Greetings! I'm so very sorry for the delay in getting this out. Christmas
got in the way, as wall as a bad cold. This chapter is shorter than normal,
because of said cold, but I figured it was better than no chapter at all.
pruning shears gets a basket of Oreos for being right about the identity of the person in the car. Don't eat them all at once, okay? Let's give out a round of applause *claps loudly* Also, I know what you mean about head injuries being painful. I've had one myself and it was not pretty.
Mutou Yasu thinks I'm evil. Am I really? You mean you all don't enjoy all these lovely cliffhangers I keep leaving you with? ;o)
Crossover Authoress: "Well I guess it's his own fault for going against Yami" This was just too funny. Just wait until I get to write the conversation between those two!
To everyone else that reviewed: Thank you muchly!! You all rock! *hugs all the wonderful reviewers*
On another note: Does anyone know where I can find English lyrics to the Japanese song "Shuffle"? It's the one used for the second opening in the Japanese TV version. I recently got the Japanese DVD's (YAY!) and adore that song. I don't know what it says, except for what I get from the subtitles, but it sounds pretty cool.
Yikes, sorry about the long AN.
Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Unexpected Allies
"STOP!"
Seto Kaiba winced as his body was jostled forward by the car's decreased momentum, but regained his balance quickly. He opened the door and was out of the limo before the driver had brought the vehicle to a complete stop. He tripped as his feet hit the pavement, but did not lose his footing. Instead, he sprinted over to the young man who was standing in front of the limo, his eyes clenched shut.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Yugi? You could have been killed!"
The adrenaline rushing through his body from the close call made his voice rougher and louder than it needed to be, so he took several deep breaths before speaking again.
"We almost hit you, damn it. What were you doing crossing the street? Why didn't you wait for the signal to cross? I just barely had time to shout for my driver to stop after I saw you crossing in front of us."
"It was green for me," Yugi whispered, his eyes still closed. His voice was so soft that it was hard to hear it over the noise of the traffic.
What? Kaiba looked around and noticed the crowd that had gathered to watch what was happening. He scowled at them, and then turned his attention back to Yugi.
"Yugi, the light was green to cross on the other street, not on this one."
Yugi said nothing.
Kaiba finally made it to the young man. Yugi was standing with his head down, clutching the puzzle around his neck. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and he seemed to be lost in another world.
"Kaiba?"
"Yeah. Come on; let's get out of the middle of the street."
Yugi turned towards him then, his eyes finally open. Kaiba noticed something empty there, as if Yugi wasn't really focusing on him. He shrugged, figuring that the younger teen was still frightened. He turned and walked back to the limo, and then realized that Yugi hadn't followed. Kaiba turned around again and found that Yugi was walking the other way, away from him, heading towards the other intersection.
"Yugi!"
Kaiba ran after the young man and grabbed him by the arms before he could step out into the oncoming traffic on the other street. Yugi flinched as Kaiba touched him, and he could tell that Yugi was shaking slightly. Kaiba immediately released him, not sure of what was going on.
Yugi looked around, as if trying to find something. His face was twisted in concentration, and Kaiba could see tears pooling in his eyes. Finally his head stopped moving, and he gave a sigh. He was facing Kaiba, but his eyes weren't focusing on him at all. Suddenly, the grimness of the situation hit Kaiba like a bucket of ice water.
"You can't see me, can you?"
Yugi blinked, and a single tear slid down his cheek. He shook his head, as if he couldn't trust himself to speak.
Kaiba's face softened momentarily at the younger teen's plight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his driver had stepped out of the limo and was watching him. His emotionless mask slipped back onto his face immediately, but he kept his gaze on Yugi.
"I'm going to take your hand and lead you to the limo, okay?"
At Yugi's nod, Kaiba reached out and grabbed Yugi's left hand. Kaiba started leading him towards the limo, while softly speaking.
"Then we're going to go to the hospital so the doctors can get a good look at you. Besides, your grandfather is worried sick."
Yugi suddenly stopped walking and pulled his hand out of Kaiba's. Kaiba frowned, and regarded Yugi's determined face.
"No. I need to talk to you, Kaiba. I was on my way to your house to do just that. I can't go back to the hospital until we talk."
Kaiba frowned. "You left the hospital ahead of time to go talk to me? Why didn't you just ask me to go see you?"
"Because you wouldn't have gone," the answer came quickly and with no hesitation.
Kaiba opened his mouth to deny that implication, but then shut it. Yugi was right, he wouldn't have gone. The only reason he'd been at the hospital at all was because Mokuba wanted to go. If Yugi had called him to ask to talk to him, Kaiba would have laughed in his face and hung up.
"Okay, you have a point. I'll make you a deal, Yugi. We'll go back to the hospital, you get looked at by the doctors, and I'll stick around to talk to you afterwards."
Yugi thought about it for a moment. His eyes lost their light momentarily, and Kaiba was afraid that Yugi was going to faint. Yugi then gave a small nod and started to walk forwards.
"Agreed. I really need to talk to you, though."
Kaiba took Yugi's shoulders and led the teen into the limo. He settled down himself, before telling the driver to head back to Domino Hospital. He turned to regard his companion, noting that Yugi was looking straight ahead. Kaiba also noticed the ridiculous clothes he was wearing.
"What are you wearing? Those clothes look to be about five sizes too big for you."
Yugi smiled slightly, and ran his hands over his legs. "I think they're Joey's. I couldn't find my clothes, but I found his."
"You were that eager to leave the hospital, huh?"
Yugi didn't answer.
"How are you feeling?"
The question was so unexpected that Yugi's face immediately turned towards him, shock marring his features.
"What, it's a valid question?" Kaiba retorted.
Yugi shrugged. "Yeah, but you've never cared before."
Kaiba sighed. Was he really that bad?
"Well, I care now. How are you feeling?"
Yugi took a deep breath, before slowly releasing it. "I can't see a thing, Kaiba. My vision consists of nothing but darkness. I can feel my eyes open, but I don't see a thing." He sighed, and turned away. "I feel so helpless.."
The last sentence came out in a whisper, and Kaiba thought he might have imagined it. Looking at Yugi's posture and the clenched hands, he knew that he hadn't imagined anything.
"You're not helpless, Yugi. The doctors are going to see what's wrong and fix it. That's what they do, after all."
Yugi's mouth curved up into a small smile, before he turned his head in Kaiba's direction. His eyes were focused at a point about two feet to Kaiba's right, which the elder teen found somewhat unnerving.
"Are you trying to cheer me up?"
Kaiba shrugged. "There is a first time for everything, you know."
The two teens lapsed into silence, both happy to ponder their own inner thoughts. Kaiba wondered what was so important that Yugi had to sneak out of the hospital to talk to him. He had no business being out of bed, especially not if he couldn't see his way around.
"How do you know that my grandfather is worried about me?"
The question was unexpected. Kaiba turned and found Yugi's face turned towards him. He smiled sheepishly and was glad that Yugi couldn't see it.
"I was at the hospital because Mokuba wanted to see you. We ran into your grandfather and he told us you were missing."
Yugi frowned. He was quiet for a moment, before speaking again. "You mean you were out looking for me?"
Kaiba didn't reply. He saw Yugi cock his head slightly, probably wondering why he wasn't answering the question.
"Yes, I was out looking for you. I had the car, and figured it was easier than sending your friends to look for you on foot. I didn't expect to almost run you over." Kaiba was quiet for a moment, before deciding to continue. "If you couldn't see, why did you leave the hospital?"
Now it was Yugi's turn to be quiet.
"I could see just fine when I left the hospital," came the reply. Yugi then paused as if listening to something only he could hear, before smiling slightly. "Okay, so I could somewhat see when I left. My vision didn't completely go away until I started crossing the street."
Kaiba shook his head in both disbelief and amazement. Here was this kid who'd only a day ago had been in a coma, and was now unable to see, sitting in his limo talking to him as if nothing was wrong. He had to hand it to Yugi, he was being much calmer than Kaiba himself would be had he been in the same situation.
"We've arrived at Domino Hospital, Master Kaiba."
Kaiba nodded at the driver. He opened the door and grabbed a hold of Yugi's arm. "I'm going to take you up to your room."
Yugi nodded and let Kaiba lead him inside.
As soon as they'd stepped through the threshold, Solomon Moto was upon them.
"Yugi, where have you been? Why did you take off like that?"
Kaiba wanted to say something to the elder man, but held his tongue. It was Yugi's responsibility to explain, after all. He was about to walk away, when Yugi's hand found his arm and tightened around it. Kaiba stayed where he was, glancing at the disbelieving looks Yugi's grandfather and friends were giving him.
"I'm sorry, grandpa. I just really needed to talk to Kaiba. It couldn't wait."
Joey stepped up to both of them, ignoring Kaiba.
"Yug, are you okay? You seem a little bit out of it. What's wrong with your eyes?"
Kaiba glanced at Joey, surprised by the boy's insight. It had taken him longer than that to figure out what was wrong with Yugi.
Kaiba felt Yugi's hand around his arm tighten, and he could hear the younger teen swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I can't see anymore."
**~~**
Aww.. let's all give Yugi a big hug now.. see, no evil cliffhanger in this chapter! But you can blame that on my cold.
Coming up: Yugi gets the doctor's diagnosis and finally gets to talk to Kaiba. Gee, I wonder how that will go?
pruning shears gets a basket of Oreos for being right about the identity of the person in the car. Don't eat them all at once, okay? Let's give out a round of applause *claps loudly* Also, I know what you mean about head injuries being painful. I've had one myself and it was not pretty.
Mutou Yasu thinks I'm evil. Am I really? You mean you all don't enjoy all these lovely cliffhangers I keep leaving you with? ;o)
Crossover Authoress: "Well I guess it's his own fault for going against Yami" This was just too funny. Just wait until I get to write the conversation between those two!
To everyone else that reviewed: Thank you muchly!! You all rock! *hugs all the wonderful reviewers*
On another note: Does anyone know where I can find English lyrics to the Japanese song "Shuffle"? It's the one used for the second opening in the Japanese TV version. I recently got the Japanese DVD's (YAY!) and adore that song. I don't know what it says, except for what I get from the subtitles, but it sounds pretty cool.
Yikes, sorry about the long AN.
Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Unexpected Allies
"STOP!"
Seto Kaiba winced as his body was jostled forward by the car's decreased momentum, but regained his balance quickly. He opened the door and was out of the limo before the driver had brought the vehicle to a complete stop. He tripped as his feet hit the pavement, but did not lose his footing. Instead, he sprinted over to the young man who was standing in front of the limo, his eyes clenched shut.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Yugi? You could have been killed!"
The adrenaline rushing through his body from the close call made his voice rougher and louder than it needed to be, so he took several deep breaths before speaking again.
"We almost hit you, damn it. What were you doing crossing the street? Why didn't you wait for the signal to cross? I just barely had time to shout for my driver to stop after I saw you crossing in front of us."
"It was green for me," Yugi whispered, his eyes still closed. His voice was so soft that it was hard to hear it over the noise of the traffic.
What? Kaiba looked around and noticed the crowd that had gathered to watch what was happening. He scowled at them, and then turned his attention back to Yugi.
"Yugi, the light was green to cross on the other street, not on this one."
Yugi said nothing.
Kaiba finally made it to the young man. Yugi was standing with his head down, clutching the puzzle around his neck. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and he seemed to be lost in another world.
"Kaiba?"
"Yeah. Come on; let's get out of the middle of the street."
Yugi turned towards him then, his eyes finally open. Kaiba noticed something empty there, as if Yugi wasn't really focusing on him. He shrugged, figuring that the younger teen was still frightened. He turned and walked back to the limo, and then realized that Yugi hadn't followed. Kaiba turned around again and found that Yugi was walking the other way, away from him, heading towards the other intersection.
"Yugi!"
Kaiba ran after the young man and grabbed him by the arms before he could step out into the oncoming traffic on the other street. Yugi flinched as Kaiba touched him, and he could tell that Yugi was shaking slightly. Kaiba immediately released him, not sure of what was going on.
Yugi looked around, as if trying to find something. His face was twisted in concentration, and Kaiba could see tears pooling in his eyes. Finally his head stopped moving, and he gave a sigh. He was facing Kaiba, but his eyes weren't focusing on him at all. Suddenly, the grimness of the situation hit Kaiba like a bucket of ice water.
"You can't see me, can you?"
Yugi blinked, and a single tear slid down his cheek. He shook his head, as if he couldn't trust himself to speak.
Kaiba's face softened momentarily at the younger teen's plight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his driver had stepped out of the limo and was watching him. His emotionless mask slipped back onto his face immediately, but he kept his gaze on Yugi.
"I'm going to take your hand and lead you to the limo, okay?"
At Yugi's nod, Kaiba reached out and grabbed Yugi's left hand. Kaiba started leading him towards the limo, while softly speaking.
"Then we're going to go to the hospital so the doctors can get a good look at you. Besides, your grandfather is worried sick."
Yugi suddenly stopped walking and pulled his hand out of Kaiba's. Kaiba frowned, and regarded Yugi's determined face.
"No. I need to talk to you, Kaiba. I was on my way to your house to do just that. I can't go back to the hospital until we talk."
Kaiba frowned. "You left the hospital ahead of time to go talk to me? Why didn't you just ask me to go see you?"
"Because you wouldn't have gone," the answer came quickly and with no hesitation.
Kaiba opened his mouth to deny that implication, but then shut it. Yugi was right, he wouldn't have gone. The only reason he'd been at the hospital at all was because Mokuba wanted to go. If Yugi had called him to ask to talk to him, Kaiba would have laughed in his face and hung up.
"Okay, you have a point. I'll make you a deal, Yugi. We'll go back to the hospital, you get looked at by the doctors, and I'll stick around to talk to you afterwards."
Yugi thought about it for a moment. His eyes lost their light momentarily, and Kaiba was afraid that Yugi was going to faint. Yugi then gave a small nod and started to walk forwards.
"Agreed. I really need to talk to you, though."
Kaiba took Yugi's shoulders and led the teen into the limo. He settled down himself, before telling the driver to head back to Domino Hospital. He turned to regard his companion, noting that Yugi was looking straight ahead. Kaiba also noticed the ridiculous clothes he was wearing.
"What are you wearing? Those clothes look to be about five sizes too big for you."
Yugi smiled slightly, and ran his hands over his legs. "I think they're Joey's. I couldn't find my clothes, but I found his."
"You were that eager to leave the hospital, huh?"
Yugi didn't answer.
"How are you feeling?"
The question was so unexpected that Yugi's face immediately turned towards him, shock marring his features.
"What, it's a valid question?" Kaiba retorted.
Yugi shrugged. "Yeah, but you've never cared before."
Kaiba sighed. Was he really that bad?
"Well, I care now. How are you feeling?"
Yugi took a deep breath, before slowly releasing it. "I can't see a thing, Kaiba. My vision consists of nothing but darkness. I can feel my eyes open, but I don't see a thing." He sighed, and turned away. "I feel so helpless.."
The last sentence came out in a whisper, and Kaiba thought he might have imagined it. Looking at Yugi's posture and the clenched hands, he knew that he hadn't imagined anything.
"You're not helpless, Yugi. The doctors are going to see what's wrong and fix it. That's what they do, after all."
Yugi's mouth curved up into a small smile, before he turned his head in Kaiba's direction. His eyes were focused at a point about two feet to Kaiba's right, which the elder teen found somewhat unnerving.
"Are you trying to cheer me up?"
Kaiba shrugged. "There is a first time for everything, you know."
The two teens lapsed into silence, both happy to ponder their own inner thoughts. Kaiba wondered what was so important that Yugi had to sneak out of the hospital to talk to him. He had no business being out of bed, especially not if he couldn't see his way around.
"How do you know that my grandfather is worried about me?"
The question was unexpected. Kaiba turned and found Yugi's face turned towards him. He smiled sheepishly and was glad that Yugi couldn't see it.
"I was at the hospital because Mokuba wanted to see you. We ran into your grandfather and he told us you were missing."
Yugi frowned. He was quiet for a moment, before speaking again. "You mean you were out looking for me?"
Kaiba didn't reply. He saw Yugi cock his head slightly, probably wondering why he wasn't answering the question.
"Yes, I was out looking for you. I had the car, and figured it was easier than sending your friends to look for you on foot. I didn't expect to almost run you over." Kaiba was quiet for a moment, before deciding to continue. "If you couldn't see, why did you leave the hospital?"
Now it was Yugi's turn to be quiet.
"I could see just fine when I left the hospital," came the reply. Yugi then paused as if listening to something only he could hear, before smiling slightly. "Okay, so I could somewhat see when I left. My vision didn't completely go away until I started crossing the street."
Kaiba shook his head in both disbelief and amazement. Here was this kid who'd only a day ago had been in a coma, and was now unable to see, sitting in his limo talking to him as if nothing was wrong. He had to hand it to Yugi, he was being much calmer than Kaiba himself would be had he been in the same situation.
"We've arrived at Domino Hospital, Master Kaiba."
Kaiba nodded at the driver. He opened the door and grabbed a hold of Yugi's arm. "I'm going to take you up to your room."
Yugi nodded and let Kaiba lead him inside.
As soon as they'd stepped through the threshold, Solomon Moto was upon them.
"Yugi, where have you been? Why did you take off like that?"
Kaiba wanted to say something to the elder man, but held his tongue. It was Yugi's responsibility to explain, after all. He was about to walk away, when Yugi's hand found his arm and tightened around it. Kaiba stayed where he was, glancing at the disbelieving looks Yugi's grandfather and friends were giving him.
"I'm sorry, grandpa. I just really needed to talk to Kaiba. It couldn't wait."
Joey stepped up to both of them, ignoring Kaiba.
"Yug, are you okay? You seem a little bit out of it. What's wrong with your eyes?"
Kaiba glanced at Joey, surprised by the boy's insight. It had taken him longer than that to figure out what was wrong with Yugi.
Kaiba felt Yugi's hand around his arm tighten, and he could hear the younger teen swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I can't see anymore."
**~~**
Aww.. let's all give Yugi a big hug now.. see, no evil cliffhanger in this chapter! But you can blame that on my cold.
Coming up: Yugi gets the doctor's diagnosis and finally gets to talk to Kaiba. Gee, I wonder how that will go?