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Little Bitty Pretty One

Chapter Eleven

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Blood. Red cold blood was pink though the eyelashes of the blonde headed boy as his eyes slowly fought a losing battle to stay open. Pain. White hot pain was all he could feel and it made him forget anything that felt pleasant in the past. All that mattered was now. He thought he heard the door scrape open across the cold cement floor but thought it was his mind messing with him. At least he was keeping Yugi safe, he knew as he held the boy's hand tightly in his own.

"Yugi!" he heard through the haze of pain stinging at his brain as he tried to comprehend what the owner of the voice was saying but all he could make out was muffled sense of urgency and the feeling of cold nothingness as Yugi's hand was pulled from his.

"I'll carry that one." Another, lighter but still powerful, voice said. He lulled his head to the side and the last thing he could remember was being picked up before he passed out.

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"What do you mean, he wasn't in there? So he could go after them again?" The barkeep yelled as he washed the shot glasses.

"What did you expect us to do about him anyway?" the dark blue eyed CEO asked, "It was better this way. No mess."

"That may be true, Kaiba, but if Pegasus isn't found soon he might come after them, after all in this city, or any other city for that matter, Money is everything." Atem added. "Right now I am just glad they are okay." He smiled over at Yugi and stroked his cheek. "Thanks for letting us bring them here, Honda"

"Hey, Jou and Yugi may be pests sometimes and steal the food and a few drinks but they are my friends. I wound do anything for them. Besides they should be safe here, I don't open until six so I won't let anyone in, not even Pegasus."

Seto looked over at the blonde and shook his head. That is what a life on the street did to a number of his type, most prostitutes ended up dead in a dumpster, but this one, this one was different, lucky. Seto shrugged it off. A shame someone that seemed so carefree, at least from what Seto could pick up from stories about the blond, could be beaten nearly to death. And all for a few dollars.

Yugi was the first to wake up. He blinked to see so many worried faces on him. Then it hit him, he was no longer in the room that smelled like blood and coppery rust. He was in the cinnamon scented bar. The Orange Lemon. He sat up quickly only to earn a few lurches forward by the three men that watched him. "It's okay." Yugi smiled as they eased back into their seats.

"Yugi I am sorry for what I did. Bakura is a handful sometimes but I needed him to know that you weren't some sort of spy for Mr. Solomon." Atem admitted and bowed apologetically in his seat.

"It's okay. Maybe I overreacted. I am so glad you came to save me…" Yugi's words trailed off as he remembered, "JOUNUCHI?" he panicked.

"He's there, Next to you." Atem told him.

Yugi looked do his left and frowned, "poor Jounuchi." He pushed back the blonde's bangs and sighed, "This wouldn't have happened if I had told you what happened at dinner the other night."

"What do you mean" Atem looked at him a little shocked that something important was kept from him.

"Well at dinner when I went to the bathroom I saw Pegasus there and he told me that Jou owed him money and he said that I could pay for him and Jou would be okay. I couldn't pay because you aren't going to pay me until the end of the week and I was too scared to ask you. I'm sorry." He said.

"Oh, Yugi, this was a very dangerous thing you did. Next time, if it's something bad like this, tell me, okay?" Atem sighed and pulled the small boy onto his lap.

Seto rolled his eyes and gazed at the blond as his homey brown eyes slid open, his lips a pinkish hew and parted just a little. "w-what happened?" Jou sat him and looked around.

"You are safe now." Seto said and gasped inwardly when those eyes shot up to look into his deep ocean eyes. "Mutt." He growled and looked away.

"That was uncalled for. Why are you calling me names?" Jou whimpered.

"Earlier while I was carrying you, you went on and on about biscuits and stared making little snarling noises." Seto smirked.

"I wasn't dreaming of dog Biscuits."

"Sure you weren't. And just so you know, those treats aren't really bacon." He smirked as he mad a lame joke about a lame commercial. Jou snickered a little before bursting out in laughter bringing the CEO with him.

"That was Lame, rich boy." He stopped laughing abruptly as his sides began to hurt, forcing him to cough and lean forward, nearly falling from the bench he was sitting on.

"Whoa." Seto caught him and picked him up. "Atem I am going back to the hotel, we should get these two out of here."

"That's a good idea. We will tell Isis about this man and to tell her staff to be on the look out. Thank you again, Honda." Atem bowed politely and stood up pulling Yugi along with him as they walked out to a limo. "Ah, Keith, right on time."

"I would never leave you hanging Sir." He smiled.

"Mmhmm, you just love how well I pay you."

"I can't lie about that." Keith smiled and opened the doors to let them in before closing it and getting in, himself, to drive them back to the Luxor.