So the aim was to have this fic done by the end of 2020. Well I got coronavirus and the aftereffects have been even more delightful than the virus itself two months later. Lost my job being unable to work like this. In the meantime, have been writing when I'm not passed out. All of you take care of yourselves, please.
The stanzas spread throughout the chapter are pieces from Pablo Neruda's "Tonight I Can Write..."
Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.
What does it matter that my love could not keep her,
That the night is shattered and she is not with me,
This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
Chapter 62: Heart of the Matter
Screams pierce the night.
Soldiers and healers stampede down the hallway not meant for such a floundering mass. The unfortunate trip and fall beneath frantic feet. Behind them a fire of cerulean rages, threatening to scorch them all. No one stays to fight. Having gathered for bloodshed, they are unwilling for it to be their own.
The passage is at once peculiarly quiet after such pandemonium. Light dies down to an almost tranquil glow. A lone hooded figure in white emerges, stepping over groaning victims on the floor who were trampled by their brethren. She does not spare them a glance. Her leather-soled sandals barely make a sound as she reaches the door.
The room is dark, torches on the ground smoldering where they were dropped. There is a large scorched area the size of a person on the floor. There is nothing else there. No ashes or remnants aside from that. Near it lays the Millennium ring. She leans down and picks up the Item. It is cool in her hands.
"You came."
She turns in the direction of the hoarse voice. The pharaoh is sitting with his back against a large stone tablet, the puzzle in his hands emitting a globe of light around him. He is panting heavily. The Priestess kneels beside him so she can see his face.
"Of course I did. You thought I would run off with the tomb keepers?"
His lips tremor. Violet eyes are glazed over in pain.
"No. But I am surprised they let you come alone."
"I didn't give them a say."
He chuckles, which starts a coughing fit. While she waits for him to recover her gaze tracks the pale purple light floating around the Millennium puzzle. It's like a haze of radiant pollen. A miniature glowing galaxy.
"You knew before me," he whispers, pupils pulsating. "You understand?"
"It doesn't matter if I do. It is not my path."
She does not understand. There are souls she would have saved. That is not her role. She knows this. Despite the craving to abandon this world and follow him, to awake in another time and fight to make things right, she knows better.
"It hurts…" he whispers, shuddering. "It's too m-much."
She rests a hand on his arm and squeezes. There is no other comfort to give. She will not tell him the little that she has seen. It isn't what he needs to hear now. And she will not utter lies to him in these final moments.
"I'm…I'm s-sorry, Isis."
The teen doesn't specify what he is apologizing for. For being at least some of the cause of all of this? For not trusting her from the start? For leaving her behind? The Priestess does not ask.
"He doesn't know. He wanted to…to be like Malik." He swallows, quickly losing the ability to control his movements. Violet eyes become wide, fear taking hold. "He doesn't know I kept my word."
"Don't make this about him," she says, pushing stray hairs off of his face, wanting to give him something. "Don't make this solely about punishment, either. It will go beyond him, and you'll need a reason."
"I don't…think I can d-do that…if I know he's out th-there," he admits meekly, body quaking as if extremely cold. "He still has my h-heart, Isis. I have to get it back…can't die without it…"
"Then don't seek him out," she says, wishing he would heed her. "Cut ties. Start anew."
"I…I can't…"
The purple illumination fades as the spell completes. The young man's body sags. Isis exhales through her nose, fingers digging into his bruised flesh as she bows her head. She says a silent prayer.
Several breaths intake sharply. The Priestess turns in place, finding a group of soldiers clustered in the doorway. They are silent, their weapons having been lowered at the sight before them. They barely acknowledge the Priestess, gaping at the motionless god.
"Is he…?"
"He did it!" one of them whispers, spotting the outline where the phantom's body resided.
"What does it mean?"
"I heard a healer say…"
"Vicious rumors. The healers are liars."
Isis drowns out their contemplations. She keeps herself fixated on her task at hand. It is the only way to hold face, to keep from falling apart at the seams. Her fingertips gently move over his eyes, closing the lids. It adds a peaceful quality to his features as the burdens are taken from the physical form. Her lips move in a silent blessing over her friend and Pharaoh. She reverently unwinds the cord of the puzzle, taking the Item with her as she rises to her feet. The soldiers quiet, waiting for her to speak or act.
The Item around her neck burns a brilliant yellow, the deity's body on the floor going up in unearthly golden flames. There is no stench of burning flesh. Everything that was the pharaoh rises up in glowing particles and disperses into the air. The fire reaches her eyes, a fierce dance threatening to consume everything.
Quickly, the soldiers take leave of the scene, heads bowed. The door shuts softly behind them. The men stand in a half-circle, contemplating the closed door; a small trace of the unearthly light seeps beneath it. The nearest soldier takes a wary step back so it does not touch his foot.
"Do we tell someone?"
"Does this change anything? The sunu said he was a traitor but…"
"Lies."
"We can ask the Priestess when she comes out."
They take in the unconscious and wounded littering the floor around them.
"Or we can clean up this mess. When she is ready, she will call upon the court," another suggests.
They eagerly settle with that plan.
(Isis's POV)
I bolt upright with a gasp.
A clap of thunder shakes the house, rattling in my bones. Lightning follows a few seconds later. It always does. Then comes the patter of rain dancing on the roof, tapping on the windows. It builds into a stampede.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, eyes tingling with the sensations left from the vision. The taste of the smoke is still burning in my throat. The necklace is warm and humming.
"What are you trying to tell me?" I murmur.
Giving up on sleep, I grab a thin cotton robe and leave my bedroom. I'm disoriented for a moment, my addled brain having to recollect the floorplan of the building. Not wanting to turn on the lights, I allow the necklace to emit a soft glow bright enough that I can see where I am going. At another crash of thunder, I make my way over to the bedroom past the bathroom. Two figures are curled up together on the bed. I wait in the doorway, not wanting to intrude but needing to be sure the storm isn't going to be trouble.
The next bolt lights up the thief's eyes.
"So far so good," he mutters, glancing down at Malik's sleeping form curled against his chest.
I nod, another flash of white light giving me a snapshot of them. I notice someone standing just inside the door, hugging the wall as he, too, watches for any signs of distress. We wait as a round of thunder causes walls to shudder.
"Oh," Yugi says, noticing me for the first time. "Everyone's awake but Malik, then?"
"So it seems."
"It figures. What time is it?" Bakura's rough voice asks from the darkness.
"3 AM."
"Fuck," he groans.
"We'll let you get back to sleep," Yugi says good-humoredly, motioning for me to follow him out.
I hesitate. There is no logical reason to. Everything is fine.
"Of course a major thunderstorm had to happen his first night here," Yugi complains before trying to stifle a yawn.
"Let us think of it this way: If Malik makes it fine through the storm, you and the thief can start taking turns sleeping in your own abodes."
"That is a good way to look at it."
I notice he makes no move to head back to bed.
"Can't you sleep?"
"Not really. I've sorta been waiting in case Malik needed me," he confides. "I might sit up for a bit, make sure the storm doesn't get worse."
"Well then I might keep you company. I've had a rather jarring awakening myself."
He follows me down the hall and a flight of stairs. The home isn't completely to my tastes. But it has good arrangement. It came furnished. And it was available without needing magic to make it so. The need for accommodations outweighed finding the most aesthetically pleasing structure. I turn the small metal nob on the floor lamp, pale yellow light making the living room appear. Yugi climbs onto the sofa, another yawn escaping him. I tie off the sash of my robe and settle down as well.
Yugi twiddles his thumbs, peeking at me from under his bangs from time to time. I take this moment to focus on my senses, becoming more accustomed to the here and now. There is so much to consider and I am lost as to what my next course of action should be. Or if it should even be mine.
"Why haven't you talked to Yami?"
I blink, coming out of my introspection to look at said Pharaoh's partner.
"I'm sure he's heard many opinions in the last week or so. Besides, I highly doubt he values mine."
"Maybe," the teen says suspiciously. "But you have the necklace. You could say you saw something. Convince him to stay. Wait. Have you seen something? Is that why?"
"You're asking too many questions."
"Well you're the one who has the Item that gives all the answers," he says, on the border of pouting.
I smile thinly.
"I would hardly call the visions answers. I have seen things. But it is mostly the past, which is the opposite of what the High Priestess saw."
"So you're seeing her and she saw you?"
"I can't say for certain what she saw. Mine is all speculation. I see fragments. I have to try to interpret them. To know when to act and when to be silent."
He seems a bit disappointed by that. I can't fault him. He cares for Pharaoh. Theirs is a true friendship.
"So he is still intent on embarking with the Dark Magician?"
"He says he doesn't know. Which probably means he will," Yugi replies sullenly. "I think he's waiting to make sure we're all okay. I know he didn't want to leave until Malik was improving. He's worried about my link with him."
Malik has most certainly made improvements. Between the support of this boy and the thief, along with a good strong dosage of psychiatric medication that is still levelling, he has calmed considerably this past week. He gets overwhelmed easily, but we were told to allow him to retreat in such cases. He was taught breathing techniques and other constructive coping mechanisms. So far the hyperesthesia has not let up, but between our combined efforts, he's made progress.
"While the link may have to remain for a while, you and the thief most likely will not need to be with Malik 24/7. I sense he's through the worst of it."
"Yeah, me too," Yugi says with a wince. "So that's it then? We're all safe and so Yami can just up and go?"
I worry I am going to say too much. I don't want to get this boy's hopes up. Yet I feel compelled to speak.
"When the gateway to the Afterlife was first brought to our attention, I thought it was the final answer. As tomb keepers it was our duty to help Pharaoh complete his mission. I understood your resistance to it but thought we had to look past emotional ties." I clear my throat and touch my fingers to the necklace. "Just a while ago I awakened from a vision…It held many unexpected things. Information I will need time to process."
"What does this have to do with the Dark Magician's Afterlife plan?"
I purse my lips together, not wanting to admit I was mistaken about something so significant. I push away that prideful thought. It would be a crime if I were to let the wrong fate occur because I was ashamed.
"That I am no longer sure that is what is supposed to happen."
Yugi's expression brightens to one of brimming optimism.
"Really? What did you see?"
"A vision that hinted at a hope he would find something here. That he would move beyond the thief. Has he done so?"
This question surprises the boy.
"I don't know. When Bakura was at our house helping with Malik, Yami avoided him."
"That doesn't sound like someone who has moved on."
"But why is that so important? Bakura's with Jounouchi."
I consider not answering. No, this is right. It is no great offense against Pharaoh to confide in Yugi.
"It's why he is here: For Bakura."
The boy's large eyes somehow grow even bigger.
"Wait wait wait. Are you saying he sealed himself in the Millennium puzzle so he could eventually be with Bakura again?"
"That is my understanding of this latest vision."
The boy is troubled by this. His features pinch in worry and frustration. I fold my hands on my lap and wait for him to digest this. I have no plans for what to do next. Perhaps this was the part I was meant to play: informing this boy so he can do something.
"He didn't tell me that," he says softly. "Why? I wouldn't have judged him for that. If he loved him…if he loves…"
We share a look. It's telling, Pharaoh yearning to leave when his former lover has found someone else. That isn't something anyone can erase.
"I didn't realize," Yugi murmurs. "So he wants to be with Bakura again?"
"Not necessarily. It has to be painful, even if he no longer wishes to be with the thief, to see him with your friend."
"So what do I do?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"What do I do next? How do I snap him out of it?"
"Snap him out of love? Out of heartbreak? I take it you've never been in a passionate relationship."
"No, I haven't. Have you?" he asks rather rudely.
"No. Not of that kind."
"So what are you criticizing me for?" he complains.
"It was not my intention. Merely that such extreme emotions are not easily tackled and resolved."
It had to be something like this. It couldn't be something magic-based. I could have instructed Yugi on what the next step should be.
"Is there anything you saw that could help?"
I have to take a patient breath to not become perturbed with these impertinent questions.
"No. His priestess told him not to try for Bakura. To start anew. To what degree he followed those instructions, I am unaware. I do not know where to go from here."
"But he has started over! He has us. And he goes to school. And…"
"Apparently something is missing," I cut him off, tired of this complaining. "Do not fret so much. There is time."
"He finished the puzzle last week," he says glumly. "And Malik is doing better. What's going to hold Yami back now?"
"I am sure something will come to you."
The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.
(Ryou's POV)
"Yugi isn't here yet?" Anzu asks as Jounouchi closes the door behind her.
"Nah. He should be soon."
"Unless last night's storm wreaked havoc on Malik," I say, scooting over to make room for them both on the couch.
"Yug would call if he was stayin' longer."
Anzu looks around confusedly at the empty space in front of us. It's as if she was expecting to find a lot more furniture even though she has been here multiple times.
"Where're your dad's things? All of his research materials?"
"He volunteered to haul it all to his room so we could have the living area to hang," Jou says with a grin. "S'nice of him, right?"
Anzu and I share a look. She has her beefs with my dad, as do I. Jounouchi, meanwhile, practically worships the ground he walks on. Bakura…I haven't actually seen my yami interact with Otousan. Haven't seen my yami: period. He has been staying with Malik since they reunited; first at the Mutous' and now at the house the Ishtars are renting. My father at first insisted on talking with Bakura on the phone for daily updates, but after an awkward first attempt he quickly passed that duty off to Jounouchi who was more than happy to oblige.
"Why didn't Yami come?" Jou asks.
"He was going to help Mr. Mutou with the shop today."
There's a reason every time. He came along once but was so distracted that he wasn't part of many of the conversations.
"Is he all right? Yami?" I ask, shifting to try to find a position that isn't painful. It's not quite possible yet.
"He did die," Anzu reminds us as if anyone could have forgotten. Jou shrinks down beside me. "Plus with the Dark Magician…the sooner he sends that spirit on the way, the better."
"You said he was Yami's best friend in Egypt. It would be hard to let him go," I point out.
"He's hardly a conversationalist. When he is around Yami spends most of his time arguing with him by the sound of it. More often than not Yami makes him stay invisible. Something is going on with them."
"Have you talked to Yugi about it?"
"That's the thing. Yugi and Mr. Mutou both know something. And so does Malik." She rounds on Jounouchi. "Has Bakura said anything?"
"No," he replies, shielding his ear reflexively. "He gets that murderous look anytime the Dark Magician is brought up. I'd just as soon let it be."
"I just wish we knew what he wants!"
"Maybe he wants to go. You said Malik said that Yami can make him leave at any time," I remind her. "Maybe Yami isn't ready to lose him again."
"Malik said that before Mr. Mutou kicked Honda and me out of the room!" she persists, no argument able to convince her that there isn't some scheme going on.
"You're trusting Malik on making judgement calls on what is and isn't suitable to say to someone's friends?" I ask with a tug of a smile on my lips.
"That's my point exactly! Wouldn't he have just said it instead of being all cryptic and avoiding?"
"I don't think that's fair, Anzu," Jounouchi says, quieter than before. "Malik's a mess right now."
She doesn't contest that, having seen the yami for herself. The mention of Malik's current state seems to sober them both; though I don't think we've convinced Anzu to drop her suspicions regarding the Dark Magician.
"When can Marik be discharged?" I ask to somewhat change the subject.
It's a worry we all have: Will they have Malik in a good place emotionally to be able to handle his hikari? Isis and Rishid are concerned about jealousy arising in the blonde hikari if Malik prefers Bakura or Yugi's company to his. From what we got to experience when the yami/hikari duo were living next door to us Marik is not what one would call mature by any means.
"They were going to discuss that today. I'll find out when I get to the hospital, I suppose."
Anzu and I share another look.
"Would you two quit that!"
"Sorry, Jou, it's just…are you sure this is a good idea?" Anzu questions.
"I don't know," he admits, scratching at the bandages on his hands. "He was the one who asked. I figure after everything they did to protect us that if Marik wants to talk I'm not going to say 'no'. Baku agreed; though we also agreed not to tell Malik until we know what it's all about."
The buzzer vibrates. Jou jumps up and crosses the space to the kitchen. He presses the intercom.
"Come on up, Yug!"
"Thanks!" it crackles.
"Is Otousan going with?"
"Nah. Isis is dropping Yugi off and will let me ride with her to the hosptial. She and Rishid are gonna be switching every other day, so I'll catch a ride back with Rishid."
"A car ride with Isis…" Anzu marvels.
"I'm not really looking forward to it."
Neither of us can argue with him on that. There is something about Marik's sister that is unsettling. From her serious attitude and seeming lack of emotion to the fact that she is the closest anyone comes to an expert with the Millennium necklace.
He opens the door just as Yugi raises his fist to knock.
"Hey Yug!"
"Hi guys. Jou, I'd get going if I were you. She's pretty impatient to get to the hospital."
"That's my cue. Don't wanna start this off any worse than it has to be!" Jou grins. "Bye, guys!"
"Bye!" Anzu calls as he disappears down the hallway.
Yugi closes the door. He exhales in a sort of relief, coming over and climbing up beside Anzu.
"Long night?" I query.
"Yeah, but not for the reason you'd think," Yugi snickers and stretches his arms above his head. "We were all hyper-vigilant and barely got any sleep. Meanwhile, Malik slept like a rock."
"That's great," Anzu says distractedly, peering towards the bedrooms to see if Otousan is going to come check on us.
"Don't worry. Once he gets going it takes a lot to pull him away from his work. So what did you want to talk about that Jou couldn't be here?" I cut right to the chase.
"Shizuka. I want to try to get in contact with her," Anzu growls. "Find out what the hell is going on in her stupid head."
"That's a good way to open up a dialogue with a preteen girl who just over two weeks ago watched a bunch of people get mauled and attacked in a Shadow Fight by her brother," I say. "Don't you think you're expecting a lot from her? It isn't as if she and Jou were close before."
"It's hurting him! You've seen it. I know you have!"
"Bakura thinks it's best to leave it alone. For once, I have to agree with him."
"You can't be serious. Yugi?" She turns to our friend for support.
"I mean, if we can talk with her, that's okay. It'd be nice to see if we can't help her through whatever it is that made her just up and leave without talking to him," he ponders our ordeal slowly. "I would rather do that before bringing Jou into it though, in case things don't go well."
"Fair enough," she agrees, calming down a bit now that someone is on her side.
"So do you have any idea where to start?" I inquire, propping my right arm on the couch arm and the left on a pillow. These stupid bites still smart.
She adopts a repentant, appealing expression, glancing at Yugi. He stiffens, glancing questioningly at me to see if I know where this is about to go.
"Shizuka's mom changed the number or has taken her phone away altogether," she says, pausing to find a way to draw this out in hopes time will stop and she won't have to ask. "We know someone who can get the new number if there is one."
"No," I moan before hissing as the tension in my face makes my broken nose throb. "Why not just have Yami hire someone to find out? He has the money. Why bring Otogi into this at all?"
"I don't want to stress Yami out any more than he already is!" Anzu snaps, irritated. "You think I like the idea of having to see Otogi again? Half the time I want to smash in his smug face with my fist."
"Only half the time?" I joke with a wry smile. "Anyway, it's unnecessary. We can find a way around it. What do you think, Yugi?"
Our friend has been very still since the mentioning of the dice master. Anzu and I both peer at him as he stares at nothing. There's a troubled, pained expression knitting into his features. It's only now I remember that Yugi had allowed himself to be dragged off with Otogi by the Shadow Wolves. He hasn't wanted to go into details, just like I haven't of what it was like to be pulled through a window by a giant wolf and hauled through the Shadow Realm like a piece of meat.
"Yugi?"
He jumps a little, offering an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, just spaced out a bit. I'm fine."
"Why don't we get you home so you can sleep in your own bed?" Anzu presses gently, her determination quashed momentarily by her concern for him.
"Go ahead and crash in my room for a bit," I suggest, having no idea what state Jou and Bakura's bed is in. It's probably all right given Bakura hasn't been staying here for a week now. "Otousan can drive you both home a little later."
"Thanks Ryou. I think I might. But don't bother your dad. I can always steal a ride from Rishid when he drops Jou back here. I don't think the Game Shop is too far out of the way. Oh, and the thing with Otogi? Let me handle it."
"I was thinking we'd gang on up on him instead," Anzu says, sounding mildly disappointed.
"He'll probably be more than happy to give me the number so we'll all leave him alone," our friend says somewhat sadly as he leaves us to get some much needed rest.
"No one has heard from him, have they?" I ask.
A week ago that wasn't a surprise. But two with not a peep from him? It sounds like he had it as least as bad as I did with the Shadow wolves. Probably worse since Jou wasn't interested in keeping Otogi alive.
"It's one of the few good things to come out of this," Anzu mutters, and while I am empathetic to the dice master for whatever trauma he suffered, I silently agree with her.
(Jounouchi's POV)
Isis breezes into the room without a word, bypassing the nurses taking a regular vitals check. Rishid gets up from his chair and greets her with a few quiet words in either Arabic or ancient Egyptian. I can't tell the difference. I follow her in, feeling out of place. I had hoped the last time I would have to come here was visiting Ryou.
"Hey mutt."
Marik is sitting, several pillows propped behind him. I'm shocked by how much he looks like himself after the fifteen days he's been here. While his hair is a bit stringy and he's lost a bit too much weight, his eyes are sharp and alive. Given the number of demands I've heard Isis has made, I suppose I shouldn't be a surprise the level of extra care he's gotten.
"Hey," I say awkwardly, the last time we spoke he was kicking me and shocking life back into Yami's body.
"I'm going to go get some breakfast," Rishid says, pointedly taking his sister's arm to lead her out of the room. "I'll make sure Isis eats something too."
"I've already breakfasted, thank you," she says without inflection, but follows him. "Marik, I'll be speaking with your doctors about getting you home."
"Thanks."
He watches them go with a strange expression, a mixture of fondness and annoyance. Given he's been cooped up here for over two weeks and that pretty much all of the time he was conscious they were here, that would send anybody bonkers. Not to mention Marik isn't exactly a relax-and- chill-out personality.
"Gods, if I don't get out of here soon I'm going to strangle them."
He's dissecting me as I decide to go ahead and take one of the two seats pulled up next to the bed. I have no idea why I'm here or what he wants, so I might as well get as comfortable as possible. I don't think it's just sheer luck his siblings both left right away.
"They say how long it's going to be?"
"Isis and Rishid are as sick of this as me. The other day she threatened to smother me with a pillow. So she'll make it sure it's no later than tomorrow," he says, settling back with a scowl. "She doesn't need the Millennium rod to get her way."
"I'll bet. We just had a pretty uncomfortable car ride. It consisted of awkward silence interrupted by her politely threatening to kill me if I ever use a Millennium Item again. Your sister is scary, Marik."
"Just a bit," he simpers, seeming pleased by her intimidation tactics.
"So…why am I here?"
I have to imagine it's more than just getting me alone in a car with his sister so she could intimidate me. She could have done that just as easy on the phone or stopping by the apartment.
"My siblings only got Malik to the house as of last night. We've been in contact with Yugi mostly, because Malik despises the phone and isn't up for conversation." He gives me a pointed look, testing for my opinion for what he says next. "Yugi said Bakura's been with them for the past week."
"Yeah. Baku and I have been phoning daily. I haven't been near them since the first night. Malik settled down quickly with Baku and we figured my being there wouldn't help."
"It's fun, isn't it?" he says with the hint of a sneer. "Having your boyfriend so focused on someone else?"
"It's not like they're romantic," I rush to defend the yamis.
"That's beside the point."
"Marik, it can't happen like before. You getting all jealous and messing with everything to get your way."
"You're saying you won't resort to that? Malik isn't going to be himself anytime soon."
"I can't stand your yami. But Baku and he think the world of each other. There's no separating them now. You know that, Marik. We don't have to like it. Hell, they're both making an effort. You should see how many people they're around without causing any harm. They're really trying."
"I'd heard something about my yami and Yugi's grandfather," the hikari says distractedly, waving that thought away like a pesky fly. "We're getting off topic."
"You never said what the topic was supposed to be to begin with," I point out.
Marik lifts a defined eyebrow with an air of disdain, as if I was to have figured it all out already. I catch my tongue. I didn't come here for a fight, as much as I can't stand the hikari or his yami. I keep reminding myself that I'm doing this for Baku. Besides, we owe the psycho twins.
"I wanted to make sure we're all on the same page," Marik says, suddenly serious. "My siblings, Yugi's family, you and the thief, and me."
"About what?"
"The yamis." His mood is critical. "I'm in this for Malik. After the shit you pulled, if the rest of you guys fell apart, I would let it happen. You'd deserve it."
"Marik…"
"But Malik would intervene," he continues dispassionately, giving in with a frustrated exhale. "So."
At least he gets it. It may not be for the right reasons, but at least he's agreeing not to fuck up everything we've all be working so hard at. I do feel I need to reassure him.
"Bakura's doing good, Marik. Ry's dad knows about him. He's healthier. He doesn't need your yami to protect him. It won't be like before."
"No. It's Malik who needs protecting now."
"There are plenty of people who are trying to help him, including your family. Yugi has promised not to sever the link too soon."
An indescribable hurt manifests on the hikari's face. I realize I've made a mistake in bringing that up. Damn it. Me and my big mouth.
"I'm sorry."
"For what? Rishid told me. He refused to connect me to Malik."
"Do you want to be?"
"…no." Marik stares at the IV that's bruising up his hand. "I would do it if Malik needed me to, but…for the first time since I can remember I can breathe. There isn't a huge black cloud trying to engulf Malik. I can sleep and not wake up to him having wandered off into the desert without any way to keep himself safe. There's no one in my head. Not Rishid. Not my yami…I haven't asked for a new link. I don't want a new link. I want to feel him but I don't want to feel what he's feeling. Selfish of me, right?"
"No, it's not," I say quietly, not having contemplated what this hikari has been through. Trying to lighten his mood, I add with a grin: "I mean, you still are a self-centered priss."
That earns a frail smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"Before the Shadow Realm…before you fucked everything up trying to be all macho…I told him. I told Malik to consider that you are what's best for the thief."
If it was physically possible my jaw would be hitting the floor.
"You…? Why?"
"Don't sound so upset."
"I'm not, I just…wasn't expecting…Why?" I ask again, having been tricked before by him.
"Because I thought perhaps that you are the thief's best shot. And it was killing Malik to believe otherwise. Sounds like I was right, too. As usual. So I won't do anything to screw that up. Just for fuck's sake promise that you won't either."
"I'm trying not to, believe me."
His lips quirk into a smug smirk. I could nearly hug him. I'm not gonna.
I no longer love her, that is certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.
(Yami's POV)
I groan as I wake to the sound of the back door in the kitchen. Wiping a thin line of saliva from the corner of my mouth, I push myself upright. It's dark. The clock on the vcr reads 9:46pm. I turn on the lamp beside the couch. Yugi is tiptoeing into the living room when the light comes on. He freezes in place.
"Oh. I thought everybody was in bed."
"No. I was waiting up for you," I say groggily, running the back of my hand across my lips. "Must have dosed off. Why are you so late?"
"There was a lot to discuss. Marik's going home tomorrow," he says, wandering over to the recliner and collapsing into it. "I'm going to stay with the Ishtars for a few days to help with the transition."
I lean forward on my spot on the couch, lacing my fingers loosely in front of me.
"Don't you think your grandfather will want to weigh in on that?"
"I'm going to ask him," my hikari clarifies. "With school postponed due to all the investigations, I've got some time. I'm going to be staying out of the way as much as I can. They all need to learn how to live with each other. The only reason for my being there would be if Malik was having an episode."
"Where will you sleep now that all of them will be in the house at once?" I ask, having to try to imagine because I have not seen the place they're renting.
"It has four bedrooms. Isis insisted on that with me in mind."
"Of course she did," I mutter dryly. I should have known she'd have the foresight for such details.
"It wasn't rocket science, Yami. She didn't need the Millennium necklace to know our lives are going to be interwoven for some time."
"That is true," I concede, a sense of sadness washing over me as I wonder if I will be here.
"Once Marik and Malik have settled in a bit, I might see if Grandpa will come with, at least during the day," Yugi says distractedly not having noticed my shift in mood. "He could use a change of scenery and, who knows, he may like to see Malik."
It's an isolating feeling, all of these plans he's made. None of which I can be a part of.
"What about the thief?"
"He's going to go back to Ryou, Jou, and Mr. Bakura for a while. He could use a rest after a week with Malik. Balancing the medications has been awful. Bakura's been there constantly. Hell, even I got a break now and then," Yugi marvels at the thief's dedication to the other yami. "Aside from missing Jou, Bakura acknowledged he and Marik really don't like each other. We all think it will be easier to start Marik and Malik off without Bakura there."
"It sounds as if you have everything figured out."
Yugi regards me strangely. He stops talking, having caught on that something is wrong. Or perhaps there's something bothering him. After being away from each other so much this past week, I'm having a hard time deciphering his emotions.
"I know I said I didn't want you to do everything but…there is something that would mean a lot…if you're up for it."
"What is it?" I ask, not expecting much; something to make me feel like I'm a useful participant.
"I want to find out how Otogi is doing," he says seriously, his features tightening as he speaks of the dice master. That occurs every time. I don't know much of what happened to them when they were separated from the rest of us. Anzu told me when Yugi reappeared he was covered in blood that wasn't his.
"You know I've tried Kaiba Corp. They're tight-lipped. No one will tell me where he is."
"But we have the rod!" he says excitedly. "We can make them tell us!"
"Careful, aibou. You're getting a tad too comfortable with the Millennium rod's powers."
"It's helped a lot!"
"I'm sure it has. But a power that can control or alter someone's mind should not be used lightly or frequently. You saw how Malik and Marik lived before, never needing to interact with anyone or be held responsible for anything. That's what that Item does. It alienates and dehumanizes."
His discomfort is palpable. No link required. It's clear he hadn't thought that through. I can't find fault in him for that. He's been preoccupied. I know what it's like to feel like you're responsible for everyone else.
"I don't mean to be cruel or dismissive of all the good you've done, aibou. Far from it," I say in a gentle voice, aware of how hard he's been working to help Malik and the Ishtars. "I just don't want to see you become dependent on mind control. I'll see what I can do about getting information on Otogi, even if I have to offer to duel Kaiba."
"Let's not take it that far after Jou worked so hard so Kaiba could never challenge you again," Yugi reminds me with a small smile.
"Ah yes. I had forgotten," I say wistfully, having never properly thanked Jounouchi for that.
"You know that's the only leverage you have. And he'll want it to be big and public."
"You're trying to sway me into taking control of Kaiba?"
"No. There's other magic that won't do anything to people. There are other Items, Yami."
"There are. But what good does that do us?"
Ryou's kept the scales, holding them while he sleeps. Bakura is still wearing the ring as a precaution. Marik has the key. Isis the necklace. Last I heard the eye was with Rishid. Yugi has the rod. I have the puzzle. The puzzle doesn't have any useful abilities in this instance. I'm not sure what Yugi is thinking.
Unless…
"Yugi."
He hesitates and then reaches for a cord I didn't notice before around his neck. As he lifts it over his head, the Millennium key appears from beneath his shirt.
"What the hells are you doing with that?"
"Rishid gave it to me. It's mostly healed Marik's injuries. Whatever else the Dark Magician did to him isn't helped by the Millennium Items, so Marik's siblings were eager for him to not have it anymore. They said he's already asked where the rod is and when he'll get it back."
"That's because he doesn't know how to live without it."
"I get it. I'll stop using it except for Malik's appointments, okay? We can't exactly have him talking with a psychiatrist on what he's going through."
"Duly noted."
"Anyway, Rishid and Isis would prefer Marik not get the rod back. But he and Malik would both have to relinquish control of it, right?"
"I'm not sure how it works since both of them can lay claim to it. What's Malik's opinion?"
"That's the interesting thing. He hasn't once hinted he wants me to hand it over."
I can understand that. There's more than one reason I'm not wearing the Millennium puzzle.
"It was his prison for three thousand years, aibou."
"Oh. I didn't really think about that."
He holds out the key to me over the coffee table and I take it without a thought. The key is a similar weight to the ring. Its shape could pass it easily for an ankh, stylized as it is. I stare at it, wondering after Shaddi and what became of him. I hope he found peace.
"What do you think about returning this to Malik instead?" Yugi asks. "It doesn't feel right to take the key from him. Shaddi gave it to him."
"It wasn't Shaddi's to give."
"Wasn't it?"
I don't have an answer for that. Shaddi entrusted the key to me first and look how well that went. But to give it to Malik?
"What exactly did he say to Malik?" I ask, wanting to give Shaddi's choice some thought, since Rishid and Yugi claim Shaddi was in his right mind at the end. If Shaddi had wanted the key returned to me he would have given it to my hikari.
"You'll have to ask Rishid. It was all ancient Egyptian." Yugi chews on his bottom lip. "I don't know if Malik would even want it or not."
"How about you allow him one hurdle at a time? Let him focus on his hikari and on recuperating," I suggest. "We'll keep it for now."
I have to think that over. Of course, how much of a say should I have if I'm not going to be here? I internally cringe at that thought. It's become my reaction every time I drift into thinking about departing.
"You could always lend it to Otogi for a while," Yugi suggests mildly, trying to sound as if this isn't what he's been leading up to the whole time. "He might really need it."
"Kaiba had him sequestered almost immediately. He's no doubt had better medical care than all of us combined."
"You didn't see what happened to him, Yami."
The intensity in his gaze gives me pause; especially since he's fighting so hard on behalf of Otogi, whom I know for a fact he has wanted to punch for some time.
"I'll take the key with," I say in hopes of placating him.
"Kaiba's not going to let you see him," he states stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're going to need the rod. You know that, right?"
I stand beside the nurses' station, waiting impatiently for an opportunity. I've located a promising target. The door across the way is ajar, a doctor typing away at his computer. It's already been forty minutes. Two security guards pass by me on their way to or from their shift. I sigh in aggravation. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up for.
A part of my mind yells at me for not having taken Yugi's advice. I left the rod at home with Yugi, determined not to use it. That Item's powers have never sat well with me along with those of the eye. Perhaps there's also the correlation I make between those Items and my cousin and uncle.
A nurse passes by me and knocks on the door to my chosen office.
"Come in."
She enters. I follow, sidling along the wall so no one touches me. I don't want to find out if they can detect my physical presence or not. I have to make sure not to turn too quickly. No sudden movements due to the hazy visibility the key causes, otherwise I get dizzy. I'm trying to be as quick as possible given that I've never used the key in this manner before.
I check my watch. It's nearly 2 AM.
"The patient in room 55 is complaining of stomach pains."
"Let me see the chart."
'Go away. Go away. Go away,' I silently urge them, a trail of sweat making its way down the center of my back.
I don't have a Plan B. Not a well-constructed one. The rod would have been so much easier.
"All right. Let's have a look," he says, following her out.
The door closes and locks behind them.
I exhale in relief, letting the illusion fall. I step out of whatever dimension I've been treading in. Hurrying over to the computer I'm pleased to find he didn't log off or close the system. Apparently a locked door sufficed.
I open a new window, fingers tapping like mad as I search for patient information. I locate it, typing frantically while my ears strain for any warning that anyone is returning.
Ryuuji, Otogi
I click on his name and an overwhelming amount of information comes splurging through. I balk, not sure where to begin. There's a folder for medical charts. Another for billing. Reports from first responders. Records of a transfer. I open that.
A private facility. One run by Kaiba Corp, at that. It doesn't surprise me in the least. I hit 'Print' and then cringe as the machine comes to life, making all sorts of awkward mechanical coughs. Should have just grabbed a piece of paper and written it down. Oh well. What's done is done. I doubt anyone can hear it.
While it's working I stray back to the other information. Clicking on another file, I'm lead to generic information that I realize with a start that I don't know:
Birthday: February 28
Age: 17
Blood Type: B
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 141 lbs
Next of kin: NA
Emergency contact: Kaiba Corp. Surprise surprise.
Yugi's persistence to check on the teen whom he so despises piques my curiosity. Wanting to know what exactly the dice master has been dealing with, I move the cursor to the medical file. It's all gibberish to me until I come upon a page specifically for Kaiba Corp. that requested layman's terms. For Kaiba himself, most likely.
I thump down on the chair, staring at the screen in mounting horror at the list of ailments on his arrival to the hospital:
Severe blood loss.
Fractured tibia.
Possible nerve damage in his leg.
Second degree burns to the chest.
Deep bite wounds to leg from unknown large mammal. Patient claims wolves. Teeth size is estimated to be closer in length to those of a grizzly bear but thinner in diameter.
Hallucinations brought on by trauma.
They go over what actions they took first. Medications. Treatments. Blood infusions. Emergency surgeries.
I scroll further down to what came after he'd been here. Day Two. The day I awakened to Mahaado hovering over me. Alcoholism jumps out at me. I could have told them that. Hell, anyone who's met the dice master could have…
I couldn't have fathomed the next line. It's just a single sentence. It spells things out so plainly as if it were the results reported from a science project. So matter-of-fact.
"Damn it," I whisper, cursing myself for not trying harder to find him sooner.
They treated him, stabilized him. But what was the cost? Was there any damage? I could have given him an Item sooner if I'd known. That's just the problem: I didn't want to know.
The lock clicks.
I close the files and lunge across the desk, activating the Millennium key as the papers crinkle between my fingers. The door opens.
"What on earth?"
The doctor stares at the cup of pens and picture frames that have scattered on the floor. I don't wait around, hurrying past him into the hallway and hurrying as fast as I dare for the exit, papers clutched tightly in my sweating hands.
Another's. She will be another's. Like my kisses before.
Her voice. Her bright body. Her infinite eyes.
(Yugi's POV)
"You'll call if he needs me."
It isn't a question. I smile with my back to them as Isis releases a weary sigh. Here we go again.
"I already said I would. Though I do not see it as being necessary with Yugi here."
"I'll call with an update tonight," I promise the thief, turning from the front window where I've been watching for the sleek black car the Ishtars seem to find regardless of what country they're in. "I'll keep close tabs on them."
"Malik won't let you know something is wrong when it comes to his hikari," Bakura says curtly, disdain for Marik bleeding through. "He's like that."
"I know," I assure him. "We've had to do this type of thing a few times now. I've gotten better at reading Malik."
He's not convinced. I don't get perturbed like Isis is. The more I've gotten to see Bakura and Malik interact, the better I understand them. All of this is anxiety radiating from a place of concern for Malik. The veiled threats and sharp looks are the thief's way of dealing with the stress of leaving Malik in someone else's care. He doesn't trust me. He doesn't trust any of us.
"If you…"
"Stop badgering the hikari, Bakura," a deeper voice warns off the tomb robber.
Malik is standing in the doorway. It's only the second day he's been dressed and out of bed. This is the first he's come down to the ground level of the house. He's wan. The circles under his eyes have darkened. Three straight days of vomiting and then being practically unconscious while the medications were adjusted is testament to that. Bakura demanded to take Malik off them immediately, horrified by the side effects, having not experienced such things himself. Malik opted to keep trying. The levels still aren't quite right. It could take weeks before everything is at an effective but safe dosage. Despite the physical setbacks, Malik has calmed considerably. I can still feel how hypersensitive he is but he's enduring it better. He hasn't had any breakdowns in the last few days.
"I noticed you excluded me from that request," Isis states for a matter of record.
"He can bug you all he wants," Malik mutters.
"You should be in bed," Bakura chastises his friend, moving toward him to herd him back upstairs.
"I'm sick of being in bed," the other dark retorts, slumping down on the couch in defiance.
His energy is depleted. That was before he decided to take an excursion through the house. I gently nudge his ka, allowing it to pull some of my own energy through the link. Malik's features twitch as it reaches him but he doesn't otherwise outwardly react.
"You wore yourself out getting down here, didn't you?" Bakura demands, reaching towards the other dark only to get his hand smacked away.
"Shut up."
"I'm sure you will sorely miss all of the maturity after your departure, Bakura," Isis says and removes herself from the room without further comment.
I make a weird snorting sound when I try to hold in my laughter. I can't help but noticing the parallels with earlier this summer when Malik was caring for a detoxing Bakura.
"I can stay longer if you need me to," the thief isn't relenting.
"And have you and Marik get into your petty pissing matches?"
"Malik…"
"I appreciate all of this, Bakura. Really," Malik says in a gravelly voice as he tries to keep his composure. "But I can't handle you and Marik at the same time. It's already fun enough being with his family."
"If you need to get away from them…"
"I need to learn how to be with them," the blonde yami says with a mixture of disdain and reluctant surrender. "That's why you need to go for now. I'll manage. That's why little pharaoh is here."
"Quit calling me that."
"Sorry," he says with a tired smirk.
Out of the corner of my eye I see the black car glide to a halt in front of the house.
"They're here."
Bakura somehow manages to become even more agitated. He takes a position beside the other yami. Malik keeps a straight face but his own anxiety is churning. He doesn't get up. I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little nervous. My main concern is how Marik is going to be.
Somehow, even though she was at the back of the house, Isis knows. She returns and walks straight to the door without comment. I watch from the window at Rishid helps Marik out of the car. The blonde hikari is a bit wan. He holds to his brother's arm as Rishid leads him up the front walk. It's not surprising he's a bit unsteady after being in bed for so long.
"At last," Isis breathes, a hint of affection breaching her usual monotone. "Come in, brothers."
"You had the Millennium rod and you got this place?" Marik asks with a crinkle of his nose. "Why not something more fancy?"
"It has everything we need, I think you will find," Isis says, closing the door and bypassing the comment about the rod.
Marik doesn't make any other snide remarks. His pouting expression disappears as his eyes lock with Malik's. The hikari doesn't pay attention to me or the thief standing protectively at Malik's side as if he expects Marik to do something awful. Marik lets go of Rishid and approaches his yami in an unusually slow way, painfully trying to restrain his excitement. Malik takes care of that by holding out his hand. A smile breaks across the hikari's face and he hurries over.
Bakura's stance screams that he's ready to physically pull the hikari back if necessary. I am a bit distracted, hard at work with Malik's ka to keep his senses from going haywire. Isis and Rishid remain by the door, monitoring the yami and hikari very closely. We discussed this before. They won't intercede unless I signal.
Marik kneels before his yami, resting his hands carefully on Malik's knees and gazing up at him adoringly. We all hold our breaths, but the hikari doesn't jump on his yami. He doesn't get overly physical. He stays where he is, beaming and waiting, albeit eagerly, for a sign from his darker half. Malik leans down and encircles his hikari in his arms, Marik leaning into his yami's chest. They stay like this without a word, gentle, just breathing and being.
"Yugi?" Isis asks from across the room.
I nod in the affirmative. It's all right. Malik is handling it well enough. It's going to be touch and go for a while, but they've managed their reunion. The tension visibly lessens in Isis and Rishid.
"Bakura," Rishid motions, indicating it's time to leave.
The thief wavers. We all know how badly he wants to stay. But he knows. He understands Malik and Marik. His shoulders slump as he realizes this is finally out of his hands. Casting a final glance at the pair, he moves away.
"You'll call?" he asks quietly, pausing by me.
"I will," I promise again. "Tonight."
He nods once and walks obediently to the door where Rishid is waiting. Isis passes Bakura's suitcase to him without a word.
"Thief."
We all look back. It wasn't the voice any of us was expecting. Marik is looking at Bakura from where he's nestled against his yami's chest. There's no sarcasm or sneer in the hikari's features. His face is serious and earnest as he looks across the way at the person he always has and probably always will view as a rival for Malik's affections.
"Thank you."
(Yami's POV)
I stare at the ceiling, oblivious as the sun slinks across the floor until it pounces on my face. I close my eyes stubbornly, refusing to move. I had hoped to get some rest. My mind is going a mile a minute. I'm exhausted from the amount of energy the key's powers depleted.
Yugi's gone to the Ishtars'. Mr. Mutou probably has opened the shop by now. I'm glad. It gives a feeling of normalcy, even if nothing is as it used to be. He has work he can throw himself into. A sense of purpose.
I want that. Not a card shop. Nor a King of Games title. I have no aspirations. I can never be who I was again. So who am I now?
They've gotten to me. Bakura. Malik. Mr. Mutou. Yugi. Each conversation wore me down a little more, whittling away at my resolution; Mr. Mutou and Malik the most. I can't deny what Mr. Mutou said made sense: What would be so wrong with living and getting to go on afterwards? I understand with a sinking feeling that it isn't that there would be anything wrong with that. I just don't want to have to suffer anymore.
That brings me to Malik. He's hurting. Hurting more than any human is supposed to be capable. Yet he's choosing to stay. Hells, he had a nervous breakdown after our conversation, having forced himself to refuse something that would take all of that anguish away. He called this suicide. Is that what it is?
"You pushed yourself too hard."
Damn it. Peace and quiet and, most importantly, solitude sound so appealing.
"I am aware."
Mahaado takes note of my tone. Per usual, past and present, it isn't a deterrent.
"You could have called upon me. My powers of concealment are similar to the key's and it would have been draining on me, not you."
"It's something I had to do myself."
If he has an opinion on that he doesn't offer it. Truth be told, I desperately needed to do something for myself to prove I still could. I needed time away from him. To throw myself into something that mattered.
"Did you accomplish whatever you were trying to do in the healers' quarters?"
I open one eye to squint at him through the sunlight. He's hovering beside my desk peering at the crinkled documents from the hospital. He can't read it and that is maddening for him. I take pity on my former priest who has been stagnant for over two weeks now.
"In a way. I have more to do today."
"Let me help this time."
"We'll see if magic is even required," I say offhandedly as a way of warding off his insistence and questions.
"Pharaoh."
His tone is like ice water in my veins. It's not aggressive or trying. There is a gravity I cannot match. It sends a chill through me because I know what he's going to say, what he hasn't dared ask again up until now.
"Your friends are all recuperating. Are you satisfied yet that they are safe? Please, whatever this is you need to finish let me help. I cannot stand lingering here without being of some assistance to you."
He doesn't outright say it: That he didn't seal himself away so that he could slink around in the shadows and watch me mope. I can't help feeling repentant for what I'm putting him through after his sacrifice to me. A week ago I nearly offered to send him on his way and I would follow suit when I was ready. I couldn't. I can't. He's Mahaado. Once he's gone, I won't see him again for a very long time.
"This is the last thing, Mahaado," I tell him softly, having run out of excuses. I'm not even sure what I mean by that. "Please let me handle this on my own."
"If you insist," he says reluctantly. "May I ask what it is?"
"Ensuring the well-being of one more person."
He's oddly quiet to that. I turn my head this time. His gaze of light could set the papers on fire the way he's staring so intensely at them.
"Couldn't your friends do that? Your hikari?" he asks, trying out the foreign word on his tongue.
"They could. They aren't…Yugi isn't fond of Otogi. None of them are."
"And you?"
"I care to see that he's recovering from nearly being ripped apart by Shadow monsters. It'll be less dramatic if I meet with him than my friends."
Possibly. It is Otogi after all.
"You mentioned him before, haven't you? The one that powerful people were looking after."
"Yes. He works for Kaiba—Seth's reincarnation."
"Charming."
"Quite," I chuckle at that shared detestation. "Kaiba's only slightly more agreeable than my cousin. He can be quite devious."
"So what makes him any different from Seth?"
"Well for starters, he's never aspired to kill me."
"I suppose that counts for something."
I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
(Otogi's POV)
"Time for your disulfiram," the nurse announces entering the room.
"Don't you ever knock?" I grumble.
The platter with labelled deli cups for all the patients clatters as she sets it on the bedside table. She pours water into a small paper cup and holds it out to me. I scowl at her.
"I'm not taking that shit."
"It's part of the program."
"I didn't volunteer for your fucking program!"
"No. But you are required to do the bare minimum. Normally we wouldn't have accepted you to begin with."
"Then kick me out."
"We are all quite fed up with your attitude." Unfazed, she presses the button on her walkie-talkie attached to her collar. "He needs convincing."
I tense as another person enters. It's one of the bulky Kaiba Corp. goons that are all muscle and no brain. Even in my current state I'm ready to fight them tooth and nail if they put their fucking hands on me. He isn't looking at me, dialing on a phone in his hand. It rings once.
"What?" a familiar voice barks.
Damn it.
"Mr. Kaiba, you said to call if he refused treatment. He won't take the new medication."
"Are we on speaker?"
"Yes sir."
"Ryuuji, take the damn pills."
"Go fuck yourself!" I snarl. "This isn't any of your business!"
The phone sighs, aggravated.
"I have you under contract. In the event you are found mentally unfit, I take control of your assets."
"You can't-!"
"I already have. You are taking the damn pills and anything else they want you to do."
I gawk at the phone in mounting horror. I know damn well he can do it. Even if I hadn't sold my soul away he can do it because he's Seto Kaiba. It's been bad enough being cooped up in this room with nothing to do. It's the worst at night when the lights are off and all I can think about are giant teeth and glowing yellow eyes.
"This is your fault," I hiss between my teeth, hands fisted at my sides. "If you hadn't sent me on all of those stupid errands…"
"You were a drunk long before that. Cry to the damn counselors about it."
"You fucking bastard!" I yell only to be shoved back on the bed by the goon.
It's not right! The only reason he's getting on my case about the drinking is because of what they are calling my 'hallucinations'. The bastard is using it as a way to twist things to his own preferences.
"Careful of his chest. Now there's no need to get worked up," the nurse states evenly, unfazed by all of this. "You should be resting up for your procedure tomorrow."
"Procedure?" I echo, dread filling my stomach. Not again. "What procedure?"
"For your leg. They want to try something else for the damaged nerves."
"N-No."
It hurts worse every time they do this to me. They call it progress. Say it's good I'm feeling more pain. I just want it to stop.
"Do you want to walk with a limp?" Kaiba butts in again. "Hell, do you want to walk at all?"
Both the goon and nurse stare at me pointedly. I shrink down against my pillow. The answer 'just stop' makes me sound all the more irrational. It isn't right! They said they were done with the treatments last time. And the time before that.
"I didn't think so. Now shut up. Take the pills. Stop causing everyone problems."
Realizing I'm not going to win either of these rounds, I try something else:
"Can't I at least have something to work on?"
Anything to distract myself from the monotony and lack of alcohol.
"Like hell I'd let you touch anything for the business right now. Raving about giant wolves and having night terrors," Kaiba scoffs mockingly.
I have to clench my jaw so tight it hurts to keep from reacting. He's doing it for the benefit of the two idiots here. And because he can. That isn't fair. He knows all of it is real.
"If I could just have…"
"The answer is no. You're no use to Kaiba Corp. like this. Is that all? I have important things to attend to."
"Yes, that's all, Mr. Kaiba," the goon says while casting me a victorious look.
The nurse thrusts the water and pill into my face again. I take them with shaking hands, downing the new medication they threatened me with before, wanting me on a regimen before I'm released. I choke it down, my gag reflex in tune with my desire to not swallow.
Accepting the empty cup, the nurse states: "Open."
I glare at the goon who takes a step forward as if he will make me comply. I wonder how much leeway Kaiba has given him and decide I don't want to find out. I open my mouth and she peers inside before nodding in approval. They both turn and leave without a word; their tasks done for the moment.
(Yami's POV)
I watch the scene play out with rising disgust. By the end of it I'm sure Otogi will start crying. No one tries to soothe his obvious fears about whatever they're going to do tomorrow. They're probably sick of his pleasant attitude. Even so, I notice the stark contrast between my experience at the hospital and Otogi's here in this private facility exclusively for Kaiba Corp. employees. I had my friends visiting daily. The nurses and doctors were kind. This place is regimented. They have a tight system and the emotional well-being is obviously not top priority. What would I expect from a place designed and run by Kaiba Corp.?
The door closes and he gasps, eyes glassy as he fights back his obvious despair. I move closer, taking in his haggard appearance. He's dressed in a dark blue tee shirt and shorts. I've never seen him so disheveled. His hair is pulled back in a mess, no attempt at styling it. He's missing his headband and signature earring. His skin is ashen. Eyes haunted. His leg below the knee is in a sort of cast or thick bandage, laying on a cushion to keep it raised.
I did experience some relief when he started cussing out Kaiba. I wasn't sure what state Otogi would be in after reading his medical chart from his second day at the hospital: Grand mal seizure caused by alcohol withdrawal.
"What's happening?"
Mahaado appears in the haze beside me, somehow able to traverse to wherever I am.
"They have to do something to his leg again tomorrow. It hasn't healed right," I tell my priest while never looking away from the teen. "He's afraid."
"Why? Are they torturing him?" he asks, sounding curious as he looks around the stark room.
"No," I say as I stare at the despondent teen. "It's just…He's alone."
There was no list of family. No one to call. I spot a possibility that he's had visitors. There is a long, thin table along the outer wall next to the window. Vases filled with over-the-top bouquets are crammed together, each with their own little cards attached. Nothing like what one would send to someone they actually know. Curious, I walk over and glance at a few that are open enough for me to view. The first three are a standard get-well and a name signed by the flower company. The individuals probably don't even know what they sent. Another has hints that might infer the person hopes the dice master doesn't get better. Then there's a name I recognize: It's from Takara, the agent Otogi set up with Jounouchi. My skin crawls at the wording that is more than a little suggestive. I give the rest a scrutinizing glance. There have to be at least fifteen.
"Is this customary?"
"Not like this," I say, not sensing any truly good intentions from these well-wishes.
The dice master is breathing shallowly through his nose, fighting down his emotions. The tears come, heedless of his efforts. He bites down hard on his bottom lip to keep from making a sound. Would anyone come, I wonder, if they heard him crying?
"What happens now?" Mahaado asks, eager for me to move forward with my plan.
I tread softly back to the side of the bed even though Otogi can't hear me. It bothers me to see the dice master in this state. The closest I've seen to this side of him is at the aquarium when he took offense, and rightly so, for what I accused him of. The trauma aside, there's also the fact that this brilliant teen is being left in isolation with nothing to do to distract him and no alcohol to take the edge off; the latter of which is a relief to me but must be agony for him.
"Have I ever seen you sober?" I wonder softly, leaning my back against the wall as I study him.
He looks so vulnerable. So young. Damn. He is only seventeen years old.
"We wait a bit," I say, sensing Mahaado is going to ask again. "Let him compose himself."
I have no interest in embarrassing the dice master. The only reason he's breaking down right now is because he thinks he's alone. I'm intruding. It can't be helped. But I'm not going to leave him now.
Two different nurses comes and go two more times. He is given an injection. Otogi uses a pair of crutches to get to the small bathroom attached to this room. He gets in another argument with the Kaiba Corp. suit who apparently has been positioned outside the dice master's room. Otogi's dinner is brought early, not allowed to eat after a certain time due to the procedure tomorrow. He doesn't make any more attempts to get out of it. I keep where I am leaning against the wall as the dice master pushes his food around on his plate. He manages to finish most of the meal, looking as if he's going to be ill through the process.
"I'll be back at bed time," the latest nurse says, which sounds silly when the person is practically bedridden already.
He doesn't have any comeback or snide remark. The light has gone out of his eyes. He lies back and stares blankly at the ceiling. Taking the nurse's word that she won't be back for a while, I take a breath and bring down the spell. The teen doesn't take any notice, too deep in his misery.
"Otogi?"
If he could have he would have jumped a mile off the bed. Emerald eyes widen at finding me in his room. He pushes himself up on his elbows.
"How did you get in here?"
"How do you think?" I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed. His features tremble when he spots the key on my chest. "It's all right. I'm not going to cast spells or anything."
"Forgive me if I'm a bit jumpy around Shadow Magic," he manages to give some bite to the comment. "Getting blasted in the chest with a ball of fire and dragged down the street by a pack of giant wolves will do that."
"Fair enough. Yugi didn't tell me much about what happened to you two. He has a hard time talking about it."
Otogi averts his gaze to his leg.
"He's all right?"
"Overall, yes. I don't think anyone could come out of that unscathed."
"It was more you dying than anything else for him."
I can't form words as that sinks in. With all of the other traumas, I hadn't really considered what that would have been like for my hikari. He would have felt my spirit be torn away. But he sensed my actual death as well?
"He didn't tell you that, huh?"
"No," I admit. "What about you? How are you holding up?"
"Sick and tired of being stuck in this hellhole for starters," he complains, trying to brush it off as nothing but an annoyance. "Service is terrible. You didn't happen to smuggle in anything to drink, did you?"
"That's rather the opposite of what they're trying to achieve here."
"Figures. You always were a spoilsport." He gives me a glance-over. "I'm kind of surprised you got out so early. It's been, what, a week now?"
"What?"
He reddens slightly noting his blunder but presses on.
"Your discharge from the hospital."
"You…kept tabs on me?"
"Well it wasn't like any of you were calling to tell me everyone survived."
"I'm sorry. We tried to…"
"I know. There are 'policies' here," he says with a roll of his eyes. "Still, you recovered fast, broken arm aside."
"Having an Item speeds up the process."
It isn't an untruth. It just isn't why I healed so quickly. That credit goes to Mahaado.
"Oh. Right." He tries to shrug off that thought. "So what are you doing here? It's not exactly the kind of place people try to sneak in to."
"I wanted to see you. See how you are doing."
"Why?"
"Don't you give me that," I rebuke him. "Don't act like I can't care. I'm no more of a monster than you are."
That earns an apologetic smirk.
"I don't know about that."
We lapse into a strange silence. It isn't like us. Over the past few weeks the dice master has sought me out time and time again. I don't know why. At first I thought it was part of his objective There's always something to talk about. Over half the time I was trying to sort out what his plot was, what information he was trying to glean from me. If he did gain anything from those conversations he never used it against me, to my knowledge.
"Glad you're not dead," he mumbles, picking distractedly at a scab on his thumb.
"Thanks. So am I," I smile and it's the truth. "I've been worried about you."
It's not a complete lie. I would have been if I'd known. But I'm worried now.
"I survived, didn't I?" he asks haughtily, tossing his messy bangs. "That's all there is to it."
"No, it isn't."
He gives me an incredulous look. There was a time I would have fallen for it. He's very convincing. I know better.
"There are repercussions. No one just gets over what happened."
"I have. Well, once my stupid injuries heal."
"Otogi, you can drop the act."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
He forces himself to look straight at me. There is a hint of uncertainty. I mull over what to do. Either he trusts me or he doesn't. I'm about to find out.
"It's okay to not be okay."
"I said I'm fine!"
"You're not." I almost reach out to touch his hand but something holds me back. "He tried to kill you."
"Well he did kill you," he retorts, crossing his arms over his chest and wincing, letting them fall back at his sides. "So that stands to reason you're more messed up than me."
I don't bother arguing that it was Shaddi who killed me, not Jounouchi. It's irrelevant to this. I also don't point out that he just admitted he's struggling.
"You were protecting Jou back at the high-rise. About his father," I add at his blank stare.
His expression doesn't change, determined not to give anything away. Even now he isn't sure what I do and don't know. The dice master isn't willing to let the wrong information slip. I'm in awe of that. On rare occasions have I seen much depth in Otogi. It's especially odd that it's Jounouchi he's defending even after what Jou did to him.
"His dad dead?" he asks with a sideways glance.
"No."
"Pity."
"He's in jail."
Otogi sniffs in disdain.
"Better than nothing."
"Jounouchi's safe. They all are. It's actually a bit frightening how much everyone is trying to work together. The Ishtars. Honda."
"Hiroto? Really? Next you'll be telling me Mai is all warm and fuzzy with the rest of you."
"It hasn't gotten that severe, thankfully," I can't help but chuckle.
Otogi doesn't laugh. Instead he is watching me, picking apart what he's seeing. He always has been too perceptive for his own good. It doesn't help that he's very bored. Plus he's probably more intuitive when he's not drunk.
"You're acting weird."
"I've been accused of that a lot lately," I sigh, irritated. "By many people."
"And what's their verdict?"
Somehow, somewhere along the line he became my sounding board. My go-to. I pause in this moment to appreciate how much I have wanted to speak to Otogi about this. But is it fair? What do I say? Where to even begin?
"Why are you here?" he asks.
"I already told you—"
"That you've been worried about me. So you show up here out of the blue wearing the Item that turned Katsuya postal." Green eyes slice into me like freshly whetted knives. "You were so concerned it took you a week to get here since you've been home. Even though you and all your friends have made up and are playing house. Even though you have magic."
"Otogi…"
"You don't have to pretend. I'm not offended," he says flippantly as if it doesn't matter. Maybe it doesn't. "I'm just sick of you tip-toeing around whatever it is."
I can't do it. I can't tell him that I probably wouldn't have come at all if Yugi hadn't pushed. That I would have trusted Kaiba of all people to look out for Otogi. I try to defend myself by rationalizing that I have been focused on my friends, but that's not true either. Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Mr. Mutou, Ryou's father, and the Ishtars are the ones responsible for that. I pulled back. I'm separated from them and I don't know if there's even a choice anymore.
I think I want there to be.
"Tell me about the attack," I say quietly. "What happened with you and Yugi?"
"Evading much?"
"Please, Otogi."
He quits the attitude when he sees I'm being serious. He just gets it.
"I need to hear this," I plead my case to the dice master, planting my palm on the bed between us. "You said Yugi reacted badly when I…when…"
"When you died? Yeah. The kid went catatonic. I couldn't snap him out of it. I suppose that's to be expected when your souls are attached the way they are." He cocks his head as something occurs to him. "Why is this bothering you now?"
"Just needed things put into perspective."
I can already imagine the look on Otogi's face if I told him about the Afterlife plan. He'd be livid. It'd probably be a combination of everything everyone else has said but with zero attempts at being nice about it. And a lot more swearing.
"Yami, what the hell is going on with you?"
"Nothing. So it looks like I can hang out with you. Might be nice to have company aside from nurses and that Kaiba Corp. suit."
His features go subzero. It takes me two seconds longer to realize why.
"How long have you been here?" he asks, voice low.
"Otogi…"
"How long have you been here?" he repeats, struggling to sit up more.
"…a while."
"Don't fuck with me, Yami! Is this to get back at me for everything? Had to resort to magic in order to do it?"
"That's not why I'm here."
"I don't care what it was you were trying to accomplish. It explains why it took you so damn long to bother coming. Is this even the first time you've been here?"
"Yes. But that isn't…"
"You satisfied? I'm fucking miserable. Happy? Go and celebrate with the rest of your friends. Now kindly get the fuck out of my room."
"I don't think you should be alone right now…"
"Maybe I want to be alone! Did that ever cross your thick head? At any rate, I don't want you here."
I don't have a chance to answer. A hand lands on my shoulder. I whip around to Mahaado while Otogi gawks at the empty space where I stood.
"Mahaado, what are you doing? I'm trying to-!"
"Someone's coming."
The door to the room opens. The Kaiba Corp. suit comes in and gives the dice master a scrutinizing once over.
"Stop yelling. You're bothering the other patients."
Otogi snaps his mouth shut but he can't hide his shell-shocked expression. Damn it. The man notices. He comes over and takes hold of Otogi's wrist.
"Are you hallucinating again?"
Otogi yanks his arm away and holds it against his chest.
"No."
"Do we need to intervene? The healers that treated you weren't like this."
I'm seriously considering it.
"Then stop acting out. Just because Mr. Kaiba is letting some protocols slide doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want."
The teen nods miserably, turning his face away. The latest nurse enters the room and starts asking questions. The man answers. Otogi doesn't move. He lies completely still with his eyes squeezed shut, clutching his arm.
I don't know what to do. He was adamant that I go. I can't blame him. It doesn't exactly look like I came because I care. Is he wrong? Was that the real reason I came?
"Is this what it's been like for you?" I ask softly as Mahaado lingers by my side. "Watching. Unable to help?"
"You're not stranded, Pharaoh," he says, his fingers lightly clasping my shoulder. "I could let go."
"I know. I just don't know what to do for him."
"What did he say to you?"
"He's mad I was here for a while invisible first. He thinks I'm going to use it against him somehow." I have to pause to swallow a lump in my throat. "I wouldn't do that."
"I know you wouldn't."
My lips quiver. That old ache burns in the center of my chest as I recognize those words, that voice, for just a moment. I reach up to place my hand atop his in silent thanks.
"It was good of you to come. To try," Mahaado continues dispassionately, that familiar piece of him fading. "Especially since he is so ungrateful."
My fingers slip away.
"He isn't really."
"It's nerves about tomorrow. That's all," the nurse remarks after looking the dice master over. "Do you need to be sedated again?"
"No," the teen says hollowly.
She shares a look with the suit.
"Very well. I think you've had enough for the day."
She walks over to the window and pulls a thick curtain across it. Otogi's eyes snap open at the sound of the plastic as it blocks out the dwindling sunlight. There's a fresh fear in the emerald depths.
"Wait."
"We aren't going to have an argument about the lights again, are we? It's time to get past that. How could anyone possibly sleep with these on?" she asks, referring to the bright florescent overhead lights in the ceiling.
She stares down the teen with a long-suffering look. It's painful to watch him struggle with himself not to say anything. Not to beg. For whatever reason he doesn't want the lights off.
"The morning shift will be in at six to prep you. Just go to sleep," she instructs as if it was so simple.
The lights go out. I almost miss the small whimper in the direction of the bed. The door closes leaving us in a surprisingly dark room given it isn't yet night. Otogi is panting, struggling to get out of his bed; desperate not to be in the dark. His hand reaches out blindly and smacks into the crutches. They clatter to the floor.
"Fuck!" he sobs.
I start to step forward but am impeded by Mahaado's hold. Then I second-guess. I don't know what to do.
"Pharaoh, you said it yourself: He doesn't want your help. Let us depart from this place."
Within the akh's power I can see clearly in the dimness. Otogi's torso twists and he scoots on his stomach to the edge of the bed. His panting is the only sound in the room as he stretches his arm out to the nearer of the fallen crutches. He gasps as his leg moves wrong way. His body curls around the edge of the bed as the pain rips through him and I fear he'll topple off.
"F-Fuck!"
The teen is suspended there trying to catch his breath. Not only is he still stuck in the dark but I'm not sure he can right himself. His fingers claw at the mattress as he hangs halfway off the bed.
"Pharaoh?"
"…Yami?"
I shrug off Mahaado's hand and cross the space to Otogi. The Millennium key alights. I grab ahold of the teen's arm with my good hand.
"I've got you. Hold onto me."
His fingers scramble to find purchase on my arm and in the folds of my shirt. His breath hitches and his body tenses horribly as I move him.
"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to…" I trail off as I'm able to help him turn onto his back.
The dice master collapses onto his pillow. His chest rises and falls rapidly as he recovers. The key's light reflects off the sheen of sweat on his skin. I put the cushion back in place and ease his leg back onto it. He hisses in response.
"You…" He wheezes out. "You didn't leave."
"No."
The edges of his lips twitch upwards.
"Stubborn bastard."
"I have a hero complex, remember?" I remind him with a chuckle. "Plus, kettle black."
That earns a quick laugh. His mouth snaps shut and we both go still. No sounds in the hallway. No suggestions that anyone has heard and is coming.
"Do you want me to open the curtain?"
He shakes his head.
"They'll see it. It's directly across from the door." He shifts uncomfortably under my scrutiny. "I've done it before, all right?"
"And yet you were going to try again just now."
"It was a moment of blind panic," he retorts sullenly. "No need to rub it in. I know it's stupid."
I pull the key's light in closer, taking care to keep it from reaching where it might be seen beneath the door. Otogi's eyes dart as the encompassing light shrinks in around us like a globe. The room beyond all but vanishes.
"It's all right. You're safe," I promise as I ease onto the bed, facing him. "This is just for light. And given what you went through in the Shadow Realm it's not stupid to be afraid of the dark."
"I'm not-!" he huffs in frustration. "I'm not a little kid. I just…I..."
"It's easier for the mind and eyes to play tricks in the dark."
He sizes me up, taking those words in and chewing them.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience."
Those damn eyes of his study me. He isn't wrong. What happened in the Shadow Realm was tame compared to Egypt. I don't say that aloud. Don't want to cheapen the teen's fears that are completely rational given what he's been through.
"Maybe I am. You get through it one way or another."
"Great," he says sarcastically before flinching. "Shit."
"Otogi?"
"Just the leg," he says through his teeth. "Moving around wasn't the greatest idea."
He closes his eyes as another wave of pain crashes through him. That's all my remaining patience can take.
"Enough of this."
He opens one eye and then both widen in terror as I lift the glowing key over my head with my left hand.
"What are you doing?" The dice master shrinks back from me. "Keep that thing away from me!"
"It can help you. Heal you."
"I don't want anything more to do with mag-!"
"Shut up. Do you want them coming back and drugging you?"
"Beats getting sent to the Shadow Realm or being incinerated by enchanted fire!" he retorts, albeit much quieter than before.
"I wouldn't let that happen. It might be able to help with whatever they're going to try to mend tomorrow."
The emerald gaze fixates on the proffered key. The fear is still prevalent. But there's a hint now of tentative anticipation. He's obviously longing for some relief. That look flickers to me.
"Does it hurt?"
His fingers move of their own accord to the bandaging on his chest where he was hit with a blast of Shadow Magic from this very Item.
"It can be uncomfortable but it doesn't make things worse. It's mostly a warm sensation."
I don't dare look away from him for a moment; don't give him any reason to doubt, to feel he cannot trust me.
"It won't make me nuts like Katsuya?"
"No," I reply as unwearyingly as I can, trying my best to mask my frustration. "Here. Just touch it. I won't let go of it."
He doesn't budge.
"You can do this, Otogi. You got me to walk through the tunnel of water."
"This is something completely-!"
"I know it is. I'm telling you to tap into that stubborn part of you that kept me for half an hour from taking the easy way."
"Isn't getting healed by magic the 'easy way'?"
"For the love of Ra, won't you at least try?"
The teen blinks, breaking eye contact at last.
"What do I have to do?" he asks apprehensively.
"Just hold it. It will work on your wounds of its own accord." Then I remember: "The light will go out because I won't be controlling it anymore. Is that all right?"
"You said…" He exhales in frustration at his own anxiety and tries again: "You're staying?"
"I don't really have a choice as long as you have the key," I remind him with a reassuring grin.
Otogi doesn't even try to smile. He's too nervous. His right hand uncurls and slowly reaches toward my mine, palm upward to receive the Item. It's almost as if he's holding his other hand back in case things go awry. I don't comment on how badly he's shaking. I lower the key into his hand, curling my fingers around his. The space goes black. The dice master gasps and I tighten my hold, feeling the thrumming energies as the key begins its work on his wounds. It is different from all of the other Items in that it does not have the Millennium Symbol crafted into it. The entire Item emits a soft, golden glow.
"All right, that's just freaky."
"Shut up and try to get some rest."
The shadows cast by the illumination highlight his features as he frowns.
"Yeah, er…I don't…maybe you shouldn't be sitting there…"
"Oh?" I wonder why he's suddenly so uncomfortable about our proximity.
"I've been having…they call them night terrors." He twitches uncomfortably, not able to look at me. "I don't really remember much of them. Apparently it can get loud."
"I'm not planning on sleeping. And I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about," I assure him. "Otogi, you went through something traumatic. Nightmares are to be expected."
"No, you don't get it," he huffs, frustrated he has to explain. "I'm saying it can get a pretty violent. It's not just screaming. We're talking kicking. Scratching. Punching."
"Oh." I glance at my broken arm and how I'm sitting next to his uninjured leg. "Well then I'll just try to wake you up before it gets to that point."
"Good luck with that."
"Thanks. Move over."
His shoulders hunch as he manages to scoot slightly to the right to make more room. The teen blinks at me in surprise as I move up to sit beside him, never taking my hand off his and the key.
"There. Now I won't get kicked," I say, all the while feeling Mahaado's invisible gaze from the darkness. "Try to get some sleep. I'll be here if you need me."
Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
And these the last verses I write for her.
(Anzu's POV)
Jou does a little wave with his hand and I smile, shutting the bedroom door so he can have what privacy that allows. Immediately he starts talking animatedly and my smile grows. To hell with confidentiality then.
"I'm sorry to have cut into your visit. I could have told her to call later," Mr. Bakura, who just brought his cell phone to Jounouchi, apologizes.
"It's fine. Probably best they can talk to him when they want, right?"
I follow him into the main area of the apartment. Bakura is on the other side of the countertop partition that designates what is kitchen and what is living room. The thief is making a sandwich of some sort. He glances up when I come in.
"His counselor called to check in," I say almost as an apology for my being here. "I'm not really sure if it's a quick surprise chat or if this might go on for a while."
"They can have fucking long sessions," the thief complains while wielding a knife coated in mayonnaise.
"Language," Mr. Bakura says without any inflection, stooping to move the large piles of his papers that have somehow accumulated on the couch since I got here. "I suppose it is already past supper time. Were you going to dine in with us, Anzu, or…?"
"I don't want to be a bother."
The thief snorts, leaning on the countertop. Mr. Bakura sends him a disparaging glance.
"It's not that much trouble," he admits while Bakura just seems smug. "None of us cooks but Ryou."
"Where is Ryou?" I ask.
Bakura, Ryou and Ryou's father were already sitting down to their own discussion when I got here. It's the first time all three of them have been in the same room together; Bakura having just come home earlier today. It had gotten rather loud between Ryou and his father. Jou and I and went in his room to give them privacy and avoid it. Now Ryou is nowhere to be seen.
"Napping," the thief sneers at me. "Because there aren't people using his bedroom for social gatherings."
I bristle a bit at the accusatory tone but know better than to take it too personally. Once you start that with the yami it's a slippery slope. Besides, Jou warned me Bakura is in a foul mood after spending a week with the Ishtars. I would be.
"I offered you mine if you are that tired," Mr. Bakura reminds the thief with a touch of annoyance before returning his attention to me. "Ryou's been having difficulty sleeping. Nightmares, no doubt from what happened. Anzu, would you like to wait a bit? See if Jounouchi will be long? Whenever you are ready just let me know. I can drive you home."
"My parents gave me taxi fare," I reply.
"You are comfortable taking a cab by yourself?"
There it is again. That damn well-bred concern that makes me want to be grateful and yell at the man all at once.
"Yes," I say sweetly and sit down on the sofa.
"Right then. How about I order some food and you can decide whenever you choose if you want to join us?"
"You won't know if you'll have enough…"
"The way Jounouchi eats I have learned to order a much larger quantity than seems necessary," Mr. Bakura says with some amusement, entering the kitchen and reaching for the landline phone.
The thief's hand slams down on top of the device causing me and Ryou's dad to jump.
"I'm waiting for a call."
"This will only take a moment, Bakura. If Yugi can't get through on the first try, he most certainly will try agai—"
"Keep. The. Line. Open."
The stare-down between the two of them is an unsettling thing. While I admire Ryou's father for not letting the yami boss him around he has no idea what he's dealing with. Things can escalate quickly with Bakura and he has the ring. It doesn't help that they are both still wound up from their talk with Ryou earlier that apparently didn't go well.
"You can use my phone, Mr. Bakura," I volunteer quickly, pulling it from my purse. Their confrontation doesn't falter. "Please, he's just worried about Malik."
"Very well," the man accepts while sending Bakura a warning look. "Thank you, Anzu."
The thief's expression would send most people fleeing. He waits until Ryou's father has left the kitchen and taken my cellphone before he removes his hand from the phone.
"Does anyone have a preference for food?"
"No thanks," I say when it's clear the yami isn't going to answer.
"I'll pick then. Blast. Where did I put the menus…?" Ryou's father scrounges through the stacks of papers and binders that are a mess on the floor. "Ah, I think I left them in my room. I'll be right back."
The thief spits a word that is most likely something foul in ancient Egyptian as he reclaims his spot and his food. I sigh. Another crisis averted. Just.
I walk into the kitchen and his shoulders hunch. The thief's suspicious gaze tracks my every move as I open a cupboard, take one of the six glasses out and fill it at the sink.
"God, stop acting like I'm going to steal something!"
"Good luck finding something worth stealing," he retorts, nevertheless sliding his plate further away from me.
"Look, I don't like Ryou's dad much either, but you need to cut the guy some slack. It can't be easy for him."
"Don't you dare lecture me, little girl," he snarls, a red glint in his eyes. "This is you and your friends' fault. He would perhaps be tolerable if you hadn't opened your big mouths and blabbed everything."
"We were trying to help."
"Oh yes. Having him think I'm a lunatic that believes I'm a magic-wielding ancient spirit has no impact whatsoever on how he acts around me."
"You are a magic-wielding ancient spirit."
"Being told that and believing it are two very different things," he retorts with a scowl.
"He thinks the rest of us are crazy too," I remind him.
"You don't have to live with him!"
Well he's got me there.
"I'm sorry. We were low on options and Millennium Items…You have the ring."
"And your observation skills never cease to amaze me."
"No, I mean you have the ring now!" I say while giving him a good glare for that last comment. "Why haven't you shown him Shadow Magic? Wouldn't that make this easier?"
"That depends on a lot of factors," he says, resting his arms on the countertop. "Do you know how lucky it is that so few of the people who know about the Items turned out to be like Marik? Like Pegasus? People who would use the Items or their keepers to their own advantages?"
"And such brilliant masterminds," I rejoin sarcastically and catch the contempt on his face before he looks away. "I get what you're saying, but give Ryou's dad some credit. I don't think he's that type of person. He doesn't strike me as the power-hungry type."
"Power isn't the only thing for which people can have an appetite."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
The landline rings. The thief crosses the two steps to it and picks it up.
"What?"
Ever the conversationalist. I take slow sips of water and stall so I can eavesdrop. I can tell it's Yugi but I can only catch a word here and there.
"Have you had to mediate?" Bakura asks. "You're not just saying that…Don't get cocky with me. I don't care how much Malik speaks up for you. If you-!"
Yugi, to his credit, doesn't get louder nor his voice harsher. Bakura seems to calm by whatever my friend is telling him. Jou said Bakura has been a bundle of nerves, anxious for how Malik and Marik are coping now that they are together again. I can empathize with the yami in that. He asks more questions, though his manner becomes less aggressive as nothing worrying is disclosed.
I clear my throat.
"Can I talk to Yugi when you're…?"
He holds out the phone, not even bothering to tell Yugi they're done talking. The yami stalks away and sits down on the couch, apparently satisfied with Yugi's report.
"Yugi?" I say holding the phone up to my ear.
"Wha…? Hey Anzu," my friend greets cheerily though I can detect his exhaustion. "I guess Bakura's done, huh? How are things going over there?"
"Oh you know," I roll my eyes, not wanting to go further into it with the yami ten feet away. "How are things there?"
"Better than we expected. There was an incident but it was between Marik and Isis. I was able to keep Malik out of it while Rishid got to play referee."
"Sounds fun. Listen, I know you're busy helping Malik and it isn't fair to throw too much at you but I was wondering if you were able to get in contact with Otogi."
"Not yet, Anzu. It's in the works."
"Oh," I say, disappointed. "Because if there's anything I can do to help…"
"No. I'll let you know."
"Okay. Thanks Yugi. Take care of yourself."
"Talk to you soon."
I hang up the phone. When I do Bakura is staring straight at me.
"What?" I ask defensively, crossing from the tile floor to the carpet.
"You hate dice boy. There's only one reason you'd be asking after him. You're trying to find Katsuya's brat sister."
"So what if I am?" I ask as Ryou's father reappears with my pink phone up to his ear.
"Hold on a moment. I have my credit card here somewhere…"
He begins digging once again. The thief sighs in irritation and reaches over the edge of the sofa and picks something up. He holds out a worn leather wallet.
"Ah. Thank you," Mr. Bakura says distractedly, taking it and wandering aimlessly as he digs through it. "Yes, let me just…One moment please."
My amusement disappears when Bakura focuses on me again.
"I told you it's a bad idea."
"You were the one who asked about her to begin with!"
"That was a last ditch effort to find if she had tried to reach out after the fact. She didn't."
"So what? She's his sister."
"You know what she is? A selfish little brat who hates it when the spotlight is on anyone but her."
"She's fourteen!" I defend the girl. "It's obvious you don't care for her but Jounouchi…"
"She knew."
My words lodge in my throat at the hostility in his words. I stare at my feet because I don't know what to say to that. Don't know how I feel.
"Well, I didn't. I should have. There's blame for me too."
"She knew," he repeats even softer, angrier. "You didn't. There's a difference. While you could have been more perceptive, she could have actually done something. Even after I confronted her about it she didn't ask questions because she didn't want to know details."
"What could she have done at that point?"
"Would you want to know? Would you have done anything?"
"I would have killed the bastard!" I snap at the yami, stepping forward to strike him.
I stop when I see his face. There's a fury identical to mine. My eyes burn with tears and I have to fight with every fiber of my being to keep them there. My hand covers my mouth as the rage and helplessness resurface.
"What is going on?" Ryou's father calls distractedly from the kitchen. "Ah, yes I have it...Sorry. The address is…"
"She complained multiple times how she had come all this way and couldn't find him. How she was ready to do better. Gave me several lectures about not running away. About giving Katsuya closure," the thief says heatedly, ignoring his hikari's father. "Where is she? Where the fuck is she?" He digs into his pocket, pulling out that scrap of paper and holding it up. "This is not closure!"
The note bursts into a small yellow flame. Pale fingers quickly enclose it. Smother it. When he opens his hand there's no trace Shizuka's note ever existed.
"All right, what on earth is going on?" Mr. Bakura comes into the room and is at my side, placing a hand on my shoulder. "What did you say to her?"
I shake my head.
"He didn't…Don't yell at him. He didn't do anything wrong."
Bright blue eyes study me in bafflement.
"Anzu, I don't want you to feel obliged to defend him if he's offended you somehow."
"No, not this time," I say with a touch of wryness. "Just a tough topic, you know?"
The man looks back and forth between us as if expecting to find the source of his bewilderment. Obviously he missed the part where Bakura started a fire out of thin air. That would have made this easier in some ways. While Mr. Bakura is concerned for me, I notice the way he scrutinizes the yami a bit too long. Ryou's father could definitely believe Bakura is manipulating me like he thinks the yami has all of us.
"Bakura."
I shrug Mr. Bakura's hand off and approach the yami. I want to tell him to show the man already. I can't. Why hasn't he done it already? Why hasn't Ryou or Jou convinced him? I don't know what it is that Bakura is afraid of.
Ryou screams.
The three of us dash for the hikari's room. Bakura gets there first, throwing the door open. Ryou's dad and I make it to the entrance at the same time. Bakura's standing next to the bed staring down at his hikari. Ryou's thrashing about, his blankets flying up like ghosts as his limbs flail. His father starts forward but Bakura speaks, never once looking away from his hikari.
"Wait."
"He'll hurt himself!"
"Wait," I echo the yami.
"Wait for what?!"
"Be quiet!" Bakura hisses.
"How dare you-!" Ryou's father reaches for the yami.
I jump back as a wall of yellow light goes up around the man. He is frozen in place.
Oh shit.
Ryou's head turns sharply back and forth, a fearful cry escaping him. Bakura doesn't touch him. Doesn't tap into the ring. It doesn't look like he's doing anything. I watch, remembering how it felt to be pulled into the magic with Ryou, to be connected. The struggle stops. Ryou stills, sighing deeply as if content as he sinks back.
Mr. Bakura is mid-pace. I shudder at the way his eyes alone move, darting about in alarm. Oh god. This is bad. With just a glance at the yami I can see the surprise on Bakura's face. The Shadow Bindings obviously were not planned.
The ring starts to glow as he turns to the man.
"Mind Erase."
A blast of yellow light sends me staggering back into the hallway. Someone catches me by the arm. I look up in confusion.
"Anzu?" Jou asks, letting go once it's clear I will remain standing. "What was that?"
We both go to the doorway. They are where I left them, only Mr. Bakura isn't frozen in a wall of light anymore.
"Baku? I heard Ry scream."
"Just a nightmare," the yami mumbles. "It's over now."
Ryou's father pushes past the yami. He casts a single reproachful look at the thief before attending to Ryou. Bakura backs away as the man gently touches his son's face, looking him over to ensure Ryou's movements didn't do any harm. I want to cuss out Ryou's dad even though it's not his fault for not understanding what just happened. I'm guessing as far as he can remember Bakura was standing over his son and doing nothing while Ryou had a nightmare. Why couldn't Bakura have erased the incident in its entirety? Another impulsive move, no doubt.
"Baku?" Jou asks, approaching the thief.
Bakura shakes his head, watching with wretched eyes the tender way the man rearranges the blankets over his son. I see what a stark contrast it is to Bakura's experience with him. I mean, it's true he's not his kid, but it's different than how he acts even with Yugi and me. Jou has said that Ryou's dad has never mistreated Bakura. But he certainly is uneasy around him, questioning Bakura's motives to himself even if he doesn't say it out loud. The yami is right: It isn't fair.
"What is this?"
Mr. Bakura holds up the Millennium scales. His face becomes a blend of awe, confusion, and suspicion.
"Guess you'll have to ask Ryou when he wakes up," I say hastily. "Bakura, you have had a long day. A long week. Come on."
I want to get him out of here before Ryou's father asks questions and demands answers about the scales. And I have to be the one to do it since Jou is too confused to take charge. Since the ring is at the center of the story Mr. Bakura thinks we concocted he's going to believe the yami has something to do with this new ancient artifact sporting the same symbol.
"We need to have a talk," I whisper while dragging Jou out of the room with Bakura following away from the potential conflict.
"I left my counselor on hold."
"Yeah, well I've decided you're done for now," I state matter-of-factly as we go down the short hallway.
"K'." Jou pushes a button on the phone in his hand and holds it up to his ear. "I gotta go. No nothing's wrong. I just…Bye."
Jou tosses the phone away. In three steps he ushers the yami to the bed. Bakura sits down, visibly shaken.
"What happened?" Jou asks running his fingers through white tresses.
"Bakura stopped Ryou's nightmare. Through their link," I clarify as I close the door behind me. "That's all Mr. Bakura remembers anyway."
"All he…?" Brown eyes widen. "You erased his mind? Of what?"
"It was a reaction," the thief mutters under his breath.
"Shadow Bindings. Look I get that maybe that wouldn't have been the best way to introduce him to Shadow Magic but now Mr. Bakura has found the Millennium scales. I didn't know Ryou had it."
"Isis brought it to him back at the hospital. We kept it hidden from his dad. Ry's holding it at night to help his injuries heal. I can talk down Mr. B. I'll think of somethin'. He won't do anything."
"It makes it look like our little 'cult' is more developed than he thought. These little things add up and are going to freak Mr. Bakura out. Jounouchi, all of this avoiding what's real is affecting Ryou's dad. It's affecting Bakura. Look at him!"
The yami casts me a weak glare. Jounouchi winces, his hand gliding from Bakura's head to his back. He rubs small circles between the yami's shoulder blades to try to ease the tension there.
"You need to show him Shadow Magic," I insist. "He needs to know it's not all lies."
"No."
We both look at Bakura. Jounouchi, unlike me, doesn't appear surprised. Bakura's fists are clenched at his sides, head bowed so his expression is hidden beneath his bangs. It surprises me. I thought Jou or Ryou were the ones who were fighting this.
"Baku," Jou says in an entreating, gentle nature. "If he knew…"
"I want to be a damn person for once in my existence!" the yami snarls. "Not a fascinating thing."
Jou sends me a sad look. I hadn't thought of it that way before. Neither of us can assure Bakura that Ryou's dad won't be excited. If he gets over the initial shock and accepts what we're telling him, the man will be ecstatic. He's a freaking Egyptologist. To have an actual ancient Egyptian living in his household…It was different with Mr. Mutou. He witnessed magic before Yugi even had the puzzle.
It's also telling how bad it must have been in the past if Bakura prefers to be considered a manipulative and possibly insane teenager rather than a powerful reincarnation.
"We'll figure somethin' else out," Jou agrees.
"No. The more lies the harder it's going to be," I argue, knowing they will all become more miserable the deeper the hole they have to dig. How long before Mr. Bakura decides it's more than he can handle? "What if we could get it into his head that the yamis were and are actual people?"
"That's part of what will make him so interested, Anzu. I doubt Yami and Malik will be any more eager in filling in the blanks for him."
I'm so silly. It's been in front of us for some time now. We have at our disposal access to ancient knowledge and magic the plenty. And people who know a heck of a lot more about it than we do.
"I have a mad idea."
