BakurasGodess-I just remembered, goddess as 2 ds. Congradulations for your mom. I have a cousin 14 years younger than me, but I suppose it's not the same as a younger brother/sister.

journey maker-I'm pretty sure that in chapter 7 Yugi said something about Duke liking Ryou, and he wanted to get rid of Malik so that Ryou wouldn't find out who started the rumor.

Pharaoh Felicia-Why Angle Pie?

ahilty-YES! I love you! That's the best review of the chapter! Bravo!

Anonymous-You'll have to wait and see how Malik ends up.

dragonlady222-Yes, hiring a hit-man is unforgivable. But will Duke be caught?

Chapter 14

Pain. Everywhere. What had happened? I tried to remember. I'd been going home from school. The little green man that lights up when you can walk was glowing, so I was crossing the street and… then what?

I wanted to open my eyes, but it was too bright. Finally I forced them open.

Everything was white. Was I dead? Impossible. I couldn't be.

I could hear crying. Turning my neck hurt but I did it anyway.

Ishizu was sobbing "S-sister?"

She gasped and looked up "Malik? Oh, Malik your alive!" She looked like she wanted to hug me, but something was holding her back.

"See, I told you" Someone, it sounded like Yugi, said on the other side of me "He wouldn't let something like that get to him.

I turned my head to look at Yugi. Ryou was with him. He was crying too "Something like what? What happened? What's going on?"

"You were hit by a car" Ryou said softly.

"You've been in a coma for the past four years" Yugi added.

Four years. Holy crap, no way. So Yugi really never did grow another inch. But seriously, how could I have been out of it for so long? What all had changed while I was sleeping?

Everyone else would be out of school now. I'd be so far behind. Ishizu would send me back to high school and they'd all point and laugh and say 'Look. That guys an adult and he's still in the 10th grade! What an idiot'

Ryou's kid would be three. He'd probably be running around on his own now. How much did he look like me? Wait… Ryou's kid…

"No I haven't. Ryou's stomach is barely larger than it was the last time I saw him"

"You were hit yesterday" Ryou told me, slapping Yugi "Ignore him, he has a poor sense of humor"

"So I'm not going to be four years older than everyone else in my grade?"

"No" Ishizu assured me, coming around to the side of the bed I was looking at, she must have realized it hurt to turn my head "But you might be a year older than everyone else by the time you finish recovering"

"You could home school him" Yugi suggested "He has to stay in the hospital a few more weeks, but if you continued with him over break he could probably catch up to us before 11th grade"

My head was spinning. Home school? Hospitals? No way. It was too much.

I started to cry "This isn't fair! I was just going home! How could this happen?"

Ishizu looked torn, once again trying her best not to hug me. Now I knew it was because my body was beaten to a pulp and she didn't want to make it worse. "Its okay, Malik" she told me "We'll have everything back to normal soon enough"

"No! It will never be normal! I'm going to be stuck in a wheelchair the rest of my life!"

"We don't know that yet" Yugi said "the doctors said there's a good chance you'll recover just fine"

"Which means there's a chance I won't! I want to go home!"

"Malik, calm down. Everything will be fine" Ishizu repeated.

"Didn't you hear me? It won't be!"

"Of course it will" Ryou spoke up, sounding a lot more confident than he had in weeks "because we'll all be here for you"

I continued to cry, but I stopped complaining. That was just about the sappiest thing I'd ever heard, but sappy was rather soothing right then. Ryou was right, even if I did have horrible brain damage and had to sit in a wheelchair with a diaper, I'd still have people who supported me right?

I'd even have Ryou helping me, even though I was such a jerk about the baby.

At least maybe he wouldn't want me to be its father if I did end up a cripple. Then I'd stop feeling so damn guilty about the whole thing "Ryou" I finally said

"What?"

"I think Duke's the one who told everybody you were pregnant. I caught him trying to get you and Yugi in trouble for skipping school the other day, and more people come to him to ask about various rumors than anyone else"

"Oh" he said softly "I don't really care about that right now"

"When did he try to get us in trouble?" Yugi asked. Well, at least someone was willing to change the topic.

"Yesterday, I think. Whichever day was the last time I showed up for school. I think I might have broken on of his ribs"

"That was yesterday" Yugi assured me "It's weird that he was trying to get us in trouble, but I don't think he'd do something to intentionally hurt Ryou"

"I didn't even tell him I was pregnant" Ryou agreed

"Wait" Ishizu cut in "You're pregnant? Since when?"

"Someone gave me a baby as a birthday present" Ryou said "Since around the beginning of September"

"But it's late December"

Crap. That was right. I just had my birthday too.

Happy birthday kid. Let's celebrate by tossing your life down the drain.

I was crying again. Ishizu looked for something else to change the topic. Bakura materialized and found it for her "You broke Duke's ribs?"

"I think I broke his nose too"

"That might explain why he didn't want to visit you" Yugi said thoughtfully

"Yeah" Bakura added "You scared him off!"

"Malik, you shouldn't have done that" Ishizu scolded "I'd ground you if I saw a point in it"

Was there ever a point in it?

"How'd you break his nose?" Ryou asked, looking a little disturbed.

"He tripped over my foot and fell flat on his face"

"Ha. I bet Duke's pissed with you!" Bakura said.

"I bet he is…" Ryou muttered,then stood up "Let's go Yugi"

"What? You're leaving?"

Ryou nodded "Everyone else is waiting to see you. We agreed to take turns visiting you if you woke up"

"Oh… okay!"

Ryou smiled and led Yugi out of the room. Tea and Joey came in next

SC

In the end, everyone but Duke showed up to see me. How touching. I didn't know so many people cared.

Ishizu begged the hospital for an hour after they stopped allowing visitors, and finally got permission to stay with me for longer. The hospital didn't allow roommates, so they must worry about possible suicides when the patients are left alone.

She fell asleep, but I was still up. I'd slept a whole day, so I wasn't to tired.

Marik materialized next to me "You look like shit"

"Thank you" I muttered "Now, what do you want?"

"For you to calm down. When you fret so much everything in my soul room gets all jostled up"

Aw, so even he cared, in a bizarre way that only he could.

"Well, if you want to calm me down, mind answering a few questions?"

"I'm not a doctor, an for all I know you may die tomorrow, so don't bother asking"

"No, not about… that" It still hurt to think about how screwed up my life just became "Other things"

"Shoot"

"Ryou. I almost completely abandon him when I found out about the baby, your baby. And we've been avoiding each other since then. But he could have easily returned the favor when I was hit and he was here today to support me. Do you think I did the right thing leaving him like that?"

"You're asking me about relationships? Well, listen up. As much as you deny it, while I am the one who got him pregnant, you are the biological father, and if anyone ever suggests that a DNA test is done to catch the man who 'raped Ryou', it will be to suspicious for your friend to say no, and you'll be in a whole lot of trouble once everyone knows the baby is yours. On top of that, what the hell were you thinking leaving him like that in the first place? Would it have killed you to at least say 'But we can still be friends'. Frankly, I'm at least ten times as amazed as you that the kid cared enough to show up today"

SC

The next day a police man came in right when visiting hours started and questioned me. Where had I been? Where was I going? Where had I come from? Had I ever met Yoshio Takasaki before? Apparently that was the man who hit me.

Next he told me a bit about what they knew. Yoshio was answering questions as if he'd been drunk when he ran into me, but every test they ran on him showed no signs of alcohol. On top of that, lie detectors proved that he wasn't willing to say what he had been doing. I was promised that I'd receive more information when they got any. After that he left to question Ishizu in private.

Ryou rushed in the second he was gone "Hey, Malik!" he chirped "Yugi said he couldn't come until later. His grandfather has work for him. Are you feeling any better today?"

"Not really… Ryou, what do you think about the accident?"

"I think he tried to hit you, from everything I've been told" Ryou said without hesitation "But whenever I tell someone that they're all 'sure' and then the second I'm gone someone else tells them 'I guess he really is pregnant" I didn't really get what that meant, and my expression gave that away "They think that I'm acting loopy because of the baby"

"Oh… actually… about… the baby" I sighed "Do you hate me?"

"Of course not, you're my best friend"

"But I left you all alone"

"Well… true… but I probably would have been really shocked too if someone I never had sex with told me out of the blue that they were having my kid, especially if the whole time I knew them I thought they were a guy" He ran his fingers through his bangs "So I guess I can't be too upset with you for it. Besides, you beat up Duke when he tried to get me in trouble, and you told me about the rumor, so it's not like you completely abandon me"

He scowled "Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help you now?"

"One who gives their friends what they deserve" I muttered, looking away. My neck was a little less sore, now that a chunk of glass had been removed from it.

"Malik, I just said I don't blame you for that" he sighed "Forget it. Lets just not talk about it"

"Then what do you want to talk about?"

"Well…"

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SnowCreek: Insert topic there.