Chapter 2: Call Me Crazy, Please

"Anya Eenise Crawford, twenty-five, major concussions to the head, retained unconsciousness for nearly twelve hours…"

Anya fought the grogginess that fogged her head and clouded her vision. She tried to blink, to moisten her eyes and see better, but it only served to switch her view from absolute dark to blinding light. The voice she did not recognize continued to talk.

"Minor fracture to the arm and wrist, probably where she was knocked around inside the car, should heal within four to six weeks. Other injuries are the minor scrapes and bruises, and patient will have a sense of soreness across the chest where the seatbelt was for several weeks."

'My arm is broken?' was all she could manage to think, and then she remembered the rather sudden and very fast-moving car accident. She opened her mouth to speak, disappointed that all she could hear herself say was an odd, disgusting-sounding groan.

"Ah, she's awake!" Same voice. Must be her doctor. "Anya? Are you all right? I'm Dr. Kato; you were rushed to the ER about ten hours ago. You're in observation."

Head reeling, Anya reached out with the hand she could feel and grasped the cold, metal railings of her bed. "Observation…?" She managed to say, though it was little more than a hoarse whisper.

"Uh, don't try o sit up quite yet, you've had quite the hit on the head…" The doctor gently pushed her back down into the soft pillows, which felt oddly comforting. "And yes, you're in observation. Meaning you're injuries are not lethal, at least, as far as we know. We will keep you here for just one or two days, and if all checks out, you can leave tomorrow afternoon."

She squinted her eyes, but was really thankful that nothing had messed her up too badly. "So what happened? And the driver?" Her voice sounded cracked and dry.

"The driver is okay, in worse condition than you are, but we do not fear for his life. As for what happened…there had already been a bit of a wreck right before you got there. An oil tankard had tipped and spilled. Your car lost its traction when it hit the oil puddle, and you went careening into a lamppost! What's amazing is that the lamppost hit the car in JUST the right spot, actually lessening the impact on both you and the driver. Quite amazing, really."

Anya breathed deeply, nodding her understanding. "Yeah. Thanks a lot."

"ANYAAA!" A screeching came from down the hall, outside of the room. Anya shrunk back into her pillows. "Oh, no…"

"Oh my dear Anya!" Casie came rushing into the room, practically throwing herself into the hospital bed with her client. "I was so worried! When I heard you were in an accident I feared the worse! So I called your father, and my contacts, and-"

"You called dad?" Anya shouted, effectively breaking through the drug's grogginess effect it had on her for about half a second.

"Well…yes?" Casie shrugged guiltily.

"Cass…I really don't want…if it was more serious than this, sure. But I'm fine. And I'm sure you were calling every five minutes and was completely informed the entire time I was out."

"Anya, you are in the hospital! I was completely in the right to call your father!"

"ENOUGH!" Dr. Kato shouted harshly. "My patient does not need this bickering, Ms. Casie. And I can assure you, Anya is in perfectly stable condition. Just a scratch or two."

Casie nodded. "Oh, did you find her deck?" She managed to add quickly, grabbing the doctor by the shoulder.

Anya froze. "Where is it?" She asked suddenly.

"It's right over here, with the rest of your belongings." Dr. Kota said calmly, indicating the small cupboard on the opposite side of my bed.

She stretched out her hand, and the doctor sighed. "You duelists. Some of you have lost lives over cards." He fished out the deckbox, and handed it to her.

Anya sighed, relieved and happy. She popped the box open and checked inside. All was in fine order.

"Although…" Dr. Kato began. "That is a very fancy box. Who got it for you?"

"My father." Anya replied, examining the polished redwood box. The inside was inlaid with royal purple velvet, and the wood marbled and laminated, her name engraved on the top. "It was my sixteenth birthday present, the first day I tried my hand at a national tournament." She smiled, then felt her face fall as a sudden dizziness sent her thoughts reeling.

"You got over-excited…try to take it easy. I'll have a nurse bring you some cool water. The call button is right by your good arm." He stated the facts in a professional manner, then promptly turned on his heel and left.

Casie was hysterical. "My God Anya, you could have died!"

"Yeah." She bit through the dizziness, forcing herself to maintain a proper conversation. "I noticed."

"Do you need anything? What can I do for you?"

"Get my father on the phone. I wanna talk to him."

Casie paused, hesitant. "Are you sure you don't want to just wait for him to arrive?"

"Now, dammit!" Anya growled, shoving her good hand across her chest. She held her hand open for nearly a full moment before Casie gently placed the cell phone in her palm. "Thank you." The injured duelist said bitterly, dialing out the number. The line only rang once.

"Casie, what's wrong?" The man's voice was thick with concern.

"Dad, it's me. "

"Anya! Anya, darling are you all right? Daddy's coming, I'll be there soon! "

"Dad, really-"

"Oh please Anya, you were in a serious accident! I can't just stay away while my poor little girl sits in a hospital bed, all scared and alone without her loving, doting, father!"

Anya rolled her eyes at the drama in his voice. He was so flamboyant she swore she could see the bright colors emanating from the phone. Of course that could have been the drugs. "Dad, I'm fine. Just a slight fracture in my arm. Maybe a concussion. I'm not even in intensive care, just observation. Doctor said I was really lucky."

"Oh how you torment me! Still, I must see you, even if to calm myself down some. I've been worried sick!"

"…You've already dropped your business plans in New York, haven't you?"

"Nothing is more important to me than you. And I did not 'drop' anything; I simply rescheduled to return next month."

Anya took a slow, steady breath, itching to rub her forehead, but finding her other arm was still rather immobile. "All right. All right, fine. But please, please try to be discreet. The last thing I want is you mobbed by a crowd."

"Whatever you say, darling. I'll be there in a few hours." His tone was happy. Too happy.

"Yeah. Thanks dad. Y-yeah…I love you too. All right. Bye." She closed the cell phone, passing it back to Casie with a sigh. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. I wish I could do more for you." Casie gave her an extremely apologetic look.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"I'm so sorry, Anya, but I've spent most of last night and this morning here, I've pushed back all the meetings I could, but now that I know you're all right I really have some serious catching up to do back at my office." Casie looked about heartbroken, having to leave her alone in the hospital like this.

Anya patted her friends' hand, which was lying next to her. "It's all right. I understand. I should be all right by myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Hey, I've always got my deck." She laughed lightly, and then furrowed her brow as a thought crossed her mind. "Uh…could you do me a favor before you leave?"

"Anything, dear." Casie replied, smiling.

"Could you bring my clothes over here? I'm sure there are a few things in my pockets to help keep me entertained."

"Oh, you want me to search for you?" She stood up, walking over to the little cupboard.

"No, that's all right, it'll give me more to do." Anya smiled, giving her friend assurance that she was fine.

Casie returned the gesture. "All right then." She took the small stack of neatly folded clothes from the cupboard and set them next to Anya, on her right. "I've gotta go now. Take care."

They waved goodbye until Casie turned the corner, and once Anya was sure she was gone, she snatched up her pants and dug her good hand into the pockets. She grinned happily as she grasped her own cell phone and the piece of paper that Jayden had left with her. She stared at the number, wondering if it was real. Taking a deep breath, she slowly dialed in the number.

The line rang once. If it really was real, what should she say to him? A second ring. Why even call him? Sure, there were very few people she would even care to call, but even then, so few may actually show up. It rang a third time. What made her think he would care to visit? They just met last night! Fourth ring. Maybe it was a big joke.

"Hello?" Oh my God. It certainly sounded like him. "Hello?" He repeated.

Anya swallowed hard. "H-hi. Is this Jayden?"

"Yeah, it is. As far as I can tell anyway! Haha! So, you couldn't even wait a day to call me? I'm kinda surprised."

She frowned as he laughed. Did he want her to call? "Yeah, well…I kinda don't have anything to do right now. So I figured to find out if what happened last night was a prank or not."

The happiness in his tone disappeared. "Hey, that's not cool! I meant everything I said."

"I know, and I believe you, it's just…a little odd. Y'know?"

"Yeah, all right. I hear ya. So what'd you want to talk about? You wanna duel?"

It was her turn to laugh. "Not yet, big shot. Like I said, I just wanted to check to see if I was set up for a chuckle. I'm kinda…" She sighed, deciding to against the metaphor hanging on her lips. "I'm sitting in a hospital bed with a broken arm and a headache the size of Mount Rushmore."

There was silence. A short, unbroken silence. "What hospital? I'll be right over."

Anya pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at it ludicrously. "Um." She brought the device back to her face. "Excuse me?"

"Oh come on. You called me first because you don't have many friends, right? Move around too much? Let me come visit you. Hospitals are no fun, especially alone."

Her head reeled from the very idea as she tried to absorb everything he had said. His voice was so genuine. "Are you completely serious?"

Laughter. She heard laughter on the other end. "Yes, I'm serious. Look, I understand. It's a little out of the blue and kinda weird. But I want to. I'll even bring a friend of mine. He's pretty cool."

She frowned. This situation was weird and awkward. It should have been so easy to turn down the offer, but something felt weird about it. She was okay with Jayden coming to visit her. By all means, it should have creeped her the crap out. But the more she thought about it, the more she was okay and found she actually wanted him to visit. Did she know him really? No, but that didn't mean he was a bad guy. In fact, Jayden is incredibly notorious for being an overly nice guy. "I-all right. I'm at…eh." She looked around. "Raiden Memorial."

"Great!" Jayden shouted on the other end. "I'll be there really soon." And the click of the phone ended the conversation.

Anya stared at the cellular device, stunned silent.

Jayden Yuki slipped the phone into his pocket, nodding in satisfaction. "C'mon, Jess, we're gonna go visit someone!"

Mint-haired Jesse Anderson was brushing his teeth as he rounded the corner from the bathroom, staring at his best friend with saucer-eyes. "Hoo?" He asked, his mouth full of foam.

"You remember Anya Crawford?" Jayden asked, grabbing his red leather jacket and securing his deck at his belt.

Jesse retreated to spit the foam from his mouth. "Yeah." He called from the restroom. "She's the one you wanted to try to talk to, right?"

"I talked to her last night." The other roommate confessed. Jesse peeked around the corner, glaring at his friend.

"Oh yeah? Without tellin' me?"

Jayden shrugged. "Sorry. I didn't know when else would be a good time. She definitely has a gift though…" A very fat cat purred at his legs. Jayden smiled fondly, reaching down to pet the creature. "Hey Pharaoh."

"What, you mean like us? Jay, how can you be sure?"

The brunette frowned, buried in deep thoughts. "I think I saw a partner with her. Though, I'm pretty sure she doesn't know it yet."

"Well that'd be a first. A partner and don't even know it. But you say you're not even sure?"

"Relax." Jayden responded, waving his hand lucidly. "She definitely has some kind of gift. Partner, talents…come on. She's got more than skills going for her, even that much you can tell."

Jesse sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I know you are. So we gonna go to her house or something? Just drop by and talk about all this stuff?"

"No, not today. She was in an accident yesterday; she's staying at Raiden Memorial. She's by herself."

Jesse's mouth fell open, and he quickly closed it. "Well, let's go cheer the poor girl up. She's gotta be just itchin to do somethin'. Anything."

Jayden smiled, and he waited patiently for Jesse to grab his deck and jacket before they strolled out the door.