WHEEE!! Somebody actually reviewed my story!! They seemed so ecstatic, I'm putting up Chapter2 just for them. XP Again, if you wanna know about the OCs, go to my profile, it tells about them in there.
Chaos and Ryou quickly went through the sliding doors and immediately saw Yugi. He looked up when he heard footsteps and gave a relieved smile. "I'm glad you guys got here," he said. Then, he turned to Ryou. "How're you feeling?"
"Not too bad," Ryou answered softly. "Where's Bakura?"
Yugi bit his lip. "I think he's still in ER," he confessed. "They said it might take a while." Then, they all heard Yami come in.
"Are you okay, aibou?" he asked as he walked up to them and stood by his hikari.
"Of course, Yami," Yugi said as he looked up at him with an innocent smile. "Why wouldn't I be?" Yami ruffled Yugi's hair.
"I guess I'm just a little over protective," Yami said gently. "That's all."
"Oh," Yugi said in an understanding tone. "Are you okay?"
Yami smiled. "Yes, aibou."
"So, what do we do now?" Ryou asked softly.
"We wait," Chaos answered just as softly.
They all walked over to some chairs and sat down. Ryou sat in between Yugi and Chaos, and Yami sat next to his hikari. Time went slowly, and Chaos was the first to get antsy. She got up and began to pace around the lobby. Then, she borrowed some change from Yugi to call Tazi. After a few rings, the answering machine picked up and Chaos hung up. Next, she tried to get her at Seto Kaiba's.
After two rings, someone picked up. "Moshi moshi," a young voice said. "Kaiba residence."
"Hi, Mokuba," Chaos said cheerfully. "It's Chaos."
"Hi!" the boy chirped. "Are you looking for Tazi?"
"Yep," Chaos answered as she leaned against the wall.
"Sorry," Mokuba said. "But she's out with Seto. He said he'd give her a ride to the grocery store. Should I tell her you called if she comes over?"
"Yeah," Chaos said with defeat. "Thanks, Mokuba."
"Welcome," Mokuba said. "Bye."
Chaos slammed the phone on the receiver. "I wish that girl would get a cell phone," she muttered as she went back to the others and sat back down. Ryou coughed suddenly and Chaos looked over at him. "Maybe I should take you home," she said as she rubbed a hand up and down his back. "If Bakura finds out you sat around in this waiting room he'll kill me."
"No!" Ryou pleaded. "Please, I want to stay here. I can't stand the thought of sitting at home while Bakura's in ER!" He clung to Chaos's arm. "Don't take me home," he begged softly. "Please, don't take me home."
Chaos sighed and looked down at the little hikari, then she looked over at Yami. He only shrugged his shoulders. Chaos gave him a look that said, 'Oh, you're a lot of help'.
The female yami felt that since Bakura was injured, it was her responsibility to look after Ryou. Chaos didn't like the fact that Ryou was sitting there when he should have been in bed. She put the back of her hand against the boy's cheek. His fever wasn't too bad, but it was still a fever.
"All right, Ryou," she whispered. "You can stay." Ryou let go of her arm and whispered a thank you. "But," Chaos said. "You are going to go down to the cafeteria with me and we'll get you something to eat."
"Okay," Ryou said softly as he stood up with the darker half of his friend Tazi.
"I'll come with you guys!" Yugi said as he jumped up in a cheery voice that made everyone smile. Chaos smiled as she looked down at him and turned to Yami.
"I'll stay here," he said as he threw one leg over the other. "In case we get any news." Chaos nodded, then led the two youngsters to the cafeteria. Yami watched them go and then closed his eyes.
Once the three got down to the cafeteria, they began to look for something to eat. Chaos found some Chicken Noodle soup for Ryou, and Yugi found a small bowl of fruit that looked like a good snack. Chaos though, had a hard time finding something. Her stomach felt like it wouldn't hold any food. So all she had was coffee.
They all found a small table next to the large glass windows. Chaos sat and stirred the cream in her coffee while the other two ate. Yugi did some talking, but the other two were quiet. Chaos stared out the window.
"Looks like it might rain," Yugi said as he noticed the dark clouds that littered the sky.
"Hm," was all Chaos responded with. Then, she saw two drops of rain hit the pavement. "Aw, crap!" she suddenly said as she jumped up from her seat. "I gotta get the car in the parking garage!" Without another word, Chaos ran out of the cafeteria.
Ryou turned to Yugi and smiled a little. "At least she remembered," Yugi said. Ryou nodded.
"It took Bakura a half an hour to remember that he'd left the car in the driveway and not the garage last time." Then, it began to pour.
Yami was sitting in the same chair when he heard the hospital doors open and the sound of wet shoes. He opened one eye to see what was going on, then sat straight up when saw who it was. "What happened to you?" he demanded.
Chaos was soaked from head to toe. Her pony tail was dripping water on the floor, and her bangs were plastered to her face. Her sopping wet clothes clung to her body and her boots made sloshing noises. "What do you think happened, Pharaoh?!" she snapped. "I got caught in the rain!"
"But why did you get caught in the rain?" Yami asked.
"Because I had to move the car into the parking garage!"
Yami frowned as he reached into his pocket. "But . . . How did you get the car into the garage if I had the keys?" He pulled them out and jingled them. Chaos glared at the floor and muttered something. "What?"
"I hot-wired the car!" Chaos snapped. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, that's right, Pharaoh, you heard correctly. I hot-wired Bakura's car."
"Uh . . ."
"Don't worry, I fixed it," Chaos said as she turned around and began to walk away. "There were extra wires under the driver's seat."
"Where are you going?" Yami asked.
"To get dried off!" Chaos said as she walked into the restroom. From where he was sitting, Yami heard the automatic dryer come on.
Chaos sat down under the dryer and let the heat blow on her hair. After a few minutes, she got annoyed and went into one of the stalls. In the stall she took off the wet shirt and wringed it out in the toilet, then, she wrung out her hair. Then, she went back to sitting under the dryer.
She leaned against the wall and shut her eyes. 'Bakura would be so mad if he found out I hot-wired his car,' she thought as she rubbed her eyes. 'But I replaced the wires, so he never has to know.'
The yami thought back to what the other dark had said about Bakura saying something before passing out. The Pharaoh had never actually told her what he'd said. For a few minutes, she just sat there and let her mind wander, but her thoughts always came back to the same thing. Finally, she got up and walked out of the restroom.
Yami was still sitting in the same seat. Chaos walked over and sat down next to him. He smirked when he saw that she was still wet. "Shut up, Pharaoh," Chaos growled. Yami merely shrugged his shoulders.
"So," Chaos said after a couple moments. "What did Bakura actually say?" Any hint of any humor that had been on the Egyptian's face was now gone.
"He said that the man who came up on him knew who he was," Yami said quietly. He leaned over and looked Chaos directly in the eye. "He said that he was coming for us next." Chaos's eyes grew in size.
"Is it someone after the Items?" Chaos asked.
"Bakura didn't seem to think so," Yami said as he leaned back. "I just wish we knew more." Chaos nodded in agreement.
"I'm going to go check on Yugi and Ryou," she said as she stood up. As she walked away, Yami noticed something.
"Here, catch," Yami said as he threw her his jacket. She turned and caught it, then gave him a strange look. "That wet shirt's almost see through." Chaos glared at him, but then put the blue jacket on and then pushed the sleeves up above her elbows. As she began to walk away, she stopped and turned back around halfway.
"Yami?"
"Yes?"
Chaos bit her lip and looked at the floor for a second. "Do you think he might come after our hikaris?" Yami thought hard on the question, he hadn't thought of it. He looked over at Chaos.
"I don't know, but we can't risk it." Chaos nodded, then walked off.
A few minutes later, she came back with the two hikaris. As they sat down, Chaos handed Yami a paper cup. "Thought you might need a boost," she said with a small smile. Yami took the cup and nodded a thank you. He took a sip of the coffee and felt the hot liquid soothe his throat. He looked up at the clock, it was five in the evening.
"Yugi?" he said as he turned to his aibou.
"Yeah?"
"I think you should call your grandfather and have him come pick you up. You have school tomorrow," Yami said with a 'I don't care what you think' tone. Yugi looked like he was going to argue, but then reluctantly went to the pay phone.
Chaos looked over at the white haired teen next to her. He was trying not to fall asleep. She was going to try and reason with him. "Ryou," she said gently as pulled Yami's jacket around herself a little more, feeling a little cold. "Maybe you could" Ryou opened his eyes.
"No, Chaos!" he said. "I'm staying here."
"Ryou . . . Onegai, you need some rest," Chaos pleaded with the sick boy.
"I can do that here," Ryou said as he folded his arms across his chest.
"But . . ." Chaos felt that she was losing.
"But nothing!" Ryou said as he jumped and stood in front of the Egyptian. "You're not my parent and you're not Bakura, you don't have any right to be telling me what's best for me!" Yami stayed silent, hoping that he wouldn't be dragged into this, but he was wondering how Chaos was going to react. He was glad Yugi wasn't there to see Ryou's out of character behavior.
Chaos looked angry for a moment, but then understanding washed over her face. She stood up and faced Ryou. "I know I'm not, Ryou," she said softly.
"Then stop pretending you are!"
"I'm not pretending, Ryou," she said. "Neither your father or Bakura are here to take care of you right now, so I've appointed myself as your care taker for the time being."
"Take care of your own hikari!" Ryou said as tears brimmed his eyes. "Bakura takes care of me just fine!"
"Tazi's fine for the time being," Chaos said. "If she were in any danger I'd go to her immediately, but she's not, and you need help. I'm trying to help a friend out, Bakura would want me to." Several tears slid down Ryou's flushed cheeks.
"I'd rather have Malik taking care of me than you! So back off!" he cried with a snap in his voice. Chaos took a step away from the boy in surprise. Yami winced, he could see the hurt on Chaos's face, she looked like she'd been slapped. Ryou soon noticed it too. It had been a very harsh thing to say.
"I'm sorry," he cried as he suddenly rushed into Chaos's arms and buried his face in her chest. "I didn't mean it," he cried softly. "I didn't mean it."
Chaos rubbed a hand up and down his back. "I know you didn't," she cooed. "It's all right, tenshi, no need for tears. Everything will be all right."
"I'm . . . I'm afraid something will happen to Bakura!" Ryou sobbed. He coughed a couple of times and then continued to cry. "I'll be alone, all alone!" Chaos held him tightly.
"Hush," she said soothingly. "Don't say things like that. You'll never be alone." Chaos pulled him back and looked into his teary chocolate eyes. "And if something were to happen to Bakura," she said in a low, more dangerous tone. "I'd scour the Earth until I found the man who did it and make him pay. Got it?" Ryou nodded and sniffled. Chaos softened and wiped away a few tears with her thumb. "Go and clean up now, Ryou. Wash away your tears."
Ryou turned to go, but then looked back. "But," he whispered. "Can I stay? Onegai shimasu, Chaos-chan?" Chaos sighed and looked at the boy with affection.
She nodded. "Yes, you can stay," she said. Ryou smiled with relief and hurried off to get cleaned up. When he was gone, Chaos turned back to Yami.
"Ryou's picking up Bakura's stubbornness," she said with amusement as she sat down next to the past Pharaoh. Yami chuckled slightly.
"It must be why you adore him so much," Yami said. Chaos lifted a brow.
"And what's that suppose to mean?" she demanded as she edged off her seat.
"Huh? I . . . That's . . . What?"
"Are you saying I have a crush on Bakura?!" Chaos demanded as her voice began to rise. Yami realized what he had said.
"N-n-o! No! That's not what I meant!" Yami shouted, knowing that his choice of words had been quite pour and he was about to pay for it.
Chaos jumped out of her seat with a look of disgust. "That's just wrong, Pharaoh! That is so incredibly WRONG!!!"
Yami held his hands out, showing that he had meant no harm. "Gomen! That's not what I meant!"
"Oh, yeah right!" Chaos grabbed a fistful of Yami's shirt and pulled him forward. Yami shut his eyes tightly and looked away.
"Um, excuse me, Chaos? Could you hold off pulverizing Yami for a few seconds?" Yugi's voice made its way to Yami's ears.
Chaos turned around with Yami's shirt still in her fist. "Okay, but only for a few seconds," she said in a business like tone.
"Thanks," Yugi said as he walked over. "Grampa's coming to pick me up, Yami. You'd better call me if anything happens, okay?" Yami nodded.
"Don't worry, aibou."
"Okay, have at it, Chaos."
Yami looked at him with wide eyes. "Aibou?!" Yugi grinned. Chaos turned back to him.
"With pleasure," Chaos said as she pulled Yami back towards her. But, her fun was once again interrupted.
/Yami?/ Chaos suddenly let go of Yami and looked around.
Tazi? Where are you?she demanded as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms.
/I just got home and Seto's helping me with the groceries, and I found your note on the table. I tried to call Ryou's, but no one answered. Now where are you?/
I'm at the hospital, aibou,Chaos answered mentally.
/What?!/ Tazi demanded. /Are you okay? What happened? Who got hurt? Did you do something to Yami Yugi? If you did, Chaos, I swear/
It's Bakura,Chaos cut in. Tazi grew silent. The yami could feel her hikari grow solemn.
/What happened?/ she asked quietly.
The Pharaoh and Yugi found him in the alley, he'd been stabbed.Tazi gasped.
/Is he all right?/
We don't know yet,Chaos told her. I'm here with Ryou, Yami, and Yugi.
/Are you all right?/ Tazi asked softly.
Yes, aibou,Chaos answered.
/Do you want me to come there? I could have Seto bring me over./
No, you stay home, you have school tomorrow,Chaos said. Tazi was silent for a moment.
/Well,/ she said. /Okay, then. I guess I'll see ya later. Bye./
Bye, Tazi,Chaos said as she severed the connection. She opened her eyes and looked down at Yami. "Tazi came home," she said as she sat down next to him. She had given up trying to hurt him.
Ryou finally came back out and sat back down next to Chaos. "Any news?" Chaos shook her head. The teen sighed and leaned back in the chair. He coughed a couple times and put a hand to his throat. He looked over at Chaos, and was relieved when she didn't say anything.
Yugi came back up to the others. "Grampa's here," he said as he reached under Yami's seat and pulled out his backpack. "And he said to give you guys this in case you get hungry." He handed Yami a five and a ten dollar bill. Yami put the money in his pocket.
"Thank him for us, Yugi," Yami said as he stood to hug his aibou.
"Okay," Yugi said as he hugged his darker half. He pulled away and waved to the others as he ran out. "Bye, Chaos! Bye, Ryou!"
"Sayonara, Yugi!" Ryou said as cheerfully as he could manage.
"See ya later, Yugi!" Chaos called. They then went back to waiting.
Five hours and six cups of coffee later, Chaos finally sat in the seat she had started in. She had moved about ten times. She had gone from the chair, to pacing, to leaning against the wall, and so on. Chaos took off Yami's jacket and threw it at him. "Thanks for the loan," she said as he put it back on.
"You're welcome," Yami said quietly. "Are you dry now?"
Chaos smirked. "I think so." Yami nodded. He looked over to Ryou, he had moved over to the couch across the room. The white haired boy had become silent over the past two hours, and Chaos had only continued to worry about him.
"He'll be fine," Yami said. Chaos suddenly snapped out of a trance and looked at him with a quizzical look.
"Which one?"
"Both of them," he answered comfortingly. Chaos let her head fall back gently against the wall.
"I hope you're right," she said softly.
Yami patted her knee gently and stood up. "I'm going to go get some more coffee, do you want some?" Chaos shook her head. "Okay, be back in a little while."
Chaos watched Yami walk towards the cafeteria, then looked back over at Ryou. The boy looked exhausted. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his eyelids drooped. Chaos walked over to him and sat down. She put her arm around him, then hugged him. "He'll be alright," she whispered. Ryou just clung to her for comfort.
Yami stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked into the cafeteria. As the night began to lose its youthfulness, the cafeteria became sparsely populated. The former Pharaoh got some coffee and sat down at a table next to the large windows. He watched the rain hit against the pavement and cars spraying puddles as they sped by.
"He wants nothing but us dead . . ." Yami murmured as he brought the cup to his lips. Those words had been repeating themselves in his mind for the past three hours. 'Us' wasn't very specific. Had Bakura meant the hikaris as well? By name, he'd only mentioned Yami and Chaos, but he had something about 'all dead'. All was usually referred to more than three people.
It seemed that he or she, was out to kill Millennium Item holders. Were they going to try to kill Malik as well? It didn't seem like it was possible, at least not to do it while he was out to get Yami and Chaos. Marik and Malik had moved back to Egypt for the time being with Ishizu. And if the person, whom Yami assumed was a man, since Bakura had referred to them as a 'guy', tried to go after Malik, he would be in for it. Malik had calmed down a little, but not much. He was still a mean spirit. But this guy had gotten Bakura, and seeing him lying in the alley was enough to rattle the once Pharaoh.
The spirit of the Puzzle ran his finger along the brim of the paper cup. It was only a little after ten, and he knew that for him, the night was only beginning. He suddenly snorted. In all that he'd been through, he would have never imaged himself sitting in a hospital waiting to hear about a tomb robber.
Bakura had changed for the better, he still had some rough edges, but that was his nature. Yami supposed that after all they'd been through, they had slowly bonded into an odd, twisted friendship. He snorted again. It was almost like the friendship of Tristan and Joey. They would bicker and fight and call each other names, but when it was time to help, they would lend a hand.
Then, there was Chaos, who had bonded more quickly with Bakura. The two were exactly like Tristan and Joey, to every point. They were practically inseparable when put together even for a moment. Whether they were fighting or scheming, they stuck together. Yami knew he considered her as a friend, but he remembered their start had been quite bumpy.
He always felt a little sorry for her. Unlike her two fellow yamis, she remembered absolutely nothing of her life in Egypt. The name Chaos hadn't even come along until after their first meeting. They assumed that she played in the Shadow Games, because all of them had at one point or another. Her favorite monster had probably been Magician of Black Chaos, the same as it was now.
The spirit of the Puzzle often found himself wondering where Chaos had fit in. She had to have been someone somewhat powerful to control a monster such as the Chaos Mage. She did have one thing from ancient Egypt, and it was a pendant of the phoenix with a crystal dangling from it. Yami sometimes wondered if it held any mystical energies. She was still powerful, and he didn't really want to see her use her full power.
Yami finally got up and looked at the clock, it was a quarter till eleven. Chaos was probably wondering what was keeping him. He picked up his cup, got a refill, and went back to the waiting room.
When he walked in, he found Chaos on the couch with Ryou's head resting in her lap. The boy's sleeping form was stretched out on the couch with his feet almost dangling over the edge. The blond haired teen was gently running her fingers through his white hair in a soothing manner.
Chaos looked up when she heard his footsteps and smiled. "He finally fell asleep," she said softly. Yami pulled a chair next to Chaos's side of the couch sat down.
"Good," he said as he took a sip of coffee. Chaos looked back down at the boy with affection.
"Yeah, I hope he gets better soon," she said. "Sitting in this waiting room isn't helping him any."
"I agree," Yami said quietly as he pushed his golden bangs back from his face. The words that had been haunting him returned. "You know, Chaos," he said as he threw one leg over the other. "I've been thinking about something Bakura said, and something you said, about our hikaris. Maybe we should find somewhere where they would be safe. We could take them out of school until we get things settled."
Chaos nodded, a plan was slowly forming in her mind. "I'll do that tomorrow," she said as she checked Ryou's fever. "Why did you have to get the flu, Ryou?" she whispered to the sleeping boy.
"What are you going to do?" Yami asked.
"I'll tell you after I get it settled," Chaos replied softly.
For a while, the two Egyptians just sat in silence and listen to the distant hustle and bustle of other parts of the hospital. Chaos looked out the window and saw that the rain was slowly changing to snow. The sleet hit against the glass and slid down to the sill. After a while, it was just snow that slowly descended to the ground.
"I wonder if school will get canceled," Chaos wondered out loud.
"I don't know," Yami said. "It didn't when it snowed last week. Yugi was really disappointed." Chaos laughed a little.
"So was Tazi," she said as she looked down at Ryou. "She had been planning on going over to Ryou's to play in the snow. Instead, Bakura and I ended up having a snowball fight in the backyard."
"Why am I not surprised?" Yami said as he set his empty cup on the floor under his chair. "It seems that no matter what you two do, it ends up in a fight of some kind."
"Yeah," the young woman whispered. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. "I hope he's okay."
Yami didn't answer for a few moments. He could tell her that Bakura was okay, but something could still go wrong. He couldn't do that to her. "I hope so too," he finally said.
They were silent again. For the longest time, they watched the snow fall. Ryou had begun to shiver and Yami covered him with his jacket. They were now the only souls in the waiting room, except the woman at the desk, quietly tapping away at the computer. For a while, Yami went deep into thought. Then, when he turned to ask Chaos a question, he found that she had fallen asleep.
The ex-Pharaoh looked at the clock. It was twelve-thirty in the morning, and still no news on their friend Bakura. He took up pacing for a while, then went to the restroom, and then splashed some water on his face.
As he wiped the water from his face with his black shirt, he saw himself in the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his face looked drawn from weariness. His bangs drooped a little, and his clothes were wrinkled. In his mind, he could just think of what Bakura would say. "You look like crap, Pharaoh!"
Any other time, he'd probably shout something back, throw something at the thief, and threaten to send him to the Shadow Realm. But now, he'd welcome the comment. Bakura had to pull through.
Yami's thoughts went out to Yugi. The boy was sleeping soundly, tucked away under warm sheets. Yami smiled as he wiped his hands off on his pants and walked out of the men's room.
In his soul room, Ryou woke up and slowly climbed out of bed. He walked over to his door and pulled it open. The white haired boy walked across the hall and softly knocked on Bakura's door.
"Yami? Are you okay?" he called quietly into the silence. When he received no reply, he tried to pull the door open. Ryou tugged and tugged, but he couldn't open his yami's door. When he failed, he began to pound on the door with his fists.
"Yami! Please, answer me! Let me know that you're okay!" Ryou cried into the silence. His cries echoed throughout the corridors of his mind. But there was still no answer. Tears began to run down the hikari's face. "Bakura . . ."