I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Walk With Me

Chapter III

Action

The best of intentions could make you the worst of enemies. As a Chinese saying goes, 'Sometimes, you try to do a good thing, but end up getting struck by lighting.'

Yami, who had been sleeping, was awake instantly. He turned a bit too sharply, and winced as his body none too gently reminded him that there would be no moving like that for quite a while.

"What the-" Bakura muttered, looking at the door.

Joey opened it the door, walked out, looked down stairs, yelped, and raced back in, slamming the door after him.

"What is it?" Marik asked, a sense of foreboding rushing through him.

"Police." Joey squeaked. "A whole bunch of them. They're storming the house."

The boys exchanged a look. They all jumped a when the door burst open.

Three policemen walked in, guns drawn. Yami chocked. He hated police officers.

The policemen paused, then smiled and lowered their weapons. Turning, one yelled out the door, "Hey! We found'em!"

"Are you boys alright?" The tallest of the three policemen asked, walking forward, eyes set on Yami, who was obviously struggling to contain his fear.

Bakura got up and planted himself in front of his foster-brother. "What's it you want?" He asked harshly. No one was allowed to scare Yami.

"Easy. We got a call reporting major child abuse in this house, and took action. That's all. We don't want to hurt you."

Bakura paled. Ryou moaned, and placed his head in his hands. Joey looked sick. Malik remained as impassive as ever, but a flicker of fear raced through his eyes.

Marik stood up, eyes flashing. "Who told you?!"

"Your friends-"

"I'm sorry guys, I had to do it!"

They turned to see Yugi at the door, Seto behind him.

"You-" Marik hissed. He lunged, but Joey caught him, and held him back. The taller teen leaned down and whispered something urgently in his ear. Marik pause, then reluctantly calmed down, and settled for sending Yugi and Seto a death glare.

The tall policeman frowned. "I understand that you have some concerns about your foster-father coming to hurt you, but don't worry. You're under the state's care. We've sworn to protect you. And with enough evidence, Ijuni-san will be locked up for a lifetime. Come; let me take a look at him. He'll need to be taken to the hospital."

Bakura sighed, and moved away, going to sit by Yami, who was still shaking. He wrapped the smaller teen into a gentle hug, in that moment giving a rare display of affection. The policeman smiled, and came forward. He started to unwrap Yami's bandages, causing the boy to wince. Murmuring a soft apology, the man continued, taking care not to cause the boy any more unnecessary pain. When the bandages finally fell away, the other two police gasped, and the tall one looked taken back.

"What weapon did he use?" the man asked, eyeing the deep wounds that scarred the thin chest.

"Knife." Bakura grunted.

The man sighed. "Will you carry him? We'll get him onto the ambulance. The rest of you should come, too. We'll give you a check up."

Nodding, Bakura scooped Yami carefully into his arms. It wasn't hard; the younger boy was very light.

He followed the police officer out of the room.

Hours later, Yugi found himself in the waiting room of the Domino Hospital, Seto beside him. Everyone else was there, too, besides Yami, who was still in the operation room. Bakura was fuming, angry that he hadn't been allowed to go with the younger boy. Marik still hadn't finished glaring at the two Domino High teens. Ryou had fallen asleep, exhausted, his head on Bakura's shoulder. Joey was nodding off, too. Malik had joined his look-alike in glaring at the two teens that had gotten them into this new mess.

It was going to be a long night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yugi sighed, walking down the long hospital hall. The foster-children still hadn't forgiven him for what he had done. He couldn't really blame them. But it sure made him feel very, very guilty.

He opened the door to one of the rooms, number 901, and walked in.

Surprisingly, Yami was the only occupant of the room. The others, who usually took up all the chairs, were absent.

Yami opened his eyes when Yugi walked in. The crimson-eyed boy was recovering, slowly but surely. His wounds had been properly dressed. It was discovered that he had several broken bones no one had known about, and they were now healing nicely. He had been suffering form malnutrition, as his foster-brothers had, if a bit more severely, but the hospital had done a good job of fixing him up.

The slightly taller teen smiled lightly upon seeing his visitor. Unlike the others, Yami, who could be quick to forgive, no longer held a grudge against Yugi and Seto, for which they were grateful.

"Where're the others?" Yugi asked, sitting down in the chair beside the bed, the one Bakura usually occupied.

"'t doctor said he wanted ta talk to'em." Yami replied, his soft voice a bit slurred.

"Oh." Yugi said, nodding to show he understood. "How're you feeling?"

"OK." was the short reply.

There was a rather awkward silence –

–which was broken by the door opening. Ryou came in, and stopped, seeing Yugi. He looked suspiciously close to tears.

The white haired teen ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably, averting Yugi's eyes. "Hello."

"Hi." Yugi replied, every bit as uncomfortable as the other boy.

"I…um…the doctor wants to see you." Ryou said, almost shyly. "He asked me to see if you were here. He's in his office, room 166."

Nodding, Yugi stood, flashed Yami a smile, and left.

Ryou moved forward to take his place.

C'mon, please review...please?