Hello all, are we all well? Well, I suppose what you are all wondering about is if Seto is well.

No.

He is not.

In this chapter, so you know, all the parts in italics are flashbacks/memories of Seto's past, or defining points (eg: Yamis current feelings), which is also why I have considered a prequel called 'I am', about Setos life with Mokuba and Gozubaru.

So, this chapter is... well, it 'was' going to be second last, but, on discovery of how long this chapter actually was, I figured I had to chop it a couple of times.

AND...there will be the sequel!!!

Dedicated: to Lanse, as an apology for predicting your plots. ; )

Chapter Twelve – Fragmented

-----------------

Setos pov

-----------------

#Flashback#

A hand swung in a dangerous arc toward my face, and swept across it with a numbing pain. My jaw throbbed, my eyes watered, but I refused to cry. I would be punished for it.

I couldn't cry...

"Are those tears I see in your eyes? Seto?"

I determinedly shook my head, lowering my gaze, to stare at the polished black business shoes.

"Answer me brat!" the voice spat with venom, his hand racing at my face again. It collided with painful force, his whole arm going into the throw, and my knees buckled as I collapsed to the floor.

The world swam in a haze, as I forced myself up again. My cheek burned and stung briefly, before losing all feeling.

I felt the blood though, trickling from my lip...

I stood straight.

"No, sir."

There was a snort of laughter. "You lie."

That same hand whipped out again, seizing my chin and tilting my head up. The face of my step father swam into my view. His eyes were black coals, a burning fire behind them as he calculatingly surveyed my eyes.

He gave a cruel smile.

"They 'glisten' in the light boy."

My eyes involuntarily widened, as a sick fear twisted my stomach into knots.

He chuckled.

"That's right Seto. It means you still have 'much' to learn."

My body was already suffering from his last lecturing, cut, bruised, broken. And he wanted it again.

I swallowed all the emotion within me, the sadness, the fear, the hatred and hopelessness. I suppressed everything.

He would feed off that.

They would make me weak.

As his hands snared my arms, bringing me close to his bulky strong form, I buried everything that made me a person, beneath a wall of loathing, despise and despair.

#End Flashback#

----------------

Yamis pov

----------------

I watched, stricken, as his body weakly pulled another breath through bruised lips.

It all came down to this, this moment of utter regret, pain and guilt. The two people I cared for more than anything else on the planet lay with gaping holes in them.

Not all of them I could see.

Setos beaten form lay stretched out, beneath silk sheets, on his bed. Every few minutes, his slight form trembled.

I'd taken in his ravaged form on the stairs, before I'd dropped to my knees and scooped him into my arms.

Spinning around, I heard the door slam shut as I stumbled into the hall under the brunette's weight, screaming for Bakura and Marik.

Bakura appeared, a tad disheveled from sleep, five seconds or so before Ryou.

His eyes widened before he darted forward, helping me support the teen between us. Ryou uttered a little whimper, as his face paled to a shade that complemented his hair. As fast as his color drained, he vanished into the kitchen.

I lead Bakura toward the same couch I had placed Yugi on, and gently lay Seto there.

When I removed my hands from behind his back, they were stained crimson.

I looked up into Bakuras eyes, wide and tense in expectation, as Malik fell down the stairs in to the living room.

"What's...holy shit!!"

I ignored him, instead speaking to the tomb robber.

"Get a phone, the others."

"Steps ahead of you," Ryou panted, dropping the phone into my outstretched finger tips.

My fingers hit the buttons, but as I went to dial, something stopped me. In my panicked state, it took me a minute to realize it was Ryou's hand on top of my own.

"Wait Yami," he spoke, his voice trembling slightly, as his other hand pushed a slip of paper into my hands.

My eyes scanned it quickly.

"Its Kaibas personal doctor," Ryou stated.

I didn't argue, but would later think Ryou had been unbelievably smart in doing that.

The doctor had come, with his own assistant, had taken one look at Setos tortured form, and began barking orders.

He instructed Bakura and Marik to carry him upstairs, to his own room, meanwhile asking me if he had said anything, how his vital signs were, and an assortment of questions I either couldn't answer, or didn't want to.

I just didn't want to face it.

Once they had lane him on the bed, the 'nurse' had shoved us all out the door with surprising strength, before it was forcefully shut in our faces.

With every minute that ticked by, my resolve crumpled a little further.

As the time crawled past around us, the others took up resolute seats along the hall, each of their faces lined with concern, eyes still fixed on the wooden door.

At some point in time, Yugi and the others had shown up, Yugi still looking drained and exhausted.

This hadn't bothered him, as my faithful light had come up and wrapped his arms around me, and rested his head on my shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Yami."

I barely even noted his presence, except to send him an intense feeling of gratitude through the link, before I closed it.

All I could see was the door.

Tall, oak wood, the black letters of Seto spelt out on the sign above it. Seto.

I fought back the fresh, emotional onslaught, accompanied by the thousand more tears. Yugi eventually moved to sit down and rest his head in Ryou's lap, while I continued to stand.

Finally, after two emotionally devastating hours, the door had opened.

The doctor had poked his head out, seen me, still standing, and ushered me inside.

The lights had been on, as the nurse had pulled Setos light silk sheets up around his body, barely concealing the heavily bandaged torso.

I could only stare at him, until the doctor began speaking to me in a quiet voice.

"I do my best not to pry into Mr. Kaibas life; he is a secretive and careful man. However, the extent of his injuries indicates he has, in lamens terms, had the shit kicked out of him. Or, perhaps, I should say 'fucked'."

My eyes snapped to attention, yet the doctor was busy surveying the unconscious brunette with critical eyes, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair.

When he turned back to me, his voice was low, concerned.

"His injuries are extensive. His wrists are severely cut and bruised, undoubtedly from his arms being restrained by barbed metal. His back is torn and lacerated, some wounds extremely deep, from a whip of some sort, probably the cat-o-nine tails. His chest has many bruises, and cuts from knives, I also checked, but no broken bones."

I had stopped breathing. 'Sweet Ra...'

"There are the other things..."

My eyes narrowed, my heart beat rapidly in my chest.

"They are?"

The doctor sighed. "His pelvis and lower back, around the base of his spine, are extensively bruised. This damage is so intense, he may have trouble walking, turning, and even sitting up for a while. And..."

My heart had stopped, I was sure, as I couldn't feel it in my chest. The doctor's eyes, they looked so lost...

"And?"

"Set..., Mr. Kaiba, he's been assaulted."

I didn't want to here this, I knew. I would have sold my soul not to have heard it, for it not to have been true. But it was, and the words left me hollow.

"What?"

"He has been raped. Repeatedly."

----------------

Setos pov

----------------

#Flashback#

Rain pounded the pavement around me. My hair was plastered to my head, droplets running from the strands before my eyes.

Lightning tore apart the sky in shining arcs and jagged edges. Thunder roared in the night and shook the ground with determined ferocity.

My legs trembled from the cold, as my body shook twice as hard as the ground, and the clothes clung to my body as though a second skin.

I struggled to keep my teeth from chattering, as a firm, cold, and cruel voice reverberated through my min.

'You have to be strong. You have to be firm. You 'must' be cold, distant, but more than anything powerful. Learn from this Seto, learn from the cruelty of nature, as no force can withstand her, no human selfishness can match her.

Learn from this, so you can punish people with the cruelty of nature.'

I would, I must.

#End Flashback#

-------------

Yamis pov

-------------

Raped?

'Repeatedly?'

Oh Ra, what have I done?

My hand gently brushed aside a stray strand of chocolate brown hair, as my eyes grazed over every line, shadow, bruise, on the young executives face.

I focused my energy into my hand, willing it to shine, willing him to heal, but my fist just trembled, before it was yanked away.

My eyes whipped up, to implore with the shadowed chocolate brown of Bakuras.

"Please, let me try."

He shook his head. "None of us are even close to trying anything like that yet. You'll only damage yourself."

I stared up and set my jaw determinedly. "I don't care."

Bakuras hand tightened around my own, as he sighed, and lowered himself into a crouching position by my side.

"You have to stop blaming yourself Yami."

My eyes slitted at him. I tore my hand away.

"Shut up Bakura."

"You can't keep,"

"I said shut the fuck up!" I hissed at him dangerously.

He stared at me evenly. "No."

I leapt to my feet in an instant, my eyes burning.

"Come," I growled.

My hands briefly touched Setos skin, before I headed for the door. Outside in the hall, I called for Marik, who was there in an instant.

"Watch him."

Marik disappeared into the room.

I strode down the hallway with a single thought in mind. At the end of the hall, I stopped, turned round, and glared up into the Egyptians eyes.

"Don't you 'dare' try and tell me what to feel!"

"If I don't, who will? You'll wallow in the first emotion that lodges in your heart, and if know one says anything, you'll drown in your own despair."

"Shut up Baka!"

"NO!"

My hand flew up in an arch, and smashed against his face with determined force.

Everything went into it. My anger, my hatred, my despair. More than anything, the guilt surged up, and released itself through my fist, at Bakuras face.

His head snapped back, and the albino went crashing back into wall with an echoing thud.

My fist stung and ached, but I ignored it. Once again, my emotions ruled, and my head was ringing.

Bakura sank to the floor, his head bowed as he drew in ragged breaths. His hair hung limply around his shoulders, and those shoulders were slumped.

I felt a savage hunger and satisfaction at seeing his pain.

'He should suffer. He would suffer. I will get revenge for you Seto.'

"I hope that made you feel better," he groaned, pushing himself back up off the ground.

When he looked me squarely in the face, my anger dissipated. What was wrong with me? I was attacking 'Bakura'.

I had struck him on the right side of his face, around his eye. I had used so much force that the eye was already bruising, and beneath it, was an open, bleeding gash.

"Ra Bakura, I'm sorry," I muttered, feeling even guiltier, as I helped him stand properly, bringing some of his weight onto my shoulders.

"Yeah yeah, save it. Just remember, I owe you one."

As he groaned again, his fingertips dabbing at the gash, the tears rose again, and I cursed before backing against the wall, slumping against it to the ground.

"Hey Pharaoh! Come on, I nearly dropped on top of you. Besides, I probably won't hit you that hard..."

I think, about that time, he realized I was crying. Again.

"Belt up Pharaoh."

I spluttered. "Excuse me?" I choked.

"You'd put a water works factory out of business."

"I can cry if I bloody well want to!"

"Yeah, you can, but this is ridiculous. You need to be strong Yami. Kaiba wakes up, sees you as a mess, what's that gonna do for him?"

My tears stopped abruptly.

"Be strong Pharaoh, cause you are, really. Besides, you're solidifying the stereotypical view that all gays are pussies."

I stared, mouth slightly ajar. "Huh?"

He shifted from foot to foot. "Believe it or not, that English lesson had my interest, stereotyping and stuff..."

I actually smiled.

"Yami!"

My head whipped around, to see a blonde one poking out the door.

"He's awake!"

----------------

-------------------

Ok, I know this chapter is sorter than the others, but the original was a grand total of 26 pages long, so I thought I'd cut it up.

Now, I'm sure you all want to know what Yami will do to Hirohito. Well, its all explained...in the sequel! Mwahahaha.

Anyway, I'm feeling generous, so first reviewer gets cookies or chapter dedication. They can decide!

smiles then grins so please review.