Author's Note: I'm feeling much better, thank you to all who sent well wishes! It made me feel much better :) I started working on this while cooped up seeing as both me and Crescent got sick at the same time, so we started bouncing ideas through the phone with our laptops. Anyways, I'm gonna quit babbling so you can get to the story. Hopefully I got this decent! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! DM/ GX/ or 5D's, though I wish I did!
Chapter Nine: Thorough Check-Ups and Repercussions
Still bouncing, and ignoring his mate, Yugi grinned, saying, "YAY! A new housemate! I can't wait to introduce you to the others!"
It wasn't long before Mai lost her control once more and grabbed the poor teen in another bone crushing hug. This time though, there was a difference. This time she noticed the wince that accompanied the hug, and let go quickly, memories of the earlier wince and the obvious bruises that sat prominently on his pale skin. Questions filled her mind once more as she gazed at the teen. A glance back observed the narrowed eyes of Kaiba and the worried gazes of Yugi and Ryou confirmed that they too had noticed.
Seto cleared his throat loudly, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. With a gentle, yet stern, look he began, "Yusei, we couldn't help but notice the winces. I think that it would be prudent for Ryou to give you a thorough check up, if you will consent to it."
Yusei's eyes widened in panic as the implications of what that would entail set in. He began trembling again as thoughts of what that might mean flashed through his mind. Once more it was Tanner and Boomer who helped him see reason. Kneeling down beside the chair Boomer lightly ran a hand down one of Yusei's soft wings, saying as he did so, "I think it's a good idea Yusei. These people won't judge anything, and they can sense if anything is infected or poses a threat to you or the baby." He made sure to add extra emphases on the baby part, knowing that it was the only thing keeping Yusei from doing something stupid. As much as he hated to admit it, even in the privacy of his own mind, Boomer knew that if something happened to the child then they would lose Yusei, and not by accident either. Even the strongest of people had their breaking point, and Yusei had long passed his.
Shifting his eyes between the two Yusei let out an exhausted sigh, knowing he was going to give in. That didn't mean he liked the idea though.
With an even deeper sigh he finally stated, "Alright."
Ryou pushed himself up from his leaning position on the desk and held a hand out to the younger and said in his soft voice, "If you want we can go either down the hall or to the room that attaches to this. Whatever would make you feel more comfortable."
Looking at his companions briefly Yusei asked softly, "Can we go to adjoining one?" Smiling gently Ryou help the other to his feet, careful of any visible bruises. Still holding Yusei's hand he lightly pulled the other to an almost invisible door and propelled him in. Right before Ryou entered he turned and shot a brief glare back, one that clearly read 'Behave or else!' With that he entered the room and closed the door behind him, neither group knowing what to expect.
~O~O~O~
Closing the door softly Ryou turned to the nervous teen and told him softly, "It's just us, Yusei. The room is soundproof, so if there's anything you want to tell me it will be strictly between the two of us."
The ravenette merely shook his head, too nervous to say anything. With a sigh Ryou led the other to a bed and, at the startled look, let out a soft laugh as he explained, "We don't do things like other places. I for one hated it when I had to go to the doctor and sit on those freezing metal tables. When I became a healer I swore to myself that there was no way I was going to put people through that!"
Yusei couldn't help but laugh softly at the way the other scrunched his nose up in disgust, clearly hating the very thought. That laughter faded quickly as he noticed Ryou grabbing a bunch of stuff from the cabinets before piling them all on the bedside table, which was more like a desk.
While Ryou was still turned around getting stuff he asked softly, "Can you shift back and disrobe please? You can leave on your under ware for now."
Gulping at the 'for now' part Yusei closed his eyes, letting his form dissolve and seep back into him, almost like water as if flowed away. Once he was back to normal he reached up and flicked the clasp of his choker, lightly pulling it off and resting it on another of the nearby tables before pulling of his gloves and jacket, setting them down beside his necklace. The rest of his clothes followed soon afterwards, leaving him in his crimson boxer shorts as he nervously shifted from foot to foot, mentally berating himself for being so weak.
"You can go ahead and sit on the bed, I just have one more thing to grab," Ryou told him, voice slightly muffled since he currently had his head stuck in a cupboard trying to see something. With a victorious cry he obviously found what he was looking for and reached in, pulling out pen before muttering, "It always ends up in the q-tips!"
As he turned around he caught his first glimpse of the sitting teen and couldn't help the sympathetic wince that escaped at the damage. The other looked down in embarrassment as Ryou approached, clipboard in hand as he stated, "They really did a number on you, didn't they?"
Looking up Yusei's eyes widened in shock as he stuttered, "H-how d-did you know? I haven't told anyone b-but B-Boomer and T-Tanner!"
Chuckling the white-haired make began to mark on his clipboard the various major bruises as he replied almost absently, "Because not but 7 months ago I was in the same situation." Gasping in shock Yusei couldn't help but exclaim, "What! But Mai said…"
Interrupting Yusei Ryou explained as he lightly poked on the bruises taking note a the wince and scribbling something down he stated, "Yes, I am now together with the love of my eternity, but beforehand I was an idiot and went walking through the city at night when I was ganged up on and raped. From the way the bruises are located and spread out I's sat something similar happened, correct?"
Nodding his head Yusei asked softly, "How have you not, well, you know?"
"How have I not killed myself?" Ryou finished for the other, eyes going soft as he sat down beside the younger. "Two reasons, actually. The first one is probably the same reason as yours, though I didn't know as soon as you. I refused to take the life of my baby."
Yusei nodded his head in understanding. His baby was the only thing that kept him going in all honesty. With a fond smile the British male blushed as he admitted, "In all truth I didn't know what happened until another male came to me, complaining about the same symptoms I'd been feeling. When I realized that I was pregnant I was already several months along."
"But then how…" Yusei questioned, confused. He knew that if Misty hadn't told him he was pregnant then he probably would have killed himself after only a few weeks, but the other was claiming that he hadn't known for months. What kept him going?
At the confused and slightly lost question Ryou took hold of one of Yusei's small hands and began tracing his bones, making sure none of them were cracked as he explained, "As Mai said, I'm now with the 'nut case' as she calls him. After what happened I was lost, more like a ghost then a human. It was only my friends that kept me going, one in particular though. I guess first you need a little history lesson. Tell me, do you know the top four contestants of the Battle City competition?" While Yusei thought about it Ryou reached out mentally to Yugi and asked, "May I tell Yusei the truth about the Pharaoh? I think he needs to understand how we know what it's like to fight a losing battle against the dark. That and I need to explain my relationship to ease some of his burden."
A moment passed before Yugi's mind lightly brushed against him, sending the message, "Go ahead and tell him whatever you need to. It saves us the worry of trying to not slip up in a conversation later and if this will help that I'm all for it!"
Smiling Ryou turned his attention back to his patient, happy that his long-time friend understood his reasoning, even if the message had ended up a bit garbled. That's what trying to hold mental conversations were like though, not exactly the clearest of things.
Thoughtfully Yusei looked through his memories, trying to recall if Martha or the Twins had told him. Suddenly he remembered, eyes flashing in remembrance as he stated, "The top four were Katsua Jonouchi, Seto Kaiba, Malik Ishtar, and Yugi Mutou."
Smiling happily Ryou switched hands as he stated, "Vey good! You already know that Seto and Yugi are together, which leaves only Jou and Malik. A lot of people don't know that I fought in Battle City as well, though I got knocked out in the prelims. Had to go against Yugi first off, so that helps ease the sting a bit." Together they shared quite laughter at the thought of having to go against the Duel King.
Calming down Ryou explained, "That time was a very dark time for me. I was literally under the control of a very powerful and ancient dark entity that wanted revenge against the Pharaoh who was actually Yugi's other personality. Both of us possessed two items of ancient magic that contained a 3000 year old ancient Egyptian spirit. Yugi's item held the spirit of the noble Nameless Pharaoh, while mine held the spirit of his ancient enemy, the Thief King."
Ryou's voice faded some as he spoke, eyes growing vacant as he lost himself in his memories, only slightly aware of the rapt attention the younger was giving him.
"I was ten years old when my father, an Egyptian archeologist, gave me the Millennium Ring, one of the seven Millennium Items. He didn't really know what the ring was, so he never understood what happened in the years to come. I lived in England while he was at work so he only received letters telling what was going on. Every time I played a game with my friend they would end up in commas and I had no clue why. I later found out the truth. It was the spirit of the Ring, answering my loneliness in his own manner by stealing their souls and trapping them in the figuring of my favorite game by use of a Shadow Game as it was called. Anyways, every time father heard he sent me away to another school, until finally I ended up in Domino city, going to the local high school. There I met Yugi and the gang. Yugi had been working on the Millennium Puzzle for seven years before finally solving it, releasing the Pharaoh. Unfortunately the Pharaoh didn't have his memories. I don't know much, since during most of those years I was locked in my Soul Room while the Spirit controlled my body."
Taking a breath he looked over at the teen and asked softly, "Are you following me so far?"
Nodding Yusei replied, trying to reassure the other, "Yes, quite clearly. And yes, I do believe you. You've dealt with ancient beings, while I've dealt with ones from the future."
Eyes widening slightly Ryou couldn't help the giggle that escaped as he declared, "That's a story you gotta tell me some time!"
Chuckling Yusei nodded, wincing slightly as the Healer lightly pressed on his rather bruised writs, trying to check if there was any obvious damage to the bones there before moving up his arms, checking those bones as well.
Marking a few things down Ryou continued, "Well, the Spirit was very set in acquiring all seven of the items and went to any lengths to do so, even stealing Pegasus's Millennium Eye from his head! Anyways, the others tried to get rid of Spirit but failed rather spectacularly. The Ring always returns to its owner. The more noticeable time was during Battle City, where the Spirit met up with the owner of the Millennium Rod, Malik Ishtar, someone who was angry at the Pharaoh and wanted to rule the world by harnessing his power. Needless to say Spirit and Malik teamed up, but what Spirit didn't know was that a dark spirit of sorts resided in Malik as well. Said dark spirit, called Mariku or Marik for short, ended up released and the good Malik was pretty much banished. I ended up blasted by first off the power of the Pharaoh as well as his god card, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and then Spirit went and had a Shadow Game with Marik and we got banished to the Shadow Realm which was the supplier for the Shadow Magic, along with Malik for a little while. Well, to skip to the end Yugi defeated Marik, Malik returned, and I eventually was freed from the Shadows. Yet one day Malik approached and apologized about everything that happened and we got to talking."
A small smile slipped on Yusei face as he interjected, "So let me guess, you fell head over heels in love, didn't you?"
Blushing the elder nodded before continuing, lifting Yusei's arms and taking notes on the bruises along his sides, "You got that right, but I was so shy I couldn't ever admit to him. After the accident I was sure that he would never accept me, yet he was the one always by my side, taking care of me. He was so protective in fact that the moment I stepped out of my room he was there. He barely let me out of his sight! After I found out I was pregnant I was terrified though. I'd grown comfortable with having Malik there and I thought that if he found out then he'd want nothing to do with me, so I kept quiet. Unfortunately you can only do that for so long, 'cause once you start showing, you really start showing. When he guessed what had happened he ran out of the room and I thought that what I'd feared had happened. The next day though he opened my door, stalked in, and kissed me senseless, admitting that he'd been in love with me since we'd got reacquainted after we sent the spirits on to the afterlife and that hearing that I was pregnant made him very possessive. So now we're together, and I couldn't be happier. I've got my soul mate and a little girl on the way!"
Yusei was happy for the other, though he felt his gut sink. The ones he loved would never care for him in the same way. Trying to ignore the way tears threatened to overflow once more he asked, "A girl huh?"
Smiling brilliantly Ryou affirmed, "Yep, a baby girl! I love magic, it makes finding such things out so much easier. Me and Malik already have her a name and everything!"
"So what's her name going to be?" Yusei questioned, unknowingly leaning forward in his eagerness to hear about it. Giggling Ryou replied, "Her name is going to be Aurora Mana Ishtar."
Yusei couldn't help the slight coo that escaped him at that as he watched the proud soon-to-be mama talk about how they were refurbishing the nursery to hold several babies since the male that had been with him when he found out was expecting twins so they were planning on expanding it so the nursery could hold several at once. It was nice, Yusei thought, to talk about something so common and not worry about trying to get through the conversation and get back to work.
At this point Ryou was done with his front and motioned for Yusei to spin around on the bed do he could start on his back. The moment he did so though something Ryou noticed made the normally calm medic to cuss a blue streak. Yusei didn't what it was he'd seen, but whatever it was he knew it certainly wasn't good.
~O~O~O~
What Ryou didn't know was that his cussing was so powerful that as he thought it they were being broadcasted into the other room as well, shocking Mai so much she almost slid off the desk in shock while Seto automatically tightened his grip around Yugi's waist, all three of them breaking away from their conversations and focusing on trying to calm the medic down.
"Ryou, what's wrong?" Asked Seto, the first to get his wits together enough to block the cussing and send a message out.
The cussing seemed to suddenly cease as a sense of shock reverberated down the link as Ryou replied sheepishly, "Sorry about that, I didn't realize I was broadcasting."
Mai merely shook her head as she added her thoughts to the matter, worried about Yusei, "Ryou, is Yusei alright?"
There was a dead, unnerving silence on the other end before a sudden click was head, but not in their minds. As one all the occupants of the room, even those not privy to the mental conversation, turned to the door that had been opened just as they heard Ryou reassure the teen inside, "I'll explain everything in a moment, just let me calm down a second alright?" A muffled affirmation was heard before Ryou slipped out of the room and gently closed the door behind him. None of them expected the gentle whitette to suddenly go fierce as he growled out, stalking to Yusei's companions, "Who the hell hurt him?"
Taken aback Tanner replied, "Some gang, why?"
Growling again Ryou yelled, "Not weeks ago, today! Who hit him today?" The room was suddenly silent right until loud, fierce growls were heard from the other side of the room. Turning Ryou noticed that Seto was once more in dragon mode while Yugi was completely surrounded by an amethyst glow. Mai was the only one who could say anything as she bit out, "What do you mean Ry?"
Shaking in anger Ryou replied, his own eyes glowing softly as he stated, "On Yusei's back is a large, deep bruise that looks as if someone took purple ink and poured in on him. It's still forming, signifying that it happened today. Here's the thing, if the person who'd hit him had been even a centimeter to the left they would have hit the spinal cord and from the looks of things there was enough force behind it that it would have paralyzed him!"
All was silent before a deep bellow almost shook the room. "WHAT!" Roared Boomer, his temper unleashed as thoughts on such a thing happening to Yusei filled his mind. Tanner had leapt up from his seat and was now pacing, large fists clenched, neck muscles tense and biceps spasaming as he tried to control his rage.
"Who could so such a thing to the little one?" Hissed Mai, her anger clear as she raised a hand, a strange sword materializing in it as if she was ready to go out and kill the one who dared to harm the one who had snuck his way into her heart after just that short amount of time.
"You know, you could have just asked me Ryou instead of trying them. I don't exactly live with them you know," A suspiciously calm voice stated from the now open door. As everyone turned to the door Ryou couldn't help the faint blush that tinted his cheeks, though he had to facepalm at the sight of Mai's jaw hanging somewhere around her ankles at the sight. Obviously having gotten irritated at the silence Yusei had come to see what was going on, but had neglected to put his clothes back on, leaving his well-toned, yet still heavily bruised, body in full view. Ryou couldn't help but hope in the back of his mind that Mai was gapping at the bruises, not the body. He didn't even want to think about what would happen to her if it was found out by her lovers…
Suddenly a he felt a gust blow right by him, alerting him just in time to see Yusei's slender form be pulled into the embrace of Boomer, his large form practically dwarfing the other. Tanner was by their side in an instant, running a hand gently through the spikey raven locks as he asked softly, "Why didn't you tell us how bad it was?"
Ryou could clearly see the blush from his place on the other side of the room as the other shrugged (or attempted to) and stated in an even softer voice, "I didn't see the relevance. Besides, they've faded mostly, so there's no need to worry yourselves."
Growls were heard from all the occupants in the room as they heard Yusei's blatant disregard to his own health. Unfortunately for Ryou he knew that this approach would do very little good so he shoved his anger to the back of his mind and focused at the question at hand, knowing that this was probably going to go over even worse.
"Little Star, who hit you? I know you know what I mean, a hit that hard can't be ignored."
The silence in the room was deafening as everyone turned their gazes to the small teen currently trying to hide in Boomer's vest. It might have helped his case if Boomer wasn't just as curious and pushed him away lightly, preventing the young king from hiding. Boomer even went so far as to physically turn the younger around so his back faced the entire room, his great physical strength far overpowering Yusei's struggles. Angered hisses filled the room as they caught sight of the really, really large bruise on Yusei's back.
"Yusei, explanations are in order," Seto demanded, tone icy cold in his rage at the sight. Unwittingly his arms tightened, pulling his small mate closer to his body as if needing to reassure himself that his own little one was safe. Yugi too was apparently feeling something similar as he snuggled closer still, needing his mate's warmth, if you could say he had any considering the fear inducing, bone chilling aura around him.
~~~O~~~
Yusei couldn't help the shiver that slid down his back at the dark tone in the others voice. Yet, there was something there, something that told him to trust the other, something that made that little voice in the back of his mind say to him Trust them, they will understand. They won't harm us, Jack on the other hand…
He couldn't help but agree with that little voice as he slumped into the arms wrapped around him, curling into the warm embrace as he admitted in a small voice, "It was Jack."
The response was instantaneous; at least it was from Boomer and Tanner. The two let out such loud roars of rage that Yusei couldn't help but to attempt to shrink away, all the while thinking that even a dragon couldn't sound that loud. Then again, the dragon-human currently sitting in the room looking confused just might.
Boomer seemed to notice how he'd shrunk away before he calmed down and pulled Yusei's small frame against him, rocking him gently as Tanner walked over to the nearest wall and began punching it, clearly imagining it was Jack.
"Would someone please tell me who this Jack is that it warner's such treatment of my wall?" The icy CEO growled out, dragon wings stretched out menacingly to either side.
Boomer, who was calmer than his blue-haired companion, but only because of Yusei in his arms, explained, "His full name is Jack Atlas, man with the world's largest ego. He and Yusei grew up together in the Satellite before he betrayed Yusei and abandoned him to come over here to become famous. He's also a member of the Signer's, along with being one of Yusei's teammates of their duel team known as Team 5D's, as well as one of Yusei's roommates."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"WHAT! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM I'M GONNA….." Mai trailed off, stomping out of the room momentarily to calm her raging temper before she did something rash.
As Yusei looked around the room he only just barely managed to hold onto his mask as he noticed just how bad this was affecting the others even though they'd just met. Shaking his head lightly he could only watch in wide-eyed surprise, the only thing he allowed to show his shock, as random glowing amethyst symbols, looking rather like the strange symbol that had begun glowing on Yugi's forehead, suddenly started spinning all around the room.
The symbols did have some uses other than to release Yugi's anger, as was soon proven as Kaiba burst to his feet. Yugi, knowing his mate and his temper, had already moved to sit on the desk and only watched, eyes glowing, as Kaiba let loose an ear-splitting roar of fury. Lightning seemed to crackle in the very air as jolts burst out from around Kaiba's anger filled form, only for the bolts to be intercepted by a seal, halting and negating the approaching lightning. Yusei could only watch as he noticed why so many people claimed that they never wanted to go against either Yugi or Kaiba, and that it was sheer suicide to go against both of them if they actually worked together. Watching the way they worked, both challenging the other even in their anger, Yusei felt a shiver of fear slide down his back. Facing against those two in a tag team duel really would be suicide that was for sure.
Deciding that he was safe from both the strange symbols as well as the enraged CEO Yusei turned his attention to the surprisingly quiet healer, only to be met with a great shock. In his anger the normally timid male had lost slight control over his abilities, releasing two large wings into view. One wing was a pure, blinding white angel's wing while the other was that one's exact opposite. It was a large black bat's wing, tipped in a rather sharp looking claw. These large appendages were flexing and furling, looking like they wanted nothing more than to carry their owner into the air and go on a murdering rampage.
Just as Mai returned Yusei cleared his throat lightly, drawing everyone's attention immediately to the teen.
Shifting nervously Yusei decided that bluntness was best and stated calmly, "No, you cannot go and kill Jack."
The response was instantaneous. Immediately everyone in the room began to object in their own manner, ranging from growl and glows, to Ryou's statement of, "But the possible damage he could of caused is enough to warrant his demise!" and Tanner's, "That bastard deserves everything we give 'em and more!"
Rolling his eyes Yusei decided that it was time to end this nonsense. A smirk crossed his face as he moved out of Boomer's arms, right before silver and blue ribbons flashed into existence and created mini tornadoes around the room's occupants, leaving large gaps so they could all see.
"Now that I've got your attention, let me continue please," he stated as he watched with a slightly amused smile in place. When everyone had shown some form of agreement he continued, "Please don't kill him because I don't want his death on my conscious. We've been friends for a long while, but even I can admit that this went too far," Yusei was unable to withhold his flinch as he remembered the attack, or to hold back the fear that permeated his mind as he asked softly, "Just please don't do anything. I know that I can never be close to him again, not after this. Please?" At this he looked around the room, meeting everyone's gazes and allowing them to see the tears pooling in his eyes as he begged.
The room exchanged glances before Seto let out a deep sigh and, speaking for the entire room, stated through gritted teeth, "We will not kill the idiot human."
With a small, grateful smile Yusei raised one arm and with a flick of his wrist dispelled the ribbons. Slowly the room calmed down as people returned to normal, making Yusei let out a relieved breath before shivering violently. At this action it seemed to snap everyone back to reality as Ryou hurriedly approached and started berating him.
"Silly Star, get back in there! I don't want to deal with you having hypothermia from running around in nothing but your underwear! Now move it mister!"
Chuckling Yusei turned and reentered the room, content in the knowledge that at least the odd, rag-tag group of individuals wouldn't go on a killing spree. What Yusei didn't see was the narrowed look the King of Games shot his longtime rival as they began planning ways to get revenge without breaking their promise. After all, revenge is one of the oldest games known to man, and as the King, Yugi would make sure it was played to its fullest, even if it took years to come to action.
~O~~O~~O~
Author's Note: *collapses in exhaustion* That was seriously more than I've ever typed for a fanfic before! Heck, that's more then what I really type for school!
Yusei: *pats Magician on head* But you explained a lot of stuff that will be needed for later!
Magician: *groans* Thanks, but I had wanted to get the entire check-up done in this chapter so we could have some action next, but now I need to hold off till the one after that!
Yusei: *starts running fingers though Magician's hair* Calm, deep breaths.
Magician: You've been around Ryou a lot, haven't you?
Yusei: *blushes* Maybe….
Magician: Well, I guess it could be worse, you could be with Alex and his buddies!
Yusei: *nods exuberantly*
Magician: Well, that's all for this chapter folks! Please review while I go pass out from sheer exhaustion!
Yusei: Yes, PLEASE REVIEW! It really guilt's Magician into writing even if she doesn't really feel up to it! That and I want to be able to put my clothes back on…
