Yu-Gi-Oh! Shipping List #21 - "Second Chance"

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!! - This is the Yu-Gi-Oh! Yaoi portion of the Shipping List in order. Be forewarned. Some "pairings" will not be fluffy and cute. But they will all, hopefully, be believable. Rating's will vary.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi

Author's Notes: Happy upcomming New Year! The ones with Keith are always harder for me but hey, at least it's Friday. So how's it going people? Are you learning the Shipping List yet? I'll bet alot of people hadn't even heard of this one.

Rating: PG

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Barshipping (Keith x Katsuya x Hiroto x Yuugi) - The bar refers to the incident when Malik/Marik used Keith to steal the puzzle and duel Yugi. Honda and Jounouchi used a metal bar to free the puzzle from where it had been trapped -

Jounouchi couldn't sit still. He hated hospitals and he had no patience. Honda snagged his hand on his twentieth pass and Jounouchi looked down at him, jerked from his racing thoughts.

"Sit."

After a moment, Jounouchi did.

"You know he'll be fine." Honda said, lacing their fingers together as they sat side by side in the chairs outside Yugi's room, awaiting news on Yugi's condition. "He didn't inhale that much smoke. They're probably done already. You know how hospitals are. They take forever to do anything at all."

Jounouchi tightened his grip on Honda's hand and nodded. "I know." In his other hand, he pulled Yugi's puzzle to his chest, insecurely.

Down the hall at a nurse's station, a doctor was speaking hurriedly to one of the nurses. Jounouchi and Honda listened in on their conversation. A John Doe had just come in, hit by a car, but what drew their attention was the area the doctor said it had happened in. It was only a block from the warehouse they had so narrowly escaped. The doctor told the nurse that he knew he'd seen the man somewhere and he gave her a photo to cross-reference against recent media coverage, then he left.

Jounouchi stood, releasing Honda's hand and strode swiftly toward the counter down the hall. At first Honda had watched him curiously, not quite following the blonde's train of thought, but he put it at the back of his mind for the moment and rose quickly to follow.

"Can I see that photo?" Jounouchi asked the nurse directly. She seemed surprised to see him, as if he had come out of nowhere and she paused, hesitant at first, but eventually she did hand over the picture. Honda wasn't quite sure where this was going…until he saw the image for himself.

It was Keith.

Bloody, and missing that obnoxious bandanna of his, but it was Keith none-the-less and Jounouchi handed back the photo with a grim expression. He had known. "His name's Keith Howard." Jounouchi said, surprising the nurse once again. "He's American. Can you tell me what floor he's on?"

The nurse paused again, trying to process this before she answered. "He would be on the third floor. Are you friends of his?" she asked but Jounouchi didn't answer. He was already heading for the elevators.

"If our friend Yugi Motou in room 264 wakes up, could you tell him that we'll be right back?" Honda asked and waited for the nurse's confirming nod and answer of "Sure." before running to catch up to Jounouchi.

"You do realize that none of this was his fault, right?" Honda said when the elevator doors closed in front of them. Again, Jounouchi didn't answer and soon the doors opened again with a ding.

The third floor was surgery and recovery rooms for patients coming out of surgery. Honda had a bad feeling. Sure, Keith was a weasel, but he didn't want to think of him in this place. Keith had been another victim of their latest enemy. He was only here because of them (because of Yugi's puzzle and the spirit trapped inside, more probably but Honda didn't like to separate blame like that). Nobody deserved what Keith had just been through. He probably didn't even know where he was or how he had gotten here.

Jounouchi went straight to the service desk and got the attention of one of the younger nurses there with a slight nod.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked, politely.

"Can you tell me about the John Doe they just brought in?" he asked, his direct tone doing the same to this girl that it had done to the other one, one floor down.

"A…are you related to him, sir?" she asked, nervously. She wasn't permitted to give out information unless the answer was yes.

"He's my brother." Jounouchi answered. "Don't tell me you can't see the resemblance."

Honda tilted his head to the side slightly, trying to follow Jounouchi's reasoning for making such a big deal out of this. He felt bad for Keith, but that was no reason to lie just to see him now.

The nurse's eyes widened. "Oh. Well, we don't even have a name yet. He's still in surgery, I think."

"His name's Keith." Jounouchi supplied.

"Hold on." she said, holding up a finger. "Let me check." The nurse made a quick call and returned the phone to its cradle. "It seems he just came out of surgery. It wasn't as bad as it looked. He's got a broken leg and a head injury but they don't believe there's any permanent damage. He'll be in room 358 if you'd like to see him but they won't let you stay long at first."

"Thanks." Jounouchi said, leaving the desk in search of the room.

"Jounouchi." Honda said when they were out of earshot. "What are you doing?" Honda was beginning to think not even Jounouchi knew when no answer came his way.

By the time they found the room, the doctors were just leaving it and Jounouchi and Honda waited until they had gone before slipping inside.

Jounouchi stood at the foot of the bed, regarding Keith with a blank expression. The machine duelist sported a bandaged forehead and his right leg was encased in a cast and held up in a sling. Honda couldn't help but think that he'd sure gotten fast treatment. It couldn't have been more than a half an hour since he'd come in, maybe 45 minutes.

Without another word, Jounouchi turned and left. Honda followed with a sigh. They returned to Yugi's room and waited there until the smaller duelist woke. Yugi was glad that they hadn't been hurt helping him. He didn't know what to say for all the trouble he'd caused. 'I'm sorry." only seemed to annoy them the more he said it. He didn't need to be sorry, Honda told him, as Yugi lay his head in Jounouchi's lap and his legs across Honda's. But Yugi still felt bad.

"Jounouchi…" Yugi said, gaining the blonde's attention. Jounouchi refocused his eyes and stilled the hand in Yugi's hair, looking down at the other. "What are you thinking?"

When Jounouchi didn't answer right away, Honda supplied the answer for him. "Keith's here too." he said and Yugi sat up with slight alarm. "He got hit by a car a block from the warehouse. We just saw him on the next floor up. He's got a broken leg and a head injury. They think he'll be fine but he wasn't awake yet when we saw him."

Yugi moved to get out of the bed. "We have to go see him." he declared firmly.

"It's not your fault, you know." Jounouchi said, already following Yugi's train of thought.

"But it is." Yugi said, looking back at them solemnly. "He wouldn't be here if Marik hadn't used him to get to me. The least I can do is make sure he's alright."

Yugi cracked open his door and peeked out, looking both ways before making a run for the elevators. Honda and Jounouchi followed, looking out for nurses as they went.

Yugi found, when he faced Keith this time, that all of his bad feelings toward the other had vanished. He believed that everyone deserved a second chance, that anyone had the ability to change, and that Keith in particular deserved a break of sorts for what he must have been through in Marik's presence. Yugi didn't know much about Marik yet, but obviously, he didn't care much for others, as if they were merely pawns for him to use and throw away at will, like a child with too many toys to value anything.

Lying there like that took some of the edge off of Keith Howard, Jounouchi thought. It was almost a good look for him. Without the shades and bandanna, and without his obnoxious smirk, Keith's features might even be called handsome. Or maybe it was just the old saying that everyone looked innocent in their sleep. Jounouchi pulled up a chair and twirled it around, sitting in it backward at the side of the bed.

"I wonder if he'll be upset to see us." Yugi mused.

"He outta be grateful." Jounouchi answered back aggressively. "Least they're not callin' him 'John Doe' anymore. Hey for all we know he might not remember a damn thing so it's a good thing we're here." Jounouchi finished his rant just in time to hear Keith moan as he came too, from the sound of his loud mouth, Honda thought, amusedly.

"Jounouchi?" He sounded as though his throat were dry.

Yugi giggled. "At least he remembers something."

Keith opened his eyes and looked around. "Where am I?" he asked and Yugi moved closer, the smile leaving his face, replaced by sympathy.

"You're in a hospital in Domino, Japan." Yugi answered him.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Honda asked.

Keith seemed to think for a moment but his expression betrayed his distress. "I…got picked up…by a boat…and…" Keith grabbed his head in pain, groaning as he squeezed his eyes shut against it.

"Don't push it." Jounouchi advised, standing and reaching out a hand in concern only to stop it inches from Keith's own. "You probably wouldn't want to remember it anyway."

"Monsters. I remember…monsters." Keith said. "Duel monsters eating people's souls. Was I hallucinating?"

"You were kidnapped…by Marik…" Yugi answered hesitantly, trying to determine exactly how much of the truth Keith could handle.

"Kidnapped?!" Keith exclaimed, shocked. "Why?!"

"Marik brainwashed you to fight Yugi." Honda supplied.

Keith paused. He was in a hospital. They were all in a hospital… "Are you in here…because of something I did?" he asked Yugi.

Yugi shook his head and hands fervently. "No! Of course not! It wasn't you at all. This is all Marik's fault."

Keith looked off into the distance. "Marik?"

"Geeze it must be embarrassing," Jounouchi said, trying to lighten the mood "to have what little mind you had yanked out from under ya like a cheep rug." Jounouchi flashed Keith a cocky grin that predictably enraged the other duelist.

"Why you!" Keith reached out, missing Jounouchi who bolted from his side, blowing him a raspberry from a safe distance. Keith shook his fist at the blonde. "You just wait till I get out of here!"

"How long ya gonna make me wait grandpa!" Jounouchi called back further enraging Keith who moved to actually try to lunge for him. Yugi and Honda had to hold him back to keep him from hurting himself further.

"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" Keith shouted.

"You've got a broken leg!" Yugi shouted back desperately.

"When it's healed we'll let ya loose with him," Honda promised "until then…Jounouchi do you have to be so immature?"

Jounouchi laughed, settling down as Keith lay back against his pillows.

"Thanks." Keith said quietly.

Yugi felt like he'd missed something and Honda sighed.

"The last thing we need is another Jounouchi." he remarked under his breath.

Jounouchi smiled down at Keith who grinned back and closed his eyes. Now Yugi knew he'd missed something.

Post whatevers: Next up: Bakura x Ryou x Jounouchi. As always, if you liked, please review. Ja!