Author's Notes: Here we go! The next chapter of Unreal Truths. This was another fun one to write! Anyways now for the important thing. I have an internet cap on my usage, so my updating schedule may not be as steady as it has been. I don't know. It all depends. Because of this, chapter 11 may be posted tonight as well. Thank you for your patience and all your reviews! Now enjoy!

Unreal Truths

Chapter 10: Surprises

Mokuba's POV

I walked into KaibaCorp headquarters dragging my feet and wiping my eyes tiredly. I had been at the hospital almost the entire day waiting for Seto to get out of surgery. When the nurse came out to tell me that he was in recovery, Yugi convinced me to go home and take a nap and that he would call when Seto woke up.

I really didn't want to leave my brother's bedside but I really needed my rest. That and KaibaCorp wasn't going to run itself.

I sighed as I took the elevator up to Seto's office and logged into the computer and adjusted some settings.

"Noah?"

The background on the computer flickered out and Noah's image took its place, "I'm here."

"Good." I rubbed my temples and sat down in Seto's desk chair. "I have a huge favor to ask you Noah."

He tilted his head to the side, "I'm all ears."

"Okay. Well. Seto is in the hospital."

Noah's eyes widened in shock, "What happened?"

I ran my fingers through my hair and tried to remember all that the nurse had told me.

"Evidently Seto has had mono for the past few weeks." I bit my lip in frustration. "Instead of going to the doctor like normal people do when they have a sore throat and feel exhausted he just continued to work through it completely wearing himself down in the process. He went to a meeting earlier today and I guess he collapsed when it ended."

I looked at Noah who was still in disbelief.

"The thing that makes mono so dangerous is that your spleen swells up and is prone to rupture if you're not careful. So when Seto collapsed at the meeting he fell on his left side and ruptured his spleen and passed out. The nurse said he came in suffering from major blood loss and had to have immediate surgery." I took in a deep breath, "The doctor said they ended having to remove his spleen and give him a blood transfusion."

I looked at Noah, "That's why I need you. Seto is out of commission so it's up to me to run KaibaCorp. I'd like to think I can do it alone, but things would go a lot smoother if I had some help." I smiled at him.

Noah blinked a few times, "Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?"

"Noah, I want you to help me run KaibaCorp while Seto is sick."

A genuine smile came to his face and his eyes lit up, "It would be my pleasure."

Ryou's POV

Okay, I learned my lesson. Never ever ever give Mariku any sort of stimulant whatsoever.

I was currently hiding in my closet holding a broken off mop handle as a weapon.

After consuming his tea within five seconds of getting it, the Egyptian Yami had decided he wanted a piece of 'his fluffy' as he called me.

Mariku had chased me through the entire house with a kitchen knife screaming about taking some of that, and I quote, 'fluffy white hair of yours'."

I had grabbed the mop from the kitchen closet and hit him over the head with it. He countered by breaking it in half and throwing the mop end into my face.

I had proceeded to scream like a little girl and ran into my bedroom and locked the door.

It was only a matter of time before the psychotic dark half kicked down my door and came after me.

I swallowed hard and hugged my makeshift weapon closer to me. I had deeply underestimated Marik's interpretation of his Yami. I had gotten lax over the past few weeks and now I was severely paying for it.

I took in a deep breath and strained to listen. It had gotten surprisingly quiet and I was beginning to get a little wary. Mariku was wayyy too unpredictable for me to even think that silence meant peace.

I warily cracked the closet door open and looked around my bedroom. Everything seemed normal; the door hadn't been kicked in and everything was still in place. Didn't ease my nerves about what the rest of the house looked like though.

I slowly crept out of the closet, clutching my mop handle tightly, and slowly headed towards the bedroom door. Maybe Mariku had tired himself out. Or maybe he ran into something and knocked himself unconscious. I seriously hoped for that situation as I put my hand on the door knob. If I could get the millennium rod from Mariku then maybe I could reverse this horrid situation I was in.

I eased the door open and poked my head out. I was shocked to see that the house looked relatively fine. Nothing was out of place, save for the few items that I knocked over in my rush for refuge.

I cautiously walked through the hall, holding the mop handle like a spear. Like hell was I going to go down without a fight.

I made it to the living room without any hassle and looked around in confusion. I didn't see Mariku anywhere.

I should have known the moment I lowered my only defense weapon was when he would decide to strike.

I screamed as Mariku dropped from the ceiling. The fucking ceiling! How the hell he got up there and stayed was beyond my comprehension. All I could focus on was the fact that a full grown male had dropped onto my shoulders and took me to the floor.

I groaned in pain and tried to flip him off of me but to no avail.

"I got you now Fluffy." He purred into my ear and stroked the dagger end of the millennium rod against my throat.

I swallowed hard. This was it. He was going to kill me. I was going to die and no one would know until Marik and Bakura returned from their trip from Egypt. And who even knew how long that would take!

I made a squeaking noise as he grabbed me by my shoulders and flipped me over onto my back, "You thought you could hide from me, but I am the master of patience." He scraped the rod's blade along my cheek. "It is true that I am a very very patient being Ryou, but you are the one thing that makes me so impatient."

I whimpered as he slid the rod down to my shoulder and dug the blade into my collar bone drawing blood.

"P…please…I…I'll do anything, just don't kill me." I took in a shuddering breath and closed my eyes.

"Kill you?" He chuckled deeply, "I wouldn't kill you my little light." I shuddered and he pressed his chest against mine, "No no, never kill." I gulped and he laughed wildly.

My eyes opened wide when I felt something warm and wet against my skin. I slowly looked down and saw that Mariku had his tongue out lapping up the blood from the cut on my collar bone like a dog.

"I always wanted to know how you tasted Fluffy, and I will say that you did not disappoint."

I was so completely mortified that I had lost all capacity to speak. Mariku was on top of me, licking up my blood like some kind of leech.

Oh yeah, I screamed bloody murder.

"Get OFF OF ME!" I wacked him on top of the head with my cast and he yelped in pain and moved just enough for me to wiggle out from under his grasp.

Ignoring the new flaring of pain in my wrist I once again raced towards the bedroom.

I didn't get very far unfortunately.

The damning familiar sensation of my body freezing up came over me and I stopped just before I reached my bedroom door.

I inhaled deeply as I heard Mariku approach.

"Silly little light. You cannot run from me." He moved in front of me so I could see him. He tapped the millennium rod gently against my forehead and chuckled deeply. "Your mind is mine to take whenever I please. Don't you remember? I do hope I haven't caused you any sort of brain damage." He grinned and took a handful of my hair.

I felt my body release but I couldn't run since Mariku had a nice chunk of my hair firmly in his grasp.

"Why do you shake so little light? I don't mean to frighten you. You know I will not bring you harm." I whimpered as he ran his fingers down my cheek, "Hush now, no need to be so scared."

My eyes widened in shock as I was pushed against the wall and found myself nose to nose with Mariku, "I shall take good care of my fluffy."

My jaw dropped when Mariku smashed his face against mine and took advantage of my surprise as he forced his tongue into my mouth.

I was in too much shock to do anything as he ran his tongue along mine and took every second as opportunity to explore each part of my mouth.

He pulled back just as I was beginning to run out of air. I shivered, my jaw slack with shock and my chest rapidly rising and falling in an attempt to catch breath.

I looked up at Mariku and he grinned and untangled his hand from my hair.

I could not believe that just happened. I felt frozen in place, my entire body tingling. I felt heat rise to my cheeks as Mariku grinned and winked, stepping away and leaving me still pinned against the wall in shock.

"Once again you fail to disappoint me Fluff." He laughed and disappeared into the kitchen.

Once I was sure that I could stand without the support of the wall I gently pushed myself off and stumbled into the bedroom. Somehow I didn't think that Mariku would be bothering me again today.

Falling onto the bed I stared at my ceiling in complete disbelief.

Mariku had kissed me.

I took in a shuddering breath as I realized that a tiny part of me had actually enjoyed it.

Seto's POV

I wearily opened my eyes to a blurred out world.

Or, at least I thought I opened my eyes. At this point I really wasn't too sure.

My entire vision was fuzzy and the room seemed to be distorted. I blinked several times to try and clear my head, but it didn't work.

I tried to move my hand to my head to try and stop the pounding in it but it felt as if my entire body was encased in cement and I barely managed to wiggle my fingers.

Straining my ears I listened to see if I could hear anyone else in my room who had witnessed my struggle, but I only heard the steady beeping of the heart-rate monitor.

Satisfied that no one else was here with me, I once again tried to move my arm.

I managed to move it maybe an inch closer to my body before the task just became too difficult.

What the hell did they do to me?

I closed my eyes and thought back to earlier. What did that nurse say to me? Something about my spleen rupturing; I do remember that much.

I gave a light groan and opened my eyes. How the hell did I manage to rupture my spleen?

Oh right, I have mono.

It was then I heard something move to my right and before I could think twice about the action I had turned my head to look.

Definitely not a smart thing to do.

The room lurched violently and my vision began to go black as I felt myself slip into unconsciousness.

Before the room was completely engulfed in darkness I saw a figure move into my line of sight.

Oh yeah these drugs were definitely messing with my brain.

I managed to force the words out of my mouth before the room disappeared.

"Y…Yugi is that you?"

I don't know how long I was out for but I didn't feel much better when I opened my eyes for the second time since the operation.

At least now the room didn't look like it was built for a funhouse.

My eyesight was much better, though the edges of my vision were still blurred. Oh well at least I could make out the various pieces of furniture and equipment scattered around.

I swallowed and winced as my entire throat burned. Now I not only go to enjoy the previous soreness from the mono, but I was lucky enough to have my throat even more agitated from having a breathing tube shoved down it.

I sighed, it could be worse I suppose. At least I was breathing on my own.

"Seto?"

If I would have been able, I probably would have jumped straight out of the bed. For now, though, all I could accomplish was slowly turning my head to the sound of the voice, even though I feared what I would see.

"Yami?" I cringed at the sound of my voice. It was very hoarse and soft spoken, not at all helped by the muffling effect of the oxygen mask.

"Hello Seto." He smiled and gently took my hand.

I blinked a few times. There were two things very not right about this.

First, he was touching me.

I looked down to see him gently holding my hand in his, careful not to dislodge any of the various tubes and wires I was disgusted to see that the doctors had jammed in me.

Second, he looked like he had when he was in Yugi's body. Last time Atem had come to visit me, he was in his own body, with vivid ruby colored eyes and bronze skin.

Now though, he was back to looking like an older version of Yugi.

I opened my mouth to say something else but he shook his head, "Don't speak Seto."

For once I listened and closed my mouth; disbelief must have clearly showed on my face because Yami smirked.

"I know you won't believe for a single second that I am actually here."

"No…I don't."

He shook his head, "I didn't figure you would."

"Am I dying?" I didn't really mean to ask the question out loud but it sort of drifted out.

Yami looked taken aback, "Dying? Of course not Seto, you're doing just fine." He began rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. "Why would you think that?"

"You're a spirit."

He blinked then a small smirk crept onto his face, "That may be true, but I am not here to see you off into the afterlife Seto."

I took in a shaky breath and sank into my pillow further, "Then why?"

I knew what his answer would be already but I had to hear it out loud.

He cocked his eyebrow, "You really have to ask that Seto? I am here to see you."

I allowed a small smile to creep on my face and he gave one in return.

"Just had to hear me say it hm?"

I smirked and nodded, "So…" I let my eyes trail his body. "How are you here?"

He smiled and shook his head, "Always wanting explanations Seto."

I cocked an eyebrow and he chuckled.

"Aibou still has the millennium puzzle," Yami touched the golden pyramid hanging from his neck for emphasis. "I found that with it, I could take over his body like I used to when my soul resided inside it. The only difference is that now when he regains control I leave his body and either can manifest beside him or return to the spirit realm."

I stared at him for a few moments, trying to get over the shock of his appearance by my hospital bedside.

"I asked Yugi if he would lend me his body so I could see you and more importantly, touch you." He kissed my hand for emphasis.

I paused, "Yugi knows about us?"

He made a face, "Sort of. He knows you and I are close, but he hasn't questioned it. I don't think he realizes just how close we are." He gave a devilish smirk and I gave a disbelieving laugh.

"Yeah well…we're not exactly close right now."

He laughed lightly and kissed my hand again, "Oh Seto, you haven't changed at all."

I scoffed lightly but the smile didn't leave me face, "Is that so?" Secretly I wondered to myself if was referring to the last time he was in this world or if he was talking about my past incarnation; the priest.

"It is." He stood up and leaned over the bed, gently cupping my face in his hands. "I've missed you so much Seto. Please don't make it so I lose you again."

I swallowed hard and winced as the saliva felt as if was grating against my throat. "Yami-"

"Seto please." I looked up when I heard the almost desperation in his voice. "Don't punish yourself anymore. I am making every effort to make it possible to come back to you. I don't break my promises Seto. I will be back and I will be yours."

I watched as he leaned down and slid the oxygen off my mouth to the side of my face, "Just hold on a little longer. I promise to make it worth the wait."

With that he leaned down and gently brushed his lips against mine before seeking entrance into my mouth with his tongue.

I happily obliged, and let him dominate the kiss since I was too drugged to do anything else.

Yami made a contented noise and continued to re-explore my mouth.

Just as I was about to run out of air he broke it off with a grin. "How was that for an 'I missed you'?"

I smirked and settled back into my pillow and weakly pushed my oxygen mask back into place, "Not bad at all. Though, I am making you explain to Yugi in a few weeks the reason why he has mono."

I couldn't have imagined a better expression on Yami's face in that moment.

"Oops."