Chapter 17

Yugi was sat on the floor leaning against the sofa, flicking through the television channels. All the news channels were talking about recent events and having lived through them he had no desire to listen to them. But it seemed like that was the only thing anyone could talk about. Sighing, he continued to flick through the channels, finally coming across some comedian, he set down the remote and watched. He smiled as a joke amused him before rubbing his eyes. He was tired, the last week had been a rollercoaster but at least things were better than they had been. His gaze travelled to the sofa he was leaning against. The former Pharaoh was lying on the sofa his eyes closed in sleep, he was covered in the thickest blanket they owned. Just under a week had passed since they'd rescued him from that factory. After leaving the factory grounds they'd taken him straight to hospital where he'd then spent the next six days and been discharged that morning. Yugi couldn't help but think it had been too soon, but Atem had hated every moment there and the doctors seemed happy for him to continue his recovery at home. He'd escaped his ordeal with injuries which were not as bad as they could have been, there was just a lot of them. Although, the gash to his left arm and wounds which encircled his wrists were concerning, the wounds had become infected. Atem was having to take some strong antibiotics to tackle that infection, and despite his best efforts to disguise it he was feeling quite unwell. What made matters worse was that he'd broken his ankle, not that Yugi and the others had known this when they'd found him. Luckily it wasn't a bad fracture and although his foot had been strapped up, he was able to hide it under clothing which suited the once King. Despite all that it, honestly, could have been a lot worse.

Yugi was suddenly brought out of his musings as a hint of movement caught his attention. He smiled sympathetically as he watched the former Pharaoh's eyebrows contract with pain as he moved in his sleep. Luckily, the moment was brief and Atem's face relaxed as he fell further back into a deep sleep. Rubbing his own eyes again he turned back to the television, out of the corner of his eye he saw his grandfather appear at the top of the stairs from the shop. He seemed to regard the scene for a moment before moving towards the kitchen. However, he stopped by the sofa and carefully placed a hand on the sleeping King's back.

"Don't wake him." Yugi said, quietly, watching his grandfather.

Grandpa shook his head and made a point of readjusting the blanket before moving into the kitchen. Whilst Atem had been in hospital he'd been treated for hypothermia, given his long exposure to the cold, and since then Grandpa had become almost obsessive with making sure that he didn't get cold. He was always making sure Atem was wrapped up warm and checking that he felt warm. The former Pharaoh may have a long recovery ahead of him, but he was able to tell them what he needed which included telling them if he was too cold, so Yugi tried not to pester him too much knowing that it wouldn't be appreciated. He was attempting to tell his grandfather this but at the moment he wasn't having much luck. Turning back to the television he found the program had changed to the news and yet again the news was talking about the same thing every other news channel was. Letting out a slight sigh he turned the television off and joined his grandfather in the kitchen. But he found Grandpa had the radio on and, of course, it was talking about the news.

'… KaibaCorp has announced the tournament will restart following it's almost three-week hiatus after the King of Games' cousin was abducted…'

"This is all the news is talking about," Yugi sighed, "Every single news channel is talking about it."

"It's not surprising," Grandpa replied as he peeled some carrots, "Kaiba did make it public that Atem had disappeared so naturally they will talk about it now it's all over."

Yugi sat down at the table, "I suppose but why do I have a suspicion that there will be news crews outside the shop with this coming out?"

Grandpa dropped the carrots in a nearby pot, "Because it could well be the case but if anyone asks you about Atem or what happened I don't think you should say anything."

"I won't. Atem wouldn't want to be talked about, he doesn't like to be fussed over especially when he's like this. We need to remember that as well."

"No, I know he doesn't, but we need to make sure he recovers properly after everything that has happened."

Yugi looked up at his grandfather, who was now peeling a potato harder than he needed to.

"I understand how you feel Grandpa, I feel the same but we both know how he is. Even when we shared a mind he would hide, or at least attempt to hide, anything he thought made him look vulnerable from me. If we pester him too much about how he is then he might not tell us when he really needs help which won't help him recover."

There was a sigh before Grandpa put down the peeler and placed the potato in the pot.

"You're right Yugi. I just can't bear to see either of you like this."

Grandpa turned to look at him and in return he smiled, no words were needed. That smile told him everything. Silence fell as Grandpa turned back to the vegtables and Yugi rested his head on one hand. The only noise for a while was the radio which was still talking about current events.

'…The next matches of the tournament, which will be the semi-finals, will be announced the day after tomorrow with all duellists involved there for the announcement. Some have questioned Mr Kaiba's decision to restart the tournament so soon after the rescue of Yugi Muto's cousin, who was rescued just under a week ago. But in a statement, Mr Kaiba said; 'Our thoughts are with Yugi Muto and his family after this incident, but it is time for the tournament to continue and we believe continuing will help everyone involve process what's happened….'

Yugi couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes as the news reader continued to read out the statement from Kaiba. It was so typical Kaiba to allow barely a week to pass before restarting the tournament. What did it matter that Atem could have been killed or could have been more seriously injured when Kaiba needed to try and win the title from Yugi? But then he really shouldn't be annoyed with Kaiba as he was part of the reason that they had managed to track Atem down. He couldn't help but think that had Kaiba not made the news about Atem's disappearance public then those boys wouldn't have revealed themselves to him and Atem wouldn't be safely sleeping on the sofa next door.

'…Following the rescue of Yugi Muto's cousin the Domino Police Department have announced that they will fully investigate what happened with possible charges for those responsible...'

"That doesn't surprise me." Grandpa commented.

"But what does that mean… I mean for us?"

"It means they'll want to talk to me." A new voice said.

Looking around Yugi saw Atem in the doorway. He was leaning heavily against the doorframe, carefully keeping his weight off his broken ankle. He did not look particularly well; the paleness of his skin made the cuts and bruises to his face stand out perhaps more than they should do. But despite his appearance and how he felt he attempted to smile reassuringly at the other two. Yugi almost rose from his chair to offer it to the former Pharaoh but knowing him as he did, and interpreting the look on his face, he remained seated. Years of sharing a mind with the once King meant Yugi could read him like a book even when he tried to mask how he was feeling. Grandpa, on the other hand, had taken a step towards him, concern all over his face.

"Atem, how are you feeling? Are you warm enough? Do you want to sit down?"

Atem shook his head slightly, "I'm fine, thank you."

"Are you sure? You were only released from hospital this morning, you shouldn't push yourself."

Managing a small smile this time the former Pharaoh shook his head again, "I appreciate the concern, but I am fine."

Backing down Grandpa returned to his original position and Yugi addressed his closest friend.

"Why do you think they'll want to speak to you?"

However, Grandpa replied before the once King could.

"It's obvious Yugi. The police have those boys in custody, they're going to want to find out exactly what happened so they can charge them accordingly. They know what happened before and after, but they don't know what happened at that factory. The only people that do…." He trailed off.

They both looked at the former Pharaoh, who wasn't looking at them. He'd cast his eyes down to the floor. They waited, wondering if he would say anything or even look up at them. But the once King continued to stare at the floor as if it was the most intriguing thing he'd ever seen. From his seated position at the table, Yugi was just able to see some of his face. Judging by the subtle look in his eye Atem was lost in a memory and not a pleasant one. Since they'd found him, he'd not spoken about what had happened. Yugi had attempted to broach the subject with him whilst he'd been in hospital but he'd refused to speak about it, only apologised for putting them through the stress and worry. The silence between them stretched for a bit longer before Atem finally looked up. He glanced between them before the smallest of smiles graced his lips for a moment.

"You know you don't have to bottle this up." Grandpa said slowly, "Do you want to talk to us about what happened?"

There was a pause as the former Pharaoh seemed to struggle to find the right words.

"I would rather not relive it." Atem said finally, not meeting either of their eyes.

"You're not alone Atem, we're here for you. I know you'd prefer to deal with this yourself, but it might help you to not have to process this on your own."

The former Pharaoh's eyes had returned to the floor. Grandpa opened his mouth to continued speaking but caught sight of the look in his grandson's eyes. Yugi looked at his grandfather and subtly shook his head. A silent plea to stop talking. Realising he was pushing too much Grandpa stuttered for a moment but was saved from having to try and rectify his mistake as the pot behind him, which had been heating water for the past couple of minutes, suddenly bubbled over as the hot water made a bid for freedom.

As his grandfather turned to deal with the pot, Yugi got up and moved past the former Pharaoh into the next room. As he past he gently nudged the Pharaoh, who understood this as a request to follow him. Turning he limped heavily over to the staircase and followed Yugi up, albeit a lot slower. He didn't make it far up the stairs before having to pause and take the weight off his ankle. He leant heavily against the banisters for a moment before attempting to continue upwards. However, as he made to continue, he found Yugi had returned to his side with a sympathetic look on his face. No words were needed. Reading the look he smiled gratefully and accepted the offered help. Together they journeyed up the stairs and into Yugi's bedroom. Yugi directed his friend to the bed whilst he fiddled with something on his desk. Atem almost collapsed onto the bed, although he'd not admit it that journey up the stairs had cost him. His body was on fire, every part of him hurt. Lying on his back he ran his hands through his hair and let out a shaky breath, trying to control what was going on inside him. To his credit, Yugi hadn't moved from his position by his desk or uttered a sound. There was no doubt he was fully aware of what was going on but allowed the former Pharaoh to ride the wave of pain he was feeling. A fair few minutes past before Yugi turned to face his closest friend. Atem was staring at the ceiling, his face was paler and, despite his best efforts to hide it, he looked in a lot of pain.

"Are you alright?"

There was a pause after Yugi's question. It was as though he'd not been heard, Atem was still staring up at the ceiling his mind processing whatever it needed to process. But eventually he broke off his staring contest with the ceiling and tired, pain filled eyes found Yugi.

"I feel like I've been crushed by a camel."

Yugi snorted with laughter, "Sounds uncomfortable."

"Extremely."

Another snort of amusement was the response.

"I'm sorry about Gramps." Yugi sighed after a moment, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, "I know he's being quite protective of you but its because he cares, we both do. We just want you to heal."

"It's alright Yugi, you don't have to explain. I appreciate what you're doing for me, it's more then I deserve. I did this to myself so I do not believe I should receive such care."

Yugi's eyes widened, "Pharaoh why would you say that? You did not do this to yourself, this is not your fault."

Atem's eyes found the ceiling again, "Yes Yugi, I did this to myself. Had I told you what going on then none of this would have happened."

"Atem, don't blame yourself for what other people did. None of this is your fault." Yugi said, "You did what you did to protect me, there's nothing to blame yourself for. No one blames you. The only people at fault here were those boys. Don't take on the responsibility for their actions."

The once King looked at Yugi again, their gazes locked. Yugi could tell that he didn't believe a word of what he'd just said.

"You've gone through so much over the years I don't blame you for thinking that everything bad that happens is your fault. But please, believe me when I say that none of what happened over the last few weeks has been or ever will be your fault. Those guys were after me and you protected me just like you always have. That doesn't make you at fault, it makes you selfless. You put yourself in danger so nothing would happen to me. Please don't blame yourself, just focus on getting better and we can move on from this."

Atem considered him for a moment before nodding. He didn't have the will to continue to argue. He watched as Yugi stood and moved to his desk again. Picking up the deck, which was sitting neatly next to his duel disk, Yugi shuffled through the cards until he found a particular card. Pulling it out he showed Atem, who smiled in response. Handing the Dark Magician to Atem, who accepted it with another smile, he began to shuffle through his deck.

"You know," He said after a moment, "Maybe it's a good thing Kaiba is starting the tournament again, it will give us both something to think about."

"Who do you think you'll be up against?" Atem asked, his voice was growing weak.

"Not Kaiba. I'm pretty sure Kaiba wants it to be me and him in the final. I guess it could be Joey which would be a good match, I can't remember the last time we duelled. Or, it could be this other guy which would be interesting. His deck is strong so might be a fun challenge to go up against him."

"If I had to guess I would think you'd be up against the other guy."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a suspicion."

The former Pharaoh's voice was growing ever weaker and looking up Yugi saw him struggling to stay awake. His injuries were taking a toll on him, no matter how hard he tried to mask it and the infection wasn't helping. Yugi smiled as he watched his friend desperately fight off sleep. He had no intention of stopping him succumbing to sleep, he needed it. The more he rested the quicker he'd mend. But the once King continued to attempt to resist and Yugi couldn't help but wonder whether he was fighting it due to his presence. Atem hated showing vulnerability even to Yugi. Even though Yugi was the only one that he completely opened up to he'd still try to hide anything which made him appear vulnerable. Testing his theory Yugi shuffled his cards quicker, sarcastically quicker, before they fell dramatically through his fast-moving fingers. The cards scattered all over the floor and Yugi knelt to pick them up again. He could have sworn he saw a small smile appear on his friend's face. He took his time collecting the cards, deliberately taking more time then was needed. But when he'd successfully picked them all up and turned round, he found his theory proven. With no one looking at him, Atem had finally given up the fight. His eyes were closed in sleep, his breathing even. Straightening up Yugi gently collected the Dark Magician, which Atem was still limply holding, and returned the deck to the desk. He then went to his window and drew the curtains as the sun was beginning to set, he didn't want the setting sun to rouse the now sleeping king. After darkening the room and gently placing a spare blanket over the once King, he quietly moved over to the door and exited his room, closing the door with a soft click. He looked at the closed door for a moment before descending the stairs. Hopefully now his friend would rest and recover then they could put this behind them, once and for all.

Ah my dear friends, I do hope you are still enjoying this. Don't worry we still have a few more chapters to go. I was reading through this story during this week and spotting grammar errors which is annoying because I'm trying so hard to not do that so apologies. But this made me look back on my previous stories and honestly I cringed at them but then I guess we all cringe at things done or written when we were teenagers...