A/N: Sorry for all the delays but they are going to be frequent since I still have school and stuff. I'm not abandoning any of my stories, it's just going to be slow updating. Sorry for the inevitable delays but I hope you enjoy when I do update!

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Unreal Truths

Chapter 26: Tragedy

Ryou's POV

It had been several hours now since the accident, and Mariku, Bakura and I had been patiently sitting out in the waiting area for almost five hours now.

Well, at least I had been patiently waiting.

Bakura had been pacing so much that I was beginning to think he was going to wear a hole straight through the floor.

Mariku, meanwhile, had been mostly silent, sitting with his head down resting in his hands. He had been complaining of a sharp pain in his head, contributing it to what was coming through his bond with Marik.

That of course only served to worry me more.

When I had seen Marik last he was covered in blood and laying on the side of the road like some broken doll that had been discarded. From my initial once over, it was very clear that he had at the very least a broken arm and a severe skull fracture. It was the latter one that worried me the most.

Marik had been so reckless, just rushing out of the house to get away from Bakura. He had been in such a hurry that he didn't even bother to grab a coat or helmet.

I groaned and rubbed my temples. This was not looking good, and with each passing second it only got worse.

Being in medical school for the time that I had been before Bakura and Mariku came barging into our lives had some disadvantages and some advantages.

Advantages like, say Marik did something stupid, as is customary with him, and cuts himself while preparing dinner, I could easily take care of it. Or, when Mariku decided that it would be fun to engage Bakura in a knife fight, I could take care of that as well. So far that had only happened once and thankfully neither yami needed my care.

Then there were the disadvantages, like the one I encountered today. Seeing Marik like that had only served to send my mind racing. All his injuries were catalogued in my mind and what each one meant for Marik. And after what I saw earlier, Marik's chances of pulling through this seemed rather slim.

I took in a deep breath and tried to refocus my thoughts. Marik was strong, he could make it, and he would pull through.

But of course, this wasn't the end of the bad news. As if things couldn't get any worse, I knew Ishizu and Odion would be coming. I just knew it. They were Marik's siblings after all and they would be the first ones the hospital would contact.

That meant a confrontation I was not willing to face.

I knew Ishizu and Odion were not going to be pleased to see Bakura and Mariku at all, and that was putting things mildly.

Sure, several months ago when those two first showed up in my living room after kicking my door down and invading my home, I would have gladly welcomed an intervention from the other two Ishtar's with open arms.

But now… now not so much.

Now, Mariku and I were head over heels for each other, well, at least I was for him.

I looked over at the Egyptian yami, and he gazed back with a tired yet warm and loving expression.

Okay, yes, he loved me as much as I loved him.

And as for Bakura…I looked up to the pacing tomb robber and saw the intense worry in his gaze. Yeah, he loved Marik and there was no denying it now. I knew Marik loved him back, but something had happened between them, something that put them on the wrong page of the same book and I was determined to figure it out so I could fix this stupid feud between the two so the four of us could actually live in peace.

Did I actually think those words?

Could Marik, Mariku, Bakura and I actually live in relative harmony together?

I once again glanced at Bakura, realizing that ever since a few weeks ago he hadn't mentioned a single thing about the millennium items or anything related to them.

Had he given up on his goal?

No he didn't, I understood suddenly. He merely realized what his goal really was.

I turned my head and gazed at the entrance to the emergency room.

He wanted Marik.

But did he realize this fact far too late?

"The pain is fading…"

I looked over to Mariku and his eyes were focused on me, "It is?"

He nodded and chewed slightly on his lip, as if determining whether he wanted to say what was on his mind or not.

"What is it Mariku?"

I looked up, surprised to hear Bakura speak for the first time since we arrived.

Mariku seemed equally as shocked, but he continued on with his thought, "Well, it doesn't hurt, but everything feels…numb."

Bakura frowned slightly, "Is that bad?"

Mariku shrugged with a graceful roll of his shoulders, "I honestly couldn't tell you Bakura…"

Bakura then turned his gaze to me and I mimicked Mariku's movements, "I don't know Bakura…this whole bond thing is a mystery to us all."

The tomb robber gave out a frustrated growl and began his rapid pacing across the waiting room floor once again.

I let out a small sigh and stood up, deciding to try and get some answers, though I knew what response I would get.

The people in these places were so unhelpful.

Luckily though, I didn't need to ask since the answer came walking through the door the moment I stood up.

A older gentlemen in doctor's attire walked over to our small group, his hazel eyes soft and kind, leading one to expect that he has done this more than enough times and had seen the worst and best of nearly every situation.

"Are you here for Marik Ishtar?"

I nodded and stepped up to him as Mariku sat up straighter and Bakura finally stopped his pacing.

"Are you all family?" I glanced at Bakura and Mariku and knew we wouldn't be able to pull this off properly, but I could at least try and get us all in, or at the very least Bakura or Mariku.

"Um well…" I gestured to Mariku, "That's his brother Mariku and that's…" I looked to Bakura, "Bakura, his boyfriend."

Both Bakura and Mariku looked at me with identical looks of shock, and it would have been comical in just about any other situation.

The doctor looked slightly taken aback, probably thrown off by the whole 'boyfriend' thing, "And what about you young man?"

I blinked up at him, doing my best to look sincere and heartfelt. I knew I could pull it off, Yugi had commented countless times on my ability to persuade people with my so called 'bambi eyes'.

"I'm his roommate and best friend. Please sir…what's the harm in bringing us all back, we're just concerned for Marik's wellbeing is all."

The doctor heaved a small sigh, but he turned and motioned for us all to follow, "Alright come on, but first I have to take you to my office. We have some things we need to discuss."

Uh oh, that was never good when the doctor wanted to 'discuss' things with you. But at least Marik was alive, we did know that much thanks to Mariku's bond.

Though sometimes there are things worse than death, and that's what I was afraid of.

What if he took us back here just to tell us that Marik was a vegetable, and that there was no brain wave activity and he was as good as dead anyways? What if he was just bringing us back to tell us there was no hope in some private area so we didn't make a scene in the crowded waiting room?

Mariku had said that his bond with Marik was 'numb'. Did that mean that Marik was beyond help?

I hated to even think of the possibilities.

The doctor led us back to his office and opened the door, allowing the three of us to walk in and get situated in the various chairs around his desk.

Once we were all inside, the doctor joined us, shutting the door behind him.

He slowly walked behind his desk and pulled out the chair before sitting down into it slowly and looking to each of us in turn, "Well, I am going to just cut right to the chase. If there is anything I have learned in all my years of practicing medicine, it's that the family does not often want to wait and hear me drag out what the problem is. They want to know what's wrong, if it can be fixed, and if so, how.

I looked to Bakura and Mariku and was slightly startled to see that they were both looking at me, their expressions letting me know that I was in charge here.

Swell.

Sighing, I turned in my seat and looked back to the doctor, "Alright doc, let's hear it."

He nodded solemnly and folded his hands together in front of him on his desk.

"Okay, well here's the deal. Marik is in a deep coma and has been since we brought him in."

I inhaled deeply and dug my fingers into the armrests of the chair I was in. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Coma?" I looked to Mariku, who had his head cocked to the side in curiosity.

Oh yeah I forgot, Mariku wasn't completely up to date with our terms.

"It means he is in a deep sleep and can't be woken up." I informed Mariku quietly, hoping the doctor didn't wonder about his seemingly simplistic questions.

Mariku frowned and looked at the floor, his face thoughtful.

I turned my gazed back to the doctor and nodded for him to continue.

The older man took in a deep breath and continued on, "He came in with a fractured arm and internal bleeding in his abdomen. He also had several broken ribs and of course a skull fracture. We went in and fixed the bleeding and of course the broken bones…"

He trailed off and I spoke up softly, "The skull fracture…it's really bad isn't it?"

The doctor exhaled softly and nodded, "I'm not going to lie to you son, it was one of the worst I have seen with the person still alive. To be honest, the fact that he is still breathing and there is still brainwave activity is a huge miracle in my book."

Brainwave activity, so Marik wasn't a vegetable.

I couldn't suppress the small smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

"We did everything we could, though it was a very intensive surgery and well, I'm afraid we had to shave off most of his hair…"

I wasn't surprised by this, after all I had seen some of Marik's head wounds and they were really extensive, but the fact was still disconcerting. It was as if I had some sort of disconnect from reality, and none of this was really applying to me. It was almost like I was back in medical school and our supervising doctor was explaining the case of some poor sap to us for study.

I gave a solemn nod and I heard Bakura inhale sharply. I could only imagine how this whole situation was affecting the former tomb robber. After all, this whole thing was sort of his fault, but I couldn't find it in me to place all the blame on him.

I knew though that if Marik died Bakura would never forgive himself.

"All that said," The doctor continued on, "I will tell you that his condition looks both promising and poor at the same time. He is in bad shape, but given what he has endured so far I have faith that he can make it, but if he does pull through he is going to have a long road ahead of him. Now, do any of you have questions for me?"

Mariku stayed dead silent, a frown etched into his face as he stared into the floor. I assumed that most of our conversation went over the poor yami's head.

Bakura was looking at me, his expression completely puzzled and lost and it took me by surprise. Since when did Bakura EVER look at anyone like that, let alone me?

Guess that left me in charge yet again.

I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm the racing of my heart, "So you have no idea whether or not he will come out of this coma?"

I knew a lot about the medical profession thanks to my college days, but I wanted to ask the big questions to help Mariku and Bakura understand since neither of them seemed able to speak.

The doctor shook his head, "No, the injuries he sustained were rather bad for a lack of a better word. Even if he does wake up he will most definitely have some brain damage to contend with. Nothing too horribly debilitating but the part of the brain the controls motor functions was hit the worst. He may also have some memory loss, though we won't know the extent of the damage until he wakes up. He was very lucky and must have landed just right; otherwise he would be facing much more serious brain damage than this and even paralysis. "

Yeah, lucky if he wakes up, I thought miserably, "So you're basically telling us that you won't know anything until if or when he wakes up?"

The doctor nodded and I looked to Bakura and Mariku, "You two have any questions for the doctor?"

A rather pointless question I knew, but I had to at least ask.

"Can we see him now?"

I blinked in shock when I heard Bakura's voice; I hadn't expected him to say a word.

The doctor turned and looked at Bakura, seemingly surprised as well, "Well, with him in the condition I really couldn't allow anyone but family inside…"

He trailed off and I pushed him slightly, hope evident in my voice, "But?"

"But….I will allow for it. He needs familiar voices now and having the three of you there and talking to him can only help the situation, not make it worse." He smiled softly and stood up.

"But if he's sleeping…he can't hear us?" Mariku spoke up, his voice soft and mumbled though.

I answered for the doctor, standing up and walking over to Mariku and wrapping my arms around him lightly and it looked for all the world like I was just consoling Marik's extremely distraught brother.

"He can hear us Mariku, I am sure of it, and when we talk to him it will let Marik know that we're here and he may wake up faster." I smiled softly and brushed the bangs from his face, so badly wanting to kiss him. He was really and truly concerned about Marik and it tugged at my heartstrings.

Mariku gave a light nod and I stepped back, grabbing his hands and pulling him into a standing position.

Bakura was watching us with an odd detached air about him and after a moment he stood as well.

I gave him a reassuring smile and turned to the doctor, "We're ready to see him now."

The doctor nodded and walked past us, opening the door to his office and walked out into the hall, "His room is down this way."

He led us straight down the hall and through two sets of double doors before we reached the ICU wing.

Pausing outside one of the rooms, the doctor turned to look at us, "It's a private room so you have plenty of space. Stay as long as you like, I will tell the nurses not to kick you out."

I nodded in appreciation, "Thank you Dr. erm…"

He chuckled softly, "Dr. Kaz. If you need anything let me know."

"Thank you." Kaz smiled lightly and left the three of us standing outside Marik's door.

Bakura bit his lip and looked at me, "Well landlord, aren't you going to open it?"

I scowled deeply at him, "Why don't you open it?"

Mariku pushed past us and opened the door himself, walking inside the dimly lit room.

Well that solved that issue.

I gave Bakura a light glare and walked into the room beside the Egyptian yami with Bakura in tow.

I inhaled sharply once my eyes adjusted to the scene in front of me.

Marik looked a lot worse than I was prepared for.

The former tomb keeper was lying motionless in the hospital bed, hooked up to various beeping machinery and IV lines. His bronze skin had paled considerably and his chest was rising and falling slowly, thanks to the breathing tube down his throat. His left arm was in a cast, there were bandages covering him in various other areas, and the top of his head was wrapped tightly. He looked so strange without all his gold jewelry.

I barely recognized him.

"Oh Marik…" I whispered softly and walked over to the right side of the bed, immediately taking his hand in mine, "I'm here Marik…its Ryou, and I'm here."

I fought the tears burning at the edge of my eyes and blurring my vision. Don't get sad, get angry.

Giving Bakura the hardest glare I could muster, I looked him straight in the eyes and actually succeeded in making him flinch, "How could you?"

Bakura then narrowed his own eyes, cold amethyst meeting hard mocha, "Don't you dare even begin to blame this on me Landlord! You're the one who directed me to that blasted journal!"

"This isn't about the fucking journal!" I shuddered, feeling the anger rise up from deep within, "This is about you destroying his feelings!"

"I did nothing of the sort!" He clenched his fists and move menacingly towards me, but I held my ground.

"You have been nothing but a total jackass from the second you got here!"

Bakura's eyes flashed dangerously, "Oh and I was supposed to come in pretending everything was sunshine and rainbows when he never even bothered to say goodbye!" Bakura gestured towards the bed and the comatose Marik.

"…Wait what?" I stared at Bakura, not understanding but something beginning to click and make sense in my mind.

Bakura took in a deep breath and look intently at Marik's unconscious form, "He never said goodbye to me…" He slowly walked over to Marik's other side and slumped down into the chair beside the bed and I just stared at him, waiting for the explanation.

Bakura gently took Marik's hand in his own and began stroking the knuckles softly, "Back when I was in the ring…we had a sort of…partnership as you know."

"Define 'partnership'." Suddenly a strong feeling of unease bubbled up into my stomach. I did not want to hear what was going to come out of Bakura's mouth.

"Well at first it was just us working as partners…both out to achieve our own ends…" He trailed off slightly and looked to me and my feelings of dread rose.

"…But then that changed?" I swallowed hard.

He nodded slowly, "We…" He bit his lip hard, seemingly struggling over the words he wanted to say, "We erm…fell in…love…" He sighed and laid his head on Marik's hand, his shoulders trembling.

"You fell in love…okay…" I didn't like where this was going. It wasn't unexpected but I felt there was more to the story than I already knew.

He nodded and kissed the back of Marik's hand, "He and I had a wonderful relationship together."

I found myself narrowing my eyes, "Define…relationship."

Bakura looked across the bed at me, "You're going to get mad…"

"When has that ever stopped you before?" I felt my frown deepen.

"Fine Landlord, you want to hear it then okay! We kissed, hell we did more than kiss, we fucked. Marik and I fucked hardcore and I was using your body."

I could not believe my ears. Bakura really was that much of a jackass; I was giving him way too much credit.

I snorted and shook my head, too mad to even comprehend everything, "Wow Bakura, just when I think you can't sink to a new low, you do."

I gently laid Marik's hand back down and stood up, the rage beginning to bubble up but I wasn't going to flip out, not here. Marik didn't need to hear that.

"Fluffy wait!" Mariku moved from his corner and walked over to me, taking my hand in his. I had forgotten the Egyptian yami was even in the room he had been so silent.

"Mariku, stay here with Marik, I need to go out and cool down before I start throwing shit." I gave Bakura a final glare before walking to the door.

Mariku looked between me and Bakura, finally deciding on staying put.

I heaved a small sigh and grabbed the door handle, pulling it open a little more firmly than I had to and walked out…

Right into Ishizu and Odion.

Things just went from bad to worse.

Preview time!

Odion let out a small sigh and smiled softly, "Seems like a lot has happened in these past few months eh?"

I gave a small smirk in return, "Understatement of the century."

Until next time! Enjoy!