Broken Open 7
Yay! I am so glad you liked the last chapter and yes, the kittens were very cute!
Happy Fourth Of July!
Anyway, please R&R!
Now, ON WITH THE STORY!
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Jack had just finished putting the groceries away when he heard the phone. Grabbing it from its base, he walked to the living room to watch Yusei play with the kittens as he checked the caller ID. "Crow?" Pressing the talk button and raising it to his ear he was surprised by the amount of background noise before hearing the broken voice of his friend.
"Jack…meet me at the hospital…I know…first hand…Yusei…." Hearing the sound of the pained voice along with what he could now make out to be paramedics, Jack yelled into the phone trying to get the red head to respond. He had heard it though, the clatter of phone as it slipped from Crow's hand. Waiting a few more minutes as he yelled into the phone, not noticing when Yusei stood and shakily took the phone from his grip and hugged him as he brought the phone to his own ear.
"Hello?" A muffled response. "This is Yusei Fudo…I'm a friend of Crow's…" more muffled words a stricken look on the younger's face. "Which hospital? Okay…Okay…Okay…We'll be there shortly. Yes, two visitors only please…yes, Jack Atlas and myself…yes…okay Sir…we'll be there in…" Yusei paused and looked at Jack sadly. "45 minutes…we need to…um…get ready Sir." More muffled voices before Yusei hung up and placed the phone down, wrapping his arms around Jack fully.
"Crow…Crow was stabbed…they will give us more details when we get to the hospital…" Jack pulled Yusei close and shuddered. "I'll kill them…the one that hurt you and hurt Crow…I'll kill them all." Yusei just nodded before pulling away gently, his large blue eyes, the one still bruised but open now, glistened with tears as he stared at Jack. "We…we have to go out…I…I'm scared but it has to be done huh?" Jack leaned forward till their foreheads were pressed together and looked him straight in the eyes.
"We must go out but I will protect you…and right now, I think it is safer if you stay close to me." Yusei could only nod in agreement before backing away slowly to go back to his kittens. "I'll bring these two…with me." Going to his room without looking at Jack again, he closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he disliked the blonde's closeness; it was that his self-hatred and generalized nervousness kept him on edge constantly. Sighing to himself as he slipped on fresh clothes and a jacket, he picked up the kittens from the bed and placed them in his pockets before going to the mirror.
The bruising to his face had finally started healing and now only the eye was still discolored. His vision was left a bit blurry but his fears about loss of sight were put to rest and he could start training again anytime…all of these meant nothing though if he was still too scared to step out of the building. He had to though…for the sake of the one that had stood by him and for the one that had hurt him, he would walk in the sun again. The fear was great and that horrible voice of Shame still lingered but he would walk with his head held high someday…he had to if he was going to heal…if he ever healed.
Shaking the thoughts from his head he returned to Jack who paused to rake his eyes over Yusei's body. The clothes he had put on reminded Jack so much of the blackettes old close and besides the bruised eye, Yusei's outside appearance was nearly back to normal. Jack knew though; could see it in the younger's eyes. Yusei Fudo would never be the same until something ended his torment…and no one but Yusei knew what would end his torment. Giving a soft sigh, Jack smiles at the blackette the best he could considering the situation they were heading into and lead the blonde downstairs and to the back.
"We'll take the car instead of the bike since you have the kittens." Yusei just nodded and tilted his head down to stare at the ground, not making eye contact with the few people they past as they made their way. The walk seemed slow but it couldn't have taken more than ten minutes as the pair finally sat in the leather seats of the white sports car. Jack reached over and turned on the stereo for some background noise since he had a feeling Yusei wasn't up for much talking. Pulling away from the building, Jack couldn't help the odd feeling of dread he held.
He had to be over reacting though…everything would be fine…totally fine. He couldn't shake it though as he listened to the songs that played. None held much meaning to him though as he turned his eyes to Yusei as they hit the highway. Surprisingly the blackette seemed in rapture of the song on. It was Slipped Away by Avril Lavigne that drifted over the air waves and Jack reached over to turn it up, the song had only just started.
Na na, na na na, na na
I miss you, miss you so bad
I don't forget you, oh it's so sad
I hope you can hear me
I remember it clearly
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same
Oh
Na na na na na na na
I didn't get around to kiss you
Goodbye on the hand
I wish that I could see you again
I know that I can't
Oh
I hope you can hear me cause I remember it clearly
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same
Oh
I had my wake up
Won't you wake up
I keep asking why
And I can't take it
It wasn't fake
It happened, you passed by
Now you are gone, now you are gone
There you go, there you go
Somewhere I can't bring you back
Now you are gone, now you are gone
There you go, there you go,
Somewhere you're not coming back
The day you slipped away
Was the day I found it won't be the same no..
The day you slipped away
Was the day that I found it won't be the same oh...
Na na, na na na, na na
I miss you
Jack didn't know why he worried so much about the lyrics of the song or the look in Yusei's eyes but it unnerved him somewhat to see it. It wasn't a full minute after the song ended that he heard Yusei speak. "It's like saying good bye to my old self…Jack…" Jack held his breath at the pause. "I'll…I'll never go back to who I was…I would just be a shadow if I tried…" Another pause and a shuddery intake of breath from the blackette. "Maybe…maybe one day I can become a new person…someone who isn't looking for something that's not there." Jack let out the breath he had held and reached a hand over to gently take Yusei's.
"You're going to become a person so much better then you were before. Nothing stays the same and you can only move forward…and you're going to become and even more amazing Yusei then you ever were." As he pulled into the hospital parking lot, he gave Yusei's knuckles a kiss and parked the car, releasing the others hand. A lightly blushing Yusei stepping out of the car as quickly as possible only to rush to Jack's side and hold onto his sleeve, eyes diverted to the ground once more. The kittens in his pocket moved around before settling again as they walked towards the hospital doors where they met a cop who had been sent to wait for them.
"Hello, I'm officer Largan. Captain sent me here to await one Yusei Fudo and one Jack Atlas…I'm pretty sure that's you since I watched the grand prix…" Jack just nodded and let the officer lead them up the elevator to the 6th floor. "He is still in surgery but should be out in a few minutes. You can talk to him as soon as he awakens but for now, we need to talk to you two." Yusei looked up as they stepped off the elevator and met the eyes of the captain. "Sir, I am Yusei…Yusei Fudo. Can you tell us who did this?" The man shook his head though. "No, we don't know yet cause your friend lost consciousness as soon as we got there." Yusei sighed and looked back down but the captain reached out and lifted Yusei's face even though the blackette flinched violently.
"You got punched." Yusei instantly backed up while Jack moved in front of him. "He got in a fight…please don't touch him without permission." The narrowed violet eyes stared down the captain who watched them carefully. "Well…stay out of trouble kid…don't wanna be picking you up next." Yusei just clung to Jack's shirt as the captain walked off with a sigh. The blond could feel the younger trembling but he didn't say anything while they just stood there, the smaller one's forehead pressed into the older's back. When they finally broke apart after ten minutes, Yusei went to sit down while they waited for the doctor, both watching the lit "In Use" Sign above the OR doors.
Yusei pulled the kittens out of his pockets and laid their sleeping forms in his lap as he pet them gently. The small smile that graced his face was enough to tell Jack the pets were a brilliant idea and he would definitely need to pay Katsumi back for telling him about it. Closing his eyes, he let himself drift off into his own thoughts as they waited. The silence was over bearing and all he could do was sit, couldn't speak because he no longer trusted his voice, couldn't even voice his own fears. But he did hear something, after many moments of silence. It was Yusei, humming that song from before. His voice was much deeper than the original sound and yet it kept Jack entranced as he listened, the song replaying over and over in the quiet hall as it calmed over stressed nerves in Jacks mind.
As the song replayed for the fifth time, Jack looked up just in time to see the light go off, Yusei stopped half way through the song, telling Jack he saw it too. They stared at the door as though they could will someone to step out and tell them everything was okay and luckily, their prayers were answered. A tall blond doctor in light blue scrubs came through the doors with a small smile and a relieved look in his eyes. "Are you here for Crow?" when they nodded he continued. "Well, we were able to put a plate in, the bone got stabbed through so whoever did this hit him with a lot of force. No vital veins were cut though and we put the plate in. After that we sutured him up and he is in recovery, you can go visit him whenever."
Jack stood and shook the man's hand hard and smiled at him. "Thank you so much for this." The doctor nodded and stepped away while Jack turned to Yusei. "Let's go visit him and wait for him to wake up." Nodding, Yusei stood and followed Jack to the nurses' desk to get directions. The small black haired nurse told them which elevator to take and which room their friend was in and the cops met them outside. "We're just waiting for him to wake up so the captain can speak to him but you two can go ahead in."
With a nod, they both entered the room with a cringe as they saw the stark contrast of their friend on the white sheets. Crow's face was pale and his usual piercings and chains were replaced with hospital scrubs and a white cast wrapped from his elbow up around his middle and over his shoulder. Yusei instantly went to the red head's side, eyes glistening as he held back his tears, forcing himself to act strong and stoic like he used to. The look was softened though as he pulled the tiny kittens out and placed them on the bed by his friend. "Keep him company you two." The blackette whispers, almost too soft for Jack to hear.
Jack pulled a chair over for Yusei while he took one further away to watch the scene silently but inside, he was in turmoil. "How could I have let this happen again? Why do I keep letting my friends get hurt? No matter what I try, I am so close to losing everyone…hell! I almost did lose Yusei. And now…Now I could have lost Crow if he hadn't been such a damn good escape artist." These thoughts and more ran rampant through the blonde's head as he just sat and watched.
A full 45 minutes past before the red head started to move, his arms twitching before his eyes slowly slipped open. He was met by the sight of large cobalt eyes dark with worry. "Crow!" Was the relieved call given from the owner of those deep blue eyes. "Yusei…Now I know I'm dead…You're smiling." Crow returned the smile and tried to sit up only to groan in pain. A blonde violet eyes face popped up and helped him to sit up as he smiled at his other friend. "Yep, I'm dead, Jack is being nice and Yusei is smiling." Crow could almost cry though at the sight of Yusei's relieved smile…he hadn't seen really any expression on the blackette in so long.
"Yeah, we're all dead so hurry up, your god is waiting." Yusei smiled again, this time a bit teasingly as he stepped out to call for the captain. Crow nodded and smiled again as he caught the sight of two tiny kittens curled up in his lap. "Aww aren't you two just adorable." he murmured and scratched at their ears. "Kasha and Tsubasa. They belong to Yusei." Jack smiled and pointed at the two in turn. Crow nodded and cuddled the precious creatures in his lap. When the door opened again, Yusei stepped in with the captain, his back ramrod straight as nervousness flitted through his gaze. Noticing this, Crow knew Yusei wasn't ready to hear what he had to say.
"Yusei, can you go get me something to drink? My throat is kinda scratchy and I really don't want frozen apple juice." The red head made a face and Yusei smiled slightly again. "Yeah man…can you watch my kittens? I don't want them to get hurt…" His dark eyes flickered over to the bandage on Crow's shoulder before he left the room quickly. Crow looked between the captain and Jack as he took a deep breath. "Let me tell you who did this to me…"
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Line break
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Yusei walked down the hall searching for a working vending machine. He had already visited the two on the recovery floor but nothing was working so he had gone down to the next floor. He wasn't surprised to find that his worry over his friend kept him from fearing the people around him though he avoided all contact. As such…he wouldn't ask for directions which may have been his down fall.
As he stepped up to the next vending machine, he couldn't help the smile as he found it to be working. Putting in the money, Yusei pressed the button just as a hand grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into the machine. "Hello…Yusei, miss me my love?" Yusei felt sick dread as he heard That voice. "Don't worry, we'll be together again now." Yusei could only whimper and something hard cracked into the back of his skull and everything went black…"Ja…ck…."
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Omake (And this is totally your fault ilovemiax)
Jack stepped into the house, a small carrying case in his hand as he went to Yusei's door.
"Yusei, can you come out here, I have something for you."
The blackette stepped out and stared at the blonde who set the carrier on the counter and opened it….revealing….A CRAB!
"I thought you might want a pet and what better than one that matches you!"
Yusei punched him and returned to his room.
"Maybe I should have gotten him the kitten…"
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OMG Who did it! Who hurt Yusei, hurt Crow and now kidnapped Yusei!
Wow, I just left you all with a cliffy lol
Anyway, till next time!