Public Service Announcement: I don't plan on there being any ships in this story. No pairing. Sans romance. However you want to put it.
Also, I've been forgetting a disclaimer this whole time.
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I do not make any profit from this fanfiction. Nor would I want to. However, I do claim rights to this plot. If any attempts to swipe this story are made, I will be on a head hunt, rest assured. This is my baby.
And, now that our PSA has concluded, let's move on to the story.
Chapter Two: … Can Hurt Us
The heart monitor beeped steadily. The man on the bed rested fitfully. An ungainly cast marred his left arm. He was covered in bruises and scratches and bandages. A woman with a clipboard hesitated at the doorway.
"Come in," his deep voice rumbled. It was raspy with sleep and heavy with morphine.
Her heels clicked.
The man opened a single eye to regard her.
"Patient Zero is destabilizing. His organs are failing one-by-one. I doubt he'll make it through the night," she informed solemnly.
He grumbled slightly. "The other?"
She shook her head curtly. Her dangling earrings brushed her cheeks rhythmically. "He hasn't been found yet, sir."
He sighed. His eyes were too heavy to keep open anymore.
"Also, your son is here to see you."
"Which one?" Had he not been under the influence of heavy narcotics, the answer would have been obvious to him.
"The elder."
"Send him in."
She clicked away.
He blinked slowly. Minutes flowed into one another, and then blue eyes stared at him. Impassive, cold.
"What have you done?"
He blinked slowly. "You should have seen it, Seto. The raw power."
"What did you do?"
"He crumpled the containment doors like an empty can."
"What the hell are you talking about, old man!"
He chuckled. "Just imagine it. What this means. We could revolutionize warfare. I was so concerned with the technology that I didn't even consider the biology." He stared gravely. "I'm lucky I survived. The scientists weren't so lucky."
Blue eyes screwed shut and long fingers clutched the bridge of a fine nose.
"I want him back. Find him, Seto. Find him at all costs."
Yugi shook violently.
"Hey, Yug! Wake the hell up, man! You'll be late for work!"
The words pierced through him and he bolted up. White hot pain struck his nerves like cracking lightning. He inhaled sharply. It felt like he got crushed by a steamroller.
He stared, wide-eyes, into Joey's concerned amber gaze. "What time is it?"
"It's seven-thirty in the morning, Yug," he replied.
Yugi scrambled out of bed. Which ended up becoming falling out of bed; an agonizing cramp shot through his side, and he curled up at the wrong moment.
"Jesus!" Joey yelped when his roommate thumped to the floor. "What's going on with you?"
Yugi groaned and stumbled to his feet. He yanked his uniform off of the dresser and scrambled to the bathroom. He felt grimy and gritty; he definitely needed a shower. He didn't even let the water warm up. He lunged into the cold water with a gasp and hurriedly lathered himself down. Every movement ached sharply, and he screwed his eyes shut while he roughly scrubbed his hair.
What did he do to get so sore?
He wildly groped through his memories of the previous day.
What even happened yesterday?
Dozing off in class. Going to the cafe with Ryou. Nearly dying from caffeine overload… Missing the bus…
Walking home…
Something was missing. He remembered starting the walk home, but not actually arriving at the apartment he and Joey shared. Something lurked in the shadows of his memories, but it eluded his grasp each time he reached for it.
Whatever. He could think more about it later.
Irritation curled up in his chest. Why didn't Joey wake him up sooner?
He rolled his eyes at himself while he hastily toweled off. Because Joey worked late last night. He probably just woke up himself. He threw on his uniform and slapped some deodorant on.
He globbed some toothpaste onto his toothbrush and hastily scrubbed. He fingered his wet blond bangs out of his face and stared at himself in the mirror. He gasped and reeled back. Toothpaste flew back into his throat, and he yanked his toothbrush out of his mouth to cough and wheeze. Pain wracked his ribs. He doubled over the sink, spat white foam into the basin. He grabbed the hand towel with clammy fingers to wipe himself off.
He cautiously look back up into the mirror.
His purple irises had an unsettling red tinge to them now. He doubted it was a visual effect from the irritated red veins webbed out over his sclerae. His cheeks were a bit more sunken, and it made visible the pointed bone structure underneath more than he thought possible. His normally rounded eyes seemed angular, stern, serious. He rubbed his cheek and watched the skin roll beneath his palm in the mirror.
Even if he looked like a completely different person, it was real.
He shook his head. He didn't really understand what was going on, but it really didn't matter. He needed to get to work. Immediately.
He finished brushing his teeth and wiped his mouth off as quickly as he could.
"Hey, Joey!" he called.
"Yeah?!" his voice echoed from the living room.
"Would you mind driving me to work?"
"No problem, bud! Long as you don't mind me driving you in my PJs." Apparently, his "PJs" were his clothes from the day before. Not that Yugi could say much. He woke up much the same way.
"Not an issue. Thanks bunches!" He rushed to the kitchen and plucked a bagel from its bag. He didn't have the time to toast it, so he just shoved it into his mouth to hold onto it while he thrust his jacket on and shoved his wallet and keys into his pockets. "Hn hn!" The faint taste of bread on his tongue made his stomach rumble uproariously.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going."
Joey snatched his keys off the counter and they left.
Joey's beat-up Mitsubishi smelled like old coffee. And dirty socks. But Yugi couldn't complain. Joey would drop everything to help him.
The car sputtered to life and Joey backed out of the lot. Yugi took a ferocious bite out of the bagel. He thrummed happily. It was yummy.
"The hell, Yug?" Joey muttered next to him.
Yugi looked over at his roommate, mouth filled with bread and dark eyebrows raised. "Hm?"
"You're fuck'n growling like a damn animal. You like the bagel that much?" Joey said teasingly.
Yugi's face flushed. He didn't… did he? He was just so tired and hungry and flustered that he didn't notice.
"Also, you look fuck'n exhausted."
He swallowed what he had in his mouth. What he would do for some water… "What time did I get home last night?"
"You don't remember?" Joey sounded genuinely concerned.
"Honestly, I don't remember anything past missing the bus last night," Yugi slowly admitted.
Joey's knee jerked. He barely resisted the urge to slam on the brakes. "Seriously?! Yugi!"
Yugi smiled sheepishly. "Guess I was really tired."
"Well, yeah. You came stumbling in like some shambling zombie in the dead of the night."
Yugi ripped another bite from the bagel. This time, he felt the growl rumble in his throat. He stared at Joey with expectant eyebrows. "Time?"
"Hell, midnight. Maybe later," Joey said quietly.
Yugi gazed out the window, at his own reflection spanned across the rushing buildings. Concern raged through him. Had he passed out from exhaustion and sleepwalked home? That would explain this miserable soreness, especially if he hit the ground hard. That dark memory lurked, flirted with his fingertips. Evasive. Some timid beast in a moon-dappled jungle. "Did I say anything?"
"No. You didn't even respond when I said hi. You just walked right to your room to sleep." Joey glanced at his friend. "No more late-nighters, 'kay, Yug?"
"Okay."
Yugi did not like his job. That, however, had nothing to do with the tasks themselves and everything to do with the people he worked with. Weevil was rude and snide, Rex pompous and perverted, Keith arrogant and condescending. However, he normally found it to be a simple task to plaster a smile on his face and deal with their shenanigans. Today, not so much.
His eyelid twitched when Keith called him "midget" for the umpteenth time that day. Yugi smiled stiffly, grabbed the plates from the window, and with them balanced in his arms, marched back into the dining area. The muscles in his chest, back, and arms ached in protest to the weight.
With a smooth expertise, he slid the plates onto the table. "Biscuits and gravy and the Breakfast Express. Is there anything else you require?" He asked politely, gestured to the cups on the table. "Perhaps refills?"
The elderly man nodded, "Yes, young man, I'd like more coffee please."
Yugi smiled. "Coming right up!"
The smell of the food didn't normally affect him so badly, but the aroma of sizzling bacon and steaming coffee stirred within him a ravenous hunger. Stomach clenching hollowly, he brought the coffee the old man requested. The man smiled at him in thanks.
Yugi smiled back. The good thing about being "as cute as a button" (as one old woman had put it) meant that he normally raked in the tips when it came to elderly people and girls.
He took another table's orders and marched up to the kitchen. He crowed the order and tacked it onto the wheel. He watched as Keith juggled several pans.
Okay, Keith might have had an awful personality, but at least he made some damn good omelettes.
His eyes lingered on the raw bacon sitting in its package on the counter. It looked… really appetizing like that. Juicy, refreshing. He could just swallow it like that, right? It looked like it would just slide down his throat.
"Hey! Midget! Take the order off the damn window!" Keith shouted.
Yugi snapped back to attention. His cheeks flushed hot.
What… was he just thinking about?!
He snatched the plates up.
Eating… raw pork?! Trichinosis, anyone?! Would you like some tapeworms with that, Yugi?! Just what he needed, a fricking parasite.
He shook his head roughly. It was just his hunger getting to him. He served the dishes.
"Are… are you okay?" a woman asked.
Yugi smiled brightly and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
She blinked at him. "You… you don't look fine."
He stared at her a moment. … Rude.
But then the door opened with the trilling of the bell. A chilly draft of air wafted in, fanned across his face, and he shivered.
His face was slicked with sweat. "Uh, it appears that you are correct," he murmured. His voice trembled in his throat.
She gently touched his hand, which was clutching, white-knuckled, around the edge of his try. "You should probably take a break, hon."
He weakly thumbed over his shoulder. All of his energy drained away. He was so heavy, so… weak. "I have other tables."
The woman shook her head. "Not if you pass out."
He felt like he was blinking in slow motion. "I hope you enjoy your meal." He turned. He all but stumbled to the back.
"Woah, Yugi. You look like you're about to blow chunks," Rex blurted after Yugi stumbled face-first into him.
Yugi stuttered an apology and moved aside.
He was boiling. He could feel his shirt sticking to his back like a second skin.
The meat locker. The meat locker was cold.
"Hey!" Keith called. Yugi scrambled hard against the latch. His shaking hands couldn't grasp it properly. "Midget! What the hell are you doing!"
Yugi snapped back, snarling, eyes flashing Curled against the door., curled against the door.
"Woah! Okay, man." Keith held his hands up. Keith held up his hands defensively.
The door finally opened, and Yugi stumbled into the gellid atmosphere of the meat locker. He collapsed back against the metal, and the door thunked closed. He sank down to the floor, sweating back pressed harshly into the freezing metal. The cold soothed the heat, but his limbs still shook with fever. All around, the metallic, tangy scent of raw meat clung to the air. His stomach ached, hollow.
He unsteadily drifted to his feet and brokenly ambled to the rows and rows of metal shelves. Red, marbled slabs of meat lined up on the racks.
So… fresh… bright red… the smell of blood… the taste of blood… cold, cold in his mouth… in his stomach...
Metal clanged loudly. Someone banged on the door. "Yugi!" It was Keith. "Hey, midget, you okay in there?!"
Yugi jolted, head whipping to the door. He glanced down to his hands.
A raw, mangled steak was draped limply over his palms. Torn, shredded. The coppery taste lingered in his mouth.
Horrified, he dropped the meat. It fell to the metal floor with a wet slap. He stumbled back. His shoulders jarred into another shelf.
He'd been eating… the raw steak!
His stomach heaved, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. The raw juice of the steak was still slicking his palm, and it inundated his nostrils, though he didn't dare take his hand away from his mouth.
The smell of blood and asphalt. Red eyes. Darkness.
"Yugi?!" The door began to creak open.
Yugi threw himself into it. It slammed closed again.
"I'm okay!" he all but squeaked. "I… just need to cool down a moment."
Keith mumbled something. "Okay…"
Yugi rested his sweaty forehead on the door. Keith sounded concerned. Yugi might have to reevaluate his impression of the man.
He looked back down at the meat on the floor.
He had to get rid of it. But… how was he going to get it thrown away while Keith lingered outside the door?
His stomach roiled.
"No," he hissed, dismayed.
He picked it up, pinched between forefinger and thumb, refused to look at it for too long in fears of devouring it like some impulsive animal. He cracked the door open and peeked.
The scrapes of utensils on pans and the sizzling of eggs and bacon reached his ears. His breath left his lungs in a small huff. Keith was back to cooking. Yugi glanced back down at the mangled meat in his hand. He grimaced.
Only one thing to do.
He tucked it into his shirt.
He darted out of the meat locker, quickly slid the latch closed, and stumbled to the employee bathroom. He slammed the door behind him and turned the lock. He quickly yanked the steak out of his shirt. The cold, damp, sticky feeling remained.
He chucked it into the garbage, shuffled the can around until the flash of red was concealed by paper towels. He hastily approached the sink.
Faint red smeared across his lips, chin, and even his cheeks. He gasped, then gagged. He collapsed next to the toilet. His diaphragm heaved mightily, body clenched and arched. He retched, but nothing came up. Tears of exertion and terror trekked down his cheeks. He dug a finger into his mouth, down his throat, copper tinged his tongue. He gagged again, and he braced himself heavily on the toilet bowl.
Nothing but spittle dripped into the water.
He slumped back against the wall. Each panting breath was a trembling, raspy sob. He couldn't get it out. He knew raw beef wasn't altogether too dangerous, but he wanted it out.
A soft rapping of knuckles upon the door broke the silence. "Hey, midget, when you're… y'know, done, you should probably head home. I'll kick your scrawny ass if you got me sick."
"O-Ok-kay," Yugi whimpered.
Footsteps trailed away from the door.
Yugi rose up on shaking, gelatinous legs and flushed the toilet. Foamy saliva swirled down the drain.
He washed his hands, his face, his stomach, even cupped water up to his mouth to swish and spit. But the smell, the taste remained.
He stepped out of the bathroom and trudged to his locker. Just his wallet and phone sat inside. His hands shook so badly he nearly dropped his phone. He dialed a number quick.
"Hey, Joey. Can… can you come pick me up from work?"
"Ugh. Yeah, I guess. What happened?" Joey's voice slurred groggily.
"I, uh, I g-got sick at work."
"Oh. Yeah, I'll be there in a jiffy. Hang on, okay, Yug?"
"O-Okay."
Click
Weevil was leaning against the door jamb. "I'm taking your tips if I take over your tables."
"Okay." He forehead thunked onto the locker.
What the hell was happening?
He watched the surveillance tapes. He saw… that thing that came out of the box. He wasn't sure if he was thankful for the audio, as he was deeply disturbed by it.
"This host is dying."
"You're killing me."
The swift and bloody escape. The unstoppable, raw power.
He watched his adoptive father get flung aside like a ragdoll.
"Gozaburo… what have you done…" he hissed, clutching the brown hair that hung over his forehead.
This… thing could not fall back into Gozaburo's hands, much less be allowed to roam amongst the unsuspecting public. With a resolute frown, he clicked several icons on his laptop. Surely the several dozen cameras secretly installed in a two mile bubble around KaibaCorp would have spotted it.
Even if he had to watch every last feed, he would find it.
"At all costs…" Seto echoed. "I will find him."
END PART
Poor Yugi. :( too bad he's so easy to torture. Hmmm… now I'm sounding like a Yu-Gi-Oh villain. Wait a moment…
It was so difficult trying to keep "... in America!" out of all of Keith's dialogue.
Anyway, HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER. :D
I'll see ya next time!