Yugi had finished his homework and was watching as Mana prepared his dinner, "Mana? How come you never eat with me?"
"Because I'm not human, Yugi. I am an artificially intelligent creation, an android," she replied. "I need not eat as you do, but I do recharge when needed."
"Oh. Okay," he sighed.
She sat a plate of spaghetti with garlic bread and baked chicken in front of him. Yugi thought that he was going to get away with not having the 'sludge' that the Ishtar sisters had said that he needed to have with every dinner. But all hope of that faded as Mana set the glass containing the greyish-green concoction in front of him. Yugi hated the drink with a passion, but the reward of something super sweet made the torture worthwhile.
LINE
Atem and Yami snuck up to the game shop late in the night, after they left their car a half a block away. There were lights on well past Mana's customary recharging time, leaving the pair at a loss for words. They tried to figure out the passcode, receiving a message that asked for the attack power of Yugi's favorite fiend-type monster. They groaned realizing that they didn't know and that the requested information was based on the one person they despised.
They decided to hop the gate and see who the intruder was. Atem saw the living room light switch off and the kitchen light turn. He headed to the window closest to the bushes. A small form, wrapped up in a blanket and hooded sweater, pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and climbed up on the counter. Atem watched as the child pulled a box from the cabinet and sighed, ruffling through the contents. Several bottles were taken out and the kid opened them, removing a tiny object from each before depositing them in a tray.
The last bottle was opened and the kid put the item into their mouth and drank the water. The two brothers watched as the kid put everything back into the box and back in the cupboard. The small child yawned and slid from the counter top, nearly falling in the process. The kid grabbed the tray and crept from the kitchen, flipping the lights out on the way.
Atem and Yami were concerned that their grandfather had just been robbed and decided to do something about the thief. Yami pulled out the lock-pick set that he used whenever he or Atem locked their keys in the car and set to picking the lock on the back door.
LINE
Yugi hated taking the medication that his twin doctors and their associate had prescribed for him, but if he even thought about skipping just one, he was in for a miserable next day. The type of medications varied, ranging from various vitamins to painkillers for the random aches he got from time to time. At one time, there were pills to help stimulate growth, but they were tossed after the first year. The pill that he took was to help him sleep. Yugi was glad that he only had to take that one occasionally, when he had too much energy and couldn't sleep after a certain time. Unfortunately, that one worked almost instantly, leaving him barely enough time to reach his bed...or the couch if he was not lucky enough to get that far.
Tonight was definitely going to be a 'pass-out-on-the-couch' night as Yugi felt his medication kicking in. 'At least Mana knows to let me sleep in when I've taken this one,' Yugi thought as his eyes slid closed.
LINE
Atem had to pull Yami from the lock, "Let's go. We can come back when Dad leaves for his business trip and watch for the thief."
"How do you know the kid's gonna come back," Yami hissed.
"Because the kid knows what was in those cabinets," he replied. "Evidence enough that this brat has broken in before. We can go through Dad's office at home to see if he has anything that can answer that stupid question and get the spare key. That way we don't damage Grandpa's door trying to get inside."
"Fine."
The two hopped the gate once more and headed back to their father's house.
LINE
Two days later, the brothers had their chance. They had to trick their father into telling them of Yugi's favorite fiend-type monster, asking him when he was distracted. This, in turn, gave them the passcode needed to gain entry into the game shop. That morning, their father announced that he was going to check on Mana and that he would be leaving to check on a business deal with a company in America. They had a week before he would be home.
That night, they arrived at the game shop and entered the answer to the question, earning the key to the house. Seeing the child repeating their actions from two nights prior, the two failed to notice that the kid didn't take whatever it was they took last time this time. Atem unlocked the door and they entered the house quietly. The kid was heading down the hallway to the bedrooms when they caught up to him.
"Turn around slowly, kid," Yami ordered the child. He surprised his brother as he pulled a knife out of his coat pocket.
Frightened amethyst eyes were trained on the weapon as all other color faded from the kid's face. "P-p-please don't hurt me. I d-d-don't have any money and..."
"Shut up, brat," Yami ordered the frightened child. "Your days of stealing from our grandfather are over."
The kid stuttered, "But I live here."
The child saw an opening and tried to run. Yami went to block him, but the child cried out in pain. Atem noticed that the kid was bleeding and separated the two. Yami paled at the sight of the knife in the kid's shoulder. The child stumbled to the floor, breathing heavily at the pain shooting through his arm.
"Yami, go and call for help. NOW," Atem ordered his younger brother. He turned to the supposed intruder, "Hey, kid, slow breaths."
The child shook their head, refusing to listen to the male. The action loosened the hood concealing the child's hair. Atem reached out, out of curiosity, and tugged the hood back. He felt sick. Yami had just stabbed their baby brother who was supposed to be living with another relative! He was responsible for this incident as well. "YAMI!"
Said brother ran into the hallway and collapsed at the sight. Yugi was paler than before and nearly hyperventilating. "Oh crap, Dad's going to kill us," he muttered. He glared at the boy, "You'd better not die on us, brat."
Yugi started coughing, aggravating the stab wound and causing it to bleed more. "Hurts," he groaned.
Atem grabbed the blanket and pressed it to Yugi's shoulder. "Did you call for help?"
"Yeah, I did. Now we need to figure out what to tell them about this," Yami replied.
"Yugi, stay awake," Atem ordered the boy.
Pained amethyst eyes drifted up to look him in the eyes, "You said my name. You never called me by my name before." Yugi smiled faintly before he passed out from the pain.
LINE
The ambulance arrived and the brothers told their story of a brother sent to live with relatives had been mistaken as an intruder in their grandfather's home. They had been watching the place while he was away and had accidentally stabbed their brother when he entered unannounced. The medical team bought their story, but they still had their father and grandfather to face.
The paramedics noticed a silver band dangling from his wrist and scanned it. A message, along with Yugi's name and basic information, appeared in their scanner's screen: In case of emergency, to be taken to The Center for Advanced Technology...Doctors Ishtar Emergency Contact(s) Isis and Ishizu Ishtar. Medical History: Classified. Allergies: Aspirin, nuts, latex.
The two brothers groaned internally, their hopes that they could hide this incident from their elders went down the drain with that Medi-Band. The Ishtar sisters would not only treat Yugi, but they would call their father. The two were already feeling guilty that they had stabbed their brother accidentally.
LINE
Isis groaned as she was awakened by the ringing of the cell phone that she and her sister kept on hand in case Yugi needed them or if there was an emergency with the boy. She took the call and was shocked to hear that the boy was on his way to their lab with a stab wound to the shoulder. "Sister! Wake up, we're needed in the lab. Yugi's been hurt," she cried out as she dressed.
Ishizu followed her sister's lead, ignoring the complaints of three of their four brothers, dressing and grabbing the keys to their car. They woke Odion and told him that they were needed at the C.A.T for an emergency and that he would have to see to it that Marik and Namu were up in time for high school and that Malik got to the grade school on time.
They rushed to the Center, arriving at the same time as the ambulance. The twins were shocked to see Atem jump from the back of the emergency vehicle and Yami pulling up in their own car. The eldest Mutou boy had bloodstained hands, "Yugi was bleeding."
He took off to go wash the blood from his hands. The sisters nearly cried at the sight of the small boy's condition, forgetting that Atem actually called his youngest brother by his given name. Yugi was pale and his left shoulder was covered with a temporary bandage
that was showing signs of needed to be checked on. "What happened," Isis asked, finding her voice.
The lead medic told them what the two brothers said about watching their grandfather's place and mistaking the boy as an intruder when he entered the house unannounced. "It was an honest mistake and could have happened to anyone. We're lucky that it wasn't a gun and that the knife only injured his shoulder," he stated as his team rushed the boy to the designated lab.
Isis shot a look at Yami, "Yeah, we're lucky. Thank you for bringing Yugi here. My sister and I will take care of him. I have other matters to attend as well. Excuse me."
She walked over to the male and quickly grabbed his ear, "We need to talk young man. As soon as I find your brother, you two are going to listen to what I have to say."
Yami winced as the eldest Ishtar sister pulled his ear, "Yes ma'am."
