Greetings!
Welcome to the next installment of this bizarre little piece. My arm is healed, thank goodness. I can type to my heart's content again, which is how I got this chapter done so soon. Not just that, I started another fic. *Hears cumulative groans from readers who think I don't post this one often enough* It's called Intruders and should be posted somewhere around this post *crosses fingers* Check it out if you want!
Correction on the last chapter: The name of the song used is Bring Me to Life, not what I originally wrote. I got confused with the chapter title, since they're usually the same.
Reviews:
Guess: Thanks for the good wishes, and I'm sorry to hear about your ankle. Luckily, mine wasn't a break, just a sprain, which is why it took less time to heal. *Breathes sigh of relief* About Yugi. . . let's just say that he's got a long way to go before everything gets worked out. Curious yet?
SerafinaMoon: Thanks for the good wishes, and I'm sorry to have you worried. I should post my e-mail address in case anyone wants to send any gentle reminders about updating my way, but I'm always afraid of the spammers getting a hold of it.
Amiasha Ruri: ARG!!! I can't believe I wrote the wrong title to the song! Thanks for pointing that out. I'm sorry about your foot! What happened? I hope you're doing okay.
Adrienne-Lillian: Isn't the music video awesome? That's actually how I came across the song. I was watching VH1 late one night and they played it. I fell in love with it immediately! Thanks for the goodies *looks around, eyes wide at all the good stuff and hugs life sized plushies* You're going to spoil me!
Cyberkat: Yeah, the poor kid needed a hug, didn't he? I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Jadesaber: Yup, my goal is to keep everyone guessing. Glad it's still working!
Naomi SilverWolf: Thank you very much!
Lavender Wonder: A sadist? You called me a sadist? *sniff, sniff* Aww, heck, you're probably right. But it's fun!! *looks around, waiting for the people in the white lab coats to drag her off to the looney bin* Thanks for the good wishes!
Yugi: Song fics are very cool to read, especially if you use an excellent song. Good luck writing yours.
Lizzy9046: Summer reading is a bummer, isn't it? I always hated to do it. That's what fanfics are for. . . they can be great substitutes for all those boring books they make you read! Labannya: :o) Yeah, I saw the graphic novel too. I glanced at it while at Borders and was surprised to see the Japanese names with the English text. They must have had a reason to do that *taps chin, wondering about the minds of the translators*.
Starheart: Welcome to another insane story! I'm glad that you gave it a try and enjoyed it!
Sorceress Vanessa: There, there, it's okay *hands Vanessa a box of tissues* Let's hope this one isn't too bad.
yuhajosatehe: *hands over box of tissues* it's okay. Yugi is a strong little dude. . . it took me a while to recall when Joey had broken down, but I remember now. It's always a little more emotional when guys do that, isn't it?
Whew! Now on to the story. Enjoy!
**~**
Part 13: No End in Sight
Seto Kaiba watched as Wheeler and Mr. Moto left the room to go find the doctor. Yugi had asked about how long he'd have to be in the hospital, and they'd all realized that they really didn't have an idea and should probably find out. He'd agreed to stay, since there really wasn't any other place for him to be. He turned to Yugi, who was picking at a loose thread on the blanket covering him.
"Are you okay?"
Yugi turned to him, his face a mixture of exhaustion and misery.
"Depends on your definition of 'okay'."
Kaiba chuckled. "Yeah, that was a stupid question. He is your only family, though, so you'll be seeing him a lot."
Yugi sighed. "I know. Mr. Moto is a nice man. I don't remember anyone else being that nice and kind to me. But I see this hope in his eyes that I'll suddenly become his grandson again, and I don't think I can do that."
"You are his grandson, you just don't have the memories to reinforce that," Kaiba replied. "Give it time; I'm sure they'll come back."
Yugi was quiet for a moment. "What if I don't want them to come back? My life is pretty horrible already. What if Yugi's was worse? What if I don't want to remember?"
Kaiba frowned. He really couldn't reassure Yugi about the quality of his life, because outside of school and dueling, Kaiba didn't know much about him.
"I can't guarantee that your life will be better once you regain your memories, but aren't you better off knowing everything? Avoidance is for the weak."
Yugi raised an eyebrow at the statement. "You're very direct, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "I'm just practical. Speaking of which, why don't you get some sleep. Tomorrow is probably going to be a busy day. I'm going to go outside for a moment to call my brother and tell him what's going on."
Yugi nodded and settled down on the bed.
"You might want this closer to you," Kaiba said, picking up the Millennium Puzzle. He set it on the table beside the bed, slightly amused at the way Yugi was looking at it as if it would suddenly come alive and bite him. "Yami can get pretty ticked if he doesn't know what's going on."
Without further explanation, Kaiba walked towards the door. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing his home number as he pulled open the door. He was caught off guard as the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, hitting him on the forehead and sending him sprawling to the ground.
"What the. . ." he began, but wasn't given a chance to finish the sentence as a man armed with a gun walked into the room.
The man pointed the gun at him, and Kaiba immediately flung his cell phone at him. His aim was perfect and hit the mark, sending the gun flying out of the man's hands. He used his long legs to hit the man in the knees, which sent him to the ground. Not wasting his advantage, Kaiba pulled the man towards him and threw a few punches, until the man was unconscious. He looked up just in time to see a second man aiming a gun at him. Kaiba heard the sound of the gun firing before he thought to react. He crouched low, trying to use the other assailant's body to shield his own, but didn't reach in time. He felt a searing pain on his right side, right above the waist, and the momentum sent him flying into the wall he had been sitting next to. His head stuck it hard, sending him into unconsciousness.
**~~**
Jomei watched Seto lose consciousness and knew that he couldn't waste any time. He got up and while the man that had shot Seto wasn't looking in his direction, flung himself at the much taller man. He wasn't successful in knocking the man over, but at least it got him away from Seto. Jomei was flung to one side and he landed painfully on top of the table, before he fell to the ground. He winced and rolled over. He'd landed on top of the pyramid thing Seto had put on the table. He grabbed onto it and was about to get up when a strong arm hauled him up and threw him onto the bed.
"You're lucky I don't want to kill you," the masked man said.
*Put the puzzle on, Yugi!*
Jomei frowned. That wasn't the man's voice. Who had just spoken?
The man standing over him drew a syringe out of a pocket, which made Jomei shudder. He had a sudden and very strong feeling that he'd been in this position before, watching as a man prepared a syringe for him. He didn't know how he knew, but Jomei didn't want that syringe to get anywhere near him. He would lose more than his life if he allowed it to happen.
*Yugi, I'm the spirit of the puzzle. I can help you, but I can't fully manifest myself unless you're wearing the puzzle.*
Jomei moved his legs to kick the man who had gotten closer to him, but the gun suddenly being pointed at his face persuaded him to lay still. The voice in his head continued to speak to him, however. Was he going crazy?
*You're not crazy, you just have to accept that I'm here. Now let me help you!*
The voice was getting desperate now.
**How can you help me?** Jomei thought, thinking it ridiculous that he was talking to himself.
*Magic, Yugi. Please, just trust me. I mean you no harm*
Jomei figured that he didn't have much to lose and slowly slipped the puzzle's chain, which had still been clutched in his hand, over his head. Immediately, he saw the boy that looked like him appear beside the bed. The boy's hands were held in front of him as if he were cradling something, and before Jomei knew it, a ball of dark energy was suspended between the boy's hands.
*As soon as I hit him with the energy, run and get your grandfather and security, okay?*
**Okay** was all Jomei said.
The boy nodded once, and as the man brought the syringe up to Jomei's arm, threw the energy ball at the man. The man's eyes widened, and he was flung to one side, away from the bed.
*Run, Yugi!*
Jomei didn't have to be told twice. He leapt off the bed and ran out of the room. He stopped for a moment by the door when he saw Seto, who had a growing red stain on his side.
*Go! I'll make sure nothing else is done to Kaiba. Just go!*
Jomei left the room and immediately began to shout.
"Help me! There's someone in my room trying to hurt me. Two men with guns, one already shot someone. Please get someone to help me!"
He continued to run down the endless and empty corridors, wondering where everyone was. It couldn't be that late in the day, could it? He kept running, hoping that someone, somewhere would be able to help him.
**~~**
"Well, I think Jomei is going to be glad to get to go home tomorrow," Joey said as he and Mr. Moto entered Jomei's room.
They hadn't found the doctor, but a nurse had assured them that Jomei was fine and that they'd be able to take him home tomorrow. He looked at the empty bed and frowned, but then figured that Jomei had probably gotten up to go to the bathroom. He looked around to look for Kaiba, ready to chastise him for not being careful about who came in and out of the room, but stopped when he felt Mr. Moto's hand on his arm.
"Joey, look. There's a bullet imbedded in the wall."
Joey looked at the spot Mr. Moto was pointing at and then saw what was laying in close proximity of said bullet. Kaiba was on the floor, unconscious. A large, red stain was spreading over his white trench coat on the right side of his body, and his face sported a couple of large bruises.
"Jomei!"
Joey turned to Mr. Moto, who was looking around the room. Joey ran to the bathroom and found it empty. Jomei was nowhere around.
"Get security and a doctor, Gramps. I'll see what I can do for Kaiba."
Mr. Moto was terrified, of that Joey had no doubt, but he nodded and left the room. Joey was also terrified. He couldn't believe that they'd found Yugi, only to lose him again mere hours later. It wasn't fair.
He reached down and hauled Kaiba off the floor.
"Man, you're heavy," Joey complained as he clumsily picked the tall teen up and placed him on the bed.
He took off the white trench coat, wincing as he saw the large, red spot on part of it. Carefully, Joey pulled the black turtle neck out of the waistband of Kaiba's pants and lifted it so he could see the wound. The bullet had merely grazed Kaiba's side, but it had left a two inch long wound that was bleeding profusely. Joey hissed as he saw the gash, and then looked around for something to use to stem the blood flow. He ran into the bathroom, picked up a couple of clean wash cloths and brought them over to the bed. After folding one of them neatly, Joey placed it on top of the wound, applying gentle pressure. The wash cloth slowly turned red, and Joey began to seriously worry about Kaiba.
"Where the hell is the doctor?"
Joey discarded the now red cloth and folded another one, repeating his actions from before.
"What the hell are you doing, mutt?" Kaiba's pain laced voice demanded.
He'd been so concentrated on the wound that he'd failed to notice Kaiba stirring, so Joey nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Kaiba's voice. He recovered quickly, though.
"I'm trying to keep you from bleeding to death. You could be a little more grateful, you know."
"It feels like you're trying to kill me, not the other way around."
Joey looked at Kaiba, surprised to find the teen's face scrunched up in pain. He shifted, and Joey took his free hand and lightly smacked Kaiba's shoulder.
"That's what you get for not knowing when to get out of the way of incoming bullets. Now stay still! I'm having a hard enough time keeping you from bleeding all over me."
Kaiba grumbled something unintelligible, and Joey figured that he was better off not knowing what it was.
"What happened, Kaiba? Where is Jomei?"
Joey felt Kaiba tense suddenly, which made the teen hiss in renewed pain.
"I don't know where he is. I was knocked out too fast to see what happened to him," Kaiba finally replied, his voice full of self recrimination. "It all happened so fast, Joey."
Surprised at the use of his name, Joey glanced at Kaiba. Kaiba was looking at the ceiling, his hands clenched on either side of him.
"They were wearing masks, so I don't even know what they looked like."
Joey was about to comment, when a presence at the door made him turn.
"Look who I found."
Joey saw Mr. Moto at the door, grinning, with Jomei standing beside him. The younger teen looked frightened, but otherwise unharmed.
"Seto, are you okay?"
Jomei immediately ran to the bed. He gave Joey a grateful look before turning his attention to Kaiba.
"I'm okay, Yugi, the bullet just grazed me. Dr. Wheeler here is just about through with me, right?" Kaiba asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Joey glared at Kaiba. "Always trying to be the macho man, aren't you, Kaiba? He'll live," Joey told Jomei. "I just wish the doctor would get here and patch him up."
"Someone call for a doctor?"
Joey turned and saw a tall man in a white lab coat walk into the room, followed by a couple of police men. "Sorry for the delay, but I was on the fifth floor handling another emergency."
"I think he needs some stitches."
The doctor stood next to him. The man took over, taking the cloth off the wound. He inspected it carefully, and then turned to Joey.
"Good job, young man. You kept him from loosing a lot of blood."
Joey smiled and blushed. He avoided everyone's eyes, especially Kaiba's. God only knew what Kaiba would have to yell at him about when all of this was over.
"As for you, young man, I need to clean out the wound and stitch it. Here, take off your shirt so I can work," the doctor told Kaiba, then went out of the room to gather supplies. He was back in a moment and immediately got to work on Kaiba.
Joey turned to Jomei, and pulled him away from the bed.
"What happened?"
Jomei turned to him, his eyes wide. "The other me helped. He told me to put this on, and then did something to the man," Jomei replied, pointing at the puzzle. "He said to trust him and that he'd help. I don't know exactly what he did, but I got away and then found the security guard on this floor. He called the police and brought me to Mr. Moto."
"Do you know what the men wanted?"
Jomei shook his head. "Seto knocked one of them out. The other one said he didn't want to kill me, but he did want to inject me with something. All I remember is that I didn't want him to inject me. It was as if it had happened before."
Joey was thoughtful for a moment, and then something suddenly clicked.
"That day we went to look for you, Yami was talking to you, but then something happened and you weren't responding to him. After that, he became unresponsive too. Maybe that's how they got rid of your memories, Jomei. Maybe they drugged you. They probably want to do it again so you won't be able to identify them."
Joey hadn't realized that he was speaking loudly, until one of the police officers that had entered the room with Mr. Moto spoke. Joey looked at him and realized he was one of the guys he and Kaiba had been talking to earlier.
"That is our theory as well, Mr. Wheeler. Especially since Mr. Asami's guardian was found with a bullet to his head just a few moments ago. Whoever is involved with what happened to your friend is trying to clean it up."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
The officer's jaw tightened. "We will investigate, of course."
"What's to keep those people from coming after Jomei again? You obviously can't protect him," Joey countered, his fear for Jomei transforming into anger.
"That's why I'm taking my grandson home."
Joey, Jomei, the two officers and even the doctor all turned to stare at Mr. Moto.
"The only safe place for him to be is home, where we can look out for him. This crime started in Domino and should end there. If you want to send some of your detectives to Domino to keep up with the case, do so, but we're leaving Tokyo as soon as Jomei's doctor releases him."
The officer was speechless in the face of Mr. Moto's determination.
"These people will try again, you do realize that, right?"
Mr. Moto nodded. "So far, you haven't been able to do much to prevent an attack. I don't see how being at home will be much different than being here."
"I can have guards watch the Moto's house," Kaiba spoke, and Joey turned to see him sitting on the bed, a wide bandage covering most of his right side. "I agree with Mr. Moto, Yugi should go home."
Joey's eyes widened, surprised at Kaiba's sudden loyalty. What had happened? What was in it for him?
"I can't keep you in Tokyo," the officer said. "However, you should expect us to contact you and your grandson if we have further need for information."
"That's fine, just make sure you actually investigate."
The man nodded and then left the room with his partner.
"I'm going to get you some antibiotics, young man," the doctor said to Kaiba. "I'll be right back."
When the man was gone, Mr. Moto turned to Kaiba.
"How are you feeling?"
Kaiba nodded, glancing down at his bandaged side.
"I'm okay, just sore."
"Thank you, Kaiba."
Kaiba shrugged, and then winced as the movement caused him pain. "I was at the right place, that's all."
Joey turned to him and saw Kaiba shiver slightly. He walked to where the doctor had left Kaiba's shirt and picked it up.
"I don't think you're going to want to wear this, or the trench coat," Joey said, pointing at the red stained piece of clothing. "Here, you can wear this," he said and slipped off his jacket. He handed it to Kaiba, who merely stared at it.
"Look, I know how much I disgust you, but you don't have much of a choice right now. You can either wear this or freeze to death."
Kaiba glanced at him, but made no move to take the jacket. Joey sighed.
"Fine."
He started to turn away, when Kaiba called out to him. He turned and saw Kaiba's hand outstretched.
"It's pretty freaking cold in here."
Joey shook his head. He walked over to Kaiba and helped the teen put the jacket on. As he was doing it, Joey noticed the scarring on Kaiba's back.
"What happened there?" Joey asked before he could stop himself.
Kaiba looked up, noticed where Joey was looking, and then immediately pulled the jacket on the rest of the way on his own.
"That's none of your business," Kaiba snapped.
Joey held his hands up. "Sorry."
"So now what do we do?" Jomei asked.
Mr. Moto smiled and reached out to grab his grandson's hand.
"Now we go home."
**~~**
*You can ask me anything you want*
Jomei jerked at the sudden voice in his head. He'd heard the voice before though, so it didn't catch him as off guard as it had the first time. He looked around and suddenly found himself somewhere other than where he'd been. He started to panic, until he noticed that he wasn't alone in the room.
"Where are we?"
The boy who looked like him smiled slightly. "We're in your soul room. This is a room inside the Millennium Puzzle where you reside when I'm in control of your body. You made it to your specifications. You always felt safe here."
Jomei looked around at the spacious room, noting that it was full of toys and various other games. It looked like a child's room, and he doubted that he'd chosen this for himself.
"Why is it full of kid's toys?"
The other boy shrugged. "I do not know. It has always been this way. You love games, which is why I always assumed your room was decorated this way."
Jomei sighed. "How did I get here?"
"I am unsure, but you must have willed yourself here."
"Why would I do that?"
"You were wondering about what had happened at the hospital. You wanted to know who I was and what I had done. Maybe your mind sent you here to get the answers you seek."
"So you were reading my mind?" Jomei accused
"Unless you or I block our link, I can hear your thoughts and feel your emotions. It is the way it is. My apologies if you feel I was intruding. I did not close the link on my end in an effort to understand what is going on in your head so that I can better help you."
Jomei looked at the strange boy, a mixture of fear, confusion and wonderment battling for supremacy in his brain.
"Thank you for helping me. . . ah, what do I call you?"
"I do not remember my name, but you called me Yami. You do not have to thank me."
Jomei had to admit that while this was all really weird, it didn't feel as bad or as strange as he thought it would be. He'd rejected the idea of the spirit at first out of fear, because he hadn't been willing to blindly believe. Now, however, after the spirit had saved his life, Jomei felt as if he owed him a chance to explain himself. Everyone else he'd talked to, namely Seto and Joey, seemed okay with the idea of an ancient spirit living in a piece of jewelry, so Jomei figured that since the spirit, Yami, seemed to be stuck with him, he should accept him too.
"Okay, Yami it is."
Jomei suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"Back in the hospital, you said that you couldn't manifest yourself unless I was wearing the puzzle. Why is that?"
Yami thought about it for a moment.
"My spirit is tied to the puzzle. It will exist as long as the puzzle exists. I have no memory of how I came to exist in the puzzle, or how I died, so I can not give you details. All I know is that I was trapped here until you put the puzzle together. Because you freed me, I exist through you. I see what you see, I feel what you do, and I can only become real through your energy or the use of your body. You have to be in physical contact with the puzzle in order to transfer your energy to me, allowing me to become semi real in your world, which allows me to interact with the people in your world. That's why I was able to use my magic on the man in the hospital. When you were taken originally, you could not get to the puzzle and I was powerless to help you."
Jomei noticed the guilt in the rich voice, and felt slightly bad for the way he'd treated the spirit earlier.
"I'm sorry. It's okay, though, I'm okay."
Yami smiled sadly.
"You are alive, yet you are not yourself. You do not remember how to use the magic in order to delve into my mind, see my memories of you and of your life. However, I will do everything in my power to help you remember, if you so desire."
Jomei smiled. He walked up to Yami and tentatively put a hand on his arm.
"You're solid."
"This is my existence, my world, therefore I am solid here. You can touch me while we're in here. In your world, I am only a spirit."
This was so confusing to Jomei. It was kind of neat too, though. Yami didn't seem all that bad.
"I'm sorry for the way I treated you the first time you appeared to me. I was scared and I reacted out of instinct."
Yami nodded. "It is quite alright. You're here now. Believe me when I say I want to help."
"Thank you. I'm willing to try this if you're willing to teach me everything again."
"It would be my pleasure."
"Deal, then?" Jomei asked, extending his hand.
Yami took it. "Deal."
Welcome to the next installment of this bizarre little piece. My arm is healed, thank goodness. I can type to my heart's content again, which is how I got this chapter done so soon. Not just that, I started another fic. *Hears cumulative groans from readers who think I don't post this one often enough* It's called Intruders and should be posted somewhere around this post *crosses fingers* Check it out if you want!
Correction on the last chapter: The name of the song used is Bring Me to Life, not what I originally wrote. I got confused with the chapter title, since they're usually the same.
Reviews:
Guess: Thanks for the good wishes, and I'm sorry to hear about your ankle. Luckily, mine wasn't a break, just a sprain, which is why it took less time to heal. *Breathes sigh of relief* About Yugi. . . let's just say that he's got a long way to go before everything gets worked out. Curious yet?
SerafinaMoon: Thanks for the good wishes, and I'm sorry to have you worried. I should post my e-mail address in case anyone wants to send any gentle reminders about updating my way, but I'm always afraid of the spammers getting a hold of it.
Amiasha Ruri: ARG!!! I can't believe I wrote the wrong title to the song! Thanks for pointing that out. I'm sorry about your foot! What happened? I hope you're doing okay.
Adrienne-Lillian: Isn't the music video awesome? That's actually how I came across the song. I was watching VH1 late one night and they played it. I fell in love with it immediately! Thanks for the goodies *looks around, eyes wide at all the good stuff and hugs life sized plushies* You're going to spoil me!
Cyberkat: Yeah, the poor kid needed a hug, didn't he? I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Jadesaber: Yup, my goal is to keep everyone guessing. Glad it's still working!
Naomi SilverWolf: Thank you very much!
Lavender Wonder: A sadist? You called me a sadist? *sniff, sniff* Aww, heck, you're probably right. But it's fun!! *looks around, waiting for the people in the white lab coats to drag her off to the looney bin* Thanks for the good wishes!
Yugi: Song fics are very cool to read, especially if you use an excellent song. Good luck writing yours.
Lizzy9046: Summer reading is a bummer, isn't it? I always hated to do it. That's what fanfics are for. . . they can be great substitutes for all those boring books they make you read! Labannya: :o) Yeah, I saw the graphic novel too. I glanced at it while at Borders and was surprised to see the Japanese names with the English text. They must have had a reason to do that *taps chin, wondering about the minds of the translators*.
Starheart: Welcome to another insane story! I'm glad that you gave it a try and enjoyed it!
Sorceress Vanessa: There, there, it's okay *hands Vanessa a box of tissues* Let's hope this one isn't too bad.
yuhajosatehe: *hands over box of tissues* it's okay. Yugi is a strong little dude. . . it took me a while to recall when Joey had broken down, but I remember now. It's always a little more emotional when guys do that, isn't it?
Whew! Now on to the story. Enjoy!
**~**
Part 13: No End in Sight
Seto Kaiba watched as Wheeler and Mr. Moto left the room to go find the doctor. Yugi had asked about how long he'd have to be in the hospital, and they'd all realized that they really didn't have an idea and should probably find out. He'd agreed to stay, since there really wasn't any other place for him to be. He turned to Yugi, who was picking at a loose thread on the blanket covering him.
"Are you okay?"
Yugi turned to him, his face a mixture of exhaustion and misery.
"Depends on your definition of 'okay'."
Kaiba chuckled. "Yeah, that was a stupid question. He is your only family, though, so you'll be seeing him a lot."
Yugi sighed. "I know. Mr. Moto is a nice man. I don't remember anyone else being that nice and kind to me. But I see this hope in his eyes that I'll suddenly become his grandson again, and I don't think I can do that."
"You are his grandson, you just don't have the memories to reinforce that," Kaiba replied. "Give it time; I'm sure they'll come back."
Yugi was quiet for a moment. "What if I don't want them to come back? My life is pretty horrible already. What if Yugi's was worse? What if I don't want to remember?"
Kaiba frowned. He really couldn't reassure Yugi about the quality of his life, because outside of school and dueling, Kaiba didn't know much about him.
"I can't guarantee that your life will be better once you regain your memories, but aren't you better off knowing everything? Avoidance is for the weak."
Yugi raised an eyebrow at the statement. "You're very direct, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "I'm just practical. Speaking of which, why don't you get some sleep. Tomorrow is probably going to be a busy day. I'm going to go outside for a moment to call my brother and tell him what's going on."
Yugi nodded and settled down on the bed.
"You might want this closer to you," Kaiba said, picking up the Millennium Puzzle. He set it on the table beside the bed, slightly amused at the way Yugi was looking at it as if it would suddenly come alive and bite him. "Yami can get pretty ticked if he doesn't know what's going on."
Without further explanation, Kaiba walked towards the door. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing his home number as he pulled open the door. He was caught off guard as the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, hitting him on the forehead and sending him sprawling to the ground.
"What the. . ." he began, but wasn't given a chance to finish the sentence as a man armed with a gun walked into the room.
The man pointed the gun at him, and Kaiba immediately flung his cell phone at him. His aim was perfect and hit the mark, sending the gun flying out of the man's hands. He used his long legs to hit the man in the knees, which sent him to the ground. Not wasting his advantage, Kaiba pulled the man towards him and threw a few punches, until the man was unconscious. He looked up just in time to see a second man aiming a gun at him. Kaiba heard the sound of the gun firing before he thought to react. He crouched low, trying to use the other assailant's body to shield his own, but didn't reach in time. He felt a searing pain on his right side, right above the waist, and the momentum sent him flying into the wall he had been sitting next to. His head stuck it hard, sending him into unconsciousness.
**~~**
Jomei watched Seto lose consciousness and knew that he couldn't waste any time. He got up and while the man that had shot Seto wasn't looking in his direction, flung himself at the much taller man. He wasn't successful in knocking the man over, but at least it got him away from Seto. Jomei was flung to one side and he landed painfully on top of the table, before he fell to the ground. He winced and rolled over. He'd landed on top of the pyramid thing Seto had put on the table. He grabbed onto it and was about to get up when a strong arm hauled him up and threw him onto the bed.
"You're lucky I don't want to kill you," the masked man said.
*Put the puzzle on, Yugi!*
Jomei frowned. That wasn't the man's voice. Who had just spoken?
The man standing over him drew a syringe out of a pocket, which made Jomei shudder. He had a sudden and very strong feeling that he'd been in this position before, watching as a man prepared a syringe for him. He didn't know how he knew, but Jomei didn't want that syringe to get anywhere near him. He would lose more than his life if he allowed it to happen.
*Yugi, I'm the spirit of the puzzle. I can help you, but I can't fully manifest myself unless you're wearing the puzzle.*
Jomei moved his legs to kick the man who had gotten closer to him, but the gun suddenly being pointed at his face persuaded him to lay still. The voice in his head continued to speak to him, however. Was he going crazy?
*You're not crazy, you just have to accept that I'm here. Now let me help you!*
The voice was getting desperate now.
**How can you help me?** Jomei thought, thinking it ridiculous that he was talking to himself.
*Magic, Yugi. Please, just trust me. I mean you no harm*
Jomei figured that he didn't have much to lose and slowly slipped the puzzle's chain, which had still been clutched in his hand, over his head. Immediately, he saw the boy that looked like him appear beside the bed. The boy's hands were held in front of him as if he were cradling something, and before Jomei knew it, a ball of dark energy was suspended between the boy's hands.
*As soon as I hit him with the energy, run and get your grandfather and security, okay?*
**Okay** was all Jomei said.
The boy nodded once, and as the man brought the syringe up to Jomei's arm, threw the energy ball at the man. The man's eyes widened, and he was flung to one side, away from the bed.
*Run, Yugi!*
Jomei didn't have to be told twice. He leapt off the bed and ran out of the room. He stopped for a moment by the door when he saw Seto, who had a growing red stain on his side.
*Go! I'll make sure nothing else is done to Kaiba. Just go!*
Jomei left the room and immediately began to shout.
"Help me! There's someone in my room trying to hurt me. Two men with guns, one already shot someone. Please get someone to help me!"
He continued to run down the endless and empty corridors, wondering where everyone was. It couldn't be that late in the day, could it? He kept running, hoping that someone, somewhere would be able to help him.
**~~**
"Well, I think Jomei is going to be glad to get to go home tomorrow," Joey said as he and Mr. Moto entered Jomei's room.
They hadn't found the doctor, but a nurse had assured them that Jomei was fine and that they'd be able to take him home tomorrow. He looked at the empty bed and frowned, but then figured that Jomei had probably gotten up to go to the bathroom. He looked around to look for Kaiba, ready to chastise him for not being careful about who came in and out of the room, but stopped when he felt Mr. Moto's hand on his arm.
"Joey, look. There's a bullet imbedded in the wall."
Joey looked at the spot Mr. Moto was pointing at and then saw what was laying in close proximity of said bullet. Kaiba was on the floor, unconscious. A large, red stain was spreading over his white trench coat on the right side of his body, and his face sported a couple of large bruises.
"Jomei!"
Joey turned to Mr. Moto, who was looking around the room. Joey ran to the bathroom and found it empty. Jomei was nowhere around.
"Get security and a doctor, Gramps. I'll see what I can do for Kaiba."
Mr. Moto was terrified, of that Joey had no doubt, but he nodded and left the room. Joey was also terrified. He couldn't believe that they'd found Yugi, only to lose him again mere hours later. It wasn't fair.
He reached down and hauled Kaiba off the floor.
"Man, you're heavy," Joey complained as he clumsily picked the tall teen up and placed him on the bed.
He took off the white trench coat, wincing as he saw the large, red spot on part of it. Carefully, Joey pulled the black turtle neck out of the waistband of Kaiba's pants and lifted it so he could see the wound. The bullet had merely grazed Kaiba's side, but it had left a two inch long wound that was bleeding profusely. Joey hissed as he saw the gash, and then looked around for something to use to stem the blood flow. He ran into the bathroom, picked up a couple of clean wash cloths and brought them over to the bed. After folding one of them neatly, Joey placed it on top of the wound, applying gentle pressure. The wash cloth slowly turned red, and Joey began to seriously worry about Kaiba.
"Where the hell is the doctor?"
Joey discarded the now red cloth and folded another one, repeating his actions from before.
"What the hell are you doing, mutt?" Kaiba's pain laced voice demanded.
He'd been so concentrated on the wound that he'd failed to notice Kaiba stirring, so Joey nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Kaiba's voice. He recovered quickly, though.
"I'm trying to keep you from bleeding to death. You could be a little more grateful, you know."
"It feels like you're trying to kill me, not the other way around."
Joey looked at Kaiba, surprised to find the teen's face scrunched up in pain. He shifted, and Joey took his free hand and lightly smacked Kaiba's shoulder.
"That's what you get for not knowing when to get out of the way of incoming bullets. Now stay still! I'm having a hard enough time keeping you from bleeding all over me."
Kaiba grumbled something unintelligible, and Joey figured that he was better off not knowing what it was.
"What happened, Kaiba? Where is Jomei?"
Joey felt Kaiba tense suddenly, which made the teen hiss in renewed pain.
"I don't know where he is. I was knocked out too fast to see what happened to him," Kaiba finally replied, his voice full of self recrimination. "It all happened so fast, Joey."
Surprised at the use of his name, Joey glanced at Kaiba. Kaiba was looking at the ceiling, his hands clenched on either side of him.
"They were wearing masks, so I don't even know what they looked like."
Joey was about to comment, when a presence at the door made him turn.
"Look who I found."
Joey saw Mr. Moto at the door, grinning, with Jomei standing beside him. The younger teen looked frightened, but otherwise unharmed.
"Seto, are you okay?"
Jomei immediately ran to the bed. He gave Joey a grateful look before turning his attention to Kaiba.
"I'm okay, Yugi, the bullet just grazed me. Dr. Wheeler here is just about through with me, right?" Kaiba asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Joey glared at Kaiba. "Always trying to be the macho man, aren't you, Kaiba? He'll live," Joey told Jomei. "I just wish the doctor would get here and patch him up."
"Someone call for a doctor?"
Joey turned and saw a tall man in a white lab coat walk into the room, followed by a couple of police men. "Sorry for the delay, but I was on the fifth floor handling another emergency."
"I think he needs some stitches."
The doctor stood next to him. The man took over, taking the cloth off the wound. He inspected it carefully, and then turned to Joey.
"Good job, young man. You kept him from loosing a lot of blood."
Joey smiled and blushed. He avoided everyone's eyes, especially Kaiba's. God only knew what Kaiba would have to yell at him about when all of this was over.
"As for you, young man, I need to clean out the wound and stitch it. Here, take off your shirt so I can work," the doctor told Kaiba, then went out of the room to gather supplies. He was back in a moment and immediately got to work on Kaiba.
Joey turned to Jomei, and pulled him away from the bed.
"What happened?"
Jomei turned to him, his eyes wide. "The other me helped. He told me to put this on, and then did something to the man," Jomei replied, pointing at the puzzle. "He said to trust him and that he'd help. I don't know exactly what he did, but I got away and then found the security guard on this floor. He called the police and brought me to Mr. Moto."
"Do you know what the men wanted?"
Jomei shook his head. "Seto knocked one of them out. The other one said he didn't want to kill me, but he did want to inject me with something. All I remember is that I didn't want him to inject me. It was as if it had happened before."
Joey was thoughtful for a moment, and then something suddenly clicked.
"That day we went to look for you, Yami was talking to you, but then something happened and you weren't responding to him. After that, he became unresponsive too. Maybe that's how they got rid of your memories, Jomei. Maybe they drugged you. They probably want to do it again so you won't be able to identify them."
Joey hadn't realized that he was speaking loudly, until one of the police officers that had entered the room with Mr. Moto spoke. Joey looked at him and realized he was one of the guys he and Kaiba had been talking to earlier.
"That is our theory as well, Mr. Wheeler. Especially since Mr. Asami's guardian was found with a bullet to his head just a few moments ago. Whoever is involved with what happened to your friend is trying to clean it up."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
The officer's jaw tightened. "We will investigate, of course."
"What's to keep those people from coming after Jomei again? You obviously can't protect him," Joey countered, his fear for Jomei transforming into anger.
"That's why I'm taking my grandson home."
Joey, Jomei, the two officers and even the doctor all turned to stare at Mr. Moto.
"The only safe place for him to be is home, where we can look out for him. This crime started in Domino and should end there. If you want to send some of your detectives to Domino to keep up with the case, do so, but we're leaving Tokyo as soon as Jomei's doctor releases him."
The officer was speechless in the face of Mr. Moto's determination.
"These people will try again, you do realize that, right?"
Mr. Moto nodded. "So far, you haven't been able to do much to prevent an attack. I don't see how being at home will be much different than being here."
"I can have guards watch the Moto's house," Kaiba spoke, and Joey turned to see him sitting on the bed, a wide bandage covering most of his right side. "I agree with Mr. Moto, Yugi should go home."
Joey's eyes widened, surprised at Kaiba's sudden loyalty. What had happened? What was in it for him?
"I can't keep you in Tokyo," the officer said. "However, you should expect us to contact you and your grandson if we have further need for information."
"That's fine, just make sure you actually investigate."
The man nodded and then left the room with his partner.
"I'm going to get you some antibiotics, young man," the doctor said to Kaiba. "I'll be right back."
When the man was gone, Mr. Moto turned to Kaiba.
"How are you feeling?"
Kaiba nodded, glancing down at his bandaged side.
"I'm okay, just sore."
"Thank you, Kaiba."
Kaiba shrugged, and then winced as the movement caused him pain. "I was at the right place, that's all."
Joey turned to him and saw Kaiba shiver slightly. He walked to where the doctor had left Kaiba's shirt and picked it up.
"I don't think you're going to want to wear this, or the trench coat," Joey said, pointing at the red stained piece of clothing. "Here, you can wear this," he said and slipped off his jacket. He handed it to Kaiba, who merely stared at it.
"Look, I know how much I disgust you, but you don't have much of a choice right now. You can either wear this or freeze to death."
Kaiba glanced at him, but made no move to take the jacket. Joey sighed.
"Fine."
He started to turn away, when Kaiba called out to him. He turned and saw Kaiba's hand outstretched.
"It's pretty freaking cold in here."
Joey shook his head. He walked over to Kaiba and helped the teen put the jacket on. As he was doing it, Joey noticed the scarring on Kaiba's back.
"What happened there?" Joey asked before he could stop himself.
Kaiba looked up, noticed where Joey was looking, and then immediately pulled the jacket on the rest of the way on his own.
"That's none of your business," Kaiba snapped.
Joey held his hands up. "Sorry."
"So now what do we do?" Jomei asked.
Mr. Moto smiled and reached out to grab his grandson's hand.
"Now we go home."
**~~**
*You can ask me anything you want*
Jomei jerked at the sudden voice in his head. He'd heard the voice before though, so it didn't catch him as off guard as it had the first time. He looked around and suddenly found himself somewhere other than where he'd been. He started to panic, until he noticed that he wasn't alone in the room.
"Where are we?"
The boy who looked like him smiled slightly. "We're in your soul room. This is a room inside the Millennium Puzzle where you reside when I'm in control of your body. You made it to your specifications. You always felt safe here."
Jomei looked around at the spacious room, noting that it was full of toys and various other games. It looked like a child's room, and he doubted that he'd chosen this for himself.
"Why is it full of kid's toys?"
The other boy shrugged. "I do not know. It has always been this way. You love games, which is why I always assumed your room was decorated this way."
Jomei sighed. "How did I get here?"
"I am unsure, but you must have willed yourself here."
"Why would I do that?"
"You were wondering about what had happened at the hospital. You wanted to know who I was and what I had done. Maybe your mind sent you here to get the answers you seek."
"So you were reading my mind?" Jomei accused
"Unless you or I block our link, I can hear your thoughts and feel your emotions. It is the way it is. My apologies if you feel I was intruding. I did not close the link on my end in an effort to understand what is going on in your head so that I can better help you."
Jomei looked at the strange boy, a mixture of fear, confusion and wonderment battling for supremacy in his brain.
"Thank you for helping me. . . ah, what do I call you?"
"I do not remember my name, but you called me Yami. You do not have to thank me."
Jomei had to admit that while this was all really weird, it didn't feel as bad or as strange as he thought it would be. He'd rejected the idea of the spirit at first out of fear, because he hadn't been willing to blindly believe. Now, however, after the spirit had saved his life, Jomei felt as if he owed him a chance to explain himself. Everyone else he'd talked to, namely Seto and Joey, seemed okay with the idea of an ancient spirit living in a piece of jewelry, so Jomei figured that since the spirit, Yami, seemed to be stuck with him, he should accept him too.
"Okay, Yami it is."
Jomei suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
"Back in the hospital, you said that you couldn't manifest yourself unless I was wearing the puzzle. Why is that?"
Yami thought about it for a moment.
"My spirit is tied to the puzzle. It will exist as long as the puzzle exists. I have no memory of how I came to exist in the puzzle, or how I died, so I can not give you details. All I know is that I was trapped here until you put the puzzle together. Because you freed me, I exist through you. I see what you see, I feel what you do, and I can only become real through your energy or the use of your body. You have to be in physical contact with the puzzle in order to transfer your energy to me, allowing me to become semi real in your world, which allows me to interact with the people in your world. That's why I was able to use my magic on the man in the hospital. When you were taken originally, you could not get to the puzzle and I was powerless to help you."
Jomei noticed the guilt in the rich voice, and felt slightly bad for the way he'd treated the spirit earlier.
"I'm sorry. It's okay, though, I'm okay."
Yami smiled sadly.
"You are alive, yet you are not yourself. You do not remember how to use the magic in order to delve into my mind, see my memories of you and of your life. However, I will do everything in my power to help you remember, if you so desire."
Jomei smiled. He walked up to Yami and tentatively put a hand on his arm.
"You're solid."
"This is my existence, my world, therefore I am solid here. You can touch me while we're in here. In your world, I am only a spirit."
This was so confusing to Jomei. It was kind of neat too, though. Yami didn't seem all that bad.
"I'm sorry for the way I treated you the first time you appeared to me. I was scared and I reacted out of instinct."
Yami nodded. "It is quite alright. You're here now. Believe me when I say I want to help."
"Thank you. I'm willing to try this if you're willing to teach me everything again."
"It would be my pleasure."
"Deal, then?" Jomei asked, extending his hand.
Yami took it. "Deal."