magical abilities that Yugi and the other members of the Millennium Items had, but I've been wrong on several occasions before. "I had a dream about what I think happened to you when you were a child. I don't know what age you were when your father beat you like that. I'm sure I didn't even know you around that time. In fact, I find it hard to believe that you were abused. If I hadn't checked your medical records, I would have thought it was just a strange dream. You don't act like someone that's been abused their entire life or you don't show the signs to someone like me. They always say that abuse victims can tell when someone else was abused. Apparently that's not true. Gozaburo mentally abused and occasionally physically abused me for years. I could never tell if I should take his threats seriously. I wanted to protect Mokuba from all of it. He would threaten him often when I didn't do what he said. 'Kaiba's don't show emotions.' He said that everyday to me. He wouldn't let me sleep or eat and sometimes wouldn't even let me sit if I were to cry or show any sort of emotion. I closed myself off, Jounouchi. To the world. To everyone even my own little brother. The damaged that Gozaburo did to me was enough and there was no way he was going to hurt my little brother from beyond the grave. I should have known that it was impossible. To this day he still hurts Mokuba through me."

I sighed deeply. "No, I hurt Mokuba. He drilled that personality so far inside of me that when I'm not careful, I revert back to it. I'm sorry that I hurt you. You can't lie this time and say I didn't. I guess that's what it means to be trapped for life. You trap yourself inside of the abusive world; too afraid to go far from your comfort zone and explore. You tell yourself that there's nothing out there worth looking for. They'll just hurt me if I try. At least here I know what type of pain it is. I can endure it. I'm strong inside of this world. Out there, I'm lost. Afraid of finding someone worse than Gozaburo. Are you afraid, Jounouchi? Yugi didn't mention that you still associate with your father just that you live above the game shop. Actually he didn't mention your father at all. Did you manage to do what I could not and break from of your world? Did you find someone worse than your father? Is that why you are trapped inside of that world? The doctors don't know why you won't wake from the coma." I stopped for a moment. I couldn't believe I was telling him everything, but it felt like he had to know. There was no way I could get my words to stop. Not now, not when I finally admitted to myself and someone else that I'm not better. I never healed from Gozaburo's tortures. He was still there plaguing my thoughts. When would he go away? Never?

I squeezed Jounouchi's hand. "Am I the one that hurt you worse than your father? If that is the reason for this coma please wake up. You don't have to be afraid of me torturing you or hurting you more than I've already had. Yugi cares deeply for you. You don't want to worry him more. In the event that I am wrong, I'll keep coming back until you wake. Then you can give me your verdict. I need to get to work soon. I'll be back later on tonight." I squeezed his hand one last time and rose from my seat. I stopped dead when I saw Yugi standing in the doorway. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to accuse you like that. I was upset. You had a dream last night about his past?"

"Maybe. Did you?"

"No. It appears that that light only affected you. At least only you at this moment."

"Any ideas on why."

Yugi sighed and moved around the bed and sat in the chair I rose from. "My guess is that either Jounouchi's magical abilities surfaced, or he wanted to show you something with his memories. My magical abilities also could have triggered from the anger I was feeling towards you. That won't explain why you dreamed about Jounouchi's past. So, my guess is that we both triggered the light. Jounouchi was probably trying to get us not to fight, and I was trying to get you to see what you didn't understand."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and glanced at him. "Let's just say for once I believe your fairytales about magic. I didn't think Jounouchi had magical abilities from the past and I don't think he would care if you were fighting with me."

Yugi smiled softly down at Jounouchi and squeezed his hand. "Jounouchi had something that triggered after Malik took control of his mind. I could sense it afterwards. He could have been part of Atemu's past and we just didn't see him. Even now, I barely sense the magic inside of him. It is like it weakened since yesterday. I'm surprised you didn't sense the difference, but I guess you don't pay attention to any of that. As for not fighting with you, Jounouchi never wanted me to make you pay for hurting him. He said that you must have had your reasons and nothing would make you get together with him. Don't think that just because of that light yesterday means I'll accept you. I'll let you have the power over his medical attention only because there wasn't much money left in order to keep him here. I appreciate your help, but know this, Kaiba, don't you think for a second I'm going to let you do something horrible to him. If I suspect that you aren't caring enough for him, I'll legally bring him back to me and you won't be allowed anywhere near him."

I rolled my eyes and shifted my weight to the other foot and switched my briefcase to the other hand. "Do you not think I have any sense of honor? I won't do anything harmful to him. In fact, you heard me. I didn't mean to hurt him to begin with. If you don't mind, I need to get to work. I trust that you'll watch him during the day. If he wakes, call me." I turned and left, not wanting to see the anger inside of his eyes anymore. I know I did wrong by Jounouchi, but I didn't want to hurt him anymore. I only wanted to assist in his waking and recovery. If only I could discover the reason to the coma and find the solution. Somewhere inside of me was craving to be the prince that wakes Sleeping Beauty. Metaphorically speaking of course. I don't think of him as a damsel in distress. I believe he is perfectly capable of defending himself. I moved swiftly through the hallways and outside to the awaiting limousine. After sitting down on the soft leather, I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed them with my free hand. Exhausted, I prepared my mind for another day.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I returned to the hospital later that night. I was half tempted to go straight home and sleep the rest of the night away; however, I did promise Jounouchi I would return that night. I didn't want to disappoint him. I stopped in my stroll towards his room. Why would I care if I disappointed Jounouchi? I sighed. Who am I kidding? At this moment I would do anything for the sleeping blond. I yawned and entered into his room surprised that Yugi wasn't there. I glanced at the clock, noting that it was two hours before visiting hours are over. He did know that I was returning this evening; perhaps he wanted to avoid me. I pulled the chair over to Jounouchi's bed and squeezed his hand. "I'm back. How long did Yugi stay with you?"

I yawned and slouch more in the chair, thinking about what the doctor said about talking to Jounouchi. He said that some coma patients do listen to people talking to them and it actually helps some of them return. "I'm designing a new game. This time it's going to be more of a RPG with lots of side quests that would determine not only what type of ending you get but what characters join your party. I just finished approving the character designs and I'm talking to the writers tomorrow." I rubbed my eyes and yawned again. Thinking about everything I still had to do in order to proceed with the game was making me exhausted. Before I knew it, my words stopped and I fell asleep in the chair. I remember telling myself that closing my eyes for five minutes will be enough to stay awake for the last couple hours of visiting time