Chapter Two:

Yugi whimpered as the nausea overwhelmed him again, turning to the toilet just in time. As the latest wave passed, he slumped back against the side of the tub, feeling miserable. His face felt flushed yet clammy, his stomach touch-and-go, and his throat burned. His mouth tasted awful and he raised the cup of water with a shaky hand, rinsing his mouth and flushing the toilet. He'd been in there all morning, since shortly after breakfast, at first just terribly nauseous and then finally vomiting. Whatever hadn't agreed with him was letting its dissent be known with a vengeance.

Yugi looked up as the bathroom door was opened. Seto frowned at him, setting his briefcase on the counter.

"Again?"

"Yeah."

"That's the third time this week already. Did you go to the doctor like I told you to?"

Yugi shook his head. "It's just a bug or something. It'll pass."

"It hasn't passed in over two weeks," Seto said tightly. "You've been puking your guts up almost every day. Go to the doctor!"

Yugi managed a smile. "Ok. I'll make an appointment--"

"See my doctor. No appointment, just see him."

"Ok."

Seto grabbed a washrag and ran it under the cold tap, then knelt and wiped Yugi's sweaty forehead gently.

"Thanks," Yugi said, closing his eyes. "I feel better right now. You know, except for throwing up. I've felt fine."

"Hm."

Yugi opened his eyes and reached up for the washrag. "I've got it. Why don't you go? You're not going to want to stick around if I get sick again."

Seto's eyes studied his face, then he got up and picked up his briefcase. "You should get in bed. I'll have someone bring up some chicken broth and crackers later."

Yugi winced at the thought of food, but he nodded. Seto left the bathroom and Yugi sighed, closing his eyes. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd been getting sick to his stomach often in the last few weeks, but he didn't actually feel sick. Tired and nauseous, but without the aches and fever typically associated with illness. And for all his throwing up, he'd actually put on a couple of pounds. He wouldn't have noticed except he hadn't had any weight changes at all since high school. And it was strange to put on weight during a bout of illness. He'd go to Seto's physician and see what the problem was. He was sure it was just something he'd never had before, like mono. Treatable and not serious.

A few minutes later, he felt somewhat better, so he got to his feet, put the washrag in the hamper, and washed his face and brushed his teeth twice. He left the bathroom and went into a guest room, where he kept some clothes and changed into a pair of pajamas, then crawled into the bed. Despite the continued nauseous feeling, he fell asleep, awakened by Seto coming into the room.

"There you are. Why are you in here?"

Yugi yawned, shifting a little. Now he felt more tired than anything, another common feature of whatever sickness he had. He'd been sleeping a lot more than normal, often even during the middle of the day.

"I don't want to get you sick by sharing your bed. I'll sleep in here and go home later."

"I already called Dr. Kuribayashi. He'll see you this afternoon at three."

Yugi glanced at the alarm clock. A quarter past one. Typical Seto to bully through and make sure what he wanted happened. However, Seto's doctor came to the mansion so he didn't have to get out of bed right away. There was an actual doctor's exam room downstairs in what would have been a basement in a normal house. The Kaiba family doctor had been on the payroll since before Seto had ever been born and Gozaburo had been extremely paranoid and pretentious, making the doctor come to the mansion that was outfitted to withstand a siege. When Seto had taken over, he hadn't stopped the convenient, if ridiculous, practice.

"Ok. Three. It'll be nothing, Seto."

Seto grunted, then picked up the alarm clock and set it for twenty til. "Get some more rest. I'll be heading back to Kaiba Corp in about fifteen minutes, but I'll be home by five, if you want to stay for dinner."

Yugi smiled. Like what had been occurring all week, he was now getting hungry again. He'd probably be wanting to eat by the time Seto got home and hopefully would keep it down.

"Ok. See you then."

Seto left and Yugi drifted back to sleep.

At three, he was sitting in the exam room, on one of the exam tables covered with paper, just like at a regular doctor's office. Thankfully without the backless paper dress. The doctor was a man in his mid-fifties, thin, and with a full head of salt-and-pepper hair. He was a very kind man, with a soft voice and clear gray eyes.

"Well, Yugi, what have you been experiencing lately?"

Yugi told him and the doctor agreed that it was strange he'd gained weight rather than losing it. He went through all of the usual check up procedures, from blood pressure and checking Yugi's eyes and ears, to feeling his throat and listening to his heart and lungs, to taking samples of Yugi's blood and urine. Once everything was finished, he was stymied, but optimistic.

"You seem to be in perfect health at first glance," he said. "So we'll get these samples analyzed and get back to you within a couple of days."

Yugi hesitated as he slid off the table. "Do you think it could be something serious?"

Dr. Kuribayashi smiled kindly. "We can't rule anything out, but no, I don't think so. You said despite your nausea that you've been eating a little more than usual. It's possible you have a thyroid problem. That would account for both the fatigue and the weight gain. You might have low iron, which would also explain the fatigue if not the weight gain. Neither would explain the nausea, but that's not alarming in of itself. This could be a combination of small things. Don't worry too much, Yugi, until we know more."

Yugi thanked him and saw him out. Itw as now almost four and Mokuba was home from school. Yugi to say hi and ended up spending an amusing hour playing a videogame with him. Yugi won, which sort of annoyed Mokuba, as he'd had the game for months and it was Yugi's first try. Then Seto got home and Yugi went to greet him, filling him in on what the doctor had had to say. He'd been feeling fine all afternoon, so he stayed for dinner and indeed found himself eating a bit more than usual, but without any adverse side effects.

After dinner, he went home. He'd spent the previous two nights at the mansion and decided it was time to go home and spend time with his family.

******

A few days later, Dr. Kuribayashi called him at home, as they'd arranged. He had both good and bad news for Yugi. There were no signs of thyroid or blood related problems, but he also didn't know what could be causing Yugi's nausea and fatigue. As there seemed to be no real pattern in the time of day or types of food Yugi was eating, it had to be something internal. But he remained optimistic that it was nothing serious.

"What do we do now?" Yugi asked.

"Well, the only real courses now are more invasive. We're still analyzing the samples for more uncommon viruses, but when those have been exhausted and nothing as turned up, assuming you're still experiencing the fatigue and nausea, what's left might involve X-rays, endoscope cameras, and explorative surgery."

"Surgery?"

"By far the last resort, and only if your symptoms become dangerous to your health. Which they aren't. Not fun, I'm sure, but not dangerous yet, so surgery isn't an option at this moment. Even for all of our medical advances, surgery of any kind of very dangerous and most doctors wouldn't even consider it unless it became necessary. I'm just telling you all options, should they come up. At the moment, I would suggest attempting to keep a detailed log of what you eat and when you're nauseous, any other symptoms you experience, and maybe we'll find out some sort of common denominator. Allergies can be developed, even after childhood. We'll run more tests on the samples you gave us, and go from there."

"What about…"

"Yes?"

"Something like…cancer."

"Yugi, I want to make it very clear that you shouldn't be worrying too much at this early stage. Let us continue the tests, get more information, and rule out the more simple things first."

Yugi swallowed and nodded into the phone. "Okay."

"Okay? Don't stress yourself about this."

Yugi hung up the phone. He'd told Dr. Kuribayashi that he wouldn't worry, but how could he not? Now that the idea of cancer was in his mind, it festered there, a malignancy on its own.

He suddenly needed to get out of the house. Seto would be working and Mokuba was at school, so the manor would be just as bad. Joey would be working too, but Yami might be home. Yugi grabbed his keys and wallet and went to his car. Yami's answered when he knocked on his soul room door and was happy to invite Yugi over.

Once Yugi got there, Yami had tea ready and they sat outside on the porch of the apartment, watching city traffic move below. After the customary catching up, Yugi brought up the reason for his visit.

"I didn't know you've been sick," Yami said with concern and a touch of guilt.

"I've been hiding it," Yugi admitted. "It never seemed like a big deal and I didn't' want to make you listen in every time I puked."

"It might still not be a big deal," Yami said.

"I know."

"When will you know more?"

"Dr. Kuribayashi didn't say. He just wanted to do more blood tests first. After that, I guess he'll take X-rays."

Yami patted Yugi's arm. They sat in silence for a bit until Joey got home from visiting his sister. He was happy to see Yugi until Yugi filled him in on what he'd told Yami. He joined them in the living room where they'd relocated and sat on the couch with Yami, looking uncomfortable.

"It's probably nothing," he said.

"I know."

"You just need to relax."

"I know."

"Wait on the doctor. It'll be fine."

"I know!" Yugi snapped. "I got it, Joey."

Yami frowned at him, but it was Joey's look of hurt that made Yugi's sudden irritation burn out. He didn't know why he'd snapped at Joey; he'd just suddenly felt very annoyed with his constant reassurances. But now that he saw that look on Joey's face, he instantly felt bad.

"I'm sorry, Joey."

"Nah, no big. It's ok, pal." Joey smiled.

Yugi sighed and rubbed his hand across his eyes. Stretching, he yawned.

"Tired?" Joey asked.

"Yeah. I've been sleeping a lot too."

Yami and Joey exchanged worried glances. Yugi pretended he didn't notice.

"Do you want to take a nap here, Yug'?" Joey asked.

Yugi flushed, but the truth was, he did want a nap. He'd taken one in the middle of the day yesterday, too, as well as the day of his appointment with Dr. Kuribayashi. But no matter how worried he was about what all this could mean, he couldn't deny how tired he was. There was no point in fighting it; he might only make himself worse.

Yami got him a pillow and a blanket from a closet and Yugi stretched out on the couch. Then he remembered that Joey and Yami were supposed to have gone out that night. They typically had a date night on Fridays, but when he mentioned this, they both shrugged it off.

"No big, Yug'," Joey said. "We'll just make something here. Maybe by the time we're done, you'll be awake and hungry."

"But sleep as long as you need to," Yami added.

"Yeah," Joey agreed.

Knowing that they wouldn't continue with their date even if he insisted on leaving, Yugi gave in and relaxed. Yami and Joey headed into the kitchen where Yugi could hear them rattling around, getting ready to make dinner. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't the noise, the unfamiliar couch, or even his worries. This time he just seemed to have insomnia.

After a bit, the noise in the kitchen had subsided and replaced with their voices talking softly. Yami's voice became upset and Joey's turned consoling. Yugi knew that they were talking about him and he slid off the couch and walked over to the kitchen doorway, peering inside. Yami was sitting at the table, his arms folded on the top and his face buried in them. Joey was leaning over him, hands on his shoulders, speaking in his ear. He was trying to offer the same reassurances he'd given Yugi.

Yugi slipped back and returned to the couch, laying down again. He still felt exhausted and he wondered how much he'd be able to over the new few days, until he heard more from the doctor. But despite his worries, he eventually did fall asleep.

When Yugi woke, the air was redolent with the delicious smells of hamburgers and fries. He suspected Yami and Joey had intentionally cooked his favorite food.

He got up and washed his face and hands in the bathroom before going to find them in the kitchen. His nap hadn't even last an hour, so he woke still feeling foggy and grainy-eyed, but the smell of frying meat was quickly revitalizing him. In the kitchen he found Joey sliding six thick burger patties out of a massive frying pan onto a plate while Yami chopped tomatoes, onions, and pickles on a cutting board. Slices of cheddar and swiss cheese and bottles of mustard and ketchup already stood waiting. A basket of French fries was draining on a paper towel and bacon was sizzling in a second, smaller skillet.

Yugi walked to a cabinet and began pulling out plates and glasses. Grabbing some flatware out of a drawer, he set the island counter which was lined with four stools, helped to transfer some of the plates of food, and grabbed the pitcher of fresh-made lemonade out of the refrigerator. He was a big fan of American junk-food and Joey and Yami had clearly went out of their way to make it.

They sat down to eat, and Yugi picked up his burger, taking a big bite. It was delicious, and the fries were crisp and greasy. He hadn't had a burger and fries in a long time.

They started talking about Joey's job as a radio host. The job had come out of nowhere a month ago when the owner of a local radio station had patronized the restaurant were Joey worked as a waiter. His primetime DJ had just quit to move to a bigger station in Tokyo and he remembered Joey from his publicized Duel Monsters tournaments. He'd told Joey that his energy and self-confidence was just what he needed, and offered Joey the job on the spot, which paid a bit more than his job as a waiter and was a lot more fun, so Joey had taken him up on it, and now DJ'd from eleven to six Mondays through Thursdays and from seven at night to one in the morning on Saturdays. He had a blast doing it.

It was halfway through his burger that Yugi's stomach suddenly rebelled. He set the burger down, stilling and tightening his throat, willing himself not to throw up. Yami and Joey both noticed his change in behavior and stopped talking, looking at him in concern.

"Aibou, are you okay?"

For a moment, Yugi didn't answer, concentrating hard on making his stomach obey. But suddenly the smells of grease and onion seemed overwhelming and his stomach heaved. He shook his head rapidly and jumped off the stool, running into the bathroom. What little of the burger and fries he'd eaten came back, leaving Yugi choking and coughing.

Joey and Yami came into the bathroom as Yugi's heaving ended when there was nothing left to bring up, standing awkwardly in the doorway. Yugi spat and flushed the toilet, settling back on his heels. Yami squatted beside him and put his hand on his shoulder. He was holding a glass of water in his other hand and Yugi gratefully accepted it, rinsing his mouth. He was so tired of throwing up.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Damn, Yug'."

Yugi glanced up. Joey was looking at him sympathetically.

"Sorry, pal. I didn't think my cooking was that bad."

Yugi gaped at him, then starting laughing. Though his stomach was still feeling queasy, he actually felt a bit better, and Joey's joke had helped release some of the tension. He rinsed his mouth thoroughly again, then climbed to his feet. He went with them out of the bathroom, returning the glass to the kitchen and putting it in the sink. He was dismayed to find that the smells in the kitchen still seemed over powerful and his stomach roiled. He told them this, and the three of them went outside so Yugi could get some fresh air.

"I'm sorry, guys."

"Don't apologize, Aibou."

"I think I'm going to go home."

"Do you need us to drive you?"

"No. I'm just nauseous, I can make it."

"The doc really has no idea yet?" Joey asked.

"No."

"Then maybe you can try to find out."

"What?"

"Well, you know, online. There's that website that supposed to tell you what you've got, right?"

"I think the doctor would know better than a website," Yami said.

"Yeah, I'm not saying use the website instead. I'm just saying, maybe it'll help Kuribayashi find out what's wrong with ya. You know, put in all your symptoms and see what it says, and then talk to him about it. Couldn't hurt, right?"

Yugi nodded thoughtfully. It might help to go to Dr. Kuribayashi with some ideas, if nothing else. Maybe the doctor could rule stuff out right away, knowing exactly what disease was what from the list, and narrow it down faster. At the least, Joey was right, it couldn't hurt.

"I'll do that. Seto's got a computer at the mansion."

Yugi had been with Seto so long that Joey didn't even make a face at the mention of his name. They said goodbye, their good time ruined though it was no one's fault, and Yugi got into his car, heading on to the mansion. Seto still wasn't home, and there was a note on the side table from Mokuba that he'd gone out. Yugi headed up to Seto's office, turning on his computer. Seto's private stuff was locked under his master account, but he'd set up a guest account for Yugi to use and Yugi logged in to that, calling up the medical diagnosing site that Joey had mentioned. He considered all of his symptoms and typed them in, then hit the diagnose button. This might be a waste of time, but it was something to do, and might give him at least an idea of what he might be facing.

The website finished analyzing his symptoms and displayed the most likely result. Yugi stared at it. More of tension and anger he'd felt over having his dinner with his friends ruined by his frail stomach evaporated and he started laughing.

The website had returned his most likely result, and told him he was pregnant