Small Note
Sakura: Thank you so much! I was so glad to have gotten at least eight reviews for last chapter! Reviews like that push me to keep the story going and let me know that people do enjoy reading this. Thank you to those who took the time to send me a review and please keep them coming!
Chapter Seventeen
A Pissed Off Vampire King
It is time for changes to be made
There was honestly nothing wrong with the hospital in the downtown area for vampires and humans to use, but Yami still hated it. There was no way to fit multiple hospitals in Vampire City so Yami came up with a plan to build one huge hospital that was divided with one half being for vampires only, the other for humans only, and a small section for vampire and humans who did not mind intermingling. There were multiple medical offices around the city because they required less space and were only for non-emergency visits to doctors. In all honestly Yami preferred the medical wing at the palace better because his follow vampire friend Isis ran the place and it was over all better for his family. However given this was an emergency and Timaeus had been worried for Yuugi's safety he could not blame the guard for bringing Yuugi to the hospital. When Timaeus had informed him that something had happened he feared the worst when he saw all the blood on Timaeus's shirt. He had immediately put Critias and Hermos in charge of watching after the portal holders until he got back as he left with Timaeus not even waiting to hear what was going on. So that everyone was kept in the dark, the King waited until they were on their way to the hospital to let him tell his King what had happened.
Yami's blood was boiling with anger by the time they got there, but he did not let it show as Timaeus led him through the halls of the hospital to where they had taken Yuugi. Thankfully Timaeus had been thinking clearly given the situation because he had bought Yuugi to the vampire only section where no humans were allowed at all. It was heavily monitored to insure no humans wondered those halls especially after all the attacks that had been happening and the last place Yami wanted his hurt mate was somewhere humans could get to him. No human could be trusted until the hunters were no more.
Timaeus walked right up to the front desk in the main waiting area and exchanged quick words with the nurse. She offered him a smile and gave him a room number, so Yami took that as a good sign. There were not many vampires that were ever admitted to the hospital unless they came in contact with their weakness, so the halls were clear and the room Yuugi was place in was not far down the hall to their right.
They knew they had the right place when they found a doctor and nurse standing outside the room talking. The nurse was taking notes as the doctor gave her instructions. He paused in his talking however when he saw the King and his guard coming up to them. The doctor sent the nurse off with his orders, before turning to his King with a smile.
"My King…" He greeted him, "My name is Dr. Truesdale and I have been the one over seeing your husband's condition."
Yami shook the man's hand briefly, but he just wanted to hear about his husband's condition. "How is he? My guard Timaeus could only tell me so much."
"He is stable and he is lucky Timaeus bought him in when he did. Your husband lost a lot of blood, but we were able to clean the wound so it will be able to heal on its own with time, but every wound is different so there is no telling how long it will take to heal." Dr. Truesdale informed him, "There was a moment when he went unconscious, but after we gave him some blood to drink he came back around. He is weak and as ordered by your guard here, we made sure the blood was clean that was given to him and that only myself and one nurse was allowed in the room."
Yami let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your work doctor. I know you are doing your job, but I would feel better if my husband was transfer to the palace so I may be close to him. Given all that has happened I believe it will be safer there until he is fully healed," He said it as more of an order rather than a suggestion. Vampires were the target and even if his husband was surrounded by nothing but vampires that he did not know personally made the King feel a little on edge.
The doctor nodded. "Of course my King, let me get you the release papers so that we know that your husband was released and his paper work for your doctor at the palace." He left without another word to get the required paper work.
The King left Timaeus in charge of guarding the door, before he entered the room. He found his husband sitting up on the bed and a blood bag in one hand nearly empty with three empty bags on a tray beside the bed. His injured arm was in a sling along with being bandaged from the elbow to the wrist. There was a bloody shirt at the end of the bed that Yuugi had been wearing earlier that day, but the hospital had given him a fresh clean white shirt to wear.
Amethyst eyes turned to see who had entered the room and Yami could see quickly that four bags of blood would not quench Yuugi's thirst. He had that hungry look in his eyes as he continued to drink from the blood bag. If he drank too much blood he would probably be sick to his stomach, so the doctor was right in limiting his intake, but given how much blood he lost it would be a while before he felt full.
"Hey honey," Yuugi greeted with a smile as he finally let go of the bag. He placed the empty bag on the tray before reaching out to Yami with his good arm.
Yami chuckled and sat on the bed hugging his husband. "You had me so worried. I had no idea what condition you were in."
Yuugi buried his nose in the crooks of Yami's neck breathing in the delicious smell that was his partner. "I'm sorry, but I had to protect our daughter…" His mouth started to water at the smell and he wondered if Yami would mind if he took a bite. Before he could sink his fangs into his husband, Yami pulled away as if he knew what Yuugi was thinking.
Gentle hands came to rest on either side of Yuugi's face and lifted his head up to look at Yami. Yami placed a quick kiss on Yuugi's lips, before he pulled back. "You must be really hungry to try and sink your fangs into me."
"Please…" Yuugi wined, he held up his injured arm. "I was wounded in battle, I deserve a treat."
Twenty years of marriage had not immune Yami from the puppy dog eyes that Yuugi loved to dish out, but Yami had to resist this time. Thankfully Timaeus came back in time with the doctor behind him. The paper work was simple to fill out and the file they started for Yuugi of all that he had done to him was given to Timaeus to carry. When nothing else was needed to fill out, Yami took it upon himself to carry Yuugi out of the hospital and back home. It took longer than it took to get there, because Yami did not want to reopen Yuugi's wound, but it was still a short trip.
Isis was not pleased when they arrived and took over, but she had to admit that the doctor who worked on Yuugi's wound did a good job. She made sure it really was cleaned so it would heal properly, before she redressed it. Yuugi was more of a horrible patient than Yami since he was a much younger vampire and the craving for blood just would not go away. He did calm down a little when he was able to see Chan and Kotaro glad to know that they were safe, but as the day grew on he got more and more irritable.
So with his husband needing him Yami was forced to postpone his meeting with the portal holders until the next day. They were escorted out of the city instead of being invited to stay so no secret meetings could be taking place in the middle of the night and then Yami freed himself of any other meetings. The rest of the day was spent keeping his loving mate calm and relaxed so he could heal. There really wasn't anything Yami wouldn't do for his lover.
The morning after was quiet as Yami woke up in his own bed. Yuugi was laid out on top of him sleeping like a baby clinging on to one of Yami's hands. The sun was well up in the sky and it was well past the time he normally got up, but that was only because Yami told his children and council to not disturb them. Isis had wanted to keep Yuugi overnight in the medical wing, but Yami talked her out of it and knew Yuugi would sleep better in his own bed. Truthfully that was part of it, but another part of it was still Yami's little secret and he knew Isis would try and lecture him how wrong it was.
Yami reached up and rubbed the spot at the base of his neck, when he pulled his hand back he found drops of blood on his fingers. He groaned and looked down at Yuugi's mouth. The little imp had taken a bite out of him while he was sleeping. It had to have been recent as the wound would have closed up by now if it had been early in the night. "I figured before bed was enough…" He said as he ran his fingers through Yuugi's hair trying to wake him up gently.
Yuugi leaned into the touch and his eyes slowly blinked open. It took a minute before he looked up at Yami and gave him a small smile. A hint of blood was still on the corner of his lips, so Yami wiped it off. The King kissed him good morning, before saying, "I take it you already had your morning snack."
At first Yuugi looked confused before he noticed Yami's neck and blushed. He moved off of his partner and sat up in bed. "Sorry, I must have done it in my sleep…"
Yami sat up also and ruffled Yuugi's bed head. "No harm done, but I could sure use some breakfast. How are you feeling today?"
Yuugi looked at his arm and saw the bandages needed to be changed out. He moved his arm which he had taken out of the sling to sleep that night and was glad he still had feeling in his arm. "It still hurts like a throbbing ache that just won't go away."
"It will take time and once it starts to heal it will itch for a while," Yami told him as he turned to get out of bed. Once he stood up he stretched his aching muscles, "I felt the same way when my mouth was healing, but those were only minor wounds. You'll need to keep it in the sling for as long as Isis tells you and make sure you do not hit it. I'm sure you don't want the wound reopening again."
"I'm going to have a scar aren't I?"
Yami turned to look at Yuugi, who was still focused on his arm. "Probably given how deep the wound was, but that is what vampires who are weak against silver must live with. I live with my scars everyday but just like you told me it doesn't matter what you look like." He lean back over and lifted Yuugi's chin up so the younger was looking at him. "No matter what you look like I will always love you."
Yuugi smiled and kissed Yami's nose, before he crawled out of bed. "Thanks, aside from the aching arm I feel great." He stretched his back before heading to the bathroom with Yami following him.
"You should after helping yourself to my blood twice," Yami teased the younger as Yuugi looked at himself in the mirror above the sink.
"But you taste so good dear and this wouldn't be the first time," Yuugi winked at Yami before getting their shower ready.
Yami chuckled as he closed and locked the door in case the youngest of the children came looking for them. No it wasn't the first time Yuugi drank from him and it probably wouldn't be the last. It's advisable not to let vampires drink from each other because it could weaken them, but Yami could never deny Yuugi anything and in order to get Yuugi healing faster he could handle letting Yuugi drink from him a few times. They just had to keep it their little secret or Yami would have his council breathing down his neck.
"I win again!" Chan cheered as Kotaro looked over the board once again in disbelief.
"There is no beating you, is there…" Kotaro said as he watched Chan reset the chess board. "What is your secret?"
Chan stuck out her tongue at him. "I'll never tell…"
Yuugi watched them play with a smile as he sat on the couch in Yami's office reading a book Ethan had given to him. It had not been long after Yuugi and Yami had gotten some breakfast and went into Yami's office that Chan and Kotaro joined them. The two were still shaken up about what had happened the day before and wanted to be with their parents as much as possible. Since it was often boring watching their parents work, they bought a few games to play to pass the time until lunch. Beside the two was the puppy they had wanted the other day sleeping beside Chan. When Yami heard from Yuugi about how the two wanted a new pet around the palace, Yami sent Ethan into the city to get it without another thought. The King figured they deserved something good after what happened to them. As long as they took care of their new dog neither Yuugi and Yami mind them having a pet.
Yami was at his desk as normal, but instead of his normal paperwork he sat at his desk typing away at Yuugi's laptop. He was not much for technology, but there were times when it was just faster to use a computer rather than writing everything out.
A knock on the door pulled Yami's attention away from his work as Critias opened the door and informed him that Bakura was here to see him. Yami waved him in, before looking to his little ones. "Chan, Kotaro, I want you two to go with Critias for a little while. It won't be long…."
The two nodded as they stood up with Chan picking up their puppy and followed Critias out as Bakura came in and closed the door behind him. He approached the King and passed him six files to which Yami took in his hand. "We have one confirmed death, while another is in a coma due to head injury, and as I told you yesterday we have four in the dungeon. They have been questioned multiple times, but so far we cannot get anything out of them."
"You're talking about the hunters who attacked us?" Yuugi asked as he put his book down and approached the two. He moved around the desk so he could look over Yami's shoulder as he viewed the files.
Yami nodded as he looked over the report of the dead hunter. "You were out of it yesterday so I hadn't had the chance to tell you. After Timaeus rushed you to the hospital Bakura and Marik arrived on the scene to insure that none of the hunters got away since they heard the call to the police about you and the children being attacked. Once Marik escorted Chan and Kotaro back to the palace, Bakura worked on the crime scene and took witness statements."
"One of the hunters was pronounced dead on the scene, while another who had been thrown into the dumpster was alive, but as confirmed by a doctor he is in a coma. The others suffered injuries, but are alive and well, but are not talking," Bakura explained to Yuugi, "I went through all the databases with Seto and found that only one of the six was a citizen in the city. However we also found that he had only become a citizen earlier this year."
Yami changed files and opened the one about the coma patient. "Daniel Smith, I had a feeling I would be seeing that name again…"
"Daniel?" Yuugi asked surprised as he looked at the picture of the guy on the hospital bed. "That was the guy who asked me how vampires die. He looks so much more different no wonder I didn't recognize him."
"None of this craziness was going on before, so I thought nothing of it." Yami said with a growl. If only he had trusted his gut and kicked the guy out of his city. "I guess it's no surprise that he was one of them, but decided to enter the city legally."
"Legal citizens get housing and all the perks of living in the city. We checked out his place after figuring out who he was and it looked like multiple people had been living there, but once myself and a few officers got there it looked as if the place had been cleared out." Bakura informed his King. "That is why it took so long to get the files to you. We had to check every lead and all our facts in order to attempt to get one step closer to stopping these bastards."
Yami place the files to the side to finish looking at later and looked up at Bakura. "You, Marik, and Seto should take a break for today after all this work and send some time with your lovers. I'm having a meeting after lunch with the portal holders again, but once that is over I'll be calling a meeting with the council to discuss this further."
Bakura nodded and left without another word. Once the door was closed behind it wasn't but a second later that it reopened and the little ones came back in. They went straight to their board game not saying a word to their parents.
Yuugi went to reach for the files while Yami went back to work on the laptop, but Yami grabbed his hand before he could touch them. "Yami, I have a right to see them…"
Yami looked up at him. "I know you do dear, but let's save it for another time."
The younger King looked up at his children then back at Yami. "So nothing will happen to him…" He motioned his head toward Kotaro.
"Nothing, he had every right to do what he did. If anyone says anything otherwise then they will have to answer to me." Yami assured him, since he knew Yuugi was going to look at the file of the dead hunter. He had every right to worry since Kotaro had killed a human, but it was only because he had to protect his family. Yami was not going to let anything happen to his son, because the hunter had been illegal anyway and wanted to bring harm to the city. Kotaro did everyone in the city a favor by taking him out for good.
Yuugi seemed to trust Yami's word as he went back to his book waiting for when he and Yami would need to head to lunch then their meeting with the portal holders. It was going to be a long day, but some changes had to be made.
After lunch both Kings could be found in the throne room with the portal holders and also the members of the council. Yami called a meeting between both groups for a very important reason that he had yet to tell Yuugi. The younger ruler only knew that his husband had to make some changes with the city and the council would need to hear about it also. It was best to get it all done in one meeting then having to repeat himself.
While the portal holders sat at the top of the table closer to the King, his council sat near the end of the table simply ready to listen to what was going to be said. Yuugi would normally be near the throne with Yami, but this time Yami requested he sit with the council so Yuugi found himself siting between Joey and Seto who had recently become members to the already large council. Yami waited until everyone was comfortable before he stood from his chair so all attention was on him.
"First I would like to apologize for having our meeting cut short yesterday, but there was an attack on my family and my husband had been injured," Yami explained to the portal protectors and Yami took note that Yuugi's friends who were protectors turned to look at him. His little one sunk down in his chair a little embarrassed by the attention and offered a small wave to show he was fine. "Because of this recent attack, I scheduled this new meeting for today and also invited my council to join in. There is a pressing matter we must discuss today that will affect this city and those outside it."
Everyone remained quiet and continued to keep their attention on the King, so Yami continued, "I have come to the decision to shut down the portals to humans so that no one may enter the city."
Those words caused wide eyes on some of the protectors while whispers were heard among the council, most of which wondering what their King was thinking.
"You cannot do that!" One voice spoke in outrage and all eyes turned to the portal holder of India, Dartz.
Yami simply crossed his arms and gave the protector a blank stare showing no emotion. "And why not..?"
"You cannot simply trap humans in this city because of what had been going on," Dartz argued and it caused Yami to roll his eyes in annoyance.
"If you had been listening properly you would not have misunderstood, so I will repeat myself," Yami checked to make sure everyone was listening before he said, "The portals will be shut down from any humans entering the city. I did not say that the citizens of this city could not leave. The humans are free to go if they wish but they will come to the palace and file proper paperwork and a warning that if they leave they cannot return until this mess has been dealt with. I do this for the safety of the vampires and those humans who stand by the vampires."
"Sir, if I may speak," Ishizu calmly spoke up and received a nod from Yami, "I can agree with the closing down of the portals, however what about supplies that this city receives from the outside?"
Yami knew that question was going to pop up, but he already planned that out. "This city has plenty of supplies that have already been shipped here to last us over a year. However if we start to run low I will contact you and the other portal holders to work on getting more supplies here. A system will still be put in place to make sure no more stowaways can get into this city." He looked at all of the faces staring back at his and he could see there were mixed feelings about this decision, but Yami would not change his mind.
"I understand this worry about what will happen, but I cannot allow my follow vampires to be killed when they have done nothing wrong. When I became ruler of this city I vowed to keep the vampires in a place that they can be themselves safe and at peace. The same goes for the humans who have made their homes here. However I will not stand by and allow hunters to enter my city and destroy the peace that we have rebuilt." Yami paused to look at the portal holders, before he said. "Hunters forced the vampires to live in this city and select hunter families, your ancestors, were chosen to protect the portals so humans would not know about this place and those who did know would have a choice if they wanted to live among vampires or not. I put my trust in these families and I want that trust to continue as the portals are shut down to keep those out who wish to destroy this city."
His small speech caused silence to fall over everyone as no one had anything to say after that. Yami had a feeling he could trust some of the portal holders, but not all of them. This was why he made his decision to shut the portals down. Only the King could reopen the portals and by shutting them down, Yami controlled the playing field and see what move the hunters would make next knowing that in order to leave they would have to come face to face with the King himself. It was a bold move, but one Yami felt he had to take.
Judging by the quiet Yami knew that no one wanted to speak out against the closing of the portals, because if any of the protectors had it would look bad on them. So Yami figured he best end the meeting while the day was still young so he could plan his meeting with his council for before dinner. "Since there were no objections, I want to thank my portal holders for their time. That was the only important matter that was needed to be discussed and if any more problems arise we will be in touch. You are welcome to stay as I know some of you have families here in the city, but if you wish to get back to your homes, we have escorts who will take you back to the portals." He looked toward his council when he said, "We will have a meeting before dinner to discuss the shutdown of the portals and prepare to make a statement to the people about the decision. Please be there on time..."
No other words were needed to be said as everyone knew the meeting was over. Chairs moved as people stood and Yami watched as select holders left the room, while others mingled in with his council. As Yami for saw the only holders who stayed behind were Amane, Rebecca, Ishizu, and Mokuba. The other seven the King was not sure if he could trust, but with no proof that any holders were involved in this mess he could not do anything about it. It was just best to shut the portals down and deal with the hunters who were already in the city.
A minute later Yuugi was at his side as the room cleared out, "Dear, I'm going to go hang out with my friends while they are here. We won't leave the palace and I'll take Timaeus with me."
Yami pulled him close for a second and place a kiss on his lips. "Alright just be careful and make sure you are there for the meeting this afternoon."
Yuugi agreed and he hesitated at first, before he asked, "I don't remember us ever discussing this, but is it true that the portal holders have ancestors that were hunters?"
"Yeah the only ones who were allowed to protect the portals were families who were hunters. Over time those family developed different viewpoints of vampires as the years and generations went by and as you see some even became vampires themselves…"
"You mean Ryou, Malik, and Seto?"
"Yes, but they had never saw vampires as a threat to humans and as proof Ryou and Malik fell in love and became vampires themselves. It was Seto's adoptive father that was the hunter, but he and Mokuba never had the same viewpoints as the man who raised them. I have a feeling if it hadn't been for Joey wanting to come and live with you Seto would probably still be a portal holder instead of Mokuba." Yami smiled down at Yuugi, "There are those who can only see the wrong in people but as seen with your friends, time can change families."
Yuugi smiled back up at him. "I hope we can deal with these problems soon so the city will be safe once again." He gave his husband one more kiss, before he hurried off to go catch up with his friends.
The King sighed once Yuugi left and took his place on his throne, "I hope so too Yuugi for the sake of our people and our family…" He said to no one as he thought over what he was going to say to his people. He had a feeling things were going to get worse before they got better.
Sakura: I seriously did not mean for this chapter to be this long, but I had to leave it at the right spot. If I can plan things out just right, there will only be three more chapters left. Do not worry there won't be any boring chapters either because as we near the end things will only get more heated up.
So we know Yuugi is going to be okay and the younger ruler learned something new he did not know about his friends. I do not think it was ever mentioned in my story Vampire city, but since this story is focused on the hunters I bought it up to be mentioned. Hunters were the protectors of the portals but over time as families changed so did the viewpoints, so no Ryou, Malik, Ishizu, Mokuba, Seto, Amane, and Rebecca were never hunters they just had family in the past that were or in Mokuba and Seto's case their adoptive father had family that were hunters. It really explains a few things if you can piece together what I was hinting at. If not soon you will know in later chapters….
Yumi: Review!