Hello all! I don't really have any notes this time... So I'll just let you get on with reading the chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Yami is sort of OOC; maybe... I don't know anymore; I can't decide.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chapter 4: Visiting

"Here," Kaiba muttered roughly, shoving something into my hands. "I had someone get them today."

Blinking in surprise, I glanced down at what he'd given me and saw a pair of blue pajama pants and a matching white T-shirt, trimmed in blue, made of the softest cotton I had ever touched. "Thanks," I told Kaiba simply. "You didn't have to."

"Well, my clothes are too big and you can't sleep in your clothes. So stop wasting time and just put them on," Kaiba snapped. I grinned at him, shaking my head- he always seemed to find a rude way to be nice -and strode into the bathroom. Quickly I changed into the pajamas and started back to the bedroom, but hesitated at the door when an idea occurred to me.

I shut the door cautiously, waiting for the shadows to appear. I managed to count to three before the swirling, monstrous Dream World swarmed into view and I hastily yanked the door open again. Taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heart, I stumbled into Kaiba's room, trying to quell my shuddering shoulders. Kaiba frowned at me. "What…"

"I made it three seconds," I interrupted him with a quavering smile.

"Yami, you shouldn't do that just before bed. It'll give you nightmares," he sighed. He ran a palm over his face in exasperation and pointed to the bed. I climbed in gratefully, and he turned off the lights and followed me after a moment, swearing under his breath. Kaiba's words must have jinxed me, however, because I had barely fallen asleep before the dreams began.

This time, Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda stood behind the fake Yugi. "Yami, what are you doing?" Anzu asked. "Aren't you our friend anymore?" I tried to protest, but my voice had disappeared, and no sound escaped when I opened my mouth. As Yugi-tachi scowled at me, vines of shifting shades of purple shot up from the ground and captured me tightly in their grasp. Slowly they clenched tighter and tighter, like a boa constrictor, until I was gasping for air.

"Yeah, dude, you never have time for us now," Honda muttered, shaking his head.

"I thought we were best buds, but you only have time for Kaiba," Jou added. What? What was wrong with them? Couldn't they see that I was dying?

"You're not dying. Jiichan is dying, because of you," spat the sinister Yugi, as if he'd read my mind. "…because of you…"

In between my choked, desperate gasps, I finally found my voice. "No! That's not true! Kaiba said…Seto said…said it wasn't!" I rasped. "Seto…said…"

"Wake up, Yami. Wake up, it's okay," Kaiba's soothing voice intruded into my dream. A sudden wash of relief roared over me, and I let out a choked sob- and impulsively threw my arms around his neck, clinging to Kaiba for some semblance of reassurance.

"He's NOT dying, he's NOT!" I cried. "You said it wasn't my fault, you said!"

Kaiba swore under his breath. "Calm down, Yami. Shh. Come on, relax," he coaxed, rubbing my back. I had started shaking uncontrollably and sobbing, and he swore again. "How bad was that dream, anyway?" Kaiba muttered to himself, pulling me closer and continuing to rub my back comfortingly.

"It was just like…just like the real Dream World. I thought I was back there, and I couldn't breathe…" I gave a giant shudder and Seto's arms tightened around me.

"It wasn't real. Shh, it was just a nightmare," he tried to console me.

I slowly loosened my grip and let my hands slide down from his neck. Resting my forehead against his chest, I took a deep breath, calming the shudders. "He's not… Seto, is he dying?" I whispered.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "But it isn't your fault either way."

At his words, I finally relaxed completely and closed my eyes. I kept my face pressed against his shirt, praying that he wouldn't pull away. After a long moment I heard deep, even breathing from just above me, and my bangs fluttered lightly in the breeze from his soft snores. I closed my eyes and drifted into a light doze.

Seto still held me in his arms.

"Can I drive?"

"No. You probably don't even know where the hospital is."

"Well, you could tell me."

"Or I could just drive my car." Kaiba glared at me threateningly and climbed behind the steering wheel. I hastily jumped into the passenger's seat before he could drive away and leave me. Even though Seto had assured me that he wouldn't leave me alone, I couldn't help being terrified of going back to the Dream World.

Apparently, I was a bigger coward than I'd imagined.

"How many cars do you have?" I asked curiously, shaking off my morbid thoughts.

"I don't know. A lot. I like machines," Kaiba retorted shortly. Today he drove a royal blue Lamborghini. That was an Italian car, right? As an ancient spirit, I still knew virtually nothing about such things. Or maybe I just didn't care enough to think about them.

"All machines? Maybe you could fix Jiichan's washing machine, he's always complaining about it."

At this remark, Kaiba whirled his head around and gave me a lengthy glare until I cleared my throat and nodded at the road. Luckily, he hadn't killed anyone. Pedestrians could run fast when a speeding Lamborghini came flying their way.

Finally, several heart-stopping minutes later, we arrived at the hospital. I huffed along after Kaiba's long, rapid strides as he stalked to the receptionist's desk and glared menacingly at her. "We want to visit Sugoroku Mutou. Now tell us where he is," Kaiba snapped.

"What is your relation to the patient?" she asked, cowering slightly under his gaze.

"None of your business, woman. Just give me his room number," Kaiba snarled, slapping his hands on the desk.

"315," she answered weakly. Kaiba nodded at her and strode quickly away, and I ran after him. I shook with repressed laughter all the way up the elevator.

"K-Kaiba, that was totally unnecessary," I admonished, trying to hide my grin.

"Yeah, but it was funny," he smirked. I shook my head, determined not to encourage him.

When I quietly opened the door to his room, Jiichan was sleeping peacefully in his raised hospital bed as soft beeping noises issued from a heart monitor beside him. My mouth twisted into a wry grin. "What do you know, Kaiba? He really is asleep," I murmured softly, and Seto chuckled snidely.

At the sound of my voice, however, Jiichan stirred. "Yugi?" he asked, blinking sleepily. I rushed to his side and grabbed his hand while Kaiba hovered in the corner, as near to the door as possible.

"Jiichan, it's Yami. Did Yugi tell you about the spell?" I asked in a low voice.

"Yes, a little. I don't think I really believed him, though," Jiichan replied, smiling weakly. "He also said that… If you're here, then where is…?" he trailed off, glancing around the room, and finally his eyes rested on Kaiba. "…Kaiba," Jiichan finished, and frowned lightly.

"Jiichan, he's a friend of mine. Seto helped me when no one else could, and just being near him keeps the nightmares away," I told Jiichan firmly, though I realized how strange and corny that sounded. This wasn't some clichéd metaphor, however; Seto really did keep my nightmares away.

"Well, alright then, Yami," Jiichan replied vaguely, closing his eyes. He was obviously still exhausted.

"You should probably get some rest," I decided, though I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. "I'll come visit you again soon."

"That's nice. You can bring Kaiba too, if you want," Jiichan murmured, and I smiled.

"I just might do that," I replied.

I glanced over at Kaiba and he opened the door to Jiichan's room without comment. We strode silently through the wide, sterile hallway until we reached the elevator and Seto pressed the down button. As we waited for the elevator to open I felt his cool blue gaze on me, and I fidgeted, looking away.

"I meant what I said," I mumbled softly.

"I know," he replied- and suddenly I felt his fingers twine gently around the tips of my own. I looked down at our joined hands and Seto gave my fingers a soft squeeze before pulling away. "Thank you," he said, so quietly I could barely hear.

I finally gazed up at him, meeting his eyes. The cerulean blue sparkled intensely through his long brown bangs, and my heart gave a funny jump. Just then, the elevator doors opened, breaking the moment (whatever it had been). We stepped to the back of the tiny cubicle, not looking at each other, and rode down to the next floor, where the elevator paused to pick up a swarm of passengers.

As the jabbering crowd squeezed into the tiny space in front of us, pushing us closer together, I could feel the heat from Kaiba's arm along my own, and unexpectedly I found myself wanting those warm fingers to slide into my hand once more. My heart lurched at the thought and I gave myself a quavering, sarcastic smile- and leaned against his side, still avoiding his face.

"Do you really want to come here today? She's not going to say anything worthwhile," Kaiba grumbled as he parked at the museum (legally this time, much to my surprise).

"She might. Isis is my only hope of getting rid of the hallucinations for good," I replied.

"What about me?" Kaiba sulked, and started walking faster in his anger. I raced to catch up with him and latched on to his wrist.

"I…can't…be…around you…all the…time…for the rest of…my life," I panted as I ran. Seto slowed and shifted his wrist so that I gripped his hand instead.

"Do you have to grab my arm so tightly? You were cutting off my circulation," he grumbled, scowling at nothing in particular. "Anyway, I don't trust Isis. She and her brother are the ones that sent you to that Dream World in the first place. Besides, you'll probably be able to get away from me and get on with your life in a few weeks," Seto continued.

"That's what Isis said, and if you don't trust her, why do you believe that? You might just be stuck with a hallucinating, clingy psycho for the rest of your life," I replied sarcastically as we climbed the museum staircase.

"Yami, you're not…"

Isis interrupted before Seto could tell me exactly what I wasn't. "Hello, my Pharaoh and Priest."

Kaiba dropped my hand and pointed at her threateningly. "I am NOT a priest! Just tell Yami whatever you wanted to tell him so we can get out of here," he snapped.

"Very well. I asked him to come so he could answer a question. My Pharaoh, I need to know exactly what happened in the Dream World, and what happened when you returned, so that I may determine the exact effects of my spell," Isis replied.

"Spell? You cast another spell on him? I think the first one did enough damage," Kaiba fumed.

"I was referring to the spell that tied him to you," she said, with a tinge of annoyance in her cool demeanor.

"I don't want to even think about what happened there. Do you have to know?" I questioned, looking away from the pair.

"Now you've upset him! Why don't you and your psychopathic brother just go back to Egypt and leave us alone!" Kaiba growled.

"Pharaoh, I'm sorry, but it is very necessary for me to know how you perceived your escape from the Dream World. There are many things you don't understand, and I promise to explain them to you as soon as I fully understand them myself, but for now you must trust me," Isis pleaded.

"TRUST YOU!" Kaiba shouted. "You've made his life a misery from the day he met you…"

"Kaiba, stop it!" I snapped. "I would've had to deal with this anyway. And it probably wouldn't hurt for you to know what I see every time you leave the room."

"Hn. Fine," Kaiba grunted. He crossed his arms and glared at Isis and me, and his blue eyes flashed dangerously.

"Just start by telling us the typical things you saw there," Isis said soothingly. I buried my face in the palms of my hands and took a deep breath before looking at the two of them once more.

"Well…"

A/N: Cliffhanger! Sort of... Anyway, in the next chapter you'll find out exactly what happened in the Dream World. All the nightmares are hints about this, too- so pay extra close attention to them. There might just be a few clues there as to exactly why Yami's so messed up...

Thanks again to all my reviewers! You make this all worthwhile!