Chapter 2
Three months. Three months and no change. She just continued to lay there in a sleep like state completely unable to wake. She was like Sleeping Beauty, except it wasn't some witches curse which had put her in this state, it had been him. Yugi gave a heavy and weary sigh as he massaged the back of his neck. He was here every day, sitting on the same chair in near enough the same position for hours. It was his life now. His whole reason for being. The burden he had to shoulder for what he'd done to her. If the hospital staff didn't kick him out every night he would never leave her side; not until she woke up and he could beg for her forgiveness.
The others had forbidden him from telling anyone what had really happened. He understood their reasons for this, but it made things between Yugi, the hospital staff and Téa's parents really, really awkward. To begin with they'd just thought it was sweet and endearing. Then her parents started getting funny about him being there every time they came to visit their daughter and the hospital staff began to ask probing questions as if to suss out the state of his mental health. He didn't blame them; he could feel something inside his head starting to lose all direction, but he didn't care.
'You're making yourself ill,' the ghostly image of the Pharaoh appeared next to him. 'Between the emotional bombardment you get being in here and the lack of food and rest you've been getting... I'm really worried about you.'
'Don't be, I'm not worth it.'
'Yugi…'
'Did you know it's her birthday next month?' Yugi's voice was as dull as he felt. 'She's going to be eighteen and instead of being at home with her family celebrating, she's going to be in here asleep and missing it.'
'You don't know that.'
'Yes I do,' he blinked the tears back from his eyes. 'She's going to miss it and it's all my fault.'
'I wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourself all the time.'
'Why not? It's what I deserve. I practically tried to kill her.'
'But you were being controlled by evil at the time.'
'And that's an excuse?'
'Yugi, it wasn't you.'
'Then why can I remember doing it? Why can I remember how it felt?' Yugi shook his head miserably. 'I wanted to hurt her. Not because she was there. Not because she was convenient, but because she was my friend. I wanted to hurt her because she was my friend. I'm a terrible person.'
'No you're not.'
'Yes I am.'
'Yugi, I'm not having this argument with you again. Don't you see you're being way too hard on yourself?'
Taking a deep jagged breath in, Yugi returned his gaze to Téa. It didn't matter what anyone said, he knew in his heart what a terrible person he was. He deserved their scorn and hatred, not their forgiveness. Sighing again, he continued to watch Téa sleep. He would give anything for her to wake up right now, but her slumbering form remained unchanged. Inside he could feel his heart compressing inside the pain which filled his chest; if she never woke up it would be all his fault and he would never, never forgive himself for it.
Mai took a deep calming breath in and closed her eyes. Since her pregnancy had hit the sixth month mark she'd found herself suffering from frequent panic attacks. But it wasn't until she reached the seven month mark and her dreams became filled with the memories of Crovell's enforced birth that she realised the reason for them. She was terrified someone was going to try and take her child from her.
Maybe she was just being silly. But after everything she'd been through in the last year or so, she knew nothing was impossible; especially considering what her future daughter's elder brother was capable of and the chaos his birth had caused. In fact the more she thought about it, the more she came to believe someone was watching and waiting in the shadows for their chance to harm her beautiful unborn child.
'Are you okay Mai?'
Opening her eyes again, she saw Joey watching her. His face was filled with a deep look of concern and her own anxieties shifted into guilt. Between being the First, helping rule the Silkoneon civilisation and being a good father to Crovell, Joey had more than enough stress on his plate as it was. And here Mai was just piling more onto him.
'I'm fine,' she slowly exhaled the breath she was holding, 'I'm getting better at anticipating them now.'
'So you're using those techniques the doctor's suggested then? To calm yourself down I mean.'
'Yeah.'
'They helping?'
'I'm not panicking am I?' Mai forced a smile onto her face, but it felt as weak as she did.
'Well I know something that will make you feel better,' Joey wrapped his arms around her waist and lovingly kissed her.
'I'm not agreeing to marry you' she playfully narrowed her gaze. 'You promised me you wouldn't ask again until Jo was born.'
'Hey, who's proposing here?' Joey's face filled with a sly grin. 'I'm insulted you'd think I'd go back on my word.'
'Then…'
'You'll see,' he chuckled mysteriously, 'you'll see.'
Leaning over the counter, Catilin pulled him into a long and deep kiss. She loved visiting him at work, but as the owner of the Black Clown Game Shop, Duke was rarely to be found on the shop floor. On those rare occasions she knew he would be, she always made a special effort to come and see him, just because.
'Hey Cat,' he grinned, as the kiss ended, 'you're early.'
'I know,' she giggled, before letting her eyes drift around the store. 'Piper not in this morning?'
'I haven't seen her.'
'Oh, but I was hoping she'd be here,' she couldn't help but pout.
'And here I thought you'd come to see me,' Duke fained insult.
'I had, but...'
'You know I'm not going to let you kidnap her, right?' Duke cut her off. 'I know we were joking about it before, but it's a serious offence you know.'
'I know,' Catilin grinned at him, 'but it's not kidnapping if they come with you willingly, I asked Ahna.'
'Cat, I know you mean well, but...'
'I just wanna talk with her. The way the air buzzes when she's around, the way she acts, the way she looks, there's something about her and you know it too.'
'I have to admit there is something familiar about her,' Duke pressed his lips together.
'The air is trying to tell me something, I know it is. But with all these people around I can't tell what it is. That's why I have to get her alone and find out.'
'Do you still think she might be...?'
'Uh-huh. It makes sense, doesn't it? I mean she just appeared out of nowhere almost three months ago, right? Isn't that what you told me?'
'Yeah, she did, but...'
'She makes the air buzz; that means she's more than she says she is. I just need to find out what it is.'
'And if you're wrong about who you think she is you might frighten her off permanently. She's a good duellist, who is currently bringing in a lot of customers in for me whether she means to or not. I'm not going to have you ruin that.'
'But I won't; the air doesn't lie to me Duke. Maybe she isn't who I think she is, but she's still somebody and wouldn't it be better if we know who that somebody is? Please Duke, I promise not to be scary.'
'You're not going to let this drop, are you?'
'I can't,' she shook her head.
'Then what choice do I have,' Duke gave a heavy sigh, 'just please be careful Cat; I worry about you.'
'You shouldn't worry about me Duke,' she grinned at him before playfully kissing his noise, 'my Calicaccu senses never let me down. They protect me always, just like you.'
