Okay...first off, about the last chapter, I think I may have gotten a bit carried away...(awkward silence) But, I regret nothing! (more awkward silence) Anyway, second on the list, is that this chappie is 1 week and 2 days late. I'm so sorry! (begs for forgiveness) My stupid dad grounded me all of September, and then decided to go an extra week to...teach me a lesson...? I guess... Anyway, I wanted to post it Friday and yesterday, but Friday I had to go to my schools football game with the band, and yesterday we had a band competition that lasted all day. But,next chappie's finally here! This is where things begin to pick up, and it's going to be getting a lot more interesting... Keep your eyes open--you don't want to miss a single thing.
Disclaimer:(lawyer) Yugioh is the sole property of creator Kazuki Takahashi. This fan-fic was not done for profit, rather the imagination and boredness of a teenage girl. (me) Liar! It's mine, all mine! (randomly glomps lawyer) Ha! (runs away)
Chapter 11: Emotions Only Get in the Way
----Back with Bakura and Jounouchi----
----A few minutes after Jounouchi is knocked unconscious by Bakura----
Bakura smirked at every passing person as he nonchalantly walked toward the hospital doors, still holding the lifeless Jounouchi over his shoulder, scornfully ignoring the looks that were thrown in his direction at the oddity of the situation. He kept his sneer until he reached the hospital, but as he casually strolled through the wide double-doors, his expression immediately changed, going from malicious and indifferent to innocent, worried, and scared. His wild, unruly hair suddenly smoothed itself out, falling neatly against his shoulders in small spikes, gracefully framing his handsome facial features as he kept hold on Jounouchi. Bakura suddenly began to stumble slightly, staggering from the weight of the stronger and heavier shaggy blonde as Jounouchi's head bobbled from the abnormal movement. Slowly, Bakura made his way over to the Information Desk, eyes fixatedly staring straight ahead, his only thoughts obviously of getting help for his hurt companion, trying desperately to get the attention of someone -anyone- who could assist him.
"Help me…" he whispered quietly, voice weak from the strain of having to carry such a heavy burden. "My friend…he's hurt…!"
One of the nurses turned quizzically turned around, noticing the commotion, just as Bakura collapsed and fell to his knees, Jounouchi's weight pulling him into a slightly slouched position. "Oh my god--are you okay!" She gasped, eyes widening at the scene. "How many fingers am I holding up? What happened to your friend?" she asked, walking up and holding 3 fingers in front of an exhausted Bakura's, her face clearly showing worry and confusion. He looks a bi familiar…she vaguely thought to herself, looking into Jounouchi's face.
"It's…I'm fine… It's my friend…he Bakura panted, keeping his eyes planted firmly on the ground as tears sprang to his strangely empty mauve eyes, "He's hurt…and I don't know why…!" He lowered his head, hot tears falling to the ground below, leaving wet stains on his light skin.
"Calm down, itaike(1), can you tell me what happened?" the nurse patiently asked, lowering her voice as if she was speaking to a child.
Bakura wordlessly nodded, bringing his head up and allowing the two men the nurse had called over to lift up the limp Jounouchi and place him on a stretcher, then rising up and straightening, still panting a bit. "We…we were just walking…on our way here, ironically. He…he claimed he was feeling faint, a-and the next thing I knew, he was stumbling all over the place. H-he started to sway a bit, and I reached over caught him before he fell, but…it was too late…he had already passed out…right in my arms…and there was nothing I could do for him…!" Bakura trailed off, tears slowly falling down his cheeks, as the nurse nodded sympathetically.
"Is that all you can tell me?" the nurse gently asked, after a few moments of silence. Bakura merely nodded.
"Alright. That's okay." She stopped and stared at Jounouchi's limp form for a moment, then said, "Well… he's not pale or anything, and he looks perfectly healthy, so, that's always a good sign..." She began to walk to the stretcher Jounouchi was on, pulling out a stethoscope from somewhere in her white jacket. "Now, let's see what's wrong…" she muttered while moving up to examine Jounouchi. "Heart rate… normal… temperature…98.6... Hmm…wait, what's this…?" she asked herself, carefully lifting Jounouchi's head so she could check under his chin.
"Itaike, do you know anything about these scratches on his neck?" she asked, indicating the light red marks that ran around Jounouchi's throat. Bakura walked forward, eyeing the marks for a moment before slowly shaking his head 'no', a perplexed expression on his slightly flushed face. "Hmm…well, either way, it seems, from what we have here, that he's been under severe stress lately. Perhaps even exhaustion…we'll have to put him in a room for a while, until he wakes up, and then a light medication to calm him down. But, I don't think there are any physical problems… Do you know of anything that could be bothering him, itaike?" the nurse asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.
"Um…that's kind of something I wanted to ask you about…" Bakura started, averting his eyes from her own deep blue ones. "We came to visit a friend who's being cared for here. Yugi Mutou--he was checked in yesterday evening. Do you think…Jounouchi could have a room with him…just until he wakes up? He was so worried about him …I think Yugi would be the first thing Jou would want to see when he woke up… He was…so worried…" Bakura trailed, leaving the statement open. "By the way…how is Yugi…? I heard…I heard some…things yesterday afternoon… They aren't…they aren't true…are they…? He…he's not going to die…is he?" Bakura skillfully kept his eyes on the ground below, refusing to allow his tears to be seen by the nurse.
The nurse allowed Bakura a few moments to collect himself, then moved towards him and gently placed her hand on his arm. "I'm…I 'm terribly sorry… But…all we know about Yugi is…he…may never wake up…"
An involuntary sob escaped Bakura, and tears began to quickly run down his face as he gently rocked back and forth on the heels of his feet. He brought his hands up and hugged himself, still sobbing, muttering words only understandable to himself, his snow-white hair following the gentle flow of his body.
"Hey…" the nurse said, breaking the awkward silence that accompanied the young boys sobs. "If it's any consolation, your friend can stay with Yugi, for now. It's against the rules, but…I think we can ignore them just this once. His name's Jounouchi, right?" Bakura slowly nodded. "Hai(2), I remember him from yesterday. He and the other two stayed with Yugi for as long as they could. I felt terrible for making them leave, but…" she broke off, leaving the statement hovering ominously over the two. "Anyway, I'm going to go and prepare Yugi's room for Jounouchi. It'll be ready in a few minutes, and you and visit them then, okay?" she then turned towards Jounouchi's stretcher, wheeling it down the hallway towards Little Yugi's room.
Bakura watched for a moment, looking mildly fascinated, then turned suddenly, making his way towards the many payphones that were lined against the wall. The Millennium Ring began to lightly glow, and once again Bakura began to change, his hair rising up and shifting into many intimidating little spikes. His eyes dimmed for a moment, then grew darker, still maintaining the mauve color and empty look. His innocent, worried expression turned to a sickening sneer, and if looks could kill…
I'm coming for you, baka(3) hikari(4)…he thought to himself, already lusting for the pure pleasure of torture and pain. But first, I must invite our 'party guests'. I wouldn't want be the only person to enjoy this… He picked up one of the phones, grumbling as he pushed various coins into the machine, not knowing or caring how much was deposited. After hearing the dial tone, he quickly punched in the buttons, knowing the number from the countless times Ryou had called it.
One ring. Oh…this is going to be fun…
--------
Two rings.
Anzu fluttered her eyelids, faintly awakening from the deep and dream-filled sleep she had been in since the night before. She was lying lazily her bed, the covers haphazardly thrown off the side, resting on the edge of the bed and on the floor below. She was still dressed in the clothes from the day before, looking messy and unkempt, quite the opposite of what she normally looked like. But at that moment, she didn't really care.
She moaned softly, trying to block out the irritating ringing and slip back into the shadowy unreality of dreams. In dreams, she could forget what had happened…in dreams, she could forget what was real… In dreams…Yugi wasn't dying…
Three rings.
Anzu turned in her light sleep, tears leaking out of her cool blues, falling down her cheeks and leaving tiny clear stains on the pillow on which she lie. Why am I crying…she thought. Something…something happened… No…too painful to think. She whimpered softly, tightly shutting her eyes in a vain attempt to fall back into the deep sleep. She turned her head away from the window, trying to block out the taunting sun, and buried her head in her pillow, shutting out all light.
Four rings.
Anzu slowly forced herself to sleep, her eyes rapidly fluttering under her eyelids as dreams found their way into her mind.
----Dream Sequence----
"Yugi…?" Anzu called, slowly walking down a dimly lit winding corridor, its walls painted dazzling white. She wandered forward for a bit, following the twisting path, then came to a sudden corner. Pausing for a moment, as if waiting for it to suddenly disappear and shift into something else, she turned it, and saw a door at the end of the hallway, slightly ajar, allowing a thin ray of light to show in the hallway. "Yugi…?" she tried again, waiting for an answer before cautiously moving towards the door once again.
As she reached the door, she slowly brought her hand to the center of it, hesitantly pushing it open as the hinges gave a stubborn groan and allowed themselves to be moved. The hallway lit up brightly, blinding her for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light from the hallway of darkness.
"1- 2- 3, clear!" A man in a stunning white coat shouted, rubbing the two handles of the revitalizer together, then pressing it roughly again a young boys chest. The boy, who was lying on the operating table in front of the doctor, his face hidden by a unexplainable darkness, suddenly shot up, his chest heaving up violently, landing with a thud back on the table, as Anzu watched in horror.
"Heart rate, rapidly decreasing; brain activity, swiftly declining… Kuso(5)! We're losing him!" shouted the panicking doctor, once again rubbing the two instruments together and pressing them against the young teens chest. He rose up again, his chest bare, and landed hard on the table, his head slowly bobbing due to the pillow that it rested upon. Anzu watched in a stunned fear, then turned her head and looked at the heart monitor that was next to the teens bed; the line was completely flat.
"Shimatta(6)! He's flat-lining! Clear!" Yet again, the doctor frantically brought the two instruments to the teens chest, having the same result as the previous two times. The doctor stared for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to try again, then brought his hand up to his covered mouth and chin rubbing it thoughtfully, before closing his eyes in defeat, sighing and shaking his head in loss. He then brought his hand to his face, pulling back his sleeve and examining the obviously expensive leather watch on his wrist.
"Time of death: 8:56 am."
Anzu felt a pull at her heart, and sensed wisps of tears come to her stunning azure eyes, slowly and dramatically falling down her cheeks. She reached her hand up and wiped the tears, staring in pity for a moment, then cautiously moved forward to examine the quiet and still boy. The doctor was nowhere to be found.
She reached the bed and moved her hand to the sheet which covered his face, hesitating for a moment, then closed her eyes and brought the cover back down to his stomach. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked into the face of the victim.
"No…!" Anzu cried, her heart stopping as her breath caught in her throat. Yugi lie there, abnormally still, his no-longer bright amethyst eyes permanently closed, an unfamiliar solemn expression on his normally smiling face; his hands were pale and limp, slightly closed as they rested by his side, which was still, lacking the rhythmic pulse of the heart or the steady rising of the ribcage as they were pressed against the lungs. His face was flushed slightly, in contrast to his pallid hands, and he almost looked as though he were only sleeping and would awaken at any moment, despite the absence of his smile. But the flat-line on the heart monitor told otherwise, and Anzu felt tears spring to her shining eyes as a cry of anguish escaped her lips. "No! Yugi!" she shouted, falling to her knees, and burying her head into Yugi's chest, his skin unnaturally cool to the touch. "NOO!"
----End of Dream Sequence----
10 rings.
Anzu shot up, tangled in the jumbled bed sheets that were half-on/half-off the bed, tears freely running down her cheeks as she awoke from sleep due to the combination of the constant ringing and the unpleasant nightmare that had haunted what had once been the bliss of dreams. She sat for a moment, trying to catch her breath and wipe the tears off her cheeks, but failing because of the steady stream that was still coming from her eyes. Suddenly, her blue sapphires widening, she turned frantically toward the small alarm clock that sat on a small dresser, reaching for it and pulling it close to her face, her heart beating against her chest.
8:23.
Yugi…she thought, uncaringly tossing the clock aside and grabbing for the phone that rested near the alarm clocks spot, hoping it wasn't the hospital with the devastating news she feared worst.
"Y-yes?" She asked into the phone, disguising her worry with only a few blunders, "T-this is Anzu Masaki. M-may I ask who's calling?"
Finally, thought Bakura, a smirk playing across his lips as he lazily twisted the payphone cord in his fingers, nonchalantly leaning against the wall as though he had not a care in the world. "Hello, Masaki," he said, "It's been so long since we've seen each other."
A gasp into the phone brought yet another sick smile to Bakura's face.
"R…Ryou…?" Anzu asked, a hint of hope in her now-quivering voice. Her breaths were coming in short gasps, her palms beginning to feel wet with nervous perspiration as her heart rapidly beat against her breast, causing a slight 'thump' sound to echo in her ears.
"Not exactly, fool," Bakura taunted, switching the phone over to his other ear so he could shift into a more comfortable position against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and the phone pressed against his ear with the aid of his shoulder. "I'm afraid itaike Ryou is…resting at the moment."
"T…teme(7)…" Anzu stuttered, unable to absorb the fact that Yugi's attacker was talking as though they had been friends forever. "Teme!" she shouted into phone, causing Bakura to involuntarily cringe a bit at the sudden noise. "Hiretsukan(8)! Jounouchi told me what you did! You took advantage of Yugi! You knew he wouldn't attack Ryou and you used it against him! How could you be so heartless?" she sobbed, her voice breaking at the last sentence.
"Baka hikari," Bakura scoffed, "Foolishly giving his life away to save his so-called 'friend.' Look what it got him-- a hospital room and a one-way ticket to hell!" he pulled away from the phone to angrily spit on a nearby plant. "I feel no sympathy for the gaki(9) hikari…"
There was a long silence, during which Anzu sat on her bed, unable to think of anything to say, and Bakura smirked as he unconsciously twirled the cord in his fingers, already lusting for the pain he was going to make her feel… For the pain I will make all of them feel..
"You killed him…" Anzu whispered after the silence, the words she had avoided saying and thinking coming out of her mouth without a second thought, tears falling from her azure eyes, though she could not remember them ever beginning to fall."You killed him…and that's all you have to say?"
"No…" Bakura sneered, his voice getting deathly low, "I haven't killed him yet, baita(10)…I haven't finished with any of you yet… By the way…your little friend Jounouchi is with me…"
Anzu widened her eyes, sensing the hints Bakura was dropping. "Wha…what are you doing to him! Let me talk to him!"
"Oh, I'm afraid that's impossible--for the time being, at least. You see, Jounouchi is…er…incapacitated at the moment. He and I had a nice little chat earlier, and I'm afraid he hasn't quite yet recovered. Both gaki Yugi and Jounouchi are in the hospital right now. In fact, I'm on my way to pay them a little visit…I already have in mind a few games we can play."
"No…" Anzu quietly gasped, already knowing what Bakura was planning. "You're going to attack them…aren't you? You're going to try to kill them while they can't even defend themselves! Don't you have any emotions! How can go through with it, don't you have a shred of humanity left in you?"
"Foolish mortal," Bakura snarled, quickly switching over from a mocking tone to one of intense hatred, "Humans are the weakest of all creatures. They judge using their emotions instead of thinking of themselves to get ahead--their most fatal flaw. And, of course…humans are the easiest prey to kill." He bluntly stated, once again adopting a carefree tone. "Which is what I'm going to have the pleasure of doing…you'd better come over here quickly… If you want to say goodbye, that it."
Click.
"B-bakura…?" Anzu confusedly asked the dial tone. "Bakura! NO!" She haphazardly threw the phone to the side, quickly jumping off the bed, yanking off her day-old clothes, and throwing on a pair of light blue pants that were on her dresser, and a pink shirt that was lying neatly on the floor. She sprintedto the door, not even bothering to run a brush through her hair, running out and expertly avoiding the objects that were scattered across the living room floor.
Yugi…she thought as she reached the front door, grabbing the cell phone that rested on the coffee table, Jounouchi… Please…please be okay! Please don't die! And with that, she rushed out the door, running down the street towards Domino Hospital. Yugi...!
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C.B.A.- One quick not to you! Great minds think alike! I'll explain what I mean in my lj. Anyway, sorry for not e-mailing you! I haven't been able to do anything! He even took my CD player away! (curses under breath) I'll try to e-mail ya later! Love ya!
Notes (all words in Japanese)
1) 'innocent' I was trying to find a work that meant 'innocent one', but there are like a million diferent ways to say 'one' and I didn't know which one to use. This isn't really anything important, I just wanted adorble Ryou to have a little nickname cuz he's so cute!
2) 'yes'
3) 'idiot; stupid'
4) 'light'
5) 'shit'
6) 'damn it'
7) A very rude way of saying 'you'. It's a cuss word.
8) 'bastard'
9) 'brat'
10) 'whore'