Extinguished
By Weeping Angel
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Something's wrong with Yugi, and Yami, who has been avoiding Yugi to stop Yugi finding out his developing feeling for the younger boy, must fight to save his hikari. Y/Y R/B
Disclaimer: I own only the plot. I put the entire show on my Christmas Wish List, but it's not Christmas yet.
Thanks to all of the reviewers!
Japanese translations:
Gomen – sorry
Arigato – thank you
Demo – but
Hai – yes
Iie – no
Konnichiwa – hello
-Kun – an honorific used for boys your age that you're friends with
-chan – an honorific used for girls your age that you're friends with, or someone, of either gender, that you love
~*~*~
Part 2
Seto Kaiba was spending a quiet day at home with Mokuba, alone and undisturbed. He had told his business partners, in no uncertain terms, that if they called, paged, or even had the audacity to approach his front door, they would be dropped from the upcoming deal he was working on, and he would find a way to get their respective companies declared bankrupt.
No one doubted for a second that he could, and would.
It was close on eleven o'clock, and so far, everyone had heeded his warning. He and Mokuba were left alone.
So when the doorbell rang, Seto was, understandably, annoyed.
Until he answered it.
"Yugi?" Seto asked, staring at the smaller boy's tear streaked face and bruised arms. "What happened?"
"Gomen for bothering you, Seto-kun…" Yugi mumbled as Seto led him inside. "I need your help again…"
"Another trip?" Seto asked, seating Yugi on the sofa.
"Hai." Yugi replied. "The doctor has a new treatment he wants to try, and I have to go to the big hospital in Tokyo for it."
"I'll arrange a car for you, and a house to stay in, in Tokyo. Near the hospital, of course." Seto immediately offered.
"Iie. I…I just need enough for a bus fare, Seto-kun." Yugi replied.
"But what about expenses? And food, and other necessities? And hospital stays are never cheap!"
"You've done so much for me already, Seto-kun." Yugi said, shaking his head. "I'll worry about other expenses when they come." He said, forcing a smile to his lips.
"Alright, Yugi." Seto said. "But I want you to do something for me, okay?" Seto could see that Yugi wasn't going to back down, but maybe he could force the other boy into some sort of compromise.
"What is it, Seto-kun?"
"Two things, actually. I want you to take a credit card– " Yugi protested, but Seto held up a hand, silencing the boy. "Just in case, Yugi. Deal?"
Yugi frowned, but could see the logic. "Hai, Seto-kun. I'll borrow a card, but I wont use it unless I absolutely have to. I already owe you too much." Yugi relented.
"Good. And the second thing. Take someone with you."
"Demo…Seto-kun, no one else knows, except you and Mokuba-kun! And I can't tell them!" Yugi protested again, tears welling up. Seto immediately felt bad for making the petite angel cry, and was shocked at the feeling.
He didn't know when it had happened, but it had. He had gone from caring for Yugi virtually not at all, to having the boy hold a place in his heart equal to that of Mokuba. Instead of looking at Yugi as a rival, or even a friend, he now looked at him like a younger brother, one who needed protection.
"Yugi, you have to. It's not fair to your friends if you don't." Seto said gently. "And I think you may be underestimating them. What kind of friends would they be if they didn't help you through this?" Seto said rationally.
"I think Jounouchi-kun would understand." Cut in Mokuba's voice. Both Yugi and Seto turned to see the young boy standing in the open doorway. Yugi smiled at the boy, and motioned for him to join the conversation with a simple "konnichiwa, Mokuba-kun."
Mokuba responded in kind, and sat next to Yugi. "I think Jounouchi-kun would understand." Mokuba repeated. "Because of his sister."
"Serenity." Yugi sighed "But I can't do that to Jou-kun. I don't want to bother him. He's been hard pressed to support Serenity by himself since his parents."
Seto frowned, remembering back. Jou's parents were in a courthouse, finalising their divorce settlement. A terrorist group, protesting what they considered the unfair imprisonment of one of their leaders, had taken over the courthouse. While helping a young girl escape to safety, Jou's mother had been shot. His father was shot soon after when he attacked the terrorists, enraged.
The little girl who had escaped and survived was Rebecca Hawkins. She never forgave herself for the whole affair, and was surprised that Jou had.
Jou had used the remainder of the prize money that Yugi had given him from the Duellist Kingdom to pay for his parents' funerals and support Serenity until he could get a job.
"What about your other friends?" Seto asked, cautiously changing the subject. "Anzu?"
Yugi shook his head. "Iie. Anzu-chan wouldn't understand. A…a while ago, before… before I met Yami-chan and everyone else…" Yugi paused when Seto raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Yami-chan?" Seto repeated, emphasising on the honorific.
Yugi blushed. "Onegai…don't….don't tell anyone." Yugi pleaded in an extremely quiet voice. "Yami will hate me if he finds out." He finished in a whisper.
"Well, I guess now I don't have to ask why you don't want to tell your darker half." Seto said with a small laugh. "Don't worry, Yugi. I won't tell him."
Yugi frowned at Seto's laugh, but smiled gratefully at both Kaibas when Mokuba added that he wouldn't tell either. "Arigato."
Seto nodded. "You're welcome. You were talking about Anzu, and before you met everyone." He prodded.
"We had an assembly, where there were those kids, two girls about our age now, who were both sick. Sick like…like I am." Seto could see Yugi struggling not to cry again.
"What happened, Yugi?"
"I…I overheard Anzu saying that…that people who were sick like that…they shouldn't fight it…she said they were just out for the attention…and they should just die, and get it over with." Yugi could no longer hold his tears in. "I…I knew then that…that I couldn't tell her, ever. And…and Honda-kun…he agreed."
Seto looked at Yugi, slightly shocked. "You've known about your cancer since then?"
Yugi nodded. "Since before then, actually…"
"Yugi, how long have you had it?" Seto asked, suddenly curious. He could see that Mokuba was as well.
Yugi, however, seemed to shrink back at the question, as if he was scared, and Seto rushed to reassure him.
"You don't have to tell me, Yugi."
"It's…it's alright." Yugi said, slowly, calming his breathing, and returning to a normal sitting position. "I can't hide it for much longer anyway. The doctors found the tumour when I was nearly three. It turned cancerous when I was four and a half. They – the doctors – couldn't cut it out…because it was too close to my brain." Yugi took in a deep breath. "The cancer went into remission when I was eight, around the time I went to live with Grandpa and he gave me the Puzzle to solve. And now it's come back."
"It's the stress, isn't it?" Seto asked softly understanding dawning. "Your Grandpa was always there, for you to rely on, and now…"
Seto could see Yugi was struggling, and Mokuba looked shocked. Seto couldn't blame his brother for feeling that way; he was just as stunned. Yugi had had cancer for thirteen years? And he'd been able to hide it from his friends?
"Why about Ryou?" Mokuba asked suddenly. When Seto looked at him strangely, he elaborated. "What about asking Ryou to go with you to the hospital?"
Yugi seemed to brighten at the thought. "Yeah. I'll ask him." But as soon as it came, his happy mood disappeared, and Yugi seemed to fall into a depression again.
Silence filled the room for the next few minutes until Yugi broke it by standing. "Gomen, Seto-kun, but I should probably be leaving. Arigato for everything, though."
"Hold on, Yugi, and I'll get you the card."
Yugi and Mokuba sat in the lounge room, waiting for Seto to return. The two had been discussing the latest Duel Monsters tournament that was coming up. Yugi felt a pang of sadness that stemmed from the fact he knew he would miss it.
"Yugi." Seto said, coming in, holding a small multi-coloured card in his hand. He handed it to Yugi, who took it, slightly awed. "The card is in your name, but draws funds from my account."
Yugi's eyes shot up as he looked at the blue eyed boy, startled. "Demo, Seto-kun…" Yugi protested weakly.
"No, Yugi. Let me finish." Seto said calmly, too calmly for Yugi's tastes. He was up to something. "The card has a five thousand dollar credit limit, so don't worry about it running out."
Yugi bowed his head, grateful, but also angry. Five thousand! It was a lot of money. Why couldn't Seto have just given him the money for the bus ticket like he'd asked, and left it at that?
"I'd better get going." Yugi said, breaking out of his thoughts. Bye Mokuba-kun! Bye Seto-kun, and thank you!"
"I'll see you when you get back, Yugi." Seto called after Yugi as the younger boy left, walking down the steps of the mansion.
Yugi smiled sadly at him, before turning. "No you wont." He replied, so softly that the other boy didn't hear.
"Gomen, Seto-kun, but no you wont."
