Zōtōhin
By: Neko-chan
A/N: The back-story behind this fanfiction is true. My father was paralyzed from the waist down when I was seven years old. I've been having nightmares again lately and I wrote this in hopes of "exorcising my demons." Some of the scenes in this story actually did happen and it still hurts to think about them. Please keep this in mind as you read.
Translation – Zōtōhin: gift or present
WARNING: There might be some slight hints of shounen-ai; Yami no Yuugi/Yuugi
Dedicated to Uke-chan because I 3 her. *snuggles*
DISCLAIMER: Takahashi owns Yuugiou. Neko-chan pines for Yami no Malik. And the world just keeps on spinnin'.
* * *
The squeal of tires shrieked through the air, splitting it in two as the crunch of metal and glass shattering quickly followed. People driving by on the freeway slowed, eyes wide in fascination as they watched the car teeter on the edge of the valley that surrounded the road—and then their eyes widened further as the car finally gave up on its fight against gravity, cried a soft sigh of release, and rolled end over end down the incline, only stopping many flips later.
The drivers in the cars on the freeway slowed down, slowed down, slowed down… but no one actually stopped, jumping out of their car to help the small body trapped in the wreckage below.
Eventually, the drivers stopped their gawking and continued on their way, the accident soon forgotten in the normal humdrum of the end of their day.
Far below them, still trapped in the wreckage at the bottom of the valley, a small form slowly twitched and then moaned in pain.
Forever and a day later, an ambulance's wail cut through the air as the emergency vehicle darted around the traffic, missing bystanders with an efficiency born from experience. The boy in the car moaned once again… and then succumbed to darkness.
~ ~ ~
The jigsaw puzzle was spread out in front of him. Yami no Yuugi picked up a piece, quickly examined the parts that he had already completed, and then placed the piece down, fitting it easily into a large section of the 'picture.' The puzzle itself was easy enough to solve, and he went through it with the ease of many years of experience and the confidence of his title as Yuugiou. In the background, the shop's phone began to ring, but the ancient Pharaoh ignored it, his attention focused on the puzzle that was spread out before him.
Jii-san would answer it, anyway.
A short time later, Yami no Yuugi noticed that something was wrong—something was very, very wrong. Jii-san's soft murmur should have been heard through the open door. But there was nothing, only silence. The type of silence that manifested itself as the calm before the storm. Goosebumps ran up and down Yami no Yuugi's arms and he shivered, a sense of foreboding slowly overcoming him. The Pharaoh stood up, his unfinished puzzle long forgotten. "Jii-san?" he softly called out, wandering away from the house part of the game shop and going into the shop itself. "Jii-san?"
Yuugi's grandfather stood behind the counter, his knuckles white as they clutched the phone's receiver even tighter. Several seconds passed and neither man spoke nor moved.
A small whimper broke the silence and the phone fell from Jii-san's numb fingers. Yami no Yuugi started in surprise and slowly made his way closer, worried. His worry escalated when Jii-san began to tremble violently a wrinkled hand coming up to cover his eyes.
"Jii-san?" Yami no Yuugi whispered, burgundy eyes wide.
"That was the fire department, Yami. They called the shop because it was one of the emergency numbers they found in Yuugi's wallet. Something… something has happened, Yami."
"…what?"
"Yuugi was in a car accident. They said that his car flipped and rolled down a hill several times. He… He wasn't wearing a seat belt. An ambulance came and took him to the hospital, but they don't know which hospital the ambulance took him to. The firefighters said that they'd call back once they find out which hospital Yuugi is staying at. They… They said that they don't know how badly Yuugi is hurt."
"…will he live, Jii-san?"
"…"
Silence.
"WILL HE LIVE?!"
"They don't know yet. Maybe. Maybe not."
"NO!"
Shaking in fear and anger, Yami no Yuugi dove down deep within himself, searching for the silver thread that connected him to his aibou, the tremulous bond that bound two souls together—Pharaoh and Pillar. He searched, and he searched, but all Yami no Yuugi encountered was blankness. All he sought and found… were walls. There was nothing there.
He sensed nothing.
The Pharaoh couldn't reach out and touch Yuugi's heartbeat, something that terrified him more than words could ever possibly describe. Yami no Yuugi couldn't feel the other half of his soul.
In the darkest part of his mind, a child-Pharaoh wept, wailing desperately.
Aibou? Aibou?! Where is my aibou?! I can't sense him! I can't feel him! Where is he? Is he dead? I don't want him to die! I NEED HIM! He can't die! He can't! Oh, Ra, please, please, please don't let him die! DON'T LET HIM DIE!!!
…
"…Yami?" The whisper was soft, barely heard. Flat, emotionless violet eyes watched expressionlessly as his grandson's partner struggled within himself, face contorted and snarling viciously. The spirit of the Sennen Puzzle blinked and his eyes focused, staring at Jii-san with a lost look upon his face. "Yuugi is probably fine. You'd know it if he was seriously injured or dead, wouldn't you?"
The lost expression changed to stricken, and crimson eyes widened fractionally. "I don't know. Can't you understand, I don't know!!! Yuugi and I are supposed to be always connected, but I can't feel him! The place where he's supposed to be… it's gone! There's nothing there, nothing that tells me that Yuugi is still here, in this world! Can't you see?! I DON'T KNOW!" The last part was wailed, tears slowly falling from Yami no Yuugi's eyes to drip down his face, landing on the floor below.
Before Jii-san could think of a reply, the phone rang. They both paused, Yami no Yuugi still crying silent tears that he was unaware of, and Jii-san reached down, picking up the phone from the floor.
"…hello?"
~ ~ ~
The car ride to the hospital was a blur, streetlights and cars fading away as Jii-san drove faster and faster. They ran a red light, anxious to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Red and blue lights flared up behind them and a police cruiser followed close after them. Jii-san cursed and pulled over to the side of the road.
The elderly man tried to explain that his grandson had just been in a car accident and he had to get to the hospital as soon as possible, but the police officer ignored the old man's pleadings. The wait seemed to last an eternity and the officer finally left, giving Jii-san a traffic ticket and a fine as a parting 'gift.'
Yami no Yuugi listened with half of an ear, his whole body focused on trying to find the connection that he had with Yuugi. When the police officer told Yuugi's grandfather that he didn't care whether or not the old man had run the red light because of an emergency and that he didn't care about Jii-san's grandson, a small frisson of emotion welled up within the spirit and he felt an emotion that he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Hatred.
"Batsu Geemu…" was his whispered promise as he watched the officer walk away, his walk arrogant and self-assured. But that would soon change and the ancient Pharaoh would be the one to give out the punishment. Ruby eyes narrowed in anger and hatred, flaring up dangerously as the police spared Jii-san and Yami no Yuugi one last glance, smirking broadly. "For my aibou… Batsu Geemu. Suffer, mortal."
The shriek of terror followed them long after Jii-san had driven away.
~ ~ ~
Yuugi looked so small in the hospital bed, white sheets stark and encompassing, engulfing his body and seeming to swallow him up. Yami no Yuugi took a deep breath, clenching his teeth to keep from gagging as the hospital smells assaulted him. It was an empty smell, bereft of personality or kindness. Medicines and antiseptics dominated and were present in every single inch of the building, slowly seeping into the Pharaoh's pores and making him lose track of who he really was.
He loathed it and wanted nothing more than to get away from it and the building where so much pain and helplessness resided.
"Yami…?"
The hoarse whisper once again made him direct his attention back to the bed and he smiled softly, trying to ignore the metal framework that encased his aibou's head, holding it still so that Yuugi wouldn't shatter the bones or damage the spinal nerve column any further. Bruises marred his face and the slender boy looked so frail and weak, tubes and wires running in and out of his body.
Yami no Yuugi managed to swallow, refusing to cry, and sat in the uncomfortable chair next to Yuugi's bed. "Yes? What is it, aibou?"
Violet eyes slowly closed shut and a pale moonbeam hand reached out from underneath the covers, silently asking for comfort. Yami no Yuugi answered by grasping that small hand, fingers warm in Yuugi's cool grasp.
"I'm… I'm scared, Yami. I can't feel my legs. What do you think is wrong? Jii-san doesn't want to tell me and the doctors just smile and tell me that everything is going to be okay. Yami… what's wrong with me? How badly am I hurt?"
The Pharaoh swallowed again and his own crimson eyes drifted shut, mirroring his partner's gesture. "I don't know how badly you're hurt, aibou. Jii-san and the doctors won't tell me, either. But I'm sure that it isn't bad. So don't sorry; just go to sleep. You need your rest now."
"…okay."
He had lied to his aibou, his partner.
*
"Ah. Are you Mutou Yuugi's grandfather?" A jerky nod was the doctor's answer. He nodded back and resumed his perusal of the clipboard. "As you know, your grandson arrived several hours ago. He was in a car accident on the freeway and flipped down a incline about three times. He wasn't wearing a seat belt, so the injuries are worse than what they normally would have been."
"What is wrong with him?" Yami no Yuugi had butted in, glaring at the doctor dangerously. "How badly is he hurt? When is he to be released?!"
The doctor blinked, taken aback. He cleared his throat and looked from Jii-san, to Yami no Yuugi, and back to Jii-san. "There have been extensive injuries to his spinal column. Many of the vertebrae are fractured, some are more seriously broken. Others are shattered. Both of his legs have multiple fractures, several of the fractures are actually very serious. We… We think that there may be nerve damage."
Yami no Yuugi was silent for a long moment, then quietly snarled. "…and what does that mean, you pompous imbecile?!"
The doctor avoided both of their gazes, looking down at his shoes. For the second time, he cleared his throat and finally raised his face, meeting Yami no Yuugi's accusatory gaze. "We think that he might be permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Mutou Yuugi will never walk again."
Jii-san raised his hand before the spirit could utter a word. "How certain are you of this?" he asked softly, staring at the doctor expectantly.
The younger man winced. "Almost one hundred percent, sir."
"…no. You're lying. YOU'RE LYING!"
"I… I am truly sorry."
*
Yami no Yuugi waited until Yuugi's chest rose and fell evenly, deeply asleep, before he slowly pulled his hand from his aibou's. Making sure that no one was near, he closed the door and locked it, sealing it shut with magic. Assured that he and his Other would not be disturbed, he climbed into the hospital bed next to Yuugi, curling his slightly taller frame around his other half.
Yuugi murmured in his sleep, cuddling closer to his yami. The Pharaoh watched, eyes clenching tightly shut when he saw that his aibou's lower half didn't move any closer. Yuugi's legs were still and did not move, even when Yami no Yuugi trailed a golden hand gently over them. His aibou felt nothing.
It seemed as if forever passed, dragging silently, but the Pharaoh knew that only moments had quickly gone by, kept track by the gentle beating of Yuugi's heart as Yami no Yuugi rested his hand on his aibou's chest. An eternity seemed to pass, a day, an hour, a minute, a single second—they all seemed to blur together and become one as the Pharaoh lay quiet by his omote's side.
…
"Aibou…" Yami no Yuugi whispered, fingertips lightly trailing down Yuugi's face. Eyelashes trembled gently, but did not raise. "When I did not know who I was, you named me. When I had no memories of my past, you gave me yours. When I had no companions, you offered up your friendship to me. When I was nothing, you created me into something. You have given me so much and I… I have given you nothing in return."
The Pharaoh cradled Yuugi closer to his body, burrowing into the flesh where throat met shoulder. He breathed deeply, taking Yuugi's scent—vanilla and cedar, oceans and jasmine—deep within himself. Crimson eyes drifted shut and Yami no Yuugi kissed the alabaster skin, a single tear falling as he did so.
"This is my gift to you, aibou."
Yami no Yuugi tightened his hold on Yuugi as he slowly lost feeling in his legs, and he no longer held sensation from the waist down. He tried moving his lower body closer to his omote, but it did not respond.
And the mighty Pharaoh wept, holding his hikari close.
~Owari~
::End::
A/N: I apologize in advance for any mistakes in the story. I wrote this at three a.m. when I couldn't go back to sleep after a particularly bad nightmare. I'll be re-editing this story after a couple of days, when it doesn't hurt so much to go over it again. So, once again, please forgive any mistakes found within this story. Thank you.