Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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Rumbling along, the bus carried them along until they reached the nearest bus stop to the hospital. Unlike the panicked ride the day before when they learned that Yugi had been shot. More over he had arranged for them to be brought directly to the hospital. This was the complete opposite. The excitement was external as news crews could be seen loitering around the front of the building. Various channels, some not even Japanese could be seen.
With a warm sun and bright sky above, the group treated their walk into the hospital as normal as they could. Striving to not grab the attention of the news crews who were trying, and failing, to get into the hospital.
"Must have been tossed out," Jounouchi commented, his voice low as he stuck his hands into his pockets.
"Good time to practice being deaf," Honda replied. His voice alone, though accentuated with the comment, reminded them all just what happened to him. A hanging specter over all their heads as to the very reason 'why' the news crews were here. Not because of some new toy that Kaiba created. Rather because Kaiba, in some mentally out of it state, cast a real life spell that healed everyone in the hospital.
Making the sliding doors to the hospital feel surreal.
One side of the threshold of those electronically controlled doors, was a world were magic didn't really exist. Just holograms made by computers, transmitted over the airwaves from machine to machine. On the other side of the doors, souls trapped in stone tablets, artifacts of power that could only come to life because of arcane power. Magic was real in that world. Real and deadly. Yet they had stood in the very doorway for over a year now. Seeing, observing, but never really being a 'part' of that world.
Both Yugis had protected them. Serving as the glass doors that allowed them to see into the true world of magic, without getting their hands dirty.
Now they were.
'There's no going back', was a thought shared by the group.
Beyond them, inside the emergency room, were the usual assortment of people. Sparely populated, for this group of casual observers there was no telling why these people were here. Illness, injury, waiting for family that had been taken to the back, there was a host of reasons. The hospital itself didn't feel out of place either. Which was a relief, if not slightly disappointing. Jounouchi took the lead, easily walking up to the front desk and asking about Yugi.
Allowing the others to stand behind and wait, while Ryou stood off to the side 'thoughtfully observant'. The staff at the desk appeared a little more weary than normal, but that was probably from the news crews. Or maybe because everyone in the hospital suddenly got better and wanted to go home?
At least the gang didn't have to struggle to get the information about which room Yugi was in though. Jounouchi was soon leading them along down the same hallway that they had raced down to find Yugi. 'But we didn't find Yugi did we? We found Set and Yugi was...' Anzu found herself idly thinking as they walked along. 'I bet the Spirits are telling Ryou where Yugi is, but that would look out of place if we just went there huh? No one would have come...'
"Anzu?" Malik asked, his voice low with concern as he turned his head to fully look at the girl. His eyebrows furrowed in concern and causing the others to slow and turn to face her.
Embarrassing her into shaking her head in apologies, "I... I just thought about how Yugi doesn't have any family here anymore. Remember? When Grandpa got his soul stolen? He ended up here, and we were off trying to help Yugi save him. But now Yugi needs his grandpa and his mom and..."
Having not been around back then, Malik couldn't offer much words; but the others seemed able to. Jounouchi's own face became clouded in remembered grief and loss, while Honda also bowed his head.
"But the reason why they're not here is still a threat... I know they don't particularly 'like' Yugi, but we might need someone to keep an eye on him. He's pretty vulnerable at the moment," Malik pointed out, casting a knowing eye towards Ryou.
The white haired teen gave a slight nod, wordlessly and his eyes continued to drift about the place as though taken with innocent curiosity. Though they all knew by now that there was 'nothing' innocent about 'his' curiosity. In fact for all they knew Ryou already 'had' a spirit or two looking after Yugi! They just really hadn't the chance to ask the guy on a bus carrying random strangers.
That was probably the biggest 'other thing' of the situation they were now in. Yugi being out of commission had left 'Ryou', of all people, in charge! It felt weird to Anzu given how he normally behaved so introverted and shy. Sure the Spirit was a good reason to not be sociable before, yet even with the trip to Cyberspace. Ryou was certainly showing sides of himself that were least expected.
With that thought playing through her mind, Anzu followed the guys to the elevator and higher up into the hospital. In the same elevator that they rode up in a panic and somehow, in her mind Anzu recalled that sense of peace that overcame her. The realization that it was Kaiba's doing brought a sad smile to her face. Such peace and it came from someone with so much trouble in his own life despite his riches and status.
'I guess the best healers are the ones who know the depths of pain,' she thought as the elevator finally reached their floor. 'It must have hurt to see Yugi die back then... Wouldn't he have been the one to do the embalming for Yugi?' she passively wondered, recalling the exhibit that displayed Yugi's old body. 'I am so glad that I never had to face that. I mean yeah seeing Yugi's 3000 year old corpse is creepy. Now more than back then. But at least its not 'my' corpse... I don't know how I would have handled that.'
It was after pouring out of the elevator and walking down the hall that it struck Anzu. That somehow Jounouchi found out where Yugi's room 'was' thus were they just walking along? The front desk just handed that information over? While standing before the door of Yugi's room was... a thing. He had been given a private room, the door closed off. There was no signs warning people 'not' to enter, the lights were off in the room yet knowing who and why that person was in there...
Almost everyone rushed ahead, pouring into the room with some strange sense of trepidation given they knew what they were going to find. Yet Anzu found herself standing outside for a moment, standing alone with her hands slowly starting to shake. No helpful Grandpa or parents to hug and this was 'Yugi'.
"On the bus, the spirits saw emotions play across your face, they wanted me to know in case you needed someone to talk to," Ryou explained from behind her. His sudden voice sent her whirling around to look at him, his hands slipping into his jean pockets and his head tilted just so. Trust the thief to not rush foolishly into anything...
"Its nothing, I was just thinking about how hard your lives must have been. Yours and Kaiba considering the past and current points in time..." Anzu answered blithely, positive energy worn and hanging off her face like a festival mask. It was easier to discuss them, redirect the topic back onto Ryou or Kaiba than this.
Ryou didn't appear convinced, more over his eyes took on this more tired, older look. A reminder that he was already a child when his village was destroyed. That he was already likely an adult by the time everything happened in Ancient Egypt. He sighed and placed his hand on her head, a parental gesture if there ever was one, and strange coming from a peer.
"Our lives were difficult yes. We both experienced losses, that pain and grief narrowing our world view down only onto ourselves. But the reality is that we are not the only people in the world and what we experienced. Yes, terrible as it is, does not invalidate someone elses' pain." His words were calm, gentle and remarkably wise. It was also on the mark as the tears that she tried to suppress sprang up.
"Practice what you preach Anzu, treat us as your friends. We're guys, boys don't always know how to react when a girl is in crisis. But that doesn't mean we don't want to know or care. Just give us a direction, tell us what you need and we'll do our best to support you. You don't have to be our cheerleader and pretend like your life just stops happening the moment we brake for rest."
Ryou was a blur of white and blues as her eyes filled with tears. Embarrassed she tried to wipe them away, but one became two, and suddenly she found herself sobbing in front of him. She dragged a smile across her face, even as the corners of her mouth wavered. "Yugi made another right call huh? You'll take care of us," she commented.
Her tears blinding her to the surprise and momentary panic that crossed Ryou's face 'every time' that thought came back to mind.
"They..." Anzu swallowed painfully as her head hung low. "Mahaado would sometimes ask me questions. I mean he's got Kaiba down pretty well, but when he was confused he was confused.. And the fan clubs started saying I'm..."
"Started saying 'what'?!" Jounouchi barked out sticking his head out from the room, his voice carrying across the larger nurses area. Earning him a couple of concerned looks that he ignored, while startling Anzu into looking up.
"About your timing..." Ryou muttered as he shook his head at Jounouchi's arrival. "You want to wait out here?" he turned towards Anzu in quiet concern.
"I want to see him I... I just need a moment..." She replied, getting a gentle hand on her shoulder as Ryou nodded. "Though I suppose I'm not really 'alone' am I?" she asked with a slight twist of her lips without the ability to mention the ghosts.
"Yes," he nodded letting the spirits sort themselves out around the room. Anzu left though it was only as far as the wall next to the door where she leaned against it.
"Saying she's what?" One man cluelessly asked only to get elbowed by his friend.
The realization causing his eyes to grow big and make him shake his head, "sorry that was a foolish question. She's a good girl though, but I suppose these women are all idle from being in school for so long. They need something to occupy their time and are not getting it."
"And then they start working," the friend agreed with a nod. "These people work themselves to the bone. We never worked that hard even before we became tomb robbers."
Bakura walked into Yugi's room, rejoining the guys with him where flowers rested on the table next to Yugi's head. It was surreal to do so though. Three thousand years ago he wanted this kid dead and at the moment he near looked it. His skin was a bit paler than normal, typical for all the blood he had lost yesterday. His hair had been brushed out and his hands left resting beside him.
But there were tubes as well, a tube that was stuck under his nose for breathing, one in his mouth for food. Tubes for blood, wires for monitoring, he physically appeared to be peacefully napping save all the intrusive tech. The thin blanket that covered him, hid his chest where the surgery took place, where it had been broken and cut to try and save his life.
Yet here he was, alone, sleeping dreaming of his past life in an effort to deal with the present threats.
'God is dead, and we killed him.' Bakura thought with bitter irony of that old quote. 'Yes, yes we've been killing our man made gods for quite some time now. But what about the Gods that made 'us'?' he thought as he looked down at Yugi.
"She going to be ok?" Malik asked leaning over from his place next to the door, his tone more conspirator with the shift to Egyptian.
"School issues," Bakura replied, getting him a look from Malik.
"Is it going to be a problem?" Malik asked, having already figured out how they were getting into crunch time for it. Thus making it more problematic when he wanted to hang out with Bakura and talk about the cult.
"Well I'm not an expert on girls, but we don't need things that are going to weaken our members," Bakura admitted with a slight shrug.
"Do we still need the student body? I mean is anyone going to miss..." Malik teased only to get a stern look from Bakura before he finished the comment. He raised his hands to mollify the thief before turning his attention back to Yugi. "Kind of funny how we both wanted him more dead than this last year."
"Malik..." Bakura could only shake his head for a sad truth was still a truth. "They pull this off and there will end up being more 'me's' then the world is ready for."
The words, now spoken in Japanese, got the attention of the two other guys in the room, causing them to look over at the thief.
"And now, I shall have nightmares," Honda commented with a shake of his head. "To go with the bombing, that didn't get fixed."
"It feels unreal though, yesterday well a bit of the day before too, we were fighting the good fight! We saved a man who was on the verge of killing himself, and all that time Yugi was..." Jounouchi's words drifted off as he gestured towards the sleeping King of Games.
"You found him about to..." Honda questioned, his tone worried and curious as well as low.
Jounouchi nodded, swallowing the lump of conflicted emotions to get the words out. Explaining for the first time what Honda had missed due to his injuries, while allowing Bakura and Malik to approach the bed proper.
"Our resources are going to be split further, we need to protect Set as well as Yugi now. Set can, if he's attacked defend himself magically, if Kaiba's guards fail to do so. But we need to protect Yugi, since right now he can't do 'anything' to protect himself." Bakura finally stated as he stared fixed at Yugi's face. It could have been a staring contest if Yugi had been awake.
"What? Why? The rich folk..." Jounouchi began when Bakura quieted him with a shake of his snow white hair.
"That relates to the kidnapping before. But for Kaiba to pull off this?" Bakura gestured towards Yugi's slumbering form. "He would have had to use magic, powerful magic and they might just try Kaiba. We have a rough idea of what they see Yugi as being and how it relates to what they want. But we don't have a strong enough fix on what Set is and can do. The stories, even the ones I know, were about a God true. But Kaiba is a whole different beast," Bakura explained.
"A 'Set Beast' if you will," Malik quipped with a faintly amused smile on his lips.
"Hey guys, I'm sorry..." Anzu finally entered the room, slower than the others, and the conflicting emotions clear in her eyes as she finally got to see one of her oldest friends in a 'coma'.
They could have been just friends or dating, Bakura had been far too busy to concern himself with Yugi's love life. Jounouchi and Honda both moved a little closer to her, but Bakura could read off their faces that they were just as lost as to what to do as he was. 'But Anzu needs to be our other 'face' I can't be the leader in all things obviously.. I have to delegate that and I don't mind. Jounouchi actually pulled that off seamlessly for me already. But I really don't need a bunch of jealous over sexed Kaiba fan girls to crush Anzu.' He thought to himself.
"Oh Yugi..." Anzu finally managed to say as she took in the sight before her. All those wires and tubes, and Yugi just sleeping like this was perfectly normal. Pale skin on pale fabric, his blond bangs and dark hair framing his head and giving some hint of color to a washed out world. "I know you want to dream of the Egypt, of the past but... Why a bullet? Why..." Anzu began crying in the worst way possible.
By not realizing it.
The tears just slipped down her face as she tried to hold on to the mask... Oh Anzu.
Jounouchi exchanged glances with Honda, both unsure just what she had been subjected to at school. But she was upset and Yugi wouldn't have approved of her tears so the pair moved in close to her. Honda resting his hand on her shoulder.
"We have to have faith Anzu, things are only going to get worse from here on out," Honda pointed out gently.