Akh
Chapter Two – Recovery
DISCLAIMER: The question occasionally arises lately as to whether Bakura actually exists in the modern world. To tell the truth, I'm not completely certain where I stand on the issue, because I can't read kanji (I kinda suck at it, really. Beyond really random words like 'Friday' 'mountain' and 'i' as in 'ikeru'…) and let's face it – Bakura's storyling got kinda mangled in the anime because he got so little screentime on compare with the manga. But I have my theories based on Zorc's need for a human connection, so for the sake of my sanity, we'll say I think he does.
"Yuugi, calm down!"
Atemu glared at her, his muscles still refusing to fully cooperate and therefore making it easy for Anzu to keep him from pushing past her. "My aibou –"
"The other Yuugi is fine!" she insisted. "Grandfather isn't even allowed in to see him yet, let alone us!"
"But he needs me!"
"He's unconscious! He doesn't have a clue what's going on!"
"He's in pain!"
"He wouldn't even know you're there!" she cried. "Yuu- Atemu, you're just hurting yourself; you need to go back to bed and lie down!"
"I'm fine, aibou is not!" he snapped. It had been two days since the accident, and although he was still far from healthy, Atemu had been fighting to get out of bed and see Yuugi ever since becoming coherent enough to understand what had happened. Yuugi, on the other hand, had only gotten out of final surgery the night before, and the doctors weren't sure when he was going to wake up.
"Atemu," began Anzu, scowling as the light above her flickered. As disrespectful as it was for her to question their funding distribution, Anzu was sick of this hospital's electricity. Ever since they had arrived in Cairo, the lights and equipment had been fluctuating all over the place. "Yuugi was knocked unconscious and buried under a large sandstone support beam. He lost a lot of blood, broke six bones, and they think he lost as much energy if not more than Ryou did in that magic blast. He was in surgery for eleven hours. They don't know when he's going to wake up. You being there, getting in the way of the medical equipment, is not going to help."
"I have to be with him," he snarled back, but Anzu was rock-steady.
"The best thing you can do for him right now is go find Ishizu-san and Malik-kun, and work out what happened down in the ceremonial chamber."
He glared at her for a long moment, then tsked and yanked his hospital gown tighter around his shoulders. He had turned it around backward, using it as a jacket over his torn and dirtied pants, and on his new form, Anzu had to admit it looked surprisingly good. But she was so irritated with him that it was hard to appreciate the superficial things.
It was amazing, really. Now he didn't look that much like Yuugi, it was like dealing with a whole new person, and so far she wasn't sure if she liked him that much. She knew it was just because he was anxious, but he was being so frustrating!
"How about this? I'll go try and find the… Yuugi!" she shouted, suddenly realising he had slipped past her. She spun around, clenching her fists as she saw him running down the hall. "Yuu- Atemu, get back here!"
He was going to kill himself moving like that right now! She took off after him, dodging interns and nurses as she sprinted toward the lifts. Yuugi was in intensive care on the floor below, so when Atemu just managed to slip through the elevator doors she swore, spinning around to go find the stairs.
It took too long, of course, and when she scrambled out onto the second floor landing, staring around and panting, Atemu could already be seen staring blankly at the room directory.
"Don't you dare move," she muttered, but Atemu caught sight of her anyway, and ducked around a questioning doctor as he took off again. "Damn Jounouchi and his big mouth!"
Honestly, Atemu had been unconscious and still worrying about Yuugi. Telling him what room the guy was in was just dumb! And the damn room numbers were in English! Atemu knew English as well as Yuugi did, of course he was going to try and find him, regardless of his own personal health! Jounouchi had to be the most idiotic friend she had ever had!
Luckily, Atemu's ill health caught up with him, and Anzu managed to overtake him a few doors from Yuugi's room. He stared at her, panting hard, his eyes widening in a disturbing impression of Yuugi's wounded puppy-dog look.
"He's right there… just let… just let me see him," he said weakly, and she bit her lip, looking around for one of the few doctors that spoke a language they could understand. Atemu took a step forward, imploring. "Please, Anzu. He's my aibou."
She inwardly groaned, feeling her resistance fail. "But the doctors said we're not allowed!"
"Ah, but we're tourists," he pointed out, smirking. "How were we supposed to understand?"
"But…"
He stepped past her, moving forward to take the door handle to Yuugi's room. "I just want to see him. Just for a second. Then we can go back."
"Nn…"
He ignored her weak objection and opened the door, only to freeze at the sight that greeted him. Anzu frowned, tilting her head at his expression. "Atemu?"
Seemingly ignoring her, Atemu walked into the room, his movements jerky in a way she could never have imagined. She hurried forward to pull him back out, but when she entered the room she gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth.
It was nothing like the unconscious people you saw on TV. They were always so pretty and pale, looking just like Juliet waiting for her Romeo. Yuugi looked tiny and fragile, buried under tubes and wires that ran from different points all over his body. His arm and ankle were locked in heavy casts, bandages winding their way around almost every other part of him. He just looked so small and… translucent and… so not alive… Anzu fell back against the doorframe, her eyes watering.
Atemu's eyes travelled over the surrounding machines, taking in the steady beep of the heart monitor and the respirator. He forced himself to move closer, stepping up beside the bed so he could see it all.
This was so much worse than the fire…
He slowly reached out, his fingers brushing over a small, stitched up cut over Yuugi's brow, but his hand had begun shaking too much to stay there for long. He gulped down a painful breath, staring at his aibou with blank eyes. "Did I do this…?" he wondered, breathless.
"Y- Yuugi," whispered Anzu, suddenly. "We shouldn't be here. We have to leave. We have to go. Now. Back to your room."
"Y- yeah," he managed, before his knees suddenly gave out from under him, and he hit the floor hard, his breath caught in his chest. He clenched his hands around his knees, and his head fell forward to rest against the side of the bed as he shuddered.
So much worse than the fire…
"We have to go back to Japan. There are better facilities, we'll be better equipped ourselves, and we'll actually be able to understand what the doctors are telling us."
Mokuba scowled, looking over at Honda in annoyance. "These aren't just any doctors, y'know! Soon as we heard Yuugi was hurt, we flew in Kaiba Corp. doctors! You aren't going to get much better than that!"
"We still can't understand what they're saying!"
"Mokuba," murmured Kaiba, cutting him off before he could retort, and slowly opened his eyes to look around the room. The others weren't exactly sure why he and Mokuba had remained in Egypt, but he had glared until they all accepted the excuse that he wanted to see how well is new personal physicians worked. The truth of it was that he wanted to know about the man sitting opposite him, who had appeared out of the ceremonial field and whose blood samples revealed nothing but dust.
Atemu was sitting back in a position much like his own – arms and legs crossed, head lowered in regal arrogance. But one who was used to hiding their own tension could see the way his muscles were clenched, and his closed eyes hinted that they were red behind the lids, constantly flicking in the direction he wanted to run.
"Yuugi is receiving the best care the doctors can give," Kaiba said coldly. "The fact that the only intelligible language they speak is English makes them arrogant, not idiots. As for the facilities, there is no point in going to a better-equipped hospital, as Yuugi does not need better equipment. He does not need everything he is using now."
Atemu's eyes opened ever so slightly, the idea that it was better than it looked sparking some sudden hope.
"Moving him would only upset his injuries. And I am not wasting any more money on flying you all on a Kaiba Corp. jet," he added. "In short, Mokuba?"
"Suck it up!" he finished triumphantly, and Otogi visibly bit back his smile.
The foreign group had gathered in a waiting room on Atemu's floor, hoping for some sign of change as to Yuugi's condition before visiting hours ended for the night and everyone but Sugoroku was ordered back to their hotel. So far, there had been no change for Yuugi, though Bakura was able to talk without coughing again and Ryou had woken up for a few minutes earlier in the night, which the doctors reported was an excellent sign of recovery. They only had another half-hour.
Sugoroku suddenly let out a long, tired breath. "What am I going to tell his mother…?"
"I'm still waiting for an explanation myself," said Jounouchi, pushing himself out of his hunch over his knees. "I mean, what the hell happened? How the hell did… did… he happen?" he demanded, waving at Atemu.
"Atemu-kun? Do you know?" asked Otogi, and the pharaoh blinked once before raising his head to meet his gaze.
"Huh?"
"How you're solid. Any ideas?"
"Oh… uh… no," he said haltingly. "I don't… Nothing."
There was another pause, the others all exchanging worried glances, and Sugoroku stood up, walking over to put his hand on Atemu's shoulder. "Why don't you go back to your room?"
He blinked again, looking up at him. "What?"
"To your room. You need your rest."
Atemu stared at him, clearly not comprehending the point, and Sugoroku frowned slightly, leaning down to meet him on eye-level. "It's past the time for playing with games."
The others exchanged glances, confused this time, but something about the phrase seemed to connect with Atemu, because he nodded quickly, his brow furrowing. "Right…" He nodded again and stood up, only pausing when Sugoroku patted his back. He hesitated, then turned to the others and bowed his head. "Good night," he said vaguely, then turned and walked out of the room.
They all stared, and Jounouchi turned his head to blink at Sugoroku instead. "How'd you do that? When he – when we were in America, it took us like an hour to get him to understand what a glass of water was for."
He smiled, shaking his head. "That, boy, is a secret of the Mutou family. Now, might I suggest you all follow his example. The sooner you all sleep, the sooner you will wake up closer to the boys' recovery."
They exchanged glances again, and Honda shrugged as he got to his feet, clapping his hands in a bracing swing. "I'm all for that."
A quiet shuffling woke Sugoroku from a restless sleep in the still-dark hours of the early morning. He opened his eyes, careful to remain still as he noticed a man climbing up onto Yuugi's bed.
For a bare second, he considered raising the alarm, but then paused, recognising the distinctive outline in the darkness. He narrowed his eyes so they wouldn't shine in the dark, stiffening to keep still and silent as he watched for what Atemu would do.
It wasn't very exciting, or inspiring. The young pharaoh merely lay down beside Yuugi, carefully entwining himself amongst the wires and tubes to wrap his arms and one leg as close around Yuugi as he could, and leant his head into the crook of Yuugi's shoulder. He closed his eyes, breathing a deep, shuddering breath, and Sugoroku felt his heart break a little.
It was the image any parent had seen at least once. Sugoroku could remember his daughter doing it every time she had a nightmare, and Yuugi himself whenever his parents began to fight. But he had never imagined a king could manage it.
"Be strong, aibou," whispered Atemu, his voice shaking. "Please, I need you back…"
Not for the first time, Sugoroku wondered just how old Atemu had been before he died. It was easy to think of him as an adult, and he certainly looked the part, these days. He always acted as if nothing could hurt him, but there were times… When Sugoroku really thought about those times that no one was supposed to be looking and no one could know, Atemu curling up like a lost child wasn't so farfetched.
Sugoroku continued to watch him for a moment, then settled down to go back to sleep. He woke up when the morning roster changed, and the nurse came by to check all patients were asleep and well.
Atemu was no longer there.
"And you're the voice," said Ryou, atypically blunt as he spoke over the head of the doctor examining his heart rate. "The voice in my head."
"Yes," replied Bakura, his arms folded. Upon hearing Ryou was awake and capable of speech, he had gotten himself out of bed and calmly made his way to the boy's room, completely ignoring the doctors who attempted to tell him he needed more oxygen. He was as fluent in English as Ryou, but he really didn't care.
"Do you have a name?" asked Ryou.
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"
"Yes."
He didn't answer for a moment, looking irritated instead. "The thief king Bakura."
"The thief king Bakura," Ryou repeated blankly. "What about your real name?"
"Does it matter?" he asked again, and Ryou's brow furrowed in annoyance.
"Yes."
"The thief king Bakura," he repeated, and smirked at Ryou's scowl.
"That's not funny. I'm Bakura."
"No, you're my yadounushi Ryou," he said simply, and Ryou's eyebrow ticked.
"I'm not your yadounushi, and only my family calls me Ryou."
"You were and are going to be my yadounushi, and I'll call you whatever I like, rabbit."
"Rabbit?"
Sitting on the bed opposite—which he had a nasty feeling would soon become the thief's whether the hospital liked it or not—Honda raised his eyebrows, not sure whether to be amused or confused by Ryou's reaction to Bakura. Normally he was so quiet and polite, but even when first being introduced, Ryou had been atypically standoffish; almost rude.
Weirder still, Bakura seemed to be enjoying the attitude far too much.
The doctors had said Yuugi would wake up sometime the next day, but Sugoroku just couldn't sleep. He wanted to be there and awake the instant Yuugi opened his eyes.
Apparently Atemu felt the same way. He was supposed to have left the hospital earlier that day—and had, for a grand total of two hours before he returned, showered and dressed in a pair of Otogi's clothes that, although the right length, were at least a size too small. Theoretically, he had been going to spend the night sleeping in a chair beside Sugoroku, but the old man had decided to take pity on the poor boy and pretended to sleep long enough for him to curl up and fall asleep beside Yuugi again.
It was almost sad to even watch him. He looked so much younger with his muscles relaxed; and the commanding presence failed without the arrogant personality to back it up. Sugoroku sighed, tilting his head at a quiet groaning sound as Atemu shifted. He pursed his lips, shaking his head sadly. He even sounded pitiable.
"Hmble… Grand… pa…?"
He frowned, half rising from his chair to check on him, before the voice suddenly registered and he stiffened.
"Grandpa… wha…at?" breathed a tired voice, and Sugoroku slowly turned, his throat closing as he noticed a shining pair of eyes peering back at him over the respirator mask.
"Yuugi…?"
He frowned, struggling to look around. "Grandpa… Where…? Ow… Where…?" He tried to turn his head and see where Atemu's hair was coming from, but the tubes soon got in his way and he rolled his eyes back to his grandfather. "Grandpa?"
His voice was barely audible over the machines and through his mask, but it was enough that Atemu soon opened his eyes, raising his head and flinching when he noticed Sugoroku was awake. "Grandfather Sugoroku, I –"
"The… other… me…?" breathed Yuugi, and Atemu shoved himself up out of shock, got caught the UV drip and so had to drop back down. He hissed in annoyance, then carefully picked himself out and leaned over Yuugi.
"Aibou? Aibou, you're awake! Oh, thank the gods, aibou, you're alright!" he cried breathlessly, his hands flitting above Yuugi, wanting to touch him but afraid of hurting him.
For his part, Yuugi just gazed back at him blankly for a long moment, trying to process. "You… the other…?"
"Yes… yes, aibou, it's me…" he said, silently laughing in relief. "How did you…?"
He just smiled weakly. "Lousy… lousy dream," he said, his eyes fluttering closed again. "Not s'posed to hurt in these… dreams…"
"Yuugi! Yuugi," whispered Sugoroku, leaning past the feeding tubes and monitor cables to push back his hair. "Yuugi, this isn't a dream. You have to stay awake. Focus on our voices."
"Grandpa?" he asked wearily, opening his eyes again. "You said… It's not…?"
"No, it's real," he said, and Yuugi frowned, rolling his eyes back to Atemu.
"Then…?"
Atemu just laughed again, his eyes soft as he shook his head. "I'll explain later, aibou. Just stay awake for me for now, alright?"
"But I… hurt," he croaked. "And… I can't… breathe properly… my throat is blocked… I hurt."
"It's alright. We'll do something to fix that," said Sugoroku, before nodding at Atemu. "Press that white button behind you."
"Huh? Oh, yeah," He quickly tapped the call button before turning his full attention back to Yuugi. "Thank the gods…"
"Uh huh," he mumbled, then looked back at Sugoroku. "Where am I, again…?"
In all honesty, Yuugi wasn't quite sure where to look. He was feeling a little light headed from all the painkillers, and even so, his friends were making him dizzy. He suddenly understood why he was only supposed to have one or two visitors at a time.
Anzu was crying outright, her hands up and covering her mouth as she stared at him, her shoulders shuddering with every happy sob. Jounouchi was just grinning at him broadly, a single, constant stream of tears falling down the right side of his face, and even Honda's eyes were shining with moisture. Otogi just kept alternating between a wild grin and open disbelief.
Yuugi blinked wearily, staring around at them all in confusion. "Guys, really, I think I'm okay…"
"You idiot!" wailed Anzu, before lunging forward, her arms sliding around his neck as she tried to hug him tightly. Her sobs got louder, and Yuugi raised both arms as best he could, panicking.
"Anzu, I – sorry, I just –"
"Don't apologise, you idiot!" she cried. "I thought you were gonna die! Don't scare me like that, you idiot!"
"Anzu, that's the third time you've called him an idiot in as many seconds," said Otogi, but Anzu just sobbed again, burying her face in Yuugi's hair.
"I'll call him an idiot if I want to! Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!"
"Wh- what –?" stammered Yuugi, but Honda just smiled, nodding happily.
"It's just really good to have you back," he said, and Yuugi blinked.
Although he was still sleeping most of the time, the doctors said Yuugi was quickly getting better. He wasn't to do any strenuous exercise for the next four months or so, but with therapy, he would be up and walking under his own power in just under two. His left arm would be perfectly fine in about a week, and the doctors had explained that his foot cast would allow him to walk semi-normally in a few weeks. He couldn't really understand what everyone was so upset about.
Anzu finally pulled back to wipe at her eyes, but was almost immediately replaced by Jounouchi, and he coughed at the much tighter hold. "Jounouch-kun!" he gasped. "It hurts!"
"Oh yeah!" He pulled back just enough to look at him, grinning wildly, then leaned back in with an only slightly lesser grip. "I just… Damn man, you had me scared."
"I'm okay, really," he said, then huffed out a breath as Honda leaned around Anzu, sliding his arm under Yuugi's head to give him a halfway hug as well. He grinned, guiltily revelling in the affection as he felt even Otogi rub his uninjured leg.
It took almost twenty minutes, interrupted by several more hugs and a lot more tears, but the group eventually decided to accept Yuugi was alive and wouldn't be dying any time soon. It wasn't until then that Anzu remembered Atemu.
"Oh…" She blinked, turning to look at him, and the others quickly followed her gaze, embarrassed. Atemu had been the one to come and tell them Yuugi had woken up, while the doctors gave him a routine exam and spoke with Sugoroku. He had seemed odd at the time, atypically fidgety as he hummed and stammered his way through the facts. Jounouchi would have called him on it, but was too excited about Yuugi being awake to care. Now he was leaning back against the corner, hiding in the only shadows the brightly lit hospital room allowed. He visibly swallowed when they looked at him, folding his arms tighter across his chest as he avoided meeting anyone's gaze.
"The other me," murmured Yuugi, and Atemu's eyes flickered, before slowly rising to meet his gaze. They stared at each other blankly for a long second, before Jounouchi suddenly coughed.
"You know what, I'm hungry! Let's get breakfast, guys!"
"Oh, but –" began Anzu, but both Honda and Otogi had already grabbed her biceps.
"Great idea, Jounouchi!" crowed Honda, as they started for the door. "Yuugi, we'll be back! Try and sleep and… we'll be back!"
They hustled Anzu out the door and slammed it shut, leaving Yuugi and Atemu alone. They continued to stare at each other, nervous and uncomfortable.
Finally, Yuugi let out a breathy laugh, stretching his fingers. "I guess I worried a lot of people, huh?"
"Yeah," he said vaguely. Yuugi forced another laugh, and Atemu cleared his throat, pushing off the wall. "But you're awake now, and… Do you – do you need any – anything? Do you have enough – um – enough painkillers and –?"
"Mm. Mm, I'm okay," he said weakly, and Atemu nodded.
"Good. Good, good…"
"Um… so this – you – You look different," Yuugi suddenly blurted out, smiling painfully. "It's – You look good. Darker… suits you and… and… tall and…"
"Yeah, I didn't really notice, but I am pretty tall, aren't I?" he said nervously, taking a short step forward. "Taller than Anzu even without hair, now."
"Mm, I noticed."
"Yeah…"
They fell silent again, avoiding each other's gaze. Yuugi scratched at the skin just outside his arm cast, his eyes flicking over Atemu's legs, then up to his waist, arms, hair, and chest, before finally redirecting on his face. Atemu glanced at him, then took another two obviously forced steps forward, bringing him within reaching distance of the bed.
"This is, um," Yuugi hesitated, then coughed out another laugh. "It feels kinda… awkward."
"Which is a bit… strange, considering," said Atemu, but he took the final step, which brought him close enough to reach out and touch, though he kept his arms crossed. "I… About this morning… When you woke up, I was – I didn't mean to –"
"Sit down," Yuugi said suddenly, his arm jerking in an almost compulsive motion. "You – you look exhausted."
Atemu hesitated, glancing back at the chair, but Yuugi was gesturing to the side of the bed Anzu had been sitting on when she had latched onto his neck. After a moment, he slowly sat down, smiling weakly. "Thanks."
They looked at each other again, before Atemu suddenly barked out a forced laugh and Yuugi huffed out his tension in one quick breath. They looked at each other silently for a second before Yuugi smiled, shrugging helplessly. "You do look tired, though."
"I haven't slept much these past few days," he said quietly, smiling back. "You really scared me, aibou."
"Sorry," he whispered, and Atemu nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly in what Yuugi could still recognise as an affectionate look.
Atemu hesitated again, then slowly unfolded his arms, his fingers uncurling as he gently lowered his hand to the cast on Yuugi's arm. They both looked at it for a moment before smiling at each other again, and Atemu slid his hand down until it slipped onto Yuugi's fingers and curled around them.
Yuugi let out a soft breath, his eyes prickling with tears as the cool touch slid into his hand. Atemu's thumb settled against a vein in Yuugi's finger, and Yuugi hiccupped when he felt a pulse.
"You're so warm," whispered Atemu.
"Your fingers are rough," breathed Yuugi, and Atemu's smile broadened as he lifted his other hand up to Yuugi's face, brushing over the bruise until he could cup Yuugi's jaw line.
Slowly, his fingers trailed up and over Yuugi's ear, tracing the line of his face around his eye ridge and down over his nose. "I could never have been behind this face," he whispered. "How could I have ever been mistaken for you?"
Yuugi tried to furrow his brow, but Atemu hissed for quiet, gently pressing his fingers across the smooth skin. He touched Yuugi's lips, smiling at the resulting blush, then ran his fingers up and back through Yuugi's hair. He shook his head, amazed by the reality of his situation, and smiled. "It's unbelievable."
"The other me?" he whispered, but Atemu just shook his head again and untangled his hand from Yuugi's grip, sliding it around Yuugi's waist as the other slipped behind his neck. He slowly leaned forward, pulling Yuugi up into a soft, cautious hug. For a moment, Yuugi remained perfectly still, just adjusting to the new feeling, but then he turned his head into Atemu's neck and carefully wrapped his arms around him, holding as tightly as his weakened muscles would allow.
"Do you mind if…" Atemu paused, clenching his eyes shut as he gently squeezed Yuugi closer. "Could I just hold you for a little while?"
"As long as you like," he said softly.
No one even thought to comment when they came back to find Atemu sleeping next to Yuugi, his arms still carefully wrapped around his aibou.
"I can feed myself, Anzu."
"No, you can't."
"I really can."
"The cast on your arm really begs to differ."
"And the other arm really argues the point."
"Which is then refuted by the bandage on that arm."
Yuugi opened his mouth to reply, then paused, realising that, as irritating as it was, Anzu had a point. He scowled, leaning away from the fork she was poking into his face. "I don't need babying."
"I'm not babying, I'm feeding!" she insisted, but he just glared at her.
"Same thing! The other me, help!"
Atemu slowly raised his head from Yuugi's shoulder long enough to appraise the situation, blinked twice, and then put his head back down. "He doesn't need you to feed him, Anzu," he said wearily, and Yuugi laughed in satisfaction, only to be cut off when Atemu continued. "I'll do it later."
"The other me!"
Their friends broke out in laughter, gathered around the bed. After almost twelve extra hours of sleep, Yuugi had returned to his usual frame of mind and was quickly making every member of the entire medical ward fall in love with him. He had already convinced Otogi that he was well enough that Otogi could go back to work, and started fussing over not only the still-weak Ryou, but also his exhausted Grandfather and Atemu's sprained wrist. He was even quickly getting over his fear to worry about the thief's ill health, grateful to the man who had pulled him out of the ceremonial battlefield.
Jounouchi, sitting perched at Atemu's feet, grinned and patted Yuugi's unbroken foot. "Face it, Yuugi. For the next month, you're nothing but a Baby-Born doll for Anzu to play Mother with."
"Do I get any sympathy about this at all?" asked Yuugi, but even Ryou just smiled at him cheekily.
"You should just enjoy it, Yuugi-kun. You're like royalty!"
"I'm fine! I just wanna go home!" he groaned hopelessly, then turned his head to look at Mokuba, sitting in Sugoroku's usual chair by the bed. "When can I go home?"
He shrugged. "They're a bit nervous about it, but they think you'll be okay to fly in about a week."
"A week?"
"You ask me, I think the staff just want to keep him around as long as possible," said Honda, grinning. "Careful, Yuugi, or they'll convert you to Egyptian culture and keep you forever."
"But Mum comes home on the twenty-ninth!" continued Yuugi, ignoring them. "She'll freak out if we're not back!"
"Not to mention school goes back soon," said Anzu, poking Yuugi's lunch with her fork as she considered. "We're all gonna be in big trouble if we miss any of the final term."
"Oh, man, school!" groaned Yuugi, and he would have slapped a hand to his head if the only one not in cast weren't currently wrapped beneath his other self's arm. "How am I supposed to work with my right hand in a cast?"
"I've got a bigger problem for you," said Honda, humour gone as he furrowed his brow. "It's about one seventy five and has big red eyes."
They all blinked at him for a moment before Yuugi gasped, the blood falling from his face as he realised what Honda was talking about.
"What, you mean the other Yuugi?" asked Jounouchi. "Yeah, you're right, clothes and stuff are expensive… Na, Bakura, you've gotta think about that too, huh?"
"But it isn't so hard in my case," said Ryou, glancing back at Bakura. "I live alone – I can just forget to tell my father about any of this."
Yuugi bit his lip, looking down at Atemu, who had opened his eyes again to gaze up at him. Yuugi hesitated, then managed a weak smile. "Well… Dad's no problem, he's never home, so he doesn't have to know… and…"
Atemu shrugged, closing his eyes to return to his lazy, regal doze. "As soon as the Ishtahls work out what happened in the chamber, we'll have a logical explanation for everything. And even if we don't, then we'll just explain what we do know and she'll have to accept it."
"You always have to make complicated problems sound incredibly simple, don't you?" commented Yuugi, but Atemu's only answer was a smirk. Yuugi sighed, turning to look at the others. "I guess he's kinda right, though. The truth's the only option we've got."
"It'll just be a little more jarring when you come home with six broken bones," pointed out Anzu, and Yuugi bowed his head with a wince.
"There has to be some way to fix that," said Ryou, frowning slightly. "Your dark magic was converted into Duel Monsters, right, Atemu-kun?"
The group collectively scowled as the light and the few monitors still strapped to Yuugi failed for a few seconds, but otherwise ignored it.
"In a sense," said Atemu, his eyes still closed.
"Well, life points are like your real life in Duel Monsters, ne?" he asked, looking around at the official Duellists for answers. "With certain cards, you can recover life points. So… shouldn't that mean there is dark magic that can—"
"—heal the player, yeah!" finished Jounouchi, jumping to his feet. He grinned, clenching his fists as he turned to Atemu. "He's right! It's like in Noah's world, where the damage done to the player was real pain. So all we gotta do is –"
"Idiot," muttered Bakura, and they all stopped, looking around at him. He scowled, raising his gaze to look back at them. "You're talking about a card game. It's more complicated in reality."
"No way, it's the same," said Honda, frowning at him. "You can use cards –"
"He's right," said Atemu. They looked back around at him, and he shrugged, his eyes still closed. "Duel Monsters adapted some of the skills we have in Dark Magic, but if you remember its original incarnations in Magic and Wizards, it set all players as Wizards. Dark wizards."
"Using evil magic," added Bakura, smirking. "We're not White Magicians, boys and girls. Pegasus could spin his fairy tales, but Dark Magic is always bad magic."
"So it's not possible to heal people with it?" asked Anzu.
"No, it is. Just not on people like our cute little midget," he said, and Atemu sighed in slight irritation, opening his eyes to explain.
"There's a risk involved. If it were myself who were badly injured, then it would merely be a matter of whether the energy lost were worth the extra week of mobility," he said, waving his bandaged wrist as if to dismiss the idea. "However, mortal souls are… greyer than my own. I am one of the dark, so dark magic works well with me. In one such as aibou, who is… shall we say…"
"Disney's Snow White?" offered Bakura, ignoring the strange look Ryou gave him.
Atemu shrugged, clearly not wanting to use it but finding nothing better. "… better suited to light magic," he said finally, "the darkness may actually make things worse."
"Ah!" said Anzu, blinking at Yuugi suddenly. "Back then, in that duel against Bakura!"
Atemu frowned, looking around at Yuugi in concern while Jounouchi gasped. The blond nodded quickly. "Your deck was all light and earth monsters, right? There weren't any dark-types."
"You duelled Bakura?" muttered Atemu, but Yuugi just glanced at him absently before frowning at the others.
"I was going to use dark monsters," he said defensively. "The Destructive Dragon was Dark. I could handle dark magic."
"That's not the probability," said Bakura, then shrugged. "But hey, I'm always up for death and torment. Move it, kiddies, I'll do this one."
"Take a step and it'll be a dark game," snapped Atemu, and Bakura snickered as he leaned back against the wall.
"Just offering…"
"So, we could take the risk that Yuugi is strong enough to stand the darkness," said Atemu, his tone clearly stating his stance on that idea, "or we can merely wait for the mortal medicine to do its work."
"Or," Honda added pointedly, "we could do a little of both. Try and fix something that isn't in a cast, like the sprained wrist, or the ribs, or something. If he's still okay after that, then try something bigger."
"The ribs!" said Yuugi, raising his cast-covered arm in a feeble wave. "They hurt, let's fix them!"
"No," snapped Atemu. "If it makes them worse, they could put a hole in your lungs and I am not risking your life on an experiment."
"Don't worry, Mother Hen, I'll be fine," he said, but Atemu just glared at him.
"I am not being a Mother Hen, and you are being far too flippant," he said irritably. "You almost died, aibou."
"No, I didn't, and we're not talking about then, we're talking about now," he pointed out, then turned back to Bakura. "Since he won't do it, I guess that does leave you…"
"No!" Atemu pushed Yuugi back against the pillows, ignoring his grimace of pain and crossing his arms decisively. "We are not using dark magic on you, and that's final!"
"How did you talk me into this?" muttered Atemu, as he climbed back up onto the bed. Sugoroku had gone back to the hotel after much prodding from Yuugi, and somehow, over the time between the end of visiting hours and midnight, Yuugi had convinced his other self that the dark magic was worth the risk.
Yuugi grinned, shifting his arm so Atemu could straddle his waist. "Because under the new skin and name, you're still the good and wonderful other me that cares about me and wants me to be healthy."
"Or it could be the three hours of whining I've put up with since the others left," he added, carefully placing his hands over the bruised skin of Yuugi's chest. "Now, though, you listen to me, alright?"
Yuugi blinked, smiling expectantly. "Mm?"
"You tell me the second you start to feel any new pain. The instant you feel uncomfortable," he corrected quickly, eyeing him seriously. "No pretending it doesn't hurt, no being strong or brave or just plain idiotic, understand me?"
He nodded happily. "I hurt, I say 'ow', gotcha."
"This isn't a joke, aibou!"
"Yes, yes, I'm serious," he said, smiling reassuringly. "My health is important. I will be good and take care of it."
Atemu frowned at him for another moment, then slowly lowered his eyes and began concentrating his magic. He had never been much of a healer, and in the back of his mind he was begging Sugoroku to suddenly deincarnate back into Shimon to do it for him, but he did know the basics of mending bones. He wasn't fool enough to touch Yuugi's shattered foot, but he knew he could do the ribs. Probably.
Maybe.
"How's that?" he asked cautiously, as he started to feel his magic settle around the molecules of Yuugi's bones. "Does it hurt?"
"No… it's… tingly," he said, smiling thoughtfully. "Like when you touch a place that should be really ticklish, except you can't tickle yourself, so it just feels weird…"
Atemu smiled, shaking his head. "You have some of the strangest analogies I've ever heard, aibou."
"That's just because you're used to everyone referencing gods and…" He trailed off, blinking, and Atemu slowed his magic.
"What?"
Yuugi didn't speak for a moment, and his eyes slid shut, his next breath let out in a strange kind of sigh.
"Aibou?"
His closed his mouth, his brow furrowing into an even stranger expression, his shoulders rising as he let out a very soft moan.
Atemu frowned, straightening a little, but didn't stop. Yuugi didn't sound like he was in pain… "Aibou? Aibou, talk to me," he ordered. "What's happening?"
"That… that feels so…" He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze lazy in a way Atemu could vaguely recognise, but not from Yuugi. He smiled, closing his eyes again with another quiet mumble. "It's good…"
He hesitated, dimly aware that dark magic rarely felt any kind of 'good', but since Yuugi wasn't objecting, he couldn't really find any reason to stop. He felt the first rib bone seal itself up, and the other was beginning to follow, so he just shook his head and refocussed.
"Wait," Yuugi said suddenly, raising his bandaged hand. "Wait, wait –"
He paused, not withdrawing but still watching Yuugi carefully. He had stopped smiling, and his eyes had snapped open, wide and worried.
"Wait, wait… stop, stop, stop, STOP!" he cried, and Atemu jerked his hands back, but Yuugi continued to pant, groaning in pain. "Stop it! The other me, STOP!"
"I did!"
"Argh… my heart, it…!"
Atemu stared at him frantically for a split second, then back down at Yuugi's chest, his eyes narrowed as he tried to search out what was going on. After a moment, he saw it – a tiny sliver of dark magic had pulled itself free of his control; a shadow no bigger than Yuugi's hand was wrapping itself around Yuugi's centre, pulling on him… feeding on him.
He glared at it, then pressed his hand flat over Yuugi's heart. "My name is Atemu," he muttered, then curled his fingers and yanked. The shadow ripped away with a small protesting whine, but under the power of the pharaoh's name had no choice but to slide back into his form, leaving Yuugi to gasp down a breath and fall back against the bed.
Atemu sighed, sitting still for a moment while he considered what had just happened. The darkness itself didn't seem to hurt Yuugi – dark magic going through his system was nothing new, so it probably shouldn't have surprised him so much. But the darkness had reacted to Yuugi. That was the only possible reason for it to split off and try to feed.
But no wonder. He could feel the warmth of Yuugi's soul just as the shadow had. After the cold darkness of his own soul, a warm, light source of energy was like sweetest ambrosia.
Hell, it had him addicted, it was only logical for the same to be said of his magic.
He sighed, shifting forward to lay his hand over the side of Yuugi's face. "Aibou? Are you alright?"
His eyes opened at the contact, and he smiled up at him wearily. "Mm. It just hurt, for a second there."
"I told you this was a bad idea," he said, but Yuugi shook his head.
"Mm-mm. It felt really good at first," he murmured, and turned his head into Atemu's palm, nuzzling it in gratitude. "But that was just… too much, too fast, or something…"
Atemu gazed at him for a long moment, then smiled and leaned forward to press his lips against Yuugi's forehead. He stiffened at first, but when Atemu pulled back he smiled, accepting it the same way he had Atemu's lack of personal space.
"I'm sorry, aibou," he whispered. "I'm not going to risk that again."
"It's okay," he said tiredly. "Kind of wore me out… Are you okay?"
"Actually, I'm…" He blinked, suddenly recognising how healthy he felt. He raised his eyebrows, swinging his leg over so he was sitting beside Yuugi rather than on him, and shrugged. "I actually feel… better."
Yuugi frowned. "That's normal?"
"No," he said, and leaned down to lie beside him, frowning thoughtfully. "Healing magic is not my forte. If memory serves, the last time I did something like this, I had to spend several hours in bed."
"Well… maybe it's because… um…" Yuugi blinked wearily, struggling to stay awake. "I have no idea."
"No… go to sleep, aibou, we'll think in the morning."
"Mm…"