Thanks for reviewing! Sorry these chapters have been so short.I've been
trying to see how to develop the story so that it flows. haha. or maybe
that's just an excuse because I'm lazy? Ohoho.I won't answer that. ^^;;
Chapter 3
"Bad news?" Yugi repeated, his face remaining unreadable.
Dr. Kotana approached his young patient, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I see that the medicine has been helping. You haven't been coughing blood recently, correct?" Without waiting for an answer, the doctor continued, "But even with medicine, and even with corrective surgery.you won't last for more than a matter of weeks, as with all patients with advanced cases of lung cancer. And, evidently, you haven't been getting any better since the last time I saw you and diagnosed you with a month to live. Are you following me, Yugi?"
Yugi nodded his head, his eyes darting back and forth between his grandfather and the doctor who let out a sad sigh.
"I told you that about three weeks ago.and my diagnosis hasn't changed, Yugi."
".Then.that means.I have a week?" Yugi whispered, crystalline tears starting to form in his violet eyes. But he refused to let them fall.
"Precisely.And as your doctor.I would recommend spending the remainder of the time with family members, friends.maybe consider writing a will? And what would be most helpful is if you would donate your organs so other kids can have a chance to live better lives. Of course, I'll leave this to you and your grandfather to discuss.....I am truly sorry, Yugi. I've never seen anyone as brave as you."
Yugi looked up to Dr. Kotana who looked back with sad eyes and a weak smile.
"I see," Yugi said, getting off the table. "Do you have any pamphlets about organ donations?"
Dr. Kotana smiled and hugged Yugi softly, whispering into Yugi's ears, "Yugi no Tenshi."[1] ***
Yami, Bakura, and Ryou sat at the library together, Yami having already explained to them that Yugi was busy. But despite the group of teens that had assembled at one table, all three remained silent. Bakura sat listening to music on his headphones, while Ryou attempted to start his math homework. Yami was just staring out into space.
After an hour, Bakura put away his headphones, deciding, instead, that it would be more interesting to stare at Ryou until the smaller, white- haired teen started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze.
Ryou silently wished that Bakura would stop looking at him because it was making him nervous. And it was making his cheeks burn to feel Bakura's dark, brown eyes studying his features so closely. Desperate to make conversation, Ryou turned to Yami.
"Yami? You've been really quiet. Is something wrong?" Ryou's gentle voice asked softly. It worked. Bakura's gaze shifted to the said teen.
Yami snapped up as if from a daydream and said, quite intelligently, "Huh?"
Bakura snickered and said, "Ryou wanted to know," then raising his voice an octave higher than anyone would have guessed he could go, "'You've been really quiet. Is something wrong?'"
Ryou frowned and threw his pencil at Bakura's face, who dodged it easily. As for the pencil, it lodged itself into the librarian's bee-hive hair-do as she happened to pass by, never to be seen again.
"Actually," Yami said, "I was thinking about Yugi."
Bakura grinned and was about to make a suggestive comment before Yami continued.
"He has cancer, right? So why does he still have all that hair? I mean, shouldn't the chemotherapy have gotten rid of it or something?"
"Well," Ryou answered, "I asked him about that once and he told me chemotherapy wouldn't have made a difference anyway. He said it had spread too much already."
Bakura's grin vanished from his face. "That bad, huh?"
"Poor kid," Yami muttered, feeling a twinge of pity in his heart. He just found it so hard to believe that Yugi, with his soft, violet eyes and laughing smile, was, in fact, a victim of cancer. How could he be? Yugi never complained or cried about it. He never even mentioned it once. Heck, Yugi didn't even want Yami to find out in the first place. The small, tri-colored hair boy even blamed himself for what had happened at lunch on Monday, not Yami or Bakura. Was he really that forgiving? Was Yugi really kind enough to forgive and forget, and to embrace your enemies as your friends?
"Now do you see why the coach got so mad at you two?" Ryou said lightly, not rubbing it in, but simply informing the other two.
Bakura gave a weary sigh and turned his headphones back on. Ryou turned back to his unfinished homework.
"Well.at least it's not like Yugi's gonna die anytime soon," Yami said, more to himself than to the two white-haired teens that sat across from him. ***
Yugi sat on his bed, looking outside the window to see a hummingbird flutter about outside. In so many ways, Yugi wished he could be a bird. To fly away from his problems. To fly far, far away and never have to deal with the pain that lingered at home.
Over the bed sheets, various papers were scatted about. The pamphlets from earlier, as well as a half-finished will that he had partly given up on because he had nothing of real value anyway. The tri-colored hair boy had insisted he do this himself and would not let his grandfather handle all the paperwork.
Yugi tore his view away from the window to concentrate on more important things that wishful thinking. He hadn't even started on his homework yet. He got up to get his backpack, but clutched onto his bed post when he suddenly felt dizzy.
The room seemed to spin into a disarray of colors and shapes. Steadying himself, Yugi blinked hard and took deep breaths until his vision cleared. Panting, he sat down with a thump, leaning against the wall. After a moment or rest, Yugi grabbed his backpack and took out his history book.
As soon as he got out his worksheet from class and settled at his desk, a knock at the door interrupted him.
"Yugi? Can I come in? I brought you some dinner," His grandfather said through the door.
"Ok!" Yugi replied cheerfully, putting aside his text book . He wasn't that hungry, but wanted to please his grandfather by wolfing down the soup and complimenting the chef. That always put a smile on his grandpa's face and made Yugi feel happy too.
His grandfather came in with a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup, cringing before placing it on Yugi's desk, besides the advertisements for hand-crafted coffins. [;____;] "Is everything alright?" He asked carefully, watching as Yugi shoved a spoonful of the soup into his mouth.
"Yep! Just doing some homework."
"You look a little pale. Or is it just me?"
"Oh, grandpa! You worry too much! I'm fine!" Yugi lied. But Yugi was not fine. His dizzy spells had become more and more frequent. But he didn't want to concern his grandfather, or Dr. Kotana. It was probably normal to be dizzy once in a while. And Yugi blamed the pain he had sometimes in his chest on heartburn. That's what you get when you eat greasy food, right?
"You haven't been eating much either," his grandpa pointed out.
"What? Yes I have!" Yugi said stubbornly, hurriedly swallowing the rest of the meal to prove his point.
Sighing, the elderly man hugged Yugi and said tenderly, "I love you, Yugi. If you want to talk, I'll be there for you, ok?"
Yugi hugged him back and said, "Ok, grandpa. I love you, too."
And with that, Yugi's grandpa smiled and left the room, trusting Yugi to come to him when he needed comfort or support.
Yugi watched as his grandfather left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Sighing, Yugi finally let his mind settle on the one fact that he never let himself think about for long. The fact that he had a week to live. A mere 168 hours; 10,080 seconds. It just didn't even seem real. And he was spending this week with Yami. Even if the Yami was being forced to be nice, it still meant a lot to Yugi. Maybe they could even be friends. Ryou had been Yugi's one, true friend for as long as he could remember. Was the excited beating of his heart everytime he was near Yami a normal phase when you first make a new friend? Or was it something more?
For a long time now, Yugi knew he was drawn to Yami in some way. Sure, Yami had his ruff edges, but there was a kindness that, perhaps, only Yugi had seen. Once, in 5th grade, during Christmas, Yugi was sent on an errand to buy groceries. How surprised Yugi was to see Yami run past him with no shoes on! In the middle of winter! Confused, but not willing to ask, Yugi continued on his walk to the grocery store, stopping to give money to a homeless person. But something caught his eyes. The homeless woman was crying, and clutching Yami's brand-new, $60 shoes that he had been bragging about at school. And there, Yugi stood, the poor woman thanking him over and over again, mistaking Yugi for the similar-looking young man who had given her shoes for her son.
[1] couldn't help but put it in. tenshi=angel. (or so I'm told.) O.o;;
And if my earlier calculations of how long Yugi has to live were wrong, which they might be (-_____-), I'm sorry that I am that slow-witted that I can't even use a calculator right. And I'm not joking either. I once thought there were 160 degrees in a circle and failed my math quiz. Yep.good memories of 9th grade geometry.
By the way, can somebody tell me Yugi's grandpa's name? I keep calling him 'Yugi's grandpa' or the 'elderly man'. It's kind of annoying. Lol. Is it Sugaroku or something? ^^;;;
Chapter 3
"Bad news?" Yugi repeated, his face remaining unreadable.
Dr. Kotana approached his young patient, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I see that the medicine has been helping. You haven't been coughing blood recently, correct?" Without waiting for an answer, the doctor continued, "But even with medicine, and even with corrective surgery.you won't last for more than a matter of weeks, as with all patients with advanced cases of lung cancer. And, evidently, you haven't been getting any better since the last time I saw you and diagnosed you with a month to live. Are you following me, Yugi?"
Yugi nodded his head, his eyes darting back and forth between his grandfather and the doctor who let out a sad sigh.
"I told you that about three weeks ago.and my diagnosis hasn't changed, Yugi."
".Then.that means.I have a week?" Yugi whispered, crystalline tears starting to form in his violet eyes. But he refused to let them fall.
"Precisely.And as your doctor.I would recommend spending the remainder of the time with family members, friends.maybe consider writing a will? And what would be most helpful is if you would donate your organs so other kids can have a chance to live better lives. Of course, I'll leave this to you and your grandfather to discuss.....I am truly sorry, Yugi. I've never seen anyone as brave as you."
Yugi looked up to Dr. Kotana who looked back with sad eyes and a weak smile.
"I see," Yugi said, getting off the table. "Do you have any pamphlets about organ donations?"
Dr. Kotana smiled and hugged Yugi softly, whispering into Yugi's ears, "Yugi no Tenshi."[1] ***
Yami, Bakura, and Ryou sat at the library together, Yami having already explained to them that Yugi was busy. But despite the group of teens that had assembled at one table, all three remained silent. Bakura sat listening to music on his headphones, while Ryou attempted to start his math homework. Yami was just staring out into space.
After an hour, Bakura put away his headphones, deciding, instead, that it would be more interesting to stare at Ryou until the smaller, white- haired teen started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze.
Ryou silently wished that Bakura would stop looking at him because it was making him nervous. And it was making his cheeks burn to feel Bakura's dark, brown eyes studying his features so closely. Desperate to make conversation, Ryou turned to Yami.
"Yami? You've been really quiet. Is something wrong?" Ryou's gentle voice asked softly. It worked. Bakura's gaze shifted to the said teen.
Yami snapped up as if from a daydream and said, quite intelligently, "Huh?"
Bakura snickered and said, "Ryou wanted to know," then raising his voice an octave higher than anyone would have guessed he could go, "'You've been really quiet. Is something wrong?'"
Ryou frowned and threw his pencil at Bakura's face, who dodged it easily. As for the pencil, it lodged itself into the librarian's bee-hive hair-do as she happened to pass by, never to be seen again.
"Actually," Yami said, "I was thinking about Yugi."
Bakura grinned and was about to make a suggestive comment before Yami continued.
"He has cancer, right? So why does he still have all that hair? I mean, shouldn't the chemotherapy have gotten rid of it or something?"
"Well," Ryou answered, "I asked him about that once and he told me chemotherapy wouldn't have made a difference anyway. He said it had spread too much already."
Bakura's grin vanished from his face. "That bad, huh?"
"Poor kid," Yami muttered, feeling a twinge of pity in his heart. He just found it so hard to believe that Yugi, with his soft, violet eyes and laughing smile, was, in fact, a victim of cancer. How could he be? Yugi never complained or cried about it. He never even mentioned it once. Heck, Yugi didn't even want Yami to find out in the first place. The small, tri-colored hair boy even blamed himself for what had happened at lunch on Monday, not Yami or Bakura. Was he really that forgiving? Was Yugi really kind enough to forgive and forget, and to embrace your enemies as your friends?
"Now do you see why the coach got so mad at you two?" Ryou said lightly, not rubbing it in, but simply informing the other two.
Bakura gave a weary sigh and turned his headphones back on. Ryou turned back to his unfinished homework.
"Well.at least it's not like Yugi's gonna die anytime soon," Yami said, more to himself than to the two white-haired teens that sat across from him. ***
Yugi sat on his bed, looking outside the window to see a hummingbird flutter about outside. In so many ways, Yugi wished he could be a bird. To fly away from his problems. To fly far, far away and never have to deal with the pain that lingered at home.
Over the bed sheets, various papers were scatted about. The pamphlets from earlier, as well as a half-finished will that he had partly given up on because he had nothing of real value anyway. The tri-colored hair boy had insisted he do this himself and would not let his grandfather handle all the paperwork.
Yugi tore his view away from the window to concentrate on more important things that wishful thinking. He hadn't even started on his homework yet. He got up to get his backpack, but clutched onto his bed post when he suddenly felt dizzy.
The room seemed to spin into a disarray of colors and shapes. Steadying himself, Yugi blinked hard and took deep breaths until his vision cleared. Panting, he sat down with a thump, leaning against the wall. After a moment or rest, Yugi grabbed his backpack and took out his history book.
As soon as he got out his worksheet from class and settled at his desk, a knock at the door interrupted him.
"Yugi? Can I come in? I brought you some dinner," His grandfather said through the door.
"Ok!" Yugi replied cheerfully, putting aside his text book . He wasn't that hungry, but wanted to please his grandfather by wolfing down the soup and complimenting the chef. That always put a smile on his grandpa's face and made Yugi feel happy too.
His grandfather came in with a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup, cringing before placing it on Yugi's desk, besides the advertisements for hand-crafted coffins. [;____;] "Is everything alright?" He asked carefully, watching as Yugi shoved a spoonful of the soup into his mouth.
"Yep! Just doing some homework."
"You look a little pale. Or is it just me?"
"Oh, grandpa! You worry too much! I'm fine!" Yugi lied. But Yugi was not fine. His dizzy spells had become more and more frequent. But he didn't want to concern his grandfather, or Dr. Kotana. It was probably normal to be dizzy once in a while. And Yugi blamed the pain he had sometimes in his chest on heartburn. That's what you get when you eat greasy food, right?
"You haven't been eating much either," his grandpa pointed out.
"What? Yes I have!" Yugi said stubbornly, hurriedly swallowing the rest of the meal to prove his point.
Sighing, the elderly man hugged Yugi and said tenderly, "I love you, Yugi. If you want to talk, I'll be there for you, ok?"
Yugi hugged him back and said, "Ok, grandpa. I love you, too."
And with that, Yugi's grandpa smiled and left the room, trusting Yugi to come to him when he needed comfort or support.
Yugi watched as his grandfather left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Sighing, Yugi finally let his mind settle on the one fact that he never let himself think about for long. The fact that he had a week to live. A mere 168 hours; 10,080 seconds. It just didn't even seem real. And he was spending this week with Yami. Even if the Yami was being forced to be nice, it still meant a lot to Yugi. Maybe they could even be friends. Ryou had been Yugi's one, true friend for as long as he could remember. Was the excited beating of his heart everytime he was near Yami a normal phase when you first make a new friend? Or was it something more?
For a long time now, Yugi knew he was drawn to Yami in some way. Sure, Yami had his ruff edges, but there was a kindness that, perhaps, only Yugi had seen. Once, in 5th grade, during Christmas, Yugi was sent on an errand to buy groceries. How surprised Yugi was to see Yami run past him with no shoes on! In the middle of winter! Confused, but not willing to ask, Yugi continued on his walk to the grocery store, stopping to give money to a homeless person. But something caught his eyes. The homeless woman was crying, and clutching Yami's brand-new, $60 shoes that he had been bragging about at school. And there, Yugi stood, the poor woman thanking him over and over again, mistaking Yugi for the similar-looking young man who had given her shoes for her son.
[1] couldn't help but put it in. tenshi=angel. (or so I'm told.) O.o;;
And if my earlier calculations of how long Yugi has to live were wrong, which they might be (-_____-), I'm sorry that I am that slow-witted that I can't even use a calculator right. And I'm not joking either. I once thought there were 160 degrees in a circle and failed my math quiz. Yep.good memories of 9th grade geometry.
By the way, can somebody tell me Yugi's grandpa's name? I keep calling him 'Yugi's grandpa' or the 'elderly man'. It's kind of annoying. Lol. Is it Sugaroku or something? ^^;;;
