Chapter 8
"You must have heard something by now Yugi."
"Joey if I had you guys would know straight away."
"I just can't stand not knowing what's happening."
"I know how you feel but Gramps said he'd call when he could."
"What if something even worse has happened and we're not there for him."
Yugi closed his eyes, bracing himself against the wire fence which encased the roof of the school. They'd come up to the roof top for their lunch break instead of going to the lunch hall with the rest of the school. Yugi was in no mood to talk to other students about the upcoming tournament. That was the last thing on his mind at the moment. He'd still not heard from his grandfather so was still left wondering what was going on. This was eating away at him, he needed to know something, anything which would bring him comfort. He couldn't stop thinking that the longer he waited the worse things were. Surely that's what all this could mean, if it was taking this long then the injuries were worse. Perhaps the worst. Yugi shook himself and pushed away from the fence, no he couldn't think like that. His friends watched him walk away, Tea shot Joey a look. Ranting the way he had didn't help. Tea knew that Joey was just concerned about Atem, they all were but ranting was not going to change anything. She thought about moving over to Yugi, whose back was to them, but they heard a phone ringing. They all froze and watched as Yugi pulled his phone from his pocket. Yugi stared at it for a moment before answering. His friends couldn't hear what was being said nor could they get an idea as Yugi's back was turned to them. Tea, however, was pretty sure she saw Yugi's shoulders drop… in relief perhaps?
A few minutes past before Yugi returned his phone to his pocket and turned to face his friends. They all wore similar expression of apprehension and were watching his every move. Moving towards them he smiled and at his smile their faces relaxed.
"He's alright guys." Yugi said, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted "The doctors think he'll be just fine."
Joey let out a sigh, "That's such a relief, what did they say?"
"Gramps said that he wasn't as bad as they first feared, he's got quite a nasty concussion but other than that he's fine."
"So will they let him come back tonight?" Tristan asked.
Yugi nodded, "They're running a few more tests but if that's all clear then he should be able to come home tonight."
"That's such great news Yugi," Tea said, getting up and pulling Yugi into a hug, "Maybe after school we can all head back to yours to see him."
"We'll see if they're back and ask Gramps. He might get a little protective, he used to do that with me when… you know… this kind of thing happened to me."
His friends nodded and there was a slight pause as they all digested the information they'd just been given. Yugi let out another breath, it was such a relief to him to know Atem was alright especially after the way he'd been the previous evening. He had never seen the once King behave in that way which had scared him, but at least he could get through the rest of the day knowing that he was alright and all being well he would see Atem for himself later. As it turned out with the knowledge that everything was alright Yugi found it easier to concentrate on lessons and did start to talk to fellow students again about the tournament, he was even able to see the funny side of the massive banner outside the school when the four of them left at the end of the day.
The four of them headed towards the game shop with the normal rough housing between Joey and Tristan, whilst Yugi and Tea just rolled their eyes at them. The game shop came into view and Yugi felt a ball of excitement form inside him, he was eager to hopefully see Atem and to know that he was alright. Pushing the door to the game shop open they found Grandpa behind the counter going through the items which had previously been on the broken shelf. He looked up at them all and smiled,
"How did I know you'd all come?"
"Hey Gramps," Yugi greeted, "How is he?"
"He's alright. He's been incredibly lucky."
"What did the doctors say?" Joey asked, leaning against the counter.
"They said that blow to his head has caused quite a nasty concussion which explained his behaviour last night with us. They were worried at first it was something far more sinister but thankfully that wasn't the case." Grandpa explained, continuing to sort the items in front of him, "The longer we were there the more Atem came back, you know how he was when we left Yugi, but as time went on he was able to communicate clearly with us which was a huge relief."
Yugi nodded, he remembered Atem struggling to even form a sentence with the paramedics the previous night which had been rather worrying.
"Has he told you what happened?" Tristan asked.
Grandpa frowned, "Pieces of it, yes. He still can't quite remember everything which the doctors said is completely normal. He said he was attacked by three boys not too far from here but he can't remember why. He's pretty sure he was knocked out at some point and when he came too he crawled back here, he said he remembered trying to walk but couldn't manage it."
"Where is he now?" Yugi asked, he was getting rather desperate to see him with his own eyes.
The thought of Atem being attacked and needing help so close to home was difficult. How could it of happened so close to here but they had been unaware. He'd needed help and Yugi hadn't been there. An image of an injured Atem crawling his way back in the lashing rain played out in his mind's eye. He shook himself internally, pushing the image away. Atem wasn't out in the pouring rain, he was here somewhere.
"He's upstairs in the living room." Grandpa replied, leaning towards them on the counter, "We got back a little over an hour ago and he went straight to sleep on the sofa. I know you are all desperate to see him but just remember this is still fresh and happened not even twenty-four hours ago."
The teenagers nodded, however Grandpa had more to say.
"You know him, he'll try and pretend he's absolutely fine but I'm sure you guys won't fall for it. We have to keep a close eye on him for the next few days so don't let him do anything but rest. I don't know if he is still sleeping, he was when I last when up so if he's still asleep please don't disturb him. He didn't get much rest in the hospital with all the tests."
They nodded and began to make their way up the stairs. Yugi was leading the way, he tried to move as quietly as he could in case Atem was in fact still asleep. As he reached the top step Yugi's eyes immediately found the person he'd been so desperate to see. Atem was indeed still asleep. He was lying on the sofa covered in a blanket with his head resting on one of the sofa cushions, he was lying with his back to them but as Yugi and the others moved into the room they got a clearer view of him. His face was still fairly pale but Yugi noted he had more colour then the last time he'd seen him. The doctors had cleaned him up and he could just see some steri strips which were obviously holding the wound to the side of his head shut. Fresh bruises were slowly forming on his face, and a couple of cuts to his nose showed where he'd been struck. Yugi had to wonder about the bruises to his chest but thought it better to ask Grandpa later, his friends maybe didn't need to know everything. He turned to look at his friends who were looking at Atem with looks of concern. Smiling reassuringly at them he motioned for them to follow him upstairs to his bedroom. Leading the way up he pushed open the door, throwing his bag on the desk before turning to face his friends.
"He doesn't look well but at least he's alright." Joey said.
Yugi nodded, "Trust me guys he definitely looks ten times better then he did last night."
"I sort of hoped he was awake so we could talk to him but he needs his rest," Tea said, settling herself on the floor.
"Yeah me too," Yugi agreed, "But he might wake before you guys leave and whilst we wait shall we tackle some of this homework. Might be easier as a group?"
His friends agreed and settling themselves in a circle on the floor they began to make their way through the vast amounts of homework they'd been given. As it turned out Yugi had been right about it being easier together, when one of them got stuck on a question they could talk about it together and carry on. They probably got through an hour's work before Joey declared he was bored and wanted to do something else. Shoving his books back into his bag Joey's eyes found the duel disk and deck sitting on Yugi's desk.
"Hey Yugi, I know to all the press and fans you've not told anyone what cards your planning to use in this tournament but surely you can give me a hint?"
Yugi grinned at him, "Depends on what sort of hint you want."
"Well, are you using the god cards? You still have them don't you."
"I do." Yugi said, eventually, "But I won't be using them."
"Why not?" Tristan asked.
"Well, when I used them it was when me and Atem duelled as one so it was part of the deck we built together and only he really knows how to use them. I mean, yeah, Kaiba had Obelisk but even he didn't know its full capability but Atem does. There also the fact that I don't know the chant to unlock Ra, I learnt many things from Atem but reading Egyptian hieroglyphs wasn't one."
"I guess that makes sense," Joey said slowly, "But what about when people ask about them. What will you say?
Yugi thought for a moment, "The truth. I'll say that as times change my duelling deck has too as well. I owe a lot to those cards but with the new times comes new cards."
The others nodded it was quite a good way to explain it without arousing suspicion. Turning around Yugi opened his desk draw a pulled out the three Egyptian god cards. He handed them over to Joey knowing that he'd want to look at them. Joey picked them up one by one examining them closely.
"Isn't funny how many people fought us over these cards and now you don't use them."
Yugi nodded, "But we have a lot to be thankful to those cards for. Thanks to them they released Atem from the puzzle."
Joey picked up the Winged Dragon of Ra and examined it closely.
"How does he understand what this says?
"Think about it Joey," Tristan said, rolling his eyes at him, "Back in the day when he was Pharaoh there's no way they would have spoken English."
"Fair point but then how did he learn English now then?" Joey asked, looking perplexed.
"From me," Yugi shrugged, "I reckon when I completed the puzzle and we first connected he picked up the language without knowing it. He does still speak Egyptian from time to time. Normally when he's thinking about something. Sometimes he does it, forgets we're there and when Grandpa replies to him it always startles him."
They all laughed before a slight silence fell between them as their thoughts turned once again to their friend. As the silence stretched on for a couple more moments Yugi strained to listen for any sounds from downstairs which might indicate Atem was awake. He was still anxious to speak to the former King and reassure himself that he really was alright. Taking the god cards back from Joey he got to his feet and looked at his friends,
"I might just go make sure he's alright, if he's awake you guys could come and see him."
His friends didn't question this as during the slight pause in their conversation all their thoughts had turned to Atem. Heading out of his room Yugi slowly descended the stairs, treading carefully just in case. When he reached the living room he saw that Grandpa was in the kitchen, on the sofa Atem was indeed awake and leaning against the sofa still wrapped in the blanket. Approaching the sofa Yugi leaned against it and smiled at his closest friend who greeted him with a tired smile.
"Are you alright?" Yugi asked.
Atem nodded but immediately regretted it as his head throbbed painfully. Despite his best efforts Yugi didn't miss the grimace which flicked across his face. He looked back to Yugi who gave him a sympathetic smile.
"I'm alright Yugi." Atem replied, his voice was still low but he at least sounded like himself now, "I apologise for making you worry about me."
Yugi shook his head, "You don't need to apologise for anything, this wasn't your fault. If anything I'm sorry for not being there to help you when you needed me."
Another flicker of pain crossed Atem's face.
"There's nothing you could have done Yugi. Don't blame yourself for what you didn't know."
Yugi just looked at him for a moment before smiling slightly. Atem closed his eyes for a moment and Yugi could tell from his expression this was pain but he was doing his best to mask it. Before either of them could say anything else Grandpa emerged from the kitchen.
"Are your friends still here?" He asked, a nod was the response, "Well, if they want they're welcome to stay to have some food as long as Atem is ok with it?"
Atem, who was rubbing his temples, looked up and smiled slightly. Yugi knew him well enough to know this was an agreement which he relayed to his grandfather without having to speak. Grandpa nodded, he patted Atem gently on the shoulder before returning to the kitchen. Casting his eyes back to Atem he studied him for a moment before speaking.
"If you're not feeing up to chatting with them it's fine, they will understand."
"No it's ok," Atem replied, "It would be rude of me not to speak with them."
"In this situation they will completely understand, you're allowed to be rude."
Atem's face was a conflict of emotions, Yugi knew he was fighting against what his body was telling him and what his pride was telling him. But eventually he gave Yugi a small reassuring smile and Yugi, accepting his choice, went back upstairs to bring his friends down. The group descended the stairs, they greeted Atem warmly and settled themselves around the living room. They asked after him but they didn't push him too much, having been warned by Yugi to his current state. They broke out in general conversation before Grandpa called them through to the kitchen for food. They all moved through apart from Atem who, once out of sight of anyone, leaned heavily into the sofa and allowed a look of pain he'd been hiding to pass over his face. He'd been trying his best to hide this when their friends had been in the room. In the kitchen the teenagers were quick to break into the food which had been placed on the table. Grandpa watched the scene with a smile on his face, it was a relief to him that everything seemed to be alright again. He glanced through to the other room where Atem hadn't moved off the sofa, not that he'd expected him too. He knew that at the moment Atem didn't have much of an appetite, so he had no intention of trying to force him to eat anything. He left the teens to their meal and moved through to check on the former King. Out of the corner of his eye Yugi saw his grandfather move into the next room. He subtly looked over, to not draw the attention of his friends, and watched as Grandpa helped Atem to stand and move towards the stairs. Atem was able to move unaided which was a relief to Yugi but he noted his grandfather placing a hand on his back as they climbed the stairs and out of sight. Yugi smiled sadly, he knew despite the once Pharaoh's best efforts he was not in the best shape. But he was much better then last night which Yugi was thankful for. All the mattered now was that Atem was safe and recovering. Turning back to his friends Yugi heartly joined in with their conversation. Everything was seemingly back on track.
To my guest reviewer, thank you very much for your kind words. I am honoured that you've followed me all this time, I only hope I can live up to expectations!
