High Twilight
Part Two
Stricken
I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or anything relating to it, really.
Except for Elendil and Estel. They're mine.
This takes place roughly five years after Hidden Truths ends.
Have fun, and remember, please don't sue me, I am nothing more than a lowly college student living off of imaginary food!!!
"Puzzle Papa, Papa said you have to stop playing hide and go seek with Nuhta." Estel whispered quietly as she lay down a card in defense mode.(1)
"Hmmm, he does, does he?" Yami answered, looking at his hand, and folding with a grin. "It seems you beat me again, Estel!" Estel smiled shyly, collecting her cards, and shuffling them back into her deck.
"Nuhta keeps getting lost, and I don't like it when he gets lost, either." Estel whispered, hugging the plushie tightly. Yami sighed, picking up the tiny girl, and setting her on the vanity chair, unbraiding her hair, picking up a brush, wrestling the tangles out of her soft, white hair.
"Don't worry, Estel, I won't play hide and go seek with Nuhta anymore." Yami smiled, finishing the neat braid, Estel smiled shyly, looking at Yami.
"Puzzle Papa, why can't Elendil see you, or Papa, or Uncle Mokuba?" Estel asked, and Yami sighed, knowing that she would have asked eventually, but he was hoping that she wouldn't ask for many years yet.
"You're special, Estel, and can see and do things others can't. That's why, but you mustn't tell anyone, okay?" Yami asked, looking into the eyes of the little girl. He didn't want her to get hurt, not like Yugi had. He would rather die a thousand deaths than hurt her, too.
Estel began to sob, much to Yami's surprise. He had never intended to make her cry.
"But, I already told Papa, when we found Nuhta hiding in the kitchen!" Estel cried softly, even her tears quiet, like everything about her. Yami smiled,, and hushed her, humming a soft lullaby.
"It's okay, Estel, it's okay. Just don't mention it to Papa again, all right? The time will come, later, when you're older." Yami whispered, wiping away Estel's tears.
"Puzzle Papa," Estel whimpered, curling up in Yami's arms, shivering, "Can you make the room warm?" Estel asked, and Yami looked at her quizzically, sweat forming on her brow as she clutched Nuhta.
"Estel, you're warm enough as it is...." Yami felt her forehead, and cursed himself for still being a spirit. Estel was the only one who could see him, and she was burning up in his arms.
"But it's so cold, Puzzle....." Estel drifted off, her eyes closing as she passed out, Yami trying to wake her up, cursing Seto for not noticing how pale she was.
"Estel, listen to me, sweetie, you have to open yours eyes, and find Seto. I can't get you help, Estel, I can't interact with this world without you!" Yami panicked, the girl slipping through his arms, falling with a sickening thud upon the floor, her body crumpled in a heap of blue cloth and white hair.
A door down the hallway opened, Mokuba popping his head out to investigate. Estel was known for playing quietly, on her own. Thuds and thumps came from Elendil's room, not hers. Yami thanked the gods as Mokuba looked in, rushing to little Estel's body with concern.
"Don't worry, Estel, you're going to be fine now, okay? Just fine." Yami whispered with a smile, his form dissolving completely away as the last of Estel's strength was tapped....
Mokuba lifted the tiny child up, her breath coming in faint, wheezing gasps. The teenager frowned, feeling for a pulse, a faint murmur thumping in her chest, barely noticeable. Estel's grip weakened on Nuhta, the tiny plushie falling to the floor as Mokuba lifted her up, dashing toward Seto's study.
"SETO!!!" Mokuba shouted, kicking the door open, his leather boots leaving a smudge against the polished oak surface. Seto looked up with a glare.
"Mokuba! What in the.... Estel!" Seto stood up as Mokuba lay the tiny child down on the couch, worried. Her breathing was becoming more labored as she gasped for breath, her skin clammy, and more pale than ever.
"Seto, what's wrong with her!?" Mokuba sobbed, the twins were like younger siblings to him, and seeing Estel like this broke his heart. Seto shook his head, calling for an ambulance.
"Come on Estel, come on, don't die, you can't die!" Seto whispered, carrying her to the downstairs foyer, Mokuba following, waiting for the ambulance......
"Uncle Mokuba?" Elendil tugged on Mokuba's leather jacket, looking around the empty kitchen. Mokuba sniffed, wiping tears from his eyes, looking down at Elendil with a saddened smile.
"Yes, Elendil? Is something wrong?" Mokuba asked, putting down the carrot chopper. Elendil looked at him quizzically.
"Where's Estel? We can't have dinner without Estel! Besides, it's her turn to help wash dishes, and I'm not going to wash dishes just because she's hiding!" Elendil glared, hands on hips. Had it been any other night, Mokuba would have been howling with laughter.
But, as it was, Mokuba could only wipe more tears from his eyes. The ambulance had taken Estel, and Seto, away three hours before. And Seto had only called, briefly, to say that Estel was on a ventilator, and a heart monitor. The doctors weren't sure if you would last the night, and no one had any idea of what might have caused her collapse.
"Elendil, Estel's not here. She's in the hospital.... she might not come home." Mokuba whispered, tears pricking at Elendil's eyes as he shook his head.
"No she's not!! She's playing with stupid Nuhta!!! She's just a stupid baka!!! That's all she ever was, a stupid baka!!!" Elendil screamed, running from the room, tears flooding his eyes. Mokuba sighed, and went back to cutting carrots, ignoring the screaming sobs, and breaking toys from Elendil's room......
"So, how is she?" Seto asked, looking up. It was 2 AM, and his eyes had passed bloodshot three hours before. The doctor sighed, looking at the chart wearily.
"We think her body's immune system is attacking her body. We're trying some drugs now, but.... they may not work. We really can't find a reason for her white cells(2) to attack her this suddenly." The doctor looked over as a nurse ran up to him, whispering something frantically.
"What is it!? What's going on!?" Seto demanded frantically, the doctor's eyes going wide in surprise, motioning for Seto to follow.
"It seems, Mr. Kaiba, that little Estel has woken up, on her own." the doctor opened the door to her private room, Estel sitting up in her bed, looking as shy as normal. In fact, she looked just fine.
"Estel?" Seto asked, approaching the bed. Estel pulled at the end of her braid nervously.
"Papa, I can't find Nuhta." Estel whispered, looking at the IV needle strapped into her arm. Seto smiled, and rolled his eyes.
"Nuhta's safe at home. Estel, how are you feeling?" Seto asked, looking over at the doctor, who was busy discussing something with the nurse.
"My arm is sore." Estel whispered, her grip tightening around her braid nervously as the doctor approached.
"Mr. Kaiba, may I speak with you," the doctor glanced at Estel, "Outside?" Seto nodded, smiling at Estel.
"I'll be just a second, okay?" Estel nodded, curling up in the large hospital bed, clutching her braid.
"What's happening, doctor?" Seto asked, making sure the door was soundly closed behind him.
"It seems that her immune system has decided that, for the moment, her body is not a threat." the doctor smiled weakly. "Sir, is there any history of this, in your family?"
Seto shook his head with a sigh, looking through the window at Estel, who was quickly falling asleep.
"She's not my daughter." Seto whispered, the doctor looking up from his chart suddenly.
"Oh. Well, I have a prescription, I want her to take two a day, one every twelve hours, and bring her in immediately if any symptoms return." the doctor handed Seto a sheet of paper, "And Mr. Kaiba, I would honestly try tracking down her biological relatives. This... disease shows sign of being hereditary. Another, more informed, doctor may know a better treatment." Seto nodded, looking in at Estel, tears in his eyes.
The only living relative she had was Bakura, and approaching him was out of the question......
~TSUZUKU~
Explanations!!!
1) I play Magic: the Gathering, not Yu-Gi-Oh!, so I'm going to avoid card playing scenes. I only know a little, from what I've seen in the show.
2) I have a very limited medical education. Mainly from what I remember from my Health classes in Public School, and a little of what my Mama told me. Nothing more, so I'm going to hold off on exact medical science scenes too!!!
Oh yeah, for anyone who mentions it, my Mama was a nurse, and she watched ER. ER, from the few episodes we watched, is very fictional, and not something to gain medical scenes from.
Well, I know, crappy chapter.
Short chapter.
I'll try to write more next time, but I'm trying to find a pair of pants, and I am a little on the tall side, so I'm going to be busy for the next month or two looking!!
R&R Please!!
Oh yeah, I wasn't kidding about that pants thing. Target, JC Penny's, Nordstroms, BonMarche, none of them sell clothing for women over 5'10", so I'm probably going to have to go find a tailor. Or cut about a three inches off my arms and legs, which is looking more and more like a decent solution!!!
Part Three