I wrote this story over two years ago but never posted it. At the time, there were a lot of stories about the Yugi and Atem being in pop or rock bands, and this was my own effort. As well as being inspired by all the other band fics, it was also inspired by a tragedy involving a British group who's van skidded off the road while on tour in Scandinavia. Sadly, they all died. But, since I'm hopeless as writing such sad tragedies, the ending will hopefully be better for our much loved Yugioh characters.
Warning: Car crash injuries. Some bad language and suggestive adult themes. They are mostly in character, but I have taken the liberty of making Atem seem a little more extrovert than he often seemed in canon YGO. I also kind of figure, that with his edgy good looks and pop star status, he would have girls throwing themselves at him.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.
Chapter 1.
Upside Down.
Millennium World were the hottest young band in Japan right now.
Formed in high school, by twin brothers, Atem and Yugi, the band consisted of Atem on lead guitar and vocals, Yugi on rhythm guitar and vocals, Katsuya 'Joey' Jonouchi on bass, Hiroto Honda on drums and Ryo Bakura on keyboards.
Barely out of their teens, none of them were really prepared so much fame and fortune at such a young age. Having so much money was a novelty and it was easy to get carried away by all the glitz and glamour of the showbiz world.
Much of their meteoric rise could be attributed to their young, astute manager, Seto Kaiba. The entrepreneurial stepson of a multi-millionaire businessman, he had masterminded their image, and, through the publicity he was able to get them due to his status, ensured that they were every teenage girl (and some boys) wet dream.
They were in the middle of a sell-out tour and had both the current best selling single and the number one album in Japan. They were also in the process of signing a lucrative deal for a TV show.
Of course, with all of this amazing fame and fortune came fast cars, wild parties and easy women. Tonight was a night for celebration and a big party was being held in the function suite of the Kaiba Stadium.
It was nearing ten thirty in the evening and the party was in full swing.
Atem was relaxing in an alcove seat with two adoring females. They were cuddled up, one either side of him, and his only dilemma was which one to take home tonight –Mai or Vivian.
Maybe both, he decided with a smirk.
Jonouchi appeared, flopping down into the seat beside Mai. "Hey! I thought you were with me?" He placed his hand on her thigh with a salacious grin.
She slapped his hand away to add to the drama. "Oh! So you suddenly decide you want me, huh? I thought you were too busy playing Pachinko to notice I even existed!" To make him jealous, Mai seductively ran her hand over Atem's chest before pushing herself away from him, earning a slightly disgruntled groan from the spiky haired man.
"Yeah, well I'm here now," Jonouchi made a grab for her hand.
"Bullshit! You came over to talk to Atem." She got up and walked off.
"Women! What da fuck I do wrong?!" Jonouchi held out his hands in exasperation and then flopped down in the place Mai had just vacated. The seat was still warm where her butt had been and it made him tingle.
"Honey! You have no idea how to treat women," Vivian chipped in.
"And this moron does? Do you know how many women this dude has fu..." Jonouchi's sentence was cut short when Atem slapped his hand over his blonde friend's mouth.
"Watch your language in front of the lady," Atem smirked, jokingly. If they wanted to believe he was a stud then let them. He was not about to correct his friend and tell him that he was actually quite selective when it came to girlfriends.
"Meh... Well at least I'm faithful to Mai," Jonouchi mumbled, pushing Atem's hand away from his face. "Anyway, the reason I came over ta talk to ya, is this. Have ya seen that dude with the long hair? The one with the funny eye talking to Kaiba." He pointed over to where Seto Kaiba was standing, in deep discussion with an equally tall man in a burgundy suit, frilly shirt and with long silver blonde hair. "He looks a bit dodgy. I wouldn't wanna bend over in front of him." Jonouchi snickered at his own joke.
Atem rolled his eyes. "You mean Pegasus? I think he's okay – married to some glamour model, apparently. He's also an American media tycoon. Kaiba's looking at breaking us into the American market. Didn't you know that?"
"What?! No one ever tells me anything!" He complained irritably.
Atem started laughing. "That's because you never listen Jonouchi. Anyway, I'm going to find Yugi." He stood up and walked away, leaving Jonouchi with Vivian, and strolled over to where Anzu was trying to teach Yugi some new dance steps, without much success.
"Yugi..." Anzu groaned. "You're supposed to concentrate!"
"I am concentrating..." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. "On you." He started nibbling her ear and then her neck, making her giggle.
"Stop it! Everyone can see us!"
"How about we go somewhere quieter then?" He murmured seductively. He was never this confident unless he had been drinking. And Anzu had counted that he had consumed four glasses of champagne in a very short time. He could never hold his booze.
"Yugi! Is that all you can think about? There's plenty of time for that later. First you have to learn these dance moves."
"Okay, if you insist..." he beamed cheekily, making Anzu laugh. He had such an innocent face and was such a lovely sweet guy – she loved him so much. Forgetting all about the dance, she could not resist falling into his arms and kissing him.
"What about the dance?" He mumbled into the kiss.
"What dance?!" She replied, naughtily.
"Hey! Love birds." Atem threw his arms around them both. "I'm bored. How about we go for a spin in my new car?"
"Where do you want to go?" Yugi asked.
"Anywhere, I don't mind. As long as I get out of here. I need to drive...."
"You haven't been drinking, have you?" Anzu quizzed.
"Nope! not a drop. Come on? The roads will be quiet at this time of night and I've got a full tank of fuel," he smirked
"Well, I suppose..." Yugi glanced at Anzu for approval. "If Anzu is okay with it."
"Yeah, why not," Anzu nodded. "It will be fun." She smiled at Atem. "Are you bringing your new girlfriend?"
Atem looked mortified. "Vivian! She's not my girlfriend. I've decided that I'm not even interested in her. She's whiny and keeps calling me Temmy." He pulled a vomit face.
The trio were just leaving, when Jonouchi came running over. "Hey! guys! Save me?!" In hot pursuit were Vivian and Mai. Neither woman looked very pleased.
"Jonouchi! You lousy, cheating..."
"Smell ya later ladies!" Jonouchi was out the door before Mai could finish her sentence.
"Sorry ladies," Atem stood in their way and smiled at them apologetically. "We've gotta go. I will tell Jonouchi to ring you in the morning Mai."
"But, Temmy," Vivian cooed, in a voice that she considered seductive, but in reality sounded too needy. "I thought we were going to spend the night together!"
"Another time," he winked at her and bolted after Jonouchi.
Yugi was having trouble keeping a straight face as he and Anzu followed them. "Wait up Temmy?" He called after his brother, in a mock Vivian voice that made Atem laugh and roll his eyes.
"Where are we heading?" Jonouchi asked, getting into the front passenger seat, while Yugi and Anzu got in the back.
"I don't know. Atem is desperate to drive his new car," said Yugi.
"And he asked us to go with him," Anzu added.
"Cool, count me in then." Jonouchi grinned, fastening his seat-belt.
Atem pulled out of the car park, tyres screeching.
"Atem!" Anzu squealed, "Slow down or you will get stopped by the police!"
He grinned and ignored her, pushing on faster.
"Why did Mai just dump you Jonouchi?" Yugi wanted to know.
"Accused me of groping Vivian. But I never touched her!"
"Mai's got a nerve after throwing herself at Atem earlier," Anzu huffed.
"Well..." Jonouchi grinned sheepishly, "It might have looked bad when Vivian pressed herself against me. But I didn't encourage her, honest!"
"I believe you Jonouchi," Yugi said. "Vivian throws herself at all the guys! She knows Anzu's my girlfriend, but she even tried it on with me!" Realising what he had just disclosed, he grimaced.
Vivian attempting to seduce Yugi was news to Anzu and she turned to her boyfriend in alarm. "I hope you told her to back off!" The way she was glaring at him made Yugi shrink into his seat.
"Of course I did!" He squeaked, too ashamed to admit that Vivian had sneaked into his hotel room while he was having a lie down to recover from a late night of working in the studio. She had woken him up when she straddled him and started grinding herself against his crotch, while leaning down and kissing him. In his sleepy state he had thought she was Anzu at first and had started to become aroused, until Atem walked into the room and rescued him. "Nothing happened between us," he gulped, "honest."
Sensing his brother's discomfort and Anzu's irritation, Atem chipped in. "Can we not talk about Vivian." He turned up the music.
Turning off the motorway, they were now on the narrower roads that wound their way through the foothills. The roads were kept in pristine condition for the regular car racing time trials that took part in this area.
As Atem rounded a bend, a deer suddenly jumped out of the trees and ran right in front of them.
He instinctively braked and tried to swerve.
"Look out!" Jonouchi yelled.
Unfortunately, there was no room to swerve around the deer and there was a sickening thud as it bounced off the bonnet.
Anzu screamed.
The three boys also cried out desperately as the car slewed out of control and shot off the road, flipping over onto its roof and then rolling back onto its side, before coming to rest with the front end and passenger side partially submerged in a ditch full of water.
::::::::::::
Atem opened his eyes to the strangled sobs of what he thought sounded like his brother. He tried to open his mouth to call out to him but realised that the strangled sobs were his own.
Although he could see very little in the darkness, he could feel the deployed airbags pushing against him.
The rank smell of rotting foliage and mucky water in the drainage ditch, was also tinged with the aroma of twisted plastic, metal and fuel. It assaulted his senses and when he licked his lips and swallowed, he tasted blood.
Blood?!
It was in his mouth. He realised he had bitten his tongue and made it bleed.
He tried to move, but was pinned in by his legs and moving only caused him pain. The pain made him tense up, which caused more pain. He tried to lift his hands to touch his face but was met with searing pain in his left hand and wrist. The pain made his vision swim and he started drifting in and out of consciousness. His surroundings were starting to seem distant and surreal.
Memories from his childhood fought to block out what was happening in this dreadful moment.
"Atem! Atem! Wake up? You will be late for our guitar lesson!" The ten year old was woken up by Yugi jumping up and down on his bed.
"What's your name son? Can you hear me?" The muffled voice of someone else – someone he did not know, cut through his memories and brought him back to reality. Somehow, he managed to tell the man his name.
"Try not to move Atem. We're going to get you out, okay?"
"What's happening?" Atem murmured, as a mask was placed over his mouth and nose. He started crying and panicking. "Get off me!" He tried to push away the person he imagined was his brother. But the person he was actually fighting was the paramedic helping him.
"You have been in a car accident Atem. We're going to give you something to help with the pain. Where does it hurt?"
His flashback resumed when he saw their father coming into the bedroom, still buttoning up his work shirt. "What's going on? Stop fighting you two!" He scolded angrily.
Atem gazed up at the paramedic, and in his confused state thought the man was his father. "Dad? Dad...I think I crashed my car..." He was becoming increasingly distressed.
"Atem," the paramedic said sternly but softly. "Try to relax. My name is Yusei, I'm a trauma doctor. Try not to move your head. We're going to give you something to help with the pain while we move you out of here." Ceasing his struggles, Atem felt himself becoming light headed. He was vaguely aware of someone holding his head still, and of a cannula being placed in the back of his hand. He was given 2mg of Ketamin, and moments later he was away in cloud cuckoo land, barely aware of the fireman cutting him free of the twisted metal.
That's about it for the first chapter. I hope it wasn't too confusing when Atem went back and forth from memories to his present situation.
Please review.