Part 10

(Nicole's POV)

The absolute killer headache was the first thing I woke to, but the bright light in my face was the second shock to my system. I went to move when I realized I couldn't. I could feel, but my body was restrained. I was about to yell when the bright light suddenly left and a voice caught my attention. I didn't understand the language, but the voice was male and the tone told me they were trying to be reassuring. I took a moment to study my immediate surroundings.

I was on my back. My body was restrained. I tried to turn my eyes and noticed we were in a vehicle of some type and there was a siren.

What's the last thing I remember? Leaving school? Yugi talking...

The voice spoke again, and I looked over to see a man in a uniform. Medical gloves on his hands. A stethoscope hung around his neck. Paramedic? He spoke again, but I didn't understand any of it. The words he used were none of the ones I had studied yet. He must have noticed my confusion because he paused and thought for a moment before speaking again. "Name? Know name?" It was English. Given his accent was strong, I could make out what he was asking.

"N-Nicole. My name is Nicole."

He muttered something again in what had to be Japanese.

"What happened?" I questioned.

It was his turn to look at me confused. This is when I knew he wasn't fluent. I couldn't help but panic a little. I had no idea what had happened. I had no clue where I was going. And of the multiple languages I spoke, I knew nothing of the one I needed right now! The operator must have noticed my distress as he stood up and I felt a gloved hand grip my left hand and another set itself on my forehead as if to stop me from moving. "Ok. Be Ok." I heard him say.

I made eye contact with him again. My vision was blurry as I must have started to tear up in my panic. He looked at me serious for a moment. His grip left my hand, and I felt a light tapping on my chest. He said something in Japanese. Paused. Tapped my chest again repeating the same short word or phrase. He then took his hand and imitated hitting himself on the side of the head. He did the whole sequence again. Tapped on my chest saying the word then gave the gesture of hitting his head. He's acting instead of talking. My brain began to piece his actions together.

"Hit your head? I hit my head?" I asked.

He paused not knowing my words, but I got his message. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. Something had happened and I guess I had hit my head pretty hard. As to what caused the injury was still a blank to me. A head injury would also explain why I was restrained and why my skull was pulsing. I must have been strapped to a backboard. I just focused on breathing and trying to ignore the banging headache. There wasn't much longer before I felt the vehicle come to a stop and the operator grabbed a clipboard and did something with what had to be the stretcher underneath me. The door swung open and the man started speaking quick and in Japanese to the people outside the vehicle.

A thin hand found mine and a smaller woman came into my field of view.

"Hello Nicole. We heard you might not speak Japanese?" her voice pointed out in English.

I tried to shake my head 'no' but it was strapped into place. "N-no. I'm sorry." I replied warily.

"No sorry dear." the woman smiled as I felt her squeeze my hand, "I am Namori. I am interpreter for hospital. You got hurt outside school. Remember?"

I glanced around at the couple faces. My eyes fell on the paramedic and back to the woman, "I-I think he said I hit my head?"

"Yes. You hit the back of your head. Do you remember how?" She spoke softly and with reassurance which did well for my nerves.

"N-No. I don't. Yugi? Is Yugi ok?" I was trying to piece some of this together.

"Yugi? Is he your friend?"

"I-I guess. Short guy. Spikey hair. We were talking and... and... I don't remember. Why don't I remember?"

"Focus on me Nicole? How old are you? Can you remember?"

"Sixteen."

"Do you know what day it is?"

"F-Friday."

"How about day and month?"

"August. I can never remember number dates"

"How about your hands. Can you squeeze my fingers?" She reached over and put her other hand in mine. I did as instructed and squeezed her fingers.

She looked up and nodded to the other people and started talking in Japanese with them. She was more than likely relaying our conversation and whatever medical impact that carried. There was another vehicle that pulled in next to us and I glanced over curious. Was Yugi there? Did he get hurt too? The group with me paused as the other vehicle was unloaded. The look of the pants told me it was probably someone from my school, but the hair color I could see in between the people surrounding said patient told me it wasn't Yugi.

Namori must have noticed my curiosity because she squeezed my hand again,

"That's not Yugi. Who is that?" I asked but it was another voice spouting out what seemed to be instructions that caught my attention. Though most of what they said was utter gibberish to me I did catch what sounded like "Kaiba" and "Seto" in the middle of it all.

Kaiba. Did the guy just say Kaiba?

I was baffled. What had happened? When was Kaiba nearby? I only remembered talking to Yugi. Where was Yugi?

"Your friend will be ok. We're told you were jumped by people outside school and got knocked about." Namori tried to reassure me.

Jumped outside school? What the hell?! How did I not remember any of this?

"K-Kaiba." I got out in a stammer, "he said Kaiba, right? We're in class together."

Namori nodded keeping hold on my hand as they moved right behind the other group. The groups were moving quick. I couldn't see much, but I could tell that the other group was to our right.

"Nicole, we're getting ready to move you to a stretcher here. So, you are going to be picked up, moved, turned to your side while they take the board out from underneath you. You're going to feel a lot at once, ok?" Namori spoke smoothly.

I gave what little nod I could. Someone in the group spoke as if they were counting down. I felt the move and in the couple seconds while they had me turned, I could see the other group. Kaiba's eyes were closed and there was a dark streak down his face coming from the side of his face below the hair line. Blood. He's bleeding or was bleeding pretty bad from a nasty gash to his head. As quick as I could see, I was turned onto my back and he was no longer in my sight.

"Ok Nicole. It looks like you have a nasty wound on the back of your head. They want to take you upstairs for some pictures so they can make sure the bones in your neck are ok first. We need you to stay as still as possible until then."

I was about to respond where there was a loud commotion to our right. People were yelling and I could faintly pick up one of the voices but couldn't understand what they were saying. I squeezed Namori's fingers to get her attention.

"What's happening? Is Kaiba alright?"

"It's Ok sweetie." she assured softly, "The nurses used a little trick to try and wake him, and it seemed to have worked. When we suddenly wake people like that, they can be... combative. It's normal."

There was more yelling and Namori suddenly looked behind her as if responding to someone.

"I'm being asked to go help your friend. Do you think you could maybe sing a song for me to keep yourself calm? It doesn't have to be perfect, ok?"

She was suddenly gone and I was stuck thinking about her request. A song? Any song? The first thing that came to mind was Stay Forever from the new Delain album I had been listening to recently. Without much more thought, I started singing the song from memory.

(Seto's POV)

Where was I? There was a burning sensation on left side of my face and a pounding feeling in my head. The lights around were bright. Too bright. Loud voices all around and it felt like I was being held down. My initial response was to fight and ask questions later. I tried to think back to the last thing I remembered. Yelling. There was a familiar voice yelling like they were in pain.

"Seto." An unfamiliar voice pressed, "you were in an accident. You are at the hospital. We need you to-"

Hospital! No! I don't do hospitals! My mind tried to focus, but I was somewhere I didn't want to be. In my experience, people went to hospitals to die. Mom died in one. My dad did too not long after that. Like hell if I was about to let that happen to me now!

"Let me go!" I told whoever was holding me. But my strength was not all there and they were able to keep me held down.

"Namori. We need a hand. Leave the girl!" Another echoed in the haze.

The girl? The yelling before this was a girl, wasn't it? Was she in this accident too?

"Seto," A softer female voice spoke as a pair of hands set themselves on either side of my face, "you and your friend are going to be fine. We need you to stop fighting us. The danger is over. You. Are. Safe."

My vision was starting to focus and I was starting to see the people around. Despite what this woman told me, as long as I was in a hospital, I was not safe.

"Let go! I want out of here!" I told them as I tried to pull myself free.

"We'll have to put him back under." another voice ordered.

"Seto," The female voice above me pressed again, "If you don't stop, we are going to have to give you something to make you sleep. We can't take care of you unless you allow us."

I was about to tell the woman exactly where she could shove her suggestion when another voice caught my attention.

"Silence in the living room. Hours feel like days."

It was English. The voice was melodic but there was a tremble to the sound as if they were afraid.

"Silence when I speak to you. Your thoughts seem miles away."

I tried to look around to find the source. The voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it. The fact that I was being held down in place didn't help either.

"My euphoria. Yes, you're worth the prize."

"Step back and hold him still." A closer voice ordered, but my focus was trying to find the one singing. I knew them. If I was in trouble, so were they.

"Because when my mind gets clouded. I forget about our fights."

There was a sharp pain as if I were stuck with something. I bit my tongue trying not to yell.

"Stay forever, it's never again. Our words have been spoken; it will come to an end."

The edge of my vision was starting to fade again. I had to find the voice. Who was singing? Were they ok?

"Stay forever, it's never again. Our words have been spoken; it will come to an end."

The melody seemed to fade away as my vision darkened and the urge to sleep again overtook me.

"It's ok. You're going to be ok."

(Nicole's POV)

"Hi again. You have such a pretty voice you know?" I heard Namori's voice ask as I caught her in my side vision.

"Th-thanks... Is he ok?" I asked again.

A hand went to the top of my head stroking it softly, "He's fine. Like I said, sometimes when we wake people like that, they fight. We had to put him back to sleep in order to treat him. He will be fine. You both will. How about we get you going for those pictures?"

I could feel the bed I was on moving. Namori was the only one talking. "So, are you and the boy dating or are you just friends"

I was taken back by the question, "Uhhh neither? We're just in the same class, and I work with him."

"Oh ok." She sounded disappointed, "How about family. Do you have someone we can call and let them know you're here?"

"My mom? I live here with my mom."

"Good. What does your mom do?" She asked with a smile.

I paused. I was never open about everything my mother did but this didn't seem like a farfetched request given the circumstances. "M-my mom is a technical analyst for the FBI's branch here in Japan."

Namori did a double take at me as if startled. "Your mother is a federal agent for the United States?"

"Y-yes." I replied.

"What's her name?"

"Ellie. Ellie Silvers. She works international cyber-crimes."

The woman leaned over to a nurse that was walking next to her and seemed to whisper something. The other nurse nodded and peeled off going another direction in a hurry.

"Am I in trouble?" I couldn't help but ask.

"No! Not at all. We are going to call your mom. But we may have to do things a little different if her work gets involved is all."

I tried my best to settle the feeling in my stomach. So much had already happened, but this Namori woman was doing well to keep me calm. She stayed with me the whole way as the team ran all the tests they needed. She explained each step which helped so much with keeping me calm. The initial scans came out clear.

The nurses were working to get the collar off when I noticed my mother come into the area.

"Nicola Ellanore! Thank God you're ok!" She signed in relief as I felt her hug me tightly.

"Hi to you too mom." I gasped.

"Hello Ms. Silvers." Namori spoke up. "My name is Namori and I have been the translator for your daughter during her visit here."

I could tell my mother was upset, but she was doing well to keep it in. "T-thank you Namori!" She smiled walking up to the woman and giving her a hug as well. My mother pulled away and looked at me, "How are you feeling baby?"

"Better. They just cleared my neck. So, I think it's just a really bad bump to the head."

"She's right." Namori spoke up, "From what we have been able to see, she has a minor concussion and laceration at the back of the skull. But scans show no bleeds or spinal injury. The laceration does not even require stiches. We're guessing she and the other student were caught by surprise and suddenly pushed into a nearby brick wall. Do you now if your agency will want to take over the case by chance Ms. Silvers?"

My mother was dumbstruck for a moment. "My agency take over?" She paused thinking for a moment, "N-no. I don't think they will. None of my cases right now are even in this region, so we don't have reason to suspect this incident is connected to the bureau. Thank you for asking though. I'll leave this to local PD to handle."

"Well, I would say with any major injuries ruled out, we can look at getting your daughter ready for discharge. We will give you instructions for a concussion protocol to follow at least for this evening."

"Thank you. That sounds perfect." My mother replied smoothly.

Namori smiled and started to leave the room.

"Wait!" I suddenly asked, "What about Kaiba? Is he ok?"

"I'm not on his care team, but I can check for you. But given we had to sedate him; his visit will more than likely be overnight at the least. Let me go start your papers and I can ask around while I am out."

I nodded in acknowledgement and she left.

"Kaiba?" My mother asked in a teasing tone once Namori was out of the room.

"Classmate." I replied frankly, "He's the one that asked me to work with him."

Her tone went from teasing to serious, "So, you were with him when-"

"I-I don't know." I sighed in agitation. "I guess so? It all is still such a blur mom. I don't really remember much after leaving school."

"It's probably that blow to your head. You know I have to ask.." Her tone was suspicious. Careful.

"I'm like 99.9% sure it wasn't dad." I pressed knowing where her next question was going.

"You're sure?" She questioned on edge.

"Like I said, 99.9% because nothing is 100 Mom. Random act of violence. There goes that narrative that Japan is this supreme safe place. But every country has its rotten apples I guess right?"

"Alright," She sighed in defeat, "Let's be thankful that that is all that happened and move on? You agree?"

"Agreed."

(FF Next Day)

I was able to talk my mom into letting me go back to the hospital alone early the next morning. From what Namori told me before we left yesterday, they would keep Kaiba sedated through the night and hoped to release him sometime the following afternoon. Like me, he only had concussion type injuries, but the gash to his head did require stiches to close. The police also had questions, but I knew I wasn't much help with what little I was able to remember. I secretly hoped Kaiba did remember more and could fill the gaps for me. My mother brought up a good point, but I wasn't about to play into her paranoia without more proof.

As I made it to the area where I was brought to yesterday, I noticed a couple suits sitting outside one of the rooms. Not American feds. That's obvious. I was almost at that point in the hall when I noticed a much younger kid come out of the door. He had to be like ten or something but his hair was really dark and really long. Something about him seemed familiar though. The kid must have had a sixth sense, because he suddenly looked over at me.

Whatever he told or asked me in Japanese, his tone told me he was on guard.

"Uhh..." I wasn't quite sure how to answer the tone at first. Kill the kid with kindness. I grabbed my phone and pulled out my translator app. The kid was watching me with a careful eye as I spoke to the phone, "I'm sorry. I'm Nicole. I was looking for a classmate of mine. We were in an accident yesterday. Who are you?"

I hit the translate button on the app and held the phone out so he could hear the translated message.

He started to speak again, but I held up my finger which caused him to pause. I reversed the setting and hit the record function then nodded to him. He seemed to catch what I was doing and spoke to my phone. Somewhere in there I heard "Kaiba" but I wasn't sure what this kid would have to do with yesterday. Once he was done, I ran the translation and let the app read back to me. I knew it wasn't 100% but it got the point across.

"Kaiba Mokuba. Kaiba big brother. You were with him yesterday."

It was then I realized why the kid looked familiar. This had to be Kaiba's younger brother I had heard about.

I nodded to the kid and tried my best to smile, "How is he? Your brother." I asked.

Mokuba listened to my phone and replied back.

"Will be fine. Still sleeping. Reaction to medication."

There was a small sound like a stomach rumbling. Knowing I had a decent breakfast, I deduced it was Mokuba.

"Are you hungry?" I asked him.

The kid looked at me nervously before nodding with an audible sigh.

"Would you like some breakfast? I'll pay." I told the device.

The kid gave me a side glance as if he was skeptical. Then again, look at who his brother is. No wonder. After a couple tense seconds, he gave another nod. He suddenly turned and ran up to one of the suits telling him something in Japanese. The suit looked over at me on edge before walking up to me.

"Silvers, correct?" The man asked. Oh! thank God he speaks English!

"Y-yeah. Nicole Silvers. I am in Se-Kaiba's class. I also just started working with him earlier this-"

"We know. I have a favor to ask you." His voice was low. As if he didn't want to be heard.

"Ok? Favor? What kind of favor?" I asked my turn to be on guard.

"The doctor wants to administer the medicine that should wake Mr. Kaiba up. We are told that you were there when they attempted this yesterday so you know he wasn't quite himself."

"Oh, you mean where he came out swinging? I didn't see it. But I heard it. Scary stuff, but I was told it was common."

"Common or not. Just in case Mr. Kaiba has a similar reaction, we fell that it would be best if his brother weren't here to see it. So, my favor, take Mokuba out front where we can have a car waiting. It will take you to this place the kid likes. Keep him there for a while if you can. If you can talk him into going home and getting some proper sleep, that would be a bonus."

I took in the suit's words and nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. I don't speak the local language and Mokuba doesn't seem to speak English, but I think I can manage with the app on my phone."

"Our driver will stay nearby. If you have too much trouble, he can help. But the kid is at this age where he wants his independence so family staff keep our distance when we're out in public."

"Noted. So, just take kiddo out front?"

"Yeah. Try anything funny and you'll be back here on a stretcher."

The second comment caught me off guard, but the suit had already turned and walked back to where he was earlier saying something to Mokuba. The comment made the kid laugh and give the suit a playful fist bump before turning and walking up to where I was. I looked back at the suit who only nodded at me and waved. I brushed the last interaction off and smiled at the kid. "To breakfast?"

I don't think my comment had to be translated, he just smiled at me and walked next to me. As the suit had said, there was a dark town car waiting out front. Mokuba said something to the man next to it. The two had a brief exchange where each looked in my direction. I wasn't sure what to do or say. I just waited until the kid went to get in the car and I followed.

Mokuba made a motion at my phone letting me know he wanted to talk. I unlocked the device and started the app.

"How long have you known my brother?"

"I moved here about a month ago."

He seemed to be happy with my answer. He seemed to like the back and forth using my phone. The driver let us know when we arrived to the restaurant. The way Mokuba's eyes lit up told me the suit wasn't joking when he said it was the kid's favorite. Thankfully, the kid knew exactly what to do to get a table and we were seated right away. I was happy to see the menu had pictures so I could order pretty easy.

"You work for my brother?" the kid asked as he polished off his second stack of waffles.

"Not for long. I only just started working there the other day."

"What happened yesterday?"

I paused hearing the automated voice relay the words and looked at the kid's glance. He was serious. What could I tell him?

I could only sigh and tell him the same thing I had told everyone, "I don't know. I don't remember. I was walking out with a friend to go home and change for work one moment and next thing I knew I was in the back of an ambulance."

"Was the friend my brother?"

I shook my head. "No, it was another friend of mine."

"So, my brother is your friend?"

I kind of looked off to the side, "Not really sure. We haven't actually done anything other than have class and I now work with him. Something tells me your brother isn't big on friends?"

That made Mokuba laugh, but that was followed up with a sigh. "You're right. But you came back to check on him? Isn't that something friends do?"

"Maybe? I wanted to check on him because I wasn't sure if he getting hurt might have been my fault?"

"Your fault? Why? Did you do something bad?"

I shook my head. "No, but since I can't remember it was a possibility. That and I was hoping he could remember more than me about what happened."

The kid gave out a massive yawn and started rubbing the corners of his eyes.

"Were you at the hospital all night?" I questioned.

The kid veered his eyes and shifted in his seat a little before nodding. I thought about the suit's second request and tried to think of something that would possibly make it happen.

"How about we make a deal?" I asked Mokuba.

He looked at me oddly, "What kind of deal?"

"You go home and get some actual sleep. I'll take the bus back to check on your brother. If he says it's ok, I can maybe bring you back here next weekend?"

Mokuba seemed to ponder the suggestion for a moment. "If we do, can I bring Seto with?"

The question made me shift a little, Kaiba and I weren't actually friends or anything but if it made the kid happy, who was I to deny? "Um. Sure. Your brother can join us if he wants."

"Deal!" the kid smiled.

I paid the tab and took Mokuba back out to the car. Thankfully, like the suit, the driver also spoke English. I was able to convey the plan and he agreed to take Mokuba back home, where ever that was.

I waved goodbye to the vehicle and made my way to the nearest bus stop that would take me back to the hospital.

"Nicola long time no talk kiddo."

The voice sent a chill down my spine. It was one I knew very well but one of the last ones I thought I'd hear around here. The lingering smell of stale liquor only confirmed the assumption.

"Fuck." I muttered under my breath as I turned to meet the origin of the voice.

Not here. Not now. Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!