Thanks to Moonlitspire, speed2, Dawn, Hikari Yamasa, Cherry16, smarty1 and
niki92286 for reviewing!
Y-n-Y: ::pet's chappie title:: I think I love this word now o.o
Yami: 'Mystification'?
Y-n-Y: ::nods:: Purdy word, nee?
Yami: ...
Yuugi: ...
Y-n-Y: What? You dun think it's purdy?
Kagi: ::whacks Y-n-Y unconscious::
Yami & Yuugi: .
Kagi: ::shrugs:: Well, someone had to...
Y-n-Y: x.x;;
Choices
Mystification
Chapter 3
Kaiba quickly opened the gate and knelt next to the broken form. He looked closer at the face and almost choked when he realized that the body belong to Yami. Kneeling down, he saw that the spirit had been badly wounded and dry blood was around his nose and trailed down the side of his head. He saw that Yami's chest was moving up and down, but his whole body was shaking. Seto lifted Yami up over his shoulder and headed back inside quickly. 'Something must have happened if he resorted to coming here.'
Once inside, Seto placed Yami carefully on the couch and went to get a washcloth. He cleaned Yami as best as he could without removing clothing, knowing the other would not appreciate that without his consent. He rocked Yami's shoulders a bit, trying to awaken the shorter teen. "Yami? Come on, wake up already."
Yami moaned a bit and his eyes fluttered a bit. "Where... am I?" he murmured so low Seto could barely hear.
"You're at my place. I don't know how you managed to do that in your condition." Yami's eyes still had not fully opened. "Listen, you have some injuries and I need to remove your clothes."
The spirit nodded slightly. "Thank you."
Kaiba blinked. 'Did he just thank me?' He skipped it for now and started to work on the task at hand reminding himself it was just like looking at Yuugi... which did not help. He went to go pull some blankets of the bed in a nearby guest bed and came back to see Yami shivering. He quickly removed the wet and torn clothing and placed the blankets on top of the sleeping pharaoh. Kaiba had seen no open wounds, so he could wait until he was warmed before bandaging them.
Kaiba fell into a large chair and sighed. He had so many questions. The main one being why Yami had left, knowing Yuugi would be so upset. There was much that needed to be answered, but the one holding the answers was injured and unconscious.
"K-Kaiba?" Yami started to sit up a bit. "I need to talk to you."
Kaiba snorted. "You'd better because you need to convince me why I shouldn't do a better job then whoever did this to you."
The spirit sagged against the armrest of the couch. "You don't understand. I did it for Yuugi's love for you and for his sake. Do what you wish; the only thing I ask is you not tell Yuugi I am here. I don't want to hurt him twice with my disappearance."
Seto's cold eyes hardened. "How could you do this to him? Don't you see how much he is hurt?"
"Kaiba, he is stronger than you realize. He will get over my disappearance and then you'll truly have all of his heart and love." Yami slid his eyes shut again. "And I will continue to protect him. It's the only thing I can do for him now."
Kaiba stared at the injured man. "What do you mean 'truly have all of his heart and love?'"
Yami smiled. "Yuugi loves me in his own innocent way. We are so closely bonded that it surprised me that he couldn't sense my presence when I've been so near. But once he has forgotten me that love will decrease."
Then the phone rang.
"It's Yuugi," Yami said simply.
Kaiba looked at Yami and picked up the receiver. "Kaiba residence."
"S-Seto?"
He blinked, he had not expected Yami to be right. Then he got an idea. "Yuugi, I sort of need both my hands at the moment, so I'm going to put you on speaker phone."
"All right."
Kaiba saw Yami look horrified. 'Hn, seems like someone's having a problem.' He pressed the speaker button and put the phone down. "Okay, can you hear me?"
"Yes..."
"I'm glad you got home safe, Yuugi, I've been waiting for you to call me."
"Well, there were some problems. But... I... Seto, I saw Yami! I know I did! O-On the way home a bunch of people tried to gang up on me. I was knocked unconscious, but when I woke up I was home... and I saw him. He was hurt, too... I-I felt it for a brief second-" Yuugi's voice broke.
Seto looked at the spirit and almost felt sorry. Pain was etched into his face and his eyes were slightly glazed with unshed tears. 'Guilt.'
"Yuugi, it's okay... I'm sure Yami is safe somewhere. He's very resourceful." 'And stupid.'
Yuugi sniffled a bit before talking again. "Thank you, Seto. I'm going to sleep some... I'm still a bit tired from everything."
"Good night, Yuugi."
"Good night, Seto, I love you."
"Love you, too."
Kaiba waited for Yuugi to hang up before he did. He sat in a chair across from his rival. He had made up his mind. He knew Yami would leave if Yuugi found out where he was and that would hurt Yuugi again.
"Where do you plan to go after you're done healing here?"
"What-?"
Kaiba sighed, annoyed at the slow learner part of this spirit. "You can stay here until you are better. Where are you going after that?"
Yami's eyes closed. "I will do what I did today. Watch him. Hide in my puzzle that he carried around." He shook his head. "Why would you want to know, Kaiba? Isn't it just easier if I stayed out of your way here and left whenever I'm well enough?"
"No."
"Give me one good reason." Yami's eyes narrowed.
"Yuugi."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yami stood on his wobbly legs, remembering to keep a blanket around his naked form. "I have no clue what Yuugi ever saw in you. It's hard to believe that Yuugi and I can be so close that I can't see one good quality about you."
Kaiba smirked. "Thank you, Yami, now that you have trampled all over my ego, you can either stay or get lost."
The spirit sat back down. It would not do him any good to protect Yuugi if he was injured. "Maybe I should just lock myself in the puzzle again."
"What? You can do that?"
Yami nodded slowly. It was one option he had not considered. He would need Yuugi's puzzle and someone willing to shatter both his and Yuugi's. 'Kaiba would probably love doing that.' He thought about all the downs and ups of sealing himself up would cause. No, it was selfish to think about it. "I could... but I'm not going to."
Kaiba gave him a look and walked out of the room.
Yami laid back into the couch, putting his feet up in the process. He had to get better fast, the longer he stays, the more complicated the situation may get and more chances Yuugi might find him will be given. As much as Kaiba loathed him, he knew that he struggled with himself to promise to keep him a secret from Yuugi. But, like Yami suspected, Kaiba understood. He did not want Yuugi hurt again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaiba stormed around his house, thoroughly ticked off with the former Pharaoh. 'As soon as Yami gets better, I will never have to worry about him.' He smiled. 'And Yuugi will forget, just like he said.' Pausing in front of his bedroom door, he frowned. 'He would forget, wouldn't he? He's smart and can let go of unnecessary things. And Yami is as unnecessary as it gets.'
He opened the door and immediately fell into his bed. His lack of sleep was definitely controlling him right now. When he awakes, he will first take Yami to the doctor's office. Kaiba will treat him accordingly and then the thorn in his side will be gone.
Kaiba than fell asleep, not bothering with changing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuugi sat on his bed, a wet towel pressed against his forehead. 'Yami was here. Maybe he hasn't left and is just distancing himself for a while... until he can handle everything.' Yuugi removed the towel and dipped it into the bowl of cold water and placing it back where it was. 'He'll come back. Maybe if I get into trouble again, he'll come... then I can talk to him again...' A tear fell down his check. The empty spot inside of his mind hurt a lot. He wished that he could just relax and start chatting with Yami, like before.
Yuugi looked at the clock on his nightstand and decided to finally sleep. He knew things will soon be as they were.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After an awful night, on the sofa nonetheless, Yami woke on the floor. 'I don't sleep well on couches, I suppose.' Yami managed to crawl back onto the couch, still quite weak from the previous day. His mind wandered and started to wonder if Kaiba was up. Looking around for some kind of time- telling device, he found a square clock placed on the wall. "Ten thirty... surely someone's awake by now."
As if confirming that statement, the bundle of sugar-high energy bounced into the room. His name was Mokuba. "Ah, so you're the one nii-sama was talking about last night."
Yami looked up at the boy. "Oh? And what did 'nii-sama' have to say?"
The shorter boy grinned. "He was talking in his sleep. I went into his room last night because I heard a lot of noises in the house. When I was there he was talking about you. Kept saying some weird stuff..."
The spirit's eyes narrowed. He wasn't in any mood for children, but less one with the Kaiba's name. "What did he say?"
"He said-"
"That's enough, Mokuba," a commanding voice bit into the youngster's sentence.
"You're home, nii-sama!" Mokuba bolted towards his big brother and swung around him. "I thought you wouldn't be home until much later."
And then Yami was shocked. He saw Kaiba smile. And it wasn't anything like what he, himself, has been on the receiving end of. Suddenly, he felt out of place. He looked down at his hands. The reminder of how he and Yuugi were hit him hard.
"Come on, Yami, I've made an appointment at the doctor's. The sooner we find out the best way to treat you, the sooner you leave."
Yami's eyes darted up to meet Kaiba's blue ones. "And what are you going to tell him when he hears no heart beat nor finds a pulse?"
"W-what?"
Yami smiled, finally flustering the ever-so-arrogant Kaiba Seto, himself. "I choose if I have my heart beat. Usually it's subconscious; like last night, when adrenaline kicked into my system. So, I'll ask you again: What are you going to tell him when he hears no heart beat nor finds a pulse?"
~*~*~*~TSUDZUKU~*~*~*~
Y-n-Y: Oops... there seems to be a problem... ::checks Yami's pulse::
Yami: -.-
Yuugi: Um... Yami's been dead for a while.
Yami: -.-;;
Y-n-Y: I know. But's it's still fun to check! ^_^V
Yami: u_u
Y-n-Y: ::pet's chappie title:: I think I love this word now o.o
Yami: 'Mystification'?
Y-n-Y: ::nods:: Purdy word, nee?
Yami: ...
Yuugi: ...
Y-n-Y: What? You dun think it's purdy?
Kagi: ::whacks Y-n-Y unconscious::
Yami & Yuugi: .
Kagi: ::shrugs:: Well, someone had to...
Y-n-Y: x.x;;
Choices
Mystification
Chapter 3
Kaiba quickly opened the gate and knelt next to the broken form. He looked closer at the face and almost choked when he realized that the body belong to Yami. Kneeling down, he saw that the spirit had been badly wounded and dry blood was around his nose and trailed down the side of his head. He saw that Yami's chest was moving up and down, but his whole body was shaking. Seto lifted Yami up over his shoulder and headed back inside quickly. 'Something must have happened if he resorted to coming here.'
Once inside, Seto placed Yami carefully on the couch and went to get a washcloth. He cleaned Yami as best as he could without removing clothing, knowing the other would not appreciate that without his consent. He rocked Yami's shoulders a bit, trying to awaken the shorter teen. "Yami? Come on, wake up already."
Yami moaned a bit and his eyes fluttered a bit. "Where... am I?" he murmured so low Seto could barely hear.
"You're at my place. I don't know how you managed to do that in your condition." Yami's eyes still had not fully opened. "Listen, you have some injuries and I need to remove your clothes."
The spirit nodded slightly. "Thank you."
Kaiba blinked. 'Did he just thank me?' He skipped it for now and started to work on the task at hand reminding himself it was just like looking at Yuugi... which did not help. He went to go pull some blankets of the bed in a nearby guest bed and came back to see Yami shivering. He quickly removed the wet and torn clothing and placed the blankets on top of the sleeping pharaoh. Kaiba had seen no open wounds, so he could wait until he was warmed before bandaging them.
Kaiba fell into a large chair and sighed. He had so many questions. The main one being why Yami had left, knowing Yuugi would be so upset. There was much that needed to be answered, but the one holding the answers was injured and unconscious.
"K-Kaiba?" Yami started to sit up a bit. "I need to talk to you."
Kaiba snorted. "You'd better because you need to convince me why I shouldn't do a better job then whoever did this to you."
The spirit sagged against the armrest of the couch. "You don't understand. I did it for Yuugi's love for you and for his sake. Do what you wish; the only thing I ask is you not tell Yuugi I am here. I don't want to hurt him twice with my disappearance."
Seto's cold eyes hardened. "How could you do this to him? Don't you see how much he is hurt?"
"Kaiba, he is stronger than you realize. He will get over my disappearance and then you'll truly have all of his heart and love." Yami slid his eyes shut again. "And I will continue to protect him. It's the only thing I can do for him now."
Kaiba stared at the injured man. "What do you mean 'truly have all of his heart and love?'"
Yami smiled. "Yuugi loves me in his own innocent way. We are so closely bonded that it surprised me that he couldn't sense my presence when I've been so near. But once he has forgotten me that love will decrease."
Then the phone rang.
"It's Yuugi," Yami said simply.
Kaiba looked at Yami and picked up the receiver. "Kaiba residence."
"S-Seto?"
He blinked, he had not expected Yami to be right. Then he got an idea. "Yuugi, I sort of need both my hands at the moment, so I'm going to put you on speaker phone."
"All right."
Kaiba saw Yami look horrified. 'Hn, seems like someone's having a problem.' He pressed the speaker button and put the phone down. "Okay, can you hear me?"
"Yes..."
"I'm glad you got home safe, Yuugi, I've been waiting for you to call me."
"Well, there were some problems. But... I... Seto, I saw Yami! I know I did! O-On the way home a bunch of people tried to gang up on me. I was knocked unconscious, but when I woke up I was home... and I saw him. He was hurt, too... I-I felt it for a brief second-" Yuugi's voice broke.
Seto looked at the spirit and almost felt sorry. Pain was etched into his face and his eyes were slightly glazed with unshed tears. 'Guilt.'
"Yuugi, it's okay... I'm sure Yami is safe somewhere. He's very resourceful." 'And stupid.'
Yuugi sniffled a bit before talking again. "Thank you, Seto. I'm going to sleep some... I'm still a bit tired from everything."
"Good night, Yuugi."
"Good night, Seto, I love you."
"Love you, too."
Kaiba waited for Yuugi to hang up before he did. He sat in a chair across from his rival. He had made up his mind. He knew Yami would leave if Yuugi found out where he was and that would hurt Yuugi again.
"Where do you plan to go after you're done healing here?"
"What-?"
Kaiba sighed, annoyed at the slow learner part of this spirit. "You can stay here until you are better. Where are you going after that?"
Yami's eyes closed. "I will do what I did today. Watch him. Hide in my puzzle that he carried around." He shook his head. "Why would you want to know, Kaiba? Isn't it just easier if I stayed out of your way here and left whenever I'm well enough?"
"No."
"Give me one good reason." Yami's eyes narrowed.
"Yuugi."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yami stood on his wobbly legs, remembering to keep a blanket around his naked form. "I have no clue what Yuugi ever saw in you. It's hard to believe that Yuugi and I can be so close that I can't see one good quality about you."
Kaiba smirked. "Thank you, Yami, now that you have trampled all over my ego, you can either stay or get lost."
The spirit sat back down. It would not do him any good to protect Yuugi if he was injured. "Maybe I should just lock myself in the puzzle again."
"What? You can do that?"
Yami nodded slowly. It was one option he had not considered. He would need Yuugi's puzzle and someone willing to shatter both his and Yuugi's. 'Kaiba would probably love doing that.' He thought about all the downs and ups of sealing himself up would cause. No, it was selfish to think about it. "I could... but I'm not going to."
Kaiba gave him a look and walked out of the room.
Yami laid back into the couch, putting his feet up in the process. He had to get better fast, the longer he stays, the more complicated the situation may get and more chances Yuugi might find him will be given. As much as Kaiba loathed him, he knew that he struggled with himself to promise to keep him a secret from Yuugi. But, like Yami suspected, Kaiba understood. He did not want Yuugi hurt again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaiba stormed around his house, thoroughly ticked off with the former Pharaoh. 'As soon as Yami gets better, I will never have to worry about him.' He smiled. 'And Yuugi will forget, just like he said.' Pausing in front of his bedroom door, he frowned. 'He would forget, wouldn't he? He's smart and can let go of unnecessary things. And Yami is as unnecessary as it gets.'
He opened the door and immediately fell into his bed. His lack of sleep was definitely controlling him right now. When he awakes, he will first take Yami to the doctor's office. Kaiba will treat him accordingly and then the thorn in his side will be gone.
Kaiba than fell asleep, not bothering with changing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuugi sat on his bed, a wet towel pressed against his forehead. 'Yami was here. Maybe he hasn't left and is just distancing himself for a while... until he can handle everything.' Yuugi removed the towel and dipped it into the bowl of cold water and placing it back where it was. 'He'll come back. Maybe if I get into trouble again, he'll come... then I can talk to him again...' A tear fell down his check. The empty spot inside of his mind hurt a lot. He wished that he could just relax and start chatting with Yami, like before.
Yuugi looked at the clock on his nightstand and decided to finally sleep. He knew things will soon be as they were.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After an awful night, on the sofa nonetheless, Yami woke on the floor. 'I don't sleep well on couches, I suppose.' Yami managed to crawl back onto the couch, still quite weak from the previous day. His mind wandered and started to wonder if Kaiba was up. Looking around for some kind of time- telling device, he found a square clock placed on the wall. "Ten thirty... surely someone's awake by now."
As if confirming that statement, the bundle of sugar-high energy bounced into the room. His name was Mokuba. "Ah, so you're the one nii-sama was talking about last night."
Yami looked up at the boy. "Oh? And what did 'nii-sama' have to say?"
The shorter boy grinned. "He was talking in his sleep. I went into his room last night because I heard a lot of noises in the house. When I was there he was talking about you. Kept saying some weird stuff..."
The spirit's eyes narrowed. He wasn't in any mood for children, but less one with the Kaiba's name. "What did he say?"
"He said-"
"That's enough, Mokuba," a commanding voice bit into the youngster's sentence.
"You're home, nii-sama!" Mokuba bolted towards his big brother and swung around him. "I thought you wouldn't be home until much later."
And then Yami was shocked. He saw Kaiba smile. And it wasn't anything like what he, himself, has been on the receiving end of. Suddenly, he felt out of place. He looked down at his hands. The reminder of how he and Yuugi were hit him hard.
"Come on, Yami, I've made an appointment at the doctor's. The sooner we find out the best way to treat you, the sooner you leave."
Yami's eyes darted up to meet Kaiba's blue ones. "And what are you going to tell him when he hears no heart beat nor finds a pulse?"
"W-what?"
Yami smiled, finally flustering the ever-so-arrogant Kaiba Seto, himself. "I choose if I have my heart beat. Usually it's subconscious; like last night, when adrenaline kicked into my system. So, I'll ask you again: What are you going to tell him when he hears no heart beat nor finds a pulse?"
~*~*~*~TSUDZUKU~*~*~*~
Y-n-Y: Oops... there seems to be a problem... ::checks Yami's pulse::
Yami: -.-
Yuugi: Um... Yami's been dead for a while.
Yami: -.-;;
Y-n-Y: I know. But's it's still fun to check! ^_^V
Yami: u_u