Chapter 6- I Will Protect Him, Not You

Heba walked into the hospital the next morning and walked back to where Yugi was still being kept.

Ben walked in and said, "Mr. Moto, I didn't expect you to be here this early in the day."

"My brother takes precedence in my life." Heba said.

"I see. He's doing well, but I'm still concerned because he has not woken up yet." Ben said, looking at his clipboard.

"Yugi's a fighter. I know that he'll be all right." Heba said.

"There's a couple pf police officers here to talk to you. They're waiting in the lobby." Ben said.

Heba nodded and walked out of the room and headed to the lobby. He found two uniformed officers and said, "Officers, I am Heba Moto. I was told that you wanted to talk to me about my brother."

"Yes. We a have few questions for you. I am Officer Tanex, and this is my partner, Officer Manx." the first said.

"It's nice to meet you. What can I do for you?" Heba asked.

"Mr. Moto, when was the last time you saw your father?" Tanex asked.

"Ten years ago when his trial ended and he was out in jail for abusing me and my brother." Heba answered.

"Was that the last time you saw your brother as well?" Manx asked.

"My brother and I lived with my grandfather, Solemn Moto, for about two months before I went to live with a few of my mother's relatives in Egypt." Heba said.

"You never saw your brother after that?" Manx asked.

"No. I was never able to return to Japan after that. I was able to afford to come here, and I flew out here with intent of surprising my brother. It didn't work out the way that I had hoped it would." Heba said.

"I see. Have you seen your father since then?" Tanex asked.

"No. I arrived at the hospital pretty much as soon as I got to Japan. I didn't leave the hospital until late." Heba said.

"What time?" Manx asked.

"I'm not sure. I went straight to my hotel, and I arrived there at eleven-thirty. I must have left the hospital about eleven. I'm sure the nurse that was on duty can verify that, and the hotel clerk could tell you when I got there because I did not sign in at the hotel until I arrived." Heba said.

"Why are you defensive?" Manx demanded.

"Because you ask me things that make me sound like a criminal. I haven't done anything. My brother is in the hospital. I don't like being treated like I committed some kind of crime when I haven't been in Japan long." Heba said.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way. We ask this because your father has not been found, and we fear that he may have been killed." Tanex said.

"Officers, if you're looking for someone who cares, you're talking to care, then you've come to the wrong place. When I was four, I watched my father rape my mother and then stab her through the heart. No one believed me and brother, so my mother was labeled as a bad mother who abandoned her husband and sons. For the next two years, my brother and I were beaten constantly by our drunken father before our grandfather managed to get him arrested and got us out of his custody. My father looked like he would be a good father, so he got custody of my brother back. He went back to his old ways, only this time, my brother could have died from it. You want someone to feel sympathy for him, don't look at me. I hope you find so that he can pay for what he did, but I have not seen my father." Heba said.

"So, you hate him?" Manx asked.

"Yes. Hating your father is not a crime." Heba said.

"You know that doesn't look good for you." Tanex said.

"Check with the hospital and hotel. You'll find out that I told the truth about the times. If you'll excuse me, I would like to go." Heba said.

"Of course. What hotel are you staying at?" Tanex asked.

"Domino Plaza." Heba said.

The two officers left.

Heba fumed.

"Are you all right?"

Heba turned to find himself facing Atemu and Yami. "I'm fine." Heba said.

"Did your father really do that to your mother?" Yami asked.

"Yes. No one would believe a couple of four year olds, so he got away with rape and murder. Believe me. I have more than one reason to hate that bastard I call a father." Heba said.

"What if your father shows up?" Yami asked.

"Then I hope he goes to jail if he does, and if he's dead, then at least Yugi and I will be safe from him for the rest of our lives." Heba said.

"Mr. Moto."

Heba turned to face Ben. "Yes, Dr. Browning."

"With your permission, we're going to run a test to see if we can find out why your brother has woken up. The test will take about an hour and a half, and no one can see him in that time." Ben said.

"I understand. Do the test." Heba said, signing for it.

"Thank you." Ben said and walked off.

"What are you tow doing here?" Heba asked, turning back to Yami and Atemu.

"We were hoping to see Yugi, but I guess not." Atemu said.

"I suppose so." Heba agreed. He started to walk out.

"how is Yugi?" Yami asked.

Heba turned. "The same. If you care." Heba said before walking out.

Yami winced.

"You know that you deserve that." Atemu said.

"I know. I know. I caused this. There's no one else that I can blame." Yami said.

"Let's go talk to Leo. Maybe he'll be able to do something to calm Yugi's brother down." Atemu said.

Yami nodded, and the two left the hospital.

"Are we going to act, yet?" Maytrine asked.

"No. Not yet. Our distraction has not come yet." Menthos said.

"What is the distraction?" Maytrine asked.

"You'll see. The Protector is going to give us just the distraction that we need to get the Treasure." Menthos said.

"Why would the Protector want to put him into danger?" Maytrine asked.

"I never said that he would intentionally put him in danger." Menthos said, grinning manically.

Maytrine also grinned. "I see. That is certainly a devious little plan that you have." Maytrine said.

"And that is only part of it." Menthos said.

"What is the rest of it?" Maytrine asked.

"You'll see. In time." Menthos said.

"There's no way that he had a right to say that!" Joey shouted.

"Yeah! This guy is turning out to be a real jackass!" Tristan added.

"I think that he blames us in a way for what happened to Yugi because we didn't see that something was wrong." Leo said.

"Yugi never hung out with us. How were we supposed to know that?" Seto demanded.

"That alone should have been a warning sign that something is wrong." Yuesei said.

"Yugi said that he had to do things with his-father." Sayora said the last word slowly.

"Yeah. I think we all know what his father was wanting to do." Kyla said.

"Still, it's not like this is our fault." Malik said.

"We didn't even try to find out what was wrong when the signs were there that something was wrong." Ryou said.

"That doesn't make it our fault." Tristan argued.

"Maybe, but it doesn't make us innocent, either." Leo said.

"Does that give that guy a right to treat us like this?" Joey asked.

"No, but his actions are understandable." Yuesei said.

Yami looked over at Bakura and Marik. "You two didn't happen to do something to Yugi's father, did you?"

"Why would we care to do anything to the runt's father?" Bakura asked.

"Because he has disappeared mysteriously, and the only way that people disappear mysteriously when any of us are involved is when either one of you two, Yami, or myself sends someone to the Shadow Realm. Yami and I were home all night, so that leaves you two." Atemu said.

Marik shrugged. "So what if we did? We didn't do anything to him that he didn't deserve. After we-gave him a taste of his own medicine, we sent him to spend an eternity in the Shadow Realm." Marik said.

"In other words, you tortured him." Malik said.

Bakura shrugged. "So what if we did?" Bakura asked.

"I hope you made him suffer." Yami said.

"Yami!" Atemu growled.

"What? The bastard deserves it. After everything that has happened, he doesn't deserve any mercy." Yami said.

Atemu sighed. "Leo, I was hoping that you would talk to Heba. Maybe you can talk some sense into him." Atemu said.

"All right. I'll try, but I won't guarantee that he'll listen to me." Leo said.

"We'll go. Don't need him trying anything." Seto said.

Leo sighed. "I don't think that I need to worry about that, but fine." Leo said.

The group left the Moto house to find Heba.

Heba was walking around the park, thinking. 'Menthos will not let up. He's going to keep coming after Yugi until he gets him. I have to kill him, but I'm not sure that I can do it alone. I need help, but can I trust them?' Heba asked himself.

"Hey! You!" a voice yelled.

Heba looked to see Yami, Atemu, and the others coming toward him. 'Great. Just what I need.' Heba thought.

"Joey! A little courtesy would be nice." Leo said.

"Why-" Joey started, but Seto put his hand over his mouth.

"Let is go, puppy." Seto said.

"What do you all want?" Heba asked.

"Heba, I understand that you are upset about what happened to your brother, but can you please listen to me a moment?" Leo asked.

"Yes. I will listen to you." Heba said.

"Heba, I don't deny that we didn't do anything to help Yugi, but we are not to blame." Leo said.

"I know that. The person to blame for all this is my father, wherever the bastard is." Heba said.

"You-don't like him?" Bakura asked.

"The man raped and murdered my mother in front of my and Yugi when we were four. He got away with it and started beating us for to years. When he gets Yugi back, he goes back to that. We are nothing but punching bags for his anger. He could have killed my brother. Yes, I hate him." Heba said.

"I never knew this." Leo said.

"Yeah, well, it's not something that Yugi likes to talk about. I don't either, really. Just so you know, I've talked to my brother, and he has told me how you would all tease him and make fun of him just because he never dated anyone." Heba said.

"We only did it in fun." Tea said.

"Yugi and I have never dated anyone because of what we watched our father do. Couples like to have sex, and we couldn't stand the thought because of what we were forced to watch him do. When you would tease him, he would remember that day. You brought up a lot of painful memories for him." Heba said.

Leo sighed. "That was never the intention. All I ask is that you let us see Yugi and stop dredging up what we caused. We know that it was wrong, but regardless of that, Yugi is our friend, and we would like to see him." Leo said.

"You want me to let people who have hurt my brother time and time again just because they are afraid of what people will think of him." Heba said.

Yami flinched at the remark that was directed at him.

"You don't have the right to do that. Grandpa would want us to." Leo said.

"May I remind you that Grandpa is in Egypt, and I am Yugi's only family member that is here. I decide who sees him until he wakes up. When Yugi wakes up, if he wants you to see him, he'll say it." Heba said.

"Do you think that Yugi would want us to be kept out?" Leo asked.

"The last time I talked to my brother, he was crying because Yami was putting his so-called girlfriend before him. When my brother needed you, Yami, you were off trying to convince the world you were sleeping with her." Heba said.

"We never told anyone that! We weren't doing anything like that!" Tea exclaimed.

"What do you really think other teenagers would think you were doing? Honestly. Neither one of you thought this out." Heba said.

"Maybe they didn't, but don't you think you are being a little harsh?" Leo asked.

"No, I don't. Friends are supposed to protect each other, but no one protected my brother." Heba said.

"And I suppose you could?" Marik asked.

"I will protect my brother, not you. Just stay away." Heba said. He turned to leave.

"You know, we will see him if we want to." Bakura said.

Heba turned back and said, "Believe me. You want be seeing him if I can do anything about it."

"You think that you could really stop us?" Joey asked.

"Yes, I do." Heba said.

"I could easily get a court order to see him." Seto said.

"I know all about how you are the teenage CEO of KaibaCorp, and believe me, I'm not worried about that. I never said that I would stop you through those types of channels." Heba said before turning around and starting to leave.

"You know, you're a real jackass. Yugi wouldn't want this." Tristan said.

Heba stopped, but didn't turn around. "I don't think that any of you know my brother as well as you think you do." Heba said.

"We know more than you." Yami said.

"No. I don't think you do." Heba said. He opened the palms of his hands, and a blue glow surrounded his hands, but it went unnoticed.

"There's no reason for us to fear you. You're a little pipsqueak who couldn't possibly do anything against us." Bakura said.

"I would suggest that you know who you are dealing with before you make threats, Bakura. You never know what a person is capable of." Heba said.

"There's no reason for us to be afraid of you." Marik said, knowing that they could always use their magic if need be.

Leo suddenly felt a magical surge of energy. 'No. It couldn't be.' Leo thought.

"You should be careful what you think, Marik. You never know what you might encounter." Heba said.

"Everyone, get behind me now." Leo said.

Everyone looked at him.

"Why?" Tea asked.

"now." Leo said.

"Leo. What's wrong?" Kyla asked.

"Just do what I said, and don't do anything until I say so." Leo said.

Seeing the seriousness in Leo's eyes, everyone did what they were told without any further questions.

"So, you're more observant than the rest." Heba said.

Leo called his magical swords with red jade handles to him, startling everyone behind him.

Heba suddenly whirled around with twin, blue jade Sais in his hands and thrust them at Leo, who blocked them with his swords.

"I see one of you uses his senses." Heba said, jumping back.

"Don't." Leo said.

"Stop me." Heba said. He went at Leo again.

Each one used their weapons to block the others. The metal clashing and causing a metallic clanking sound.

"What is going on?" Joey asked.

"He's definitely not normal." Tristan added.

Heba kept swinging at Leo, who blocked them. Heba thrust one Sai forward, and Leo crossed his swords to block it and forced his swords apart, kicking Heba in the chest. Heba stumbled back and ducked when Leo swung one sword at him. Heba jumped up and thrust a Sai forward, but Leo blocked it. Leo tripped Heba up, and Heba started to fall backwards, but Heba's hand hit the ground and Heba flipped backwards to land on his feet. Leo lunged forward at Heba, who turned out of the way and swung a Sai at Leo, who ducked. He thrust his sword forward, but Heba did a back flip out of the way and landed on a bench. Leo went at him again, but Heba did a flip over Leo, landing behind him. Leo turned only to have Heba knock one of the swords out of Leo's hand. Leo ducked as Heba swung at him with his Sai. Leo moved back.

"Stop this." Leo said.

"I don't think so." Heba said. He went at Leo again.

Leo ducked and grabbed Heba by the wrist, flipping Heba. Heba landed on his feet and rammed back into Leo, knocking Leo off balance and falling forward, but Leo pushed himself up and turned around only to have Heba bring his Sai down at him. Leo blocked the Sai with his sword and kicked Heba back. Heba went back at him and swung both Sais at Leo, who blocked each one with his one sword.

"Leo!" Kyla exclaimed.

"We've got to help him." Malik said.

"We don't need to." Yami said.

"Why?" Tea asked frantically.

"Leo was the best swordsman to live back in ancient Egypt." Seto said.

"There was only one person who ever had the strength to beat him, and he's not here now." Atemu said.

Heba whirled around and kicked Leo hard in his stomach, knocking the wind out of Leo. Heba brought his Sai across and knocked Leo's other sword out of his hand. Heba held his Sai in front of Leo.

"Give up?" Heba asked.

"Considering I lost both my weapons, I don't think I have a choice." Leo said.

Atemu, Yami, and Seto were shocked that Leo lost, and that he was conceding defeat.

"You still gave me a work out, Eternias." Heba said.

"It's been a long time, Your Highness." Leo said.

Heba backed off, letting Leo stand up. He got his swords and dismissed them. Heba also dismissed his Sais.

"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Bakura shouted.

Heba suddenly gasped as a sharp pain went through him.

"What's-" Leo started.

Heba turned and ran.

"Come on!" Leo ordered.

The group followed Leo as he went after Heba.

Heba ran right to the hospital and went straight to where he knew his brother was. He burst into the room to find Ben and a nurse there, but Yugi was nowhere to be found.

Leo and the others were behind him.

"Ben, where is Yugi?" Leo asked.

"I don't know." Ben said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Seto demanded.

"We came to check on him, but he was gone." Ben said.

"A coma patient doesn't walk out of a hospital." Leo said.

"We'll find him." Ben said before he and the nurse left,.

"How could this happen?" Tea asked.

"We need to talk alone." Heba said, looking at Leo.

"You know where he is, don't you, Heba?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Heba said.

"You had this done!" Joey said accusingly.

Heba glared so fiercely at Joey that he flinched. "I may not like you, but I would not do that. Yugi needs medical attention, and I am not about to endanger him." Heba said angrily.

"Heba, where is he?" Leo asked.

"In another dimension. In the hands of a maniac." Heba said.

"What?!" was the collective response.

"Can your magic get us there?" Leo asked.

Heba nodded.

"Come on. We'll go somewhere, and get there." Leo said.

Everyone went to the Moto house.

"Now what?" Tristan asked.

Heba held up his hand and said in ancient Egyptian, "I call on the god of the underworld, Osiris. Open a portal to the Twilight plane."

A blue portal opened.

"What is that?" Sayora asked.

"Our way there." Leo said, calling his swords.

Heba also called his Sais.

"Atemu. Yami. Seto. I suggest you call your swords as well. You'll need them." Leo said.

Atemu, Yami, and Seto didn't question it. Each one called a sword to their hand. Seto's had a light blue handle. Atemu's had a crimson handle. Yami's had an amethyst.

"Let's go." Heba said.

All of them stepped into the portal, leaving the house and the world.

I know the fight between Heba and Leo wasn't great, but I thought it needed to be put in. You'll find out later why Heba fought with Leo.

The next chapter will have Heba facing off against Menthos to save Yugi, adn you'll find out more about why Menthos is after Yugi.

The next chapter will be better. I promise.

R&R.