Sorry about the delay. I have been meaning to write this up and publish it, but in truth, I struggle with epilogues. Anyway, I hope this wraps up the story.
Epilogue.
Where There's a Will There's a Way.
After being discharged from the hospital, Yugi went home to rest and recover. Wanting to be with him, his friends accompanied him.
But the last few weeks had really caught up with him and he was not really in the mood for being sociable – he could not remember having ever felt so exhausted.
Luckily, Mai could see that he did not really want them all there. "Come on you lot. We should go. Yugi needs some peace so he can rest and recover."
"But," Jonouchi protested, "we only just got here!" He eyed Yugi's mother mixing minced beef and herbs in a bowl. "What about Mrs Muto's yummy home made burgers?!" He licked his lips, tummy rumbling.
"They're not for you," Mai told him. "They're for Yugi."
"I'm sure I can spare one!" Yugi said, not wanting his forever hungry friend to go without.
"Thanks Yuge," Jonouchi beamed. "I knew you'd be on my side."
Anzu rolled her eyes. "It's not about taking sides, Jonouchi! Yugi is exhausted, we should go." She was gently massaging Yugi's tight neck muscles, and could tell that he was too nice to tell them all to go home, so that he could wash and change, eat and rest.
He looked up at her from where he was sitting on a dining chair, with a tired little smile. "I don't want you to go, Anzu."
She smiled, relieved that he wanted her here. "I'll stay and help, if you want me to?"
"I haven't seen you for nearly six months, of course I do!" he said firmly.
Jonouchi came over and offered his pal a fist bump. Smiling, Yugi managed to find enough energy to bump fists with him.
"You take care Yuge," said Jonouchi."We'll check in on ya tomorrow."
Yugi nodded. "Thanks Jonouchi. Thank you, all of you, for getting me and Kaiba outta there."
"Hey! It was the least we could do," said Honda. "You've saved our skins enough times." He winked. "We owed ya!"
Yugi let out a feeble chuckle. "Maybe." He was not about to argue that he would not have been able to do much saving without Atem's help.
"It's what friends are for, ain't it guys?" Jonouchi said, as Mai and Honda hustled him towards the door. On the way out, he turned to Yugi's mother. "Don't forget to save me a burger, Mrs M," he said, cheekily.
Hana Muto waved her ladle at him, but was smiling. "You should be the size of an elephant Jonouchi Katsuya," she teased. But she promised to put one the uncooked burgers in the fridge for him to cook when he came over tomorrow anyway.
After they had gone, Anzu ran Yugi a nice hot bubble bath to soak in. She sat on a stool beside the bath while he relaxed and let the hot water soothe his tired body. Being on the run, sleeping rough on a bench in the rain, and on a make-shift bed on a hard floor, being shut inside a VR pod for a week, and all the stress that had gone with it, had really taken its toll on him and it was nice to not feel on edge.
Anzu put some background music on to help him relax, and to deter her from chatting too much. It worked and he soon appeared to be dozing.
As the water began to cool, Anzu softly asked if he wanted more hot water run?
"No. I'm ready to wash my hair now." He gestured for her to pass him the shampoo.
"I'll wash it for you, if you like?" she offered.
"Yes, please," he said, enthusiastic for an offer too good to refuse.
Squeezing some shampoo into her hand, Anzu lovingly shampooed his hair, being careful not to rub his still tender scalp too hard. He always enjoyed her pampering him, and had a serene look on his face, as she gently massaged away all the grime and dried blood from his hair.
When he was ready to get out, Anzu helped by holding his towel for him, and steadying him in case he had one of the dizzy turns he had been warned about. But he seemed fine, apart from moving slowly.
"It's good to feel clean again," he said, once he had dried himself, and was dressed in comfortable, clean lounge pants and a tee-shirt. "I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed," he said brightly. Smiling at her sweetly, he took her hand and pulled her towards him.
Anzu could not resist throwing her arms around him and hugging him. "I've been so worried about you, Yugi," she mumbled into his neck.
He chuckled. "Hey! I had the situation under control," he said defensively.
She playfully slapped him on the back of the shoulder, and released him from the hug to give him one of her stern looks. "Like I believe that," she scolded playfully.
He pouted at her sheepishly and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I've missed you," he said, sincerely.
"And I've missed you. I'm not letting you out of my sight again, mister!" she replied, draping her arms around his shoulders. He leaned in and kissed her softly, before leading her into his bedroom, where they then sat down on his bed and continued kissing.
But after a few minutes, he pulled away and lay back on his pillow holding his hand over his forehead. Closing his eyes he sighed. "Sorry. I'm not feeling too great," he mumbled.
"That's okay," she said, snuggling into his side. "I'm just relieved to be with you. If I hadn't come home when I did, I wouldn't have bumped into Tomoya, and would we wouldn't have found out where you were, and we would not have been there to save you when Yamato got away from Pegasus and made it to the basement. He might have..." She trailed off, not wanting to dwell on the 'what ifs'.
It was a chilling thought, but Yugi had been in life or death situations before and was nonchalant about it. "Well, it's a good job I have friends I can rely on, isn't it?" He changed the subject. "Hey! We need to sort out getting to New York for your graduation!"
Anzu peered at him, frowning. "That's if we can get a flight. We would need to leave within three days to stand any chance of getting there on time."
At that point, Hana Muto knocked on the door. "Are you ready to come down for dinner, Yugi?"
He felt his tummy rumble. "You bet I am!" he replied enthusiastically. But, as soon as he sat up he became dizzy and nearly fainted. Anzu had to support him.
"You're still weak," she said, soothingly. "You need to take things more slowly."
Being called weak was a reminder of how he was before he solved the Puzzle, and he did not like it. "Yeah… Probably," he grumbled, reluctantly letting her steady him.
Once he was standing and the dizziness had subsided, he insisted he could walk on his own. But he was still feeling strange, and had to make his way downstairs carefully, holding firmly onto the banister rail. He realised that this must be the vertigo he had been warned about.
As soon as he was in the kitchen, he sat down, relieved to not be moving. But he had a raging thirst, and needed to drink a whole glass of water to quench it.
"You look a bit pale Yugi?" His mother said, holding her hand to his forehead. He was cold and clammy.
"I'll be fine once I've eaten," he said, irritated by her fussing.
Unfortunately his appetite was small, thanks to his stomach shrinking while he was in the pod, and he could not clean his plate like he usually did. "Phew! I'm full," he said, disappointed in himself. Even so, he was still feeling much better for eating at least some of his food.
"It's to be expected," said Anzu. "Don't forget, you haven't eaten a solid meal for a week."
"I think I'll go and rest in the sitting room for while," he told her. "Coming?"
She nodded. "I can look at flights while you rest," she decided.
They sat down and turned on Yugi's tablet, which had been sat on the coffee table since before he had been forced to go on the run. Luckily it was fully charged, because Grandpa Muto had taken to using it.
Cuddled up together, they checked the airlines, but unfortunately there were no flights available until the following week, which was too late.
Anzu sighed. "My parents fly out to New York in two days. They will be disappointed in me." She was not looking forward to breaking the bad news to them.
Yugi felt guilty. "It's my fault," he said, apologetically. Anzu rubbed his arm to show that she did not blame him.
"No it's not. You ordered me not to come home, remember?" Of course he remembered! How could he forget threatening to break up with her? "I made the decision to come home myself," she continued, "and I don't regret it. Collecting my degree in person is far less important than saving someone you love."
He smiled. "You're beginning to sound like me, wanting to save everyone," he teased.
"I learned from the best," she teased back, nudging him playfully.
She had a sudden idea. "Oh!" she blurted, making him jump. "What about Pegasus? I could ask him when he's going back?" And then she sagged. "But he's running Kaiba Corp. while Kaiba's in hospital, and when he does go back he's probably only going as far as San Francisco."
Yugi snorted. "If I know Kaiba, he won't stay in hospital for long, and he certainly won't want Pegasus's help." All was not lost just yet. "I still refuse to give up on us making it on time for your graduation."
Anzu smiled at his determination, but right now he was struggling to even keep his eyes open. "We can worry about it tomorrow," she said. "Right now, you need sleep, and I should probably go home and face my parents." She was dreading telling them, but it had to be done.
"Are you sure you have to go?" he said. "I can ask my mum to make up the futon in my room?" He was looking at her hopefully so she agreed.
"I'll call my mum and let her know I'm staying here," she said, secretly relieved she would not have to tell her parents yet after all.
While Yugi got ready for bed, Yugi's mother made up the futon on his bedroom floor, and then found Anzu a nightdress to wear. When Yugi came back from the bathroom, Anzu modelled it for him – a big baggy tee-shirt style that went down to the knee.
He laughed. "Trust my mum to give you that one. It's the frumpiest thing she could find." He could not even remember his mother wearing it!
"She probably thought it would prevent you from finding me sexy," Anzu teased.
He chuckled. "Well, it didn't work. You could wear one of Grandpa's smelly old night-shirts and I would still find you sexy," he teased back.
"Euwww… Yugi!" She grimaced. "I really don't want to picture myself wearing one of your grandfather's smelly nightshirts."
They giggled, and got into their beds. But Anzu did not stay on the futon for long, preferring to cuddle up with Yugi instead.
Her warm body close to his was comforting. He would have liked to make love to her, but he was so exhausted that he was too tired to even move, and just a few moments after she cuddled against him he was fast asleep.
He slept fitfully, but Anzu hardly slept at all, still worrying about her graduation and facing her parents in the morning.
::::::::::::
Recovery was slow and painful for Seto. He drifted in and out of sleep for most of the day, and then during the night he was plagued by crazy images and incoherent dreams, that seemed to flit from one situation to the next without any sort of clarity.
Come morning his head was pounding and his body was racked with tremors. It was quite usual to experience some side effects after traversing dimensions, but having been placed inside the cryogenic chamber and then having his mind separated from his body, had made the side effects far more terrifying.
But like a wild animal caught in a snare, Seto was not willing to let on he was in a pitiful condition, unable to fight back.
His determination to fight, meant that the nurses assigned to look after him came in for a fair bit of abuse: as far as Seto was concerned, he could brush his own teeth, wash and shave himself. He absolutely hated having to be looked after like he was a useless newborn.
After a failed attempt to even hold his toothbrush he gave in, too exhausted to keep fighting.
Humiliating embarrassment over, he was then forced to eat hospital food.
A small team of Doctors subjected him to some tests. They prescribed him some nutritional supplements and left.
Shortly afterwards, physio therapists arrived and insisted he should get up and start moving around.
"If I could get up I would have already left," he grumbled. But they got him up anyway.
It was not easy with weak, heavy and uncoordinated limbs; for a powerful man used to being in control of his environment and those within it, it was humiliating.
The poor therapists were only trying to help, but they irritated him and therefore came under verbal attack. "You're useless. Get out… Now!" He regretted shouting at them, because deep down he was angry at himself, not them.
Mokuba tried his best to mediate. But after one nurse left in tears he decided that he'd had enough of his brother's bad mood. "Seto! They're only trying to help! You can't keep treating them like it's their fault that you're like this." Mokuba understood that his brother was always tough on people who fell short of his high standards, but this was different, because Seto was the one falling short of excellence. Taking it out on dedicated, hard working hospital staff was counterproductive.
"I don't need their help. Call Isono, I'm discharging myself."
The poor nurse was at her wits end. "Mister Kaiba! You're not fit enough to go home," she pleaded.
"Don't tell me what I'm fit for!" Seto retorted. "I have a company to re-build."
Mokuba sighed. "Let other people take care of that for once, Seto. Pegasus is looking after all the legalities and paperwork, so that you can concentrate on getting well again."
"I am not leaving Pegasus in control of My company," he growled, seething. Seto did not trust Pegasus. No one, not even Yugi, helped out of the goodness of their heart unless there was something in it for them.
Seto would have liked to have walked out of the hospital, but his legs were still too weak to carry him for more than a few steps, so he reluctantly let Isono push him out to the car in a wheelchair.
The staff did not try and stop him; he was a terrible patient and they were glad to see the back of him.
Once home, Seto was surprised when Pegasus willingly handed back the reigns of Kaiba Corp. He had expected demands for a percentage of the company, but the only demand Pegasus made was that Seto and Mokuba spend a weekend with him on his private island. "I have a wonderful new eighteen hole golf course being built. You simply must come and try it out. It will do wonders for your recovery."
Mokuba's eyes lit up. "Can we Seto?"
Seto grunted. "I'm not going anywhere until my company is back to where it was before I left." But…. Seto was having second thoughts; golf was a game he had not played since he used to play on the pitch and put as a child, and Kismara and Jack had reminded him of his long forgotten love of the countryside. "However, I'm sure we can find time in a few weeks or so."
"Wonderful!" Pegasus clapped his hands together. "Since you are done with my services, Kaiba-boy, I will leave you and young Mokuba in peace. I shall go and check on how Yugi-boy and the lovely Miss Dancing Queen Mazaki are doing, before I head back to San Francisco. If you need my help on anything don't hesitate to ask."
Seto wanted to vomit at the pet names, but kept his vitriolic thoughts to himself for once. "I'm sure Mokuba and I will be fine on our own." And they were.
In the coming days, Seto embarked on his own exercise regime to regain strength and fitness, which involved swimming in his private pool at the mansion every morning, and just as he expected he was recovering much faster at home than he would have in hospital.
He also relished the challenge of repairing his company's reputation, which had been severely damaged by Yamato. Much of the population of Domino relied on Kaiba Corp. for their livelihoods and were helpful and supportive, as were the business community, and rebuilding his empire would not take long.
Although he was very busy with rebuilding his company, Seto would never forget Kismara and Jack. They may not be real people in the sense of what is seen as real as most people, but to Seto they were real, and he had a plan that would bring them out the recesses of his mind, and into this world, as holograms.
The new Interactive Hologram suite at Kaiba Land had still been in the early planning stage when Yamato took over. Kaiba Land had been shut-down, but Seto saw re-opening it with its new attraction as a priority. Not only would Kismara and Jack play a key role in the many interactive scenarios on offer in the Holographic Suite, but the new attraction would also show that Kaiba Corporation was really back at the top of its game.
::::::::::::
Five Days Later:
As Yugi watched Anzu walk onto the stage to receive her degree, he felt a wave of emotion wash over him. Words could not describe the way he was feeling right now: to say he was proud of her would be an understatement.
And to think, they almost had not made it here at all!
Having woken up after a good nights sleep feeling much stronger and without the dizzying spells of Vertigo and nausea, Yugi had gone with Anzu to tell her parents the bad news that she would not be attending her own graduation.
But, no sooner had they told them, Pegasus called Anzu to say he was at Yugi's house, and that the lovely Mrs Muto had explained their situation to him. Since Kaiba-boy had dispensed of his services, he kindly offered to take them to New York in his private jet... on one condition: that he should be the one to present the graduates with their degrees.
Anzu wasn't sure if that was possible. "It's not my decision to make," she told him. But Pegasus waved her away. It appeared that Pegasus had already spoken to the principal of Juilliard, and he was more than happy to welcome Pegasus as an esteemed guest speaker.
And the very next day they were on the way to New York.
During the flight, Anzu had wanted to know more about Pegasus's association with Juilliard, and his explanation had been quite a revelation. "My darling Cyndia was an aspiring young dancer and actress." His face clouded over and his voice became wistful. "Like her mother before her, Cyndia was an aspiring actress and dancer. She won a scholarship at Juilliard for her talent, and not her mother's reputation or her family's wealth. But alas, she was fated to never complete her first year." He sighed. "Such a waste; she was a beautiful, graceful young thing."
Spotting Anzu shed a tear of sympathy, Yugi squeezed her hand.
"May I ask what Cyndia's illness was?" Anzu asked politely. They knew about her death, but they had never known what had taken her.
Pegasus smiled sadly, remembering that dreadful day when she was given her diagnosis. "Of course you may my dear." He sighed nostalgically. "They said we were too young to marry, that it would never last. But we were determined to prove them wrong. However, just weeks before our wedding Cyndia started to feel unwell. Her complexion was always fair, but her face became so pale and drawn that we became worried about her. Blood tests revealed an aggressive form of Leukaemia. Even the best specialists could not cure her; maintenance treatment would keep it at bay for a while, but hey could not tell us for how long. We hoped to have a few months together, but sadly… she passed one week after we married." He had never disclosed some of the more personal details of his deceased wife's life, but time was a great healer and it felt nice to at last be able to talk about her with fondness, rather than the bitter hurt and anger he had felt at the suddenness of her untimely death to a cruel and indiscriminate illness.
Neither Yugi nor Anzu knew quite what to say in response, other than they were sorry. But Pegasus did not want sympathy or sadness. He had wallowed in self pity before and it had lead him to be consumed by the evil influence of the Millennium Eye.
Back in the moment, Yugi felt a small tear well up in the corner of his eye and trickle down his cheek as he watched Pegasus smile and congratulate Anzu, as he hand her the coveted qualification Anzu had worked so hard to achieve.
In Yugi's eyes she was simply amazing.
The King of Games felt humbled.
Before I sign this story off, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read it.
Your support and nice comments fill me with joy and give me the encouragement to continue writing and to try and improve my writing.
Thank you all. x
