Set post-GX.
Ryo shifted and turned in the hospital bed. By all accounts, he should have been comfortable. The sheets were cool and freshly washed, the pillows were soft, and the room, despite the fact that it only had four white walls and a dresser, was clean and smelled good. The nurses had tucked him in and been kind to him since he'd arrived and had even removed his IV, which he was extremely grateful for. He wasn't hot or cold and his stomach was full. But he was miserable.
"It'll be okay, Brother," Shou had assured him. "I'll come visit you every day." He'd been smiling, but it didn't match his eyes.
"Shou," Ryo whispered, his stomach sick with humiliation. He reached for his little brother's hand and squeezed it. Then he looked up at his little brother's pitying eyes and did something he never thought he would do: beg.
"Please, Shou," he said. "Don't do this. I'll find a way to take care of myself. I promise."
Shou's breath hitched and for a minute it looked like he might cave, but he closed his eyes and squeezed back. "I'm sorry, Brother. But this is for your own good. You need more care than I can give you. You'll have nurses around twenty-four hours a day to do things for you."
What Shou could not possibly understand was that that was exactly the problem. Ryo could take chest pains and lightheadedness and dizziness and fainting spells and heart attacks too. He could even take being confined to a wheelchair. But he could not take the overwhelming helplessness that this place gave him every time a nurse helped him bathe or changed his bedpan. The look of pity in their eyes every time they saw this patient who was around sixty or seventy years younger than most inhabitants, this he could not handle.
Ryo sighed into his pillow and closed his eyes, swallowing hard. Some of his friends had come to visit him at first to try and cheer him up (or "ease the transition," as they called it, as though him being put in this hell were as simple as a schedule change), but they'd left quickly because he didn't want to see any of them. They only reminded him of what he could no longer do.
Ryo knew he deserved his condition; he'd done it to himself. But if he had been given the choice as to whether he would prefer endless physical pain in a normal life or being comfortable in a nursing home, he would have immediately chosen pain without a moment's hesitation. Unfortunately his body, his brother, and society in general had not allowed him to have that choice.
Even death seemed like a better option. Ryo's room was on the ground floor, which he suspected Shou had arranged on purpose to keep him from getting any bright ideas about jumping out the window. And of course, he had no access to anything even remotely dangerous in a nursing home, so it didn't look like he'd be dying anytime soon. He had tried to sneak out on his first day, but after losing a few seniors who'd fallen from their beds and couldn't get up, the staff had seen fit to install alarms and security cameras in every room.
I don't understand why everyone is trying so hard to keep me alive. Ryo had lived a decent life and was proud of it, but if all he was going to do was lie in bed alone every day for the rest of his life, what was the point? He didn't want to die per se, but he would prefer that to being unable to do anything more with his life.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Ryo?" One of the newer nurses. He didn't bother to answer. They always came in anyway.
"I brought you a snack," she offered upon entering, her voice showing her youth. "I think your brother told me you like rice cakes." She set the treat on his bedside table and stood there, hands clasped in front of her, waiting for him to respond. Ryo didn't even look up.
"Ryo? Are you okay?" She leaned in a little and he turned his head. He wasn't in the mood to talk and figured it was better to stay silent than say something he'd regret. In all fairness, it wasn't her fault he was here.
"I…also brought some other things," her voice faltered, sounding much less hopeful now. He heard what sounded like her rummaging through a bag. He still kept his eyes on the wall.
"I brought you some books. I figured you must get bored just sitting here everyday. It'll get better though. We'll be having activities in the next couple of weeks that you can participate in, and then it won't be so bad. We have bingo and movie nights and..." He still hadn't moved a muscle. She sighed. "Ryo, I know it's hard now, but it'll get better. I promise." She was quiet for a minute. "Do you want to talk about it? It might help."
Oh I'd love to, can't you tell? There's nothing more enticing right now than telling a complete stranger my life story. Ryo closed his eyes, hoping she'd get the message. This nurse was making it harder and harder to be nice.
"There's just one more thing I have for you," she said a little fearfully, like she was afraid he might bite her. "I brought you a new pack of Duel Monster Cards." Ryo opened his eyes but he still didn't look at her. His own deck had been confiscated long ago; apparently people thought the game had made him crazy and feared him having a relapse if he was left alone with his cards. Some days he almost missed his monsters more than his friends.
She continued, "I saw a bunch of booster packs on sale and I thought of you, because I know you love to duel. I recently learned how…I thought maybe you and I could play together. I know it wouldn't be anything like what you're used to, but still it would give you something to do. Does that sound okay to you?" After a few seconds, she assumed there wouldn't be an answer and turned to go.
"Thank you," he whispered, his voice barely audible. She stopped and smiled. "You're welcome." Her soft footsteps echoed down the hallway as he closed the door behind her.
For the first time in several hours, Ryo sat up. He reached for the booster packs and tore them open, the faintest bits of excitement stirring inside him as the cards, brand new and without wrinkles or fingerprints, spilled onto the bed. He held them up, inhaled the new-card smell, and looked them over. Obviously they weren't the strong and powerful type of cards he'd always used, but they weren't bad. Some of the monster effects were actually good.
After he'd looked at them all, he set them on the bedside table and, after much debate, ate the rice cake. The intercom buzzed that lights-out was in thirty minutes and he reached for a book to help him go to sleep. He'd assumed the nurse, having no idea of his reading preferences, would have brought him a cheap paperback, but he was wrong. It was a biography of Kaiba Seto, one of his favorites. For the first time in days, Ryo thought he could feel a smile creeping onto his face.
A rice cake, some books, new cards and a potential dueling partner. Quality room service, as Fubuki would say. Deciding to keep the smile for now, he set the book aside and settled in for the night. He felt his eyes begin to close and thought maybe he could tolerate his new living situation a little bit longer.