Disclaimer: Even though I wish I did, I do not own Yu-gi-oh.
Silver Dragongurl(SDG): Hey guys, I'm back after a long time of not updating. Oh, and by the way, I got some visitors here...
Jounouchi: Where the hell did you go?! You left Chapter 2 of "Holding Onto You" hanging on!
SDG: Will you stop shouting, Jou! I have my reasons, okay?
Honda (beside Jou): She's right, Jou.
Jou: Oh, so now she's confiding to you about her updates. (pouting) Fine! Then I'm nothing to you anymore?!
Honda: Wha--?! Damn it, Jou, don't get this wrong! (holding up a paper in front of Jou) She gave me this, which was full of her updates and apologies, and wants us to read it to the readers coz right now, she doesn't have the energy to read it.
Jou (looking at SDG, who was lying on her bed and eyes drooping): Yeah, I can see that...
Honda (looks at the paper): Well, let's start from the beginning. First, as she has said in her summary before, she had a writer's mental block and had to think for days on what to put on the next chapter.
Jou: What? As if it's so hard. All she had to do was to let me wake up from that coma in a few days. (Then look at Honda a bit shocked) Unless she won't let me wake up for a long time.
SDG (lifting her head lazily): Jou, don't give out some spoilers!
Jou: Fine, fine! I'll just read your updates. (Snatches the paper from Honda)
Honda: Hey! Show some respect, will ya?!
Jou: Yeah, yeah, whatever! (looks at the paper) Okay, second, just when she thought of a plot already, Holy Week comes and she becomes busy with the its activities. Hey, I never knew Holy Week was that busy.
SDG: It is in the Philippines. Will you just read on...I don't want to keep the readers waiting!
Jou: Okay! So, there are full of activities, and she was part of it. Then, as the Holy Week practically requires waking up so early in the morning (like 3am), she slept for 2-3 days and a lot of her energy was used in that week.
Honda: And lastly, she's sorry if the story in this chapter has a quick pacing. She didn't want to prolong the sad parts, as she wasn't in the mood to. Besides, she wants to write Chapter 4-onwards already.
Jou: Well that should do it. (a pillow was suddenly thrown at him) Hey! What did you do that for! You'll pay for that!
Honda (smirking): Really? How?
Jou: This! (launches at Honda and kisses him on the lips)
Silver Dragongurl jerks awake when she sees this and squeals in delight.
Honda (lets go for air): Wait, we're not yet finish.
SDG: Hey, why did you stop! This is a free show for me!
Honda: Man! You're really a yaoi freak! (looks at the readers) Guys, please...Jou stop it! (Jounouchi nibbles at Honda's ear, much to Silver Dragongurl's delight and happiness). Okay, have to say this before Jou devours me.
Guys, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!
That should do it! Jou can't take it anymore and Silv's actually jumping for joy watching us. Gotta find some place private. (Honda drags Jou out of Silver Dragongurl's room)
SDG: Hey, no fair! (face the readers) Again, REVIEW people so that I'll have the mood to do Chapter 4 and post it immediately!!! Now to follow those two lovebirds! (goes out of the room)
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HOLDING ONTO YOU
CHAPTER 3 – UNDECIDED
Nothing prepared Honda for what he saw inside Room 403 when he entered in it. If he had been old, he would have a heart attack right then and there. Instead he flinched at what he saw in front of him. Jounouchi was lying on the hospital bed wearing a hospital gown, and plenty of wires were connected in his body and there was an oxygen mask on his mouth. Then there was a bandage on his head and some on his arms too. He didn't what the other wires were; though he recognized one that connected from Jou's wrist to the dextrose. Then he saw the machine where it showed Jou's heart, and he could hear the faint beep of the blond's heartbeat. As Honda got closer, his knees crumbled that Ryou had to support him. He thought that seeing it from afar was terrible, but it was worse closer. Underneath the gown, he also saw a bandage that Honda knew was wrapped around Jou's upper body. In other words, Jounouchi was in a bad condition and a wreck as well.
"Oh, God. . . who would do such a thing like this?! This is all my fault!" Honda cried as he sunk on the floor, slamming his fist on it. "If I had just followed him when he got out of the house, he wouldn't end up like this! I could have prevented this!"
"Imooto, don't blame yourself. You didn't know that this would happen."
"But I had a feeling already! I could have followed that!"
Anzu put his hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Look Honda, if there's someone to blame for what happened to Jounouchi, it's the one who did this to him, and that's not you."
Yugi nodded. "Anzu's right. Nobody's blaming you."
Honda continued crying despite his sister and friends' comforts. He knew it was unmanly to cry in front of people, but right now, he didn't care. Finally after a few minutes, the brunette stood up and sat on a chair beside Jou's bed. He took hold of the blond's hand looked at his sleeping face. "Can I be alone with Jou for awhile?"
The four knew this was coming and nodded their heads. "We'll be outside if you need anything." Leika embraced her brother. "Don't lose hope, Hiroto. . . let's be strong. Jou will need it." Honda nodded slightly, still looking at Jou.
Leika, Anzu, Yugi and Ryou got out of the room and closed the door.
"By the way, Ryou, Leika told us about Honda and Jounouchi. Has Honda told you about it?" Yugi said.
"What? About him being in love with Jou? Yeah, he told me about it."
"I really hope Honda will be okay. By the looks of it, he won't be leaving that room until Jou wakes up."
Leika sighed worriedly, he didn't want to doubt, but she had to admit that there would be a 50-50 chance for Jou to wake up.
If he wakes up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, Jou." Honda held Jou's hand. "Oh man, how do you talk to a comatose person?" He gazed at Jounouchi's face and caressed his cheek with back of his hand. "Oh Jou, why did this have to happen to you? If. . . if only I had followed you. . ." He brushed his golden bangs of his closed eyes as Honda kissed his hand. "Don't worry. I'll be here until you wake up. I will not leave you all alone. I promise you that, Jou. . . I'll stay here." He looked at Jou. "I don't know if you can hear me, Jou, but if you do. . . please wake up soon. I love you very much" (A/N: Alright, Alright. . . very corny. I was in a very happy mood writing this part, so I didn't feel like writing this sad part, so all the corniness are here. -_-;;)
But soon, words failed him as exhaustion started taking over him. Honda tried staying awake. . . the last thing he needed now was to sleep for he had to watch over Jou. But no matter what he did, his head drooped and soon gave in. He lay his head across Jou's hand, and sleep overcame him at last.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been two weeks already ever since Jounouchi was confined in the hospital, and almost everyone was beginning to worry, especially Honda, Jou's mother and Shizuka. Two weeks seemed so long for them for Jou not to wake up.
Jou's mother and Shizuka, together with his boyfriend, Shizuka came three hours after Jounouchi as confined and Honda and the others had to calm the older Jounouchi down for an hour. Shizuka was the most affected because she and Jou were beginning to be close, and then suddenly he's lying in a hospital bed, not knowing whether she'll be seeing his older brother smile or laugh again along with her.
"Just when we're making up for those years that we weren't together, and then suddenly he gets beaten up, and I'm not sure if he'll live or not! He's not the type who gets beaten up. . . it's the other way around!" Shizuka once cried on Otogi's shoulder when she saw what her older brother looked liked, the dice-king comforting her.
Honda, on the other hand, hadn't gotten a good night's sleep ever since he decided to stay in the hospital until Jounouchi wakes up. In fact, he hadn't left the hospital ever since. Well, let's not be exaggerated, but he just goes out to either change clothes or got to school.
Heck, he even does his homework in it. So, by the looks of it, Honda's second home now was the hospital. The only thing making Leika not worry was the fact that her younger brother was eating, even if it's lesser than the usual. And, despite Jou being in a coma for two weeks, the brunette was still a bit the same---talking to Yugi and the others, doing his schoolwork, telling stories, etc.---though he was becoming a bit paler and less energetic than before. But then, the others were the same too as everything wasn't the same without Jounouchi joining their group of friends.
There were others who visited too, like Hikari Marik and Ryou, and Yami and Kaiba as well, who were also a couple already. Everyone was surprised when Kaiba came; it turned out that Yami and Mokuba (who came by afterwards) forced him to come, so he had no choice. Every now and then, Jou's mom and Shizuka (together with Otogi) came by and sometimes stayed for the night with Honda.
But one thing that got everyone curious was what had caused Jounouchi to be in a coma in the first place. Another add to the mystery was they haven't heard anything about Jou's father, who somehow sort of disappeared after Jou's *accident*. This was usually the topic of the gang (except for Kaiba, Mokuba, and Marik) when they're gathered together in Jou's room, and this was again their topic in this stormy night. (A/N: Really, what is it with stormy nights for me?! Hehehe. . . maybe I just like the effect of it O_o. Anyway, back to the story.)
"Honda, are you really sure you can't find Jou's dad? He hadn't even visited his son." Yugi asked.
"I'm sure of it. I passed by his house many times now and nobody was there. Well, yeah, it's usually like that, but the house looked liked nobody lived there for weeks." Honda said, putting a sushi in his mouth. "And even though Jou's dad is there, you'll still see some life in the house."
"I wonder what happened to him. . . "Anzu looked at Leika, who looked thoughtful. "You okay, Leika? Looks like thinking something deep in there."
The older Honda was silent for awhile, before facing the others. "I've been thinking: Jou's father disappeared right after his son was beaten up. If I put two and two together, my guess is what happened to Jou and his father's disappearance are connected."
Ryou frowned. "Wait Leika. Are you telling us that---"
"I'll go straight to the point. I'm thinking that it was Jounouchi's father who beat up Jou in the first place!" Everyone stared at Leika for a minute before they started talking non-stop.
"How can you be so sure of that, Leika. We don't have proof."
"Besides, it could be a coincidence."
"It can't be possible."
"And besides, his father can't do that to his son---"
"How sure can that be, Yugi?" Leika looked at the tri-colored haired boy expectantly. "If a man could kill one of his friends, how are you sure that Jou's father can't beat up his son?"
Honda, who remained silent the whole time his friends blabbered about, nodded and spoke up. "Onesan may have a point. Not because she's my sister, but ever since his parents separated, Jou had told me about the beatings that he received from his father. It was only when we were in high school that he told me that the beatings stopped. I believed him at first, but when I started seeing some black and blue marks in his arms, I knew the beating never stopped. I just didn't know why Jou lies to me whenever I mention his bruises and all and tell that he bumped into something or fell, etc." Again, the gang was quiet for a minute before Yugi spoke up.
"That's abuse! We should file a case against his father!"
"But we don't have any proof. . . unless. . ." Honda looked Jou's comatose form on the hospital bed. ". . . he wakes up and he himself will file a case against his dad, and testify on it as well."
Anzu placed her hand on Honda's. "Don't worry, Honda, he'll wake up soon."
"I hope so, Anzu."
The topic about filing a case against Jou's father was forgotten for awhile as the group ate their dinner in silence, Honda glancing at Jou now and then sadly. What broke the silence though was when the usual faint 'beep, beep, beep' of Jou's heartbeat from the machine disappeared, and was replaced by a loud straight 'beeeeeeeeeep'. Not only did this break the silence, but it alarmed everyone as well, hurriedly getting out from his or her seats.
"What happened?" Anzu asked out of confusion, though it was obvious.
"Oh God! Anzu, Ryou, call the nurse!" Honda yelled, his heart beating faster. "Jou's heartbeat stopped! Hurry!" In a blink both the two tees were out of the room. "Jou, don't leave us now! Damn it, Jou, don't do this!" He held at Jou's hand tightly with both his hands, and looked at him fearfully. Yugi waited outside for Anzu, Ryou and a nurse, while Leika got hold of his younger brother on the shoulders.
In a few minutes, Dr. Mizuro and three nurses entered the room, one of them pushing a cart that contained the machine to revive the patient's heartbeat. With Ryou, Anzu, and Yugi behind them, the three medical personnel hurriedly went Jounouchi's bedside.
"Hey, what're you doing?!" Honda exclaimed as a redheaded nurse started pushing him and the others out of the room.
"I'm sorry sir, but you all would have to get out of the room for awhile." The nurse said. "It would be better if we do this quietly."
"My best friend is about to die there and all you can think about is to let the noise out Why can't you just do it now while we're here?!" Honda struggled through the nurse's attempts to let him out. The others were almost out of the room; it was only the brunette who didn't want to follow. Before the nurse could reply, Dr. Mizuro spoke up.
"Just do what she says, Hiroto! We don't want any interruptions and we have to concentrate." Ever since Jou was confined, she became very close to the gang and also knew about Honda's feelings for the blond. And because of that, all formalities were dropped out. "Just leave it to us."
The brunette searched the blue-eyed doctor and knew that he could trust her. He stopped struggling (much to the nurse's relief) and nodded as he followed his sister and friends out the room, but not before he spoke up.
"Make him live, Aoi."
Without looking, the blue-haired doctor nodded and Honda saw Jou's chest jerk up as the machine activated. He turned around, but not before he heard the machine activate again and there was still a long loud 'beeeeeeeeeep'.
(A/N: I was supposed to leave it here, but I didn't want to find myself being chased by the readers with pitchforks and knives in their hands. I did cliffhangers on the last two chapters; you might kill me if I leave it here. ^_~)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Outside, the gang wasn't talking to each other, but was on their own world instead. Leika and Anzu were seated on the floor, worry on their faces; Yugi and Ryou were leaned against the wall, fidgeting their fingers, while Honda paced back and forth in front of them. And for the first time, he was very quiet. The others expected him to burst out loudly when he got outside, but for the last ten minutes, he just pacing back and forth quietly.
Jonda had so many emotions now---pain, confusion, anger, worry, nervous---that he didn't know how to voice it all out. So he decided to just wait for some news by pacing back and forth. And he was doing that for ten minutes already. . . and was getting so worried.
Finally, before Leika could tell her younger brother to stop pacing, the door opened and Dr. Mizuro and the nurses came out with the _______, their faces looking tired. But despite that, there were relief and small smiles on their faces.
"What happened?" The gang said altogether.
"Don't worry. Jounouchi's still alive though he's still in a coma. If you called us a little later, we would never have revived him. It's just good that you were all alert."
"But why did his heart stop?" Yugu asked.
"Heart failure in doctor's terms." Then Dr. Mizuro became thoughtful. "Though it's different for my part. I believe there's something going on inside Jou. To make everything short, Jou's till undecided on waking up. The heart failure shows that there's a part of him that doesn't want to come back into this world."
It took some seconds before this piece of information sank into the group. "But why?" Honda asked.
"Maybe something that happened before he went into a coma, or some problems that he didn't want to face ever. I know you're in doubt, but believe me. Take it from the one who has experienced it."
"You got into a coma too?"
"Yeah, before I fully became a doctor. And that was when I decided that not all are scientific and medicines." She exclaimed. "But enough about me. You should all be inside. . . Jou's all alone there."
"What?! Why did you leave him there?" Honda said as he went inside the room.
Dr. Mizuro chuckled. "Well, I have to go now. I still have some work to do. I'll see you all later." With that, she and the nurses said their good byes and went towards their clinic.
"We have to go too, Leika." Ryou said. "We still have school tomorrow."
"Tell Honda that we'll see him tomorrow."
"Sure." Leika said. "Take care all of you." They said their goody byes before the black-haired girl entered the room. She chuckled as she saw her younger brother sitting on the chair on Jou's bedside, head on his arms and already fast asleep. "That was fast." She whispered as she lay a blanket over Honda's back before she lay down on the other bed and immediately fell asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Damn it, Leika! I just can't help it anymore! Even though I don't want to, I can't help but lose hope! It's going to be almost three weeks, and there's not a single movement in him nor any signs that he'll ever wake up!" This was what greeted Leika when she entered Jou's room a few days after the blond's heart failure.
"Hiroto, calm down, okay? Now, what's wrong?"
Honda flailed his arms. "This is what's wrong! It's almost three weeks and he's not yet awake! I keep talking and telling him almost everything and to wake up and he has a reason to wake up and that Ill always be here whenever he'll have a problem and I'll help him and I'll---"
"Imooto, Imooto, take it easy. Will you breathe for a second? You've been talking non-stop" Then Leika smirked. "You'll never know. . . Jou might wake up because you're so noisy."
"Onesan, I'm not in the mood to joke around."
Leika held up his hand. "Hey, I was just kidding. You know, you just have to be patient." She rubbed his brother's hand for comfort. "Don't hurry him. . . give him some time."
"Three weeks is more than enough time!" Honda cried. "I don't know what's taking him long to decide to come back. . ."
"Hiroto, the important thing is that you did everything to accompany him. In fact, you did more. Jounouchi will wake up, and when he does, I'm sure he'll thank you for what you did."
The brunette just sighed and nodded as he stared at his best friend. Not a minute too soon, Leika noticed Honda's hazel eyes and head drooping down. She sighed as she took him by the shoulders.
"Imooto, you're pretty exhausted already. Why don't you go home for now and rest. You almost live here, you know."
"But, Jou---"
"I'll be the one to look after him. Or, if it would make you happy, you can rest on the other bed while I look after Jounouchi. C'mon Hiroto. The last thing I need is for you to collapse in front of me because of lack of sleep."
Though he didn't want to, Honda couldn't resist the look of the bed as he imagined himself lying down there and sleeping peacefully. He hadn't slept lying down for a long time, as he did it sitting, and he can't disagree with his sister now. It's not going to be in the imagination anymore. . . I'm going to make it come true. "All right, Leika." He said lazily as sleep was starting to come on him. "But wake me up if you need anything or something happens with Jounouchi."
Leika nodded as the brunette got up from the chair and proceeded to the bed, but not before stopping by Jou's bed. "Guess I'll have to wait more. . . don't worry. I'll be here when you decide to wake up." He whispered as he went towards to his destination, ready to jump on the bed, while Leika put the drinks she bought in the fridge.
The Honda siblings stiffened though when they heard groan behind them. . . and the now half-sleepy, half-awake brunette tensed more when a horse voice called him.
"Ho. . .Ho. . . Honda. . ."
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Well guys, that's Chapter 3. I'm really sorry I left it in a cliffhanger again, but I really couldn't help it *evil laugh*. I am so damn mean!
I don't; know what you can say about this chappie, but I wasn't in the mood to write this, especially the sad parts and all. It's because I'm excited to write Chapter 4 to onwards. Whatever you can say, please review, especially when it comes to typo errors and grammars.
By the way, I have something for you readers out there. I have this poll that I'm going to ask you coz I need it for one of my Hon/Jou fics and I need your votes. Here are the two (2) questions:
*** Which course would fit for Jounouchi when he goes to college?
Medicine (I was thinking he'll become a vet)
Business Management (I'm not sure about this, but it just came on my mind)
Other course (please specify)
*** What would be a good first (1st) anniversary gift for Jou from Honda?
The usual Duel Monster deck (I want this to be a special deck. . . something that hasn't been released yet and Honda was able to get one before it really came out.)
Others, please specify
Honda's done already, so no need a poll for him.
Now, to vote, use either the reviews section or you can email me at malfoy_gurl09@yahoo.com with the subject "course/gift". Comments, suggestions and explanations are very welcome! I'll be posting this poll and updating you on it very chapter of "Holding Onto You". But don't worry, the fic that has a poll will not be my next fic. Surprisingly, it's a Marik/Ryou; Yami Marik/Yami Bakura fic. ^_~
By the way, it's April 19 today, and that means that it's Honda Hiroto's birthday!!! I already greeted him before he and Jou made out and we're having a birthday celebration tonight in his house. If you happen to pass by him, don't forget to greet him, okay? He's one of my favorite characters in YGO
Also, finally found Honda and Jou making out in the living room sofa, which is not a private place. And as much as I want to watch them, I respect their privacy so I left them alone. And besides, I', watching the Filipino version of Yu-Gi-Oh now, and I don't want to miss it. It's the Player Killer vs. Yami Yugi!
Well, gotta go now! Please don't forget to review and vote. Thanks! ^_~