Chapter 18- Departure
Back at the base, the group was waiting anxiously to see how Heba would be.
Seth, not trusting Heba's life with anyone but himself, had decided to tend to Heba's injuries personally.
Akefia's injuries as well as everyone else's minor injuries had been taken care of by medical personnel who were a part of the Guild.
"I hope that he's going to be okay." Yami said.
"I wouldn't worry about Heba too much. He always pulls through when the injuries are serious like this. I've never known him to stay down for very long." Ryou said.
"Plus, Seth is one of the best doctors there are. He's in the best hands possible." Seto added.
"He took a pretty good beating, thought." Joey said.
"Well, we can't think negatively right now." Ryou said.
"He's right. We just have to keep thinking positively. Besides, I'm certain that he'll pull through just fine." Bakura said.
"I hope so." Joey said.
After what seemed like an eternity, Seth finally came to see them.
"Seth, how is he?" Atemu asked.
"Well, he's alive. I can't say for sure if he's going to make it though. The first twenty-four hours are the most crucial." Seth said.
"How bad is it?" Ryou asked.
"Well, his leg was pretty badly damaged. Something must have exploded, and he caught the brunt of the blast in his leg. He also had a gunshot wound to his shoulder. I think that might be where Pegasus shot him when we were all in the room. He also had what looks like a knife injury to his arm. He lost a lot of blood, too. He's going to need some time to heal." Seth said.
"Well, I guess all we can do is hope for the best." Amara said.
Ryou, Joey, and Malik had gone to see Heba.
Heba was lying unconscious in the hospital room.
"I hate seeing him like this. It just doesn't seem like him." Joey said.
"Let's hope that he does pull through this." Malik said.
"Yeah. I really don't want to leave with the memory that Heba died on us." Ryou said.
"We don't know that that will happen yet. Heba's one of the strongest people that we know, and I don't have a doubt that he is going to pull through this." Joey said.
Ryou walked over and placed his hand over Heba's. "Heba, you had better wake up and soon. We really need you around right about now." Ryou said.
"Yeah. Not like we can have a victory celebration over Pegasus's defeat without you around." Malik added in.
"That's why we're holding off on the celebration until you're on your feet again. Once you recover, we're going to be celebrating." Joey said.
The group walked out of the room, hoping for the best.
Later, Yami and Atemu had finally decided that they would go and see their smaller lover.
"I hate seeing him like this." Yami said, tears filling his eyes.
Atemu wrapped his arms around Yami. "I know, Yami. I know. You heard what Seth said, thought. As long as he makes it through these first twenty-four hours, he should be fine." Atemu said.
"I know, but I don't want anything to happen to him." Yami said.
"I know. Yugi is going to make it out of this." Atemu said.
"It took us seven years to find him again. I just hope that we don't end up having him leave us again." Yami said.
"I know. I know." Atemu said.
The two then went and sat down on each side of Heba.
Yami reached out and took one of Heba's hands in his. "Yugi, you have to wake up for us. We didn't go through all this just for you to leave us again." Yami said.
"He's right." Atemu said, taking Heba's other hand in his. "We don't want to lose you again, so you need to wake up for us." Atemu added.
Yami and Atemu both kissed Heba's cheek, hoping that he would wale up soon.
The TV was turned to a new station.
"We have breaking news. An island has exploded in the middle of the Sea of Japan. As it turns out, the island was privately owned by Maxamillion Pegasus, the owner of the gaming company Industrial Illusions. Sources say that Mr. Pegasus was on the island when it exploded. It is unsure of how or why the island exploded, but it has been confirmed that Maxamillion Pegasus is dead. Investigators will continue to try and see how the island exploded, but there is a slim chance of learning the truth. What happened may never be made public knowledge. In other news-"
"Well, no one is ever going to know the truth." Joey said.
"No kidding." Malik said
"Well, we know how he died, and I say that he deserved exactly what happened. After all that he did, I think Pegasus just got what was coming to him." Mariku said.
"Do you have nothing better to do than watch this?"
Everyone turned to see Heba.
Heba was going to make a full recovery. Since his leg had been so badly damaged, he was having to use a cane so that he could mover around, although he still limped a great deal. His arm was in a sling from where the dagger had been driven into his arm.
"No. We don't, Heba." Joey said.
"That I expected from you. This is old news, and it won't be long before everyone forgets about it." Heba said.
"Well, I don't think that any of us will." Atemu said.
"Yeah. I don't think that we're ever going to forget what's happened in the last few weeks." Seth agreed.
"Hey. There's something that I've been meaning to ask you, Yami." Malik said.
"What's that?" Yami asked.
"Well, when Joey got Heba onto the plane back when the island was about to explode, you called him Yugi. Why did you call him that?" Malik asked.
"Oops." Yami said, realizing that he had said Heba's real name.
"He was worried about you, Heba, so he let it slip." Atemu said.
Heba waved him off. "Don't worry about it. They would have had to of learned the truth at some point." Heba said.
"Learned what?" Joey asked.
"Well, Yugi is actually my real name." Heba said.
"Real name?!" everyone else exclaimed except for the few that knew.
"Yeah. You see, my parents were both assassins, so I was born into this world. We don't use our real names here, so I was called Heba Morin instead of Yugi Mutou, which is my real name." Heba explained.
"Oh. That's why he called you Yugi." Malik said.
"Yeah. It's just my real name." Heba said.
"Well, that makes a bit more sense to me." Joey said.
Joey had begun to flip through the channels on the TV.
"Joey, give it up. There is nothing on other than all this about Pegasus." Seth said.
"I can always see." Joey said.
"Joey, nothing other than that is on, so give it up." Heba said.
"Yeah. I guess you're right. Wish they would get off of it." Joey said.
"Joey, a billionaire was killed when his island exploded. It's going to be all over the news for quite some time." Heba said.
"I know. It just seems to be a waist of time if you ask me. He's dead and gone. Not like they can bring him back." Joey said.
"Hey. Since Pegasus is dead now, doesn't that mean that we can leave and get back to our normal lives?" Bakura asked.
"Yes. I don't see a reason why we should keep you here now." Heba agreed.
"Great! I can't wait to get back home." Akefia said.
"Oh. There was one other thing we need to discuss." Ryou said.
"What's that?" Heba asked.
"Simple." Ryou held up a disc. "This has all the information on Pegasus's operation as well as how he blackmailed the Gate into doing the assassinating." Ryou said.
"Is that all?" Joey asked.
"Well, if this information was sent in anonymously to the DA of Domino, they could take down the entire Gate operation." Ryou said.
"Well, I think you should send it in." Amara said.
"Yeah. I think that that's what should be done. It could get these dangerous people off the streets." Yami added.
"All right. Send it to him, Ryou." Heba said.
"Sure thing. Glad to do it." Ryou said.
Heba was sitting in the meeting room alone. He was waiting.
The door opened and Ryou walked into the room.
"Heba, you wanted to see me?" Ryou asked.
"Yeah. Sit down." Heba said.
Ryou took the seat beside Heba. "What's going on?" Ryou asked.
"There's something that I need to talk to you about. You know how you walked into my room and saw me in bed with Atemu and Yami?" Heba asked.
"Yes. I remember." Ryou said.
"Well, you know what obviously happened. Ryou, I am so in love with you two, but I honestly didn't think that they would return my feelings, so I was surprised when I learned that they did." Heba said.
"What's the problem then?" Ryou asked.
"I'm an assassin. Ryou, I have no idea what to do. I don't know if I should let them go and stay here, or if I should give all of this up and go with them." Heba said.
"Heba, I can't tell you what to do. You have to make that decision on your own." Ryou said.
"I know. I just don't know what to do. I was raised being told that I'm an assassin, and that's all I was meant to be." Heba said.
"But." Ryou prodded, sensing that there was a but coming.
"Ryou, the only undercover assignment I had was when I was protecting Yami's parents. It was the first taste of the real world that I had. I always denied it, but the truth is that I liked being there. I liked having a life other than being an assassin. I enjoyed it. I was never happy after I returned here." Heba said.
"You found out what you missed by being an assassin." Ryou said.
"Yeah. I did." Heba said. He looked at Ryou and said, "Did you ever miss it?"
"Yeah. All the time. I always wanted to go back, and I am now." Ryou said.
"I just wish I knew what the right answer was." Heba said.
"Heba, I can't tell you what to do, but ask yourself this. What would you miss more: being an assassin or losing Yami and Atemu? Which would you regret giving up more?" Ryou said.
Heba looked at Ryou in shock.
"I asked myself that, and I would have regretted giving up Akefia and Bakura more than anything else, so I decided not to let them go. Heba, you need to ask yourself that. It'll give you the answer." Ryou said. He reached out and placed a hand on top of Heba's. "Heba, listen to your heart. It will give you the right answer." Ryou said. He gave Heba another smile before he left the room.
Heba let a smile cross his face. 'I already know the answer to that question.' Heba thought.
Heba, Ryou, Malik, and Joey were in a meeting with other top members of the Guild.
"Leader, why was this meeting called?" one asked.
"First off, I want to thank you all for how you have helped throughout your years here in the Guild. We lost many good men and women on our mission against Pegasus." Heba said.
"They knew that it could cost them their lives. Pegasus was defeated, so their sacrifice wasn't in vain." another said.
"Yes. Now, there is another order of business that has to be discussed." Heba said.
"What's that?" the first one asked.
"Fox, Mutt, and Tiger have opted to leave the organization and go back into the world. They want to lead normal lives." Heba said.
"Well, it's their choice. We will miss you all." a woman of the group said.
"We know. You're secret is safe with us." Ryou said.
"And I have decided that will also go and live a normal life." Heba said.
There was a stunned silence that followed.
Joey and Malik were also shocked. They hadn't expected to hear Heba say that.
Ryou wasn't quite as shocked. 'I guess he chose Atemu and Yami.' Ryou thought.
"You're leaving?" one asked.
"Yes. I am. I have been a part of the organization for too long. I need to leave." Heba said.
"Who will lead us then?" a man asked.
"You will, Iron rod." Heba said.
"Me?" Iron rod squeaked.
"Yes. You were the next in line for the role of leader. You have it now. I will be leaving within a few days." Heba said.
"We will hate to lose you all, but if you feel that you must leave the organization, then we understand." Iron rod said.
"Good. We will be leaving within a few days." Heba said.
Heba, Ryou, Joey, and Malik made their way down the hall.
"Heba, you sure surprised me with that announcement. I didn't think that you would ever leave the organization." Joey said.
"Joey, even I need a normal life. I've been in this organization my entire life. I need a change. I want the chance to lead a normal life. Besides, I have another reason for leaving." Heba said.
"What's that?" Malik asked.
"Yami and Atemu." Ryou replied.
"Thanks for the help, Ryou. It was easy to figure out." Heba said.
Ryou smiled at him. "Glad that I could help out." Ryou said.
"What's going on?" Joey asked.
"Heba became Yami and Atemu's lover. He's leaving so that he can be with them." Ryou said.
"You are?!" Joey and Malik exclaimed.
"Yes. I am. I need a chance, and I would regret it for the rest of my life if I were to give them up, so I decided that I would give up being an assassin. It's the best thing for me." Heba said.
"I guess we all chose our lovers in this case." Malik said.
"Yes. We did." Heba said.
Yami and Atemu were in their room.
"Atemu, what are we going to do?" Yami asked.
"We're going home so that we can get on with our lives." Atemu answered.
"I meant about Heba. Are we really going to leave him?" Yami asked.
"I don't see where we have a choice. You and I can't stay here. We're not assassins, and there is no way that we would be able to fit in. Heba is the one who holds everything in his hands. He has to make the choice. We can't force him to choose the way that we want." Atemu said.
"I know. It's just that after finding him after seven years and finding out that he loved the both of us, I really don't want to let him go." Yami said.
Atemu pulled Yami into his arms. "I know, Yami. I don't want to let him go, either, but if he doesn't want to give up this life, then we have no choice. You and I are not for this kind of life." Atemu said.
Yami sighed. "I know." Yami said.
Heba had gone back to his room and went into the room. The walking had exhausted him, so he needed to sit down and rest.
Heba sat down on the bed and set the cane to the side so that it was within his reach. Heba then turned so that he could lay down on the bed. He let out a sigh.
'I'm going to have to get my things packed. Granted, there's not a lot that I have to pack, but that's not going to be easy.' Heba thought.
Heba looked down at his bandaged leg and arm in a sling. 'I am definitely going to have to ask Yami and Atemu to help me with this.' Heba thought.
There was a knock on the door.
Heba didn't want to deal with anything that had to do with the organization. "Who is it?" Heba asked.
"It's me, Yami. Atemu's with me, too." Yami replied.
"Oh. Come on in." Heba said, sitting up.
The door opened, and Yami and Atemu walked into the room.
"What are you doing?" Yami asked.
"Resting. Walking isn't the easiest thing for me to do." Heba replied.
"I guess until your leg heals, it's going to be hard for you." Atemu said.
"Yeah. That's going to take a while, but Seth said that I would make a full recovery, and I assume that he knows what he is talking about." Heba said.
"Seth is one of the best doctors in Japan. Trust me when he says that you'll make a full recovery, you'll make a full recovery." Atemu said.
"That's good to hear. I was actually going to need to talk to you two. I just wanted to rest before making that trek." Heba said.
"What did you need from us?" Yami asked as he sat on the bed with Heba.
"Well, given my leg and arm are banged up, I can't exactly pack." Heba said.
"Pack?" the two asked.
"I'm not stupid. I knew that I was going to have to choose whether I stayed here or went with you two once all of this was over. After I thought about it, I realized that I would regret letting you two go more than I would regret giving up being an assassin." Heba said.
"So, you're coming to live with us?" Yami asked.
"Well, I hop that you're going to let me live with you because I have no other place to go, and I would really hate to have to ask one of the others to let me crash with them until I recovered or got a job, whichever came first." Heba said.
Yami and Atemu didn't waste any time jumping on Heba and hugging him and kissing him senseless.
"Injured man here." Heba said.
"Sorry." Atemu said.
"We didn't know what you would choose to do in the end. We were worried that we would have to leave you." Yami said.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore because I am not going anywhere." Heba said.
"Well, I guess there are going to be three people living in the house now." Atemu said.
"Can we all fit in the house?" Heba asked.
"Yeah. Actually, a few more people could live in the house. Don't worry about it." Atemu said.
"We're just glad that you're going to be coming with us." Yami said.
"Well, I figure that after all this, I should do what I want to with my life, so I think that I'll do just that." Heba said.
"What will you do, though?" Atemu asked.
"Well, once I recover, I'll probably get a job teaching." Heba said.
"Teaching?!" Yami and Atemu exclaimed.
"Yes. Yugi Mutou has nothing against him. He has a clean record. He also has a teaching degree with allows him to teach from high school to college." Heba said.
"So, you're going to work." Yami said.
"Well, I'm certainly not going to sit around all day." Heba said.
"I think that that's a great idea." Atemu said.
"When are we leaving?" Yami asked.
"I figure a few days. Really though, I do need you two to help me. I can't exactly pack anything." Heba said.
"Not a problem. We will gladly help you out with that." Yami said.
"No kidding." Atemu agreed.
"Good. I'd be having to ask one of the others to help me otherwise." Heba said.
Everyone was sitting in the meeting room.
"I cannot wait to get home so that I can relax." Akefia said.
"No kidding. I have got to see what's going on with the company. There's no telling what has happened since I had to leave." Seto said.
"Seto, you're company is just fine. You know that." Seth said.
"Well, I want to make sure." Seto said.
"It'll be nice to get back into the real world. It's been a long time since we've actually lived in the real world." Joey said.
"You'll get that pretty soon." Atemu said.
"Mom. Dad. What are two going to do?" Yami asked.
"You two don't have to hide anymore since Pegasus is gone, so you can actually do anything that you want." Heba added in.
"Wow. I guess we haven't really thought about it." Amara said.
"We'll most likely move back to Domino. We have missed it there." Aknankanon said.
"What about the fact that they are supposedly dead?" Ryou asked.
"They'll tell the truth. That someone was trying to kill them, and they had to disappear." Heba said.
"That would actually work." Malik admitted.
"So, we'll all be heading back home now. I can't wait for that." Mariku said.
Bakura rolled his eyes. "You can't wait to get Malik in bed at home." Bakura said.
"Like you're any different." Marik retorted.
"Okay. Enough of the sex talk." Atemu said.
"Yeah." Seth agreed.
"Will this organization just let you leave, though?" Amara asked.
"Yes. The only condition is that we don't reveal anything about the organization. None of us will, so there's no reason for them to worry." Heba explained.
"Well, I'll guess we'll be leaving pretty soon." Akefia said.
Yami, Atemu, and Heba were all in Heba's room.
"Do you have everything?" Atemu asked.
"Yes. We can go now." Heba said.
"Great. I cannot wait to get home." Yami said.
"Heba, you have a very limited wardrobe." Atemu said.
"Well, here, I don't really need one.' Heba said.
"Well, we're going to have to expand your wardrobe once we get back." Atemu said.
"I agree with that." Yami agreed.
"I get the feeling that we're going shopping." Heba said.
"Yep." the two said.
"I so cannot wait to get home." Seth said.
"So, where exactly is home?" Joey asked.
Seto smirked. "The mansion." Seto said.
"So, I get to live in the mansion now?" Joey asked.
"Yep." Seth said.
"Yes!" Joey exclaimed.
"I get the feeling that he's going to love doing nothing." Seth said.
"I may do nothing for a little while, but I'll eventually get a job to have something to do." Joey said.
"Well, you won't have to find anything that big. That's for sure." Seth said.
"We'll soon get home, and we can relax." Akefia said.
"What is home?" Ryou asked.
"A three-story house. Granted, we don't need all the space, but it's nice." Bakura said.
"That's good." Ryou said.
"What are you going to do?" Akefia asked.
"I think that I may take a few months to just relax if you two don't mind." Ryou said.
"Nah. Go ahead and take all the time that you need. We make more than enough to support all three of us." Bakura said.
"Thanks. I'll probably get some kind of computer job once I'm ready." Ryou said.
"That sounds good to us." Bakura said.
"Well, we'll soon be home, and we can really show you a good time, Malik." Marik said, smirking.
"Is that all you two think about?" Malik asked.
"Yes." the two said.
"Well, I guess I'll be finding me a job, too." Malik said.
"What will you do?" Mariku asked.
"I really don't know yet. I might try to join the police force or something. It's not like I have a record." Malik said.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea to me." Mariku said.
"As long as you don't get yourself killed." Marik added.
"Being an assassin is the best training that I could have for being a policeman." Malik said.
"He does make a good point." Mariku said.
The group left the base.
Heba, Ryou, Malik, and Joey looked back at the base one last time before they left with their lovers.
It was going to be a change for them, but they were looking forward to starting new lives with the ones that they loved.
Hope you liked it. All the stuff with the assassins is over, but the story isn't over yet. There's going to be more to it.
Next: Returning to everyday life.
R&R.