A/N: updating today because tomorrow I am on shift and I didn't want people waiting until Wednesday evening. The tale is almost at its end. Stick to it a bit further. Thanks everyone.

Bows of Promise

Chapter Nineteen

"Inflate the lung, Rafael, please…"

Yami kept his eyes fixed on the tissues before him, waiting for the whoosh of oxygen travelling through the circuit of the OR's vent, through the endotracheal tube and into the patient's lung. He watched with attention, scanning the surgical field carefully for blood oozing, air bubbles or any other aberrations to the normal field.

He listened with half an ear to Rafael whispering something to his junior residents, instructing a blood transfusion. There had been a bleeder that they cauterized, but not before it exceeded the patient's maximum allowed blood loss volume. The crystalloids weren't going to be useful and they needed the blood, which the junior-most resident standing with Rafael was rechecking the patient's ID before starting to add saline to it to begin the transfer.

He noticed the chemistry between the two the moment he set eyes on the interactions between their blond anesthesiologist and his newest addition to the anesthesia department, a very tall and lean young man with very pale skin, grey eyes and dark brick-red hair which he pulled into a very tiny half-bun and stuffed beneath the surgical cap. He observed the way Rafael's baby blue eyes lingered for a second or two longer than normal on the lock of red peeking from beneath the cap, the way he glared and was generally stricter with his instructions to this young man when he was usually less firm with others.

He supposed Seto would have a field day teasing Rafael once he saw the two interacting.

His eyes grew distant over the surgery field as he thought of the brunet.

They had been back for two days already. Yami hadn't seen Seto ever since the end of the very long, very awkward, very silent flight back to Domino. He hadn't left his suite ever since Seto said good night the last time they talked –fought, a part of his mind supplied helpfully—and he hadn't bothered attending the closing ceremony of the hands-down worst conference he ever attended in his entire life. They only met in the lobby as they left together for the airport, Seto's eyes distant, his stance detached and his words, if offered, cold and indifferent.

He had plenty of time to think things over. Seto had given explanations to all of Bakura's claims. Yami had thought all of them through. It was easy to first recoil and simmer in anger right after Seto left him alone that night. He had nursed his marred features with ice and painkiller pills in his bag for emergencies and sat thinking things through.

First reaction to the entire situation had been a flare of arrogance and pride. Disbelief to admit that he had any fault in the matter. His mind, his ego went as far as proudly denying any reassurance Seto's explanations should provide. A part of him raged, said that those could be mere words. He had no way to confirm that Seto's excuses weren't just that. Excuses. What method did he have to confirm what Seto was saying? How could he be sure that this wasn't just something that fit into the grand scheme of things Seto had planned?

He sat for a long while justifying his reaction. Justifying the way he shoved accusations down Seto's throat without evidence, dumping all of his confusion, damage and distress on him without a pause or a thought to what he was doing and the tactlessness of it all.

Hours and hours later, though… sitting alone, hurt –physically and mentally— and scared, he realized the error of his line of thought so far. The vehemence in them, the force and anger…all of that faded gradually. The strength of the excuses dwindled pathetically. The adrenaline that his fight-or-flight response to Bakura's assault on him faded and the urge to just attack declined down when his mind supplied that he was attacking the last person he should be attacking.

All that was left for him was the way he was sitting in the middle of an empty bed with just his thoughts, his self-doubt, his destructive notions, for company. His pride was not enough to erase all the depressing and unpleasant sensations rushing through him.

He needed something else.

All of the doubts he had for Seto's words disappeared. Or maybe they didn't disappear. In fact, none of what Seto said could actually be proven at that particular moment. But there was nothing to prove Bakura's claims either.

In short, it was Bakura's word against Seto's.

Strangely, though, he was still guilty about just believing Bakura.

He had spent years and years alone, licking his own wounds in silence and not seeking out anyone's help doing so, to walk out the next day with a smile and a stronger back than ever, unbroken and tougher than the day before it and its problems. Seto had wrecked that ability. He had taken away the fact that he had zero knowledge on having someone being there for him. And now, just like any other problem that faced him ever since meeting the brunet… he needed someone with him. He needed Seto with him as he dealt with this…

He thought of calling Yugi and quickly dismissed the idea. He did not want to worry his brother. He didn't feel like dealing with the over-protectiveness that Yugi was going to suffocate him with once he saw his face and heard that he met Bakura once again. And more importantly, he didn't feel like dealing with Yugi's reprimands at how masterfully he had ruined things with Seto.

He had known for a while now that he had made a mistake. Seto had every right to be mad at him. He had every right to feel hurt and betrayed by how quickly he, Yami, had jumped to conclusions about him. Yami had thoroughly reprimanded himself about it all. He had ruined things; picked a fight when he really should not have.

He supposed that it was expected of him. This is what he did, after all. He was a master at ruining good things for himself. At the time that he should have held on with all his might to the one person who would be able to help him with the horror of Bakura waltzing back into his life. Instead, he had gone and picked an unnecessary fight without basis or foundation until he crossed that line, tested the limits of the saintly patience Seto used to deal with him.

He had done this before…

But where he had proudly walked away without a care before…this time he felt that he had been kicked in the gut and the sensation stayed with him. There was a hollow feeling in his chest. Almost like he was falling and never reaching the bottom so he could get rid of the breathtaking sensation.

He needed to face Seto. He knew he needed to apologize and try to fix things. Or at least see if things could be fixed. He had overstepped a boundary and he didn't even know if a lowly apology could put everything back together.

He had to speak with Seto.

It did nothing to soothe his nerves that they were was supposed to have a combined shift today, but he found Jou present instead of Seto.

It made him distracted, shifting his focus away from work.

And just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard Jou's voice firmly saying, "Yami, are you alright?"

He blinked and looked up. He was acutely aware of everyone silently looking at him expectantly. He blinked several times and visibly shook off his thoughtful reverie, grateful for the mask that was on his face, hiding the fact that he was flushed bright red with embarrassment at his distraction.

"Yes, I apologize," he muttered.

He forced himself to look down on the progress of the surgery, noting with mortification that Rafael had deflated the lung once again to allow them to continue with their pulmonary tractotomy of the lacerated lung following a stab wound and that he hadn't noticed any of that happening. They had inserted a chest tube within half an hour of the patient's arrival, but found the more than 1500mL coming out through the thoracostomy tube the moment it was inserted. They had to bring the patient into an OR for an emergency thoracotomy. Jou had repaired the bleeder and had been trying to find any other sources of the blood, but it was obvious that there was none.

They stayed silent for a long while, then, as they were repairing the pleura, Jou spoke.

"Are you alright?" the blond repeated. Yami looked up at him questioningly. Jou's ash-brown eyebrows rose and he nodded his head towards him, "That's a nasty cut there… and a nasty bruise. Are you sure you're alright? Did you have it looked at? Maybe you need to…"

Yami scowled, cutting him off in firm tones, "I was distracted. I apologize. If you want me to leave and call Honda in to take over you can just say so."

He then looked down at surgical field, making sure to ignore the comment made on the bruise still marring his face. It was now an ugly, faded purple color with yellows around the edges. It made looking in the mirror today morning quite a more dramatic disappointment than usual. Plain and boring didn't need the ugliness of pathology and he was acutely aware of the familiar unease of having to walk into work with an injury adding to his already troubled thoughts and he just felt, for what seemed like the millionth time in less than ten days, like curling up and dying somewhere.

Jou wasn't helping at all.

He paused, shifting his feet slightly, "Really, what the hell's the matter with you and Kaiba, you're both so edgy! Did something happen?"

Yami scowled even more at the mention of Seto.

"Nothing happened," he hissed with finality, looking up to glare from across the table. He then pointedly and resolutely fixed his eyes onto the surgical field again. "Can we just focus on closing up the pleura here and get this done?"

Silence took over the room again and Yami was intensely aware of the train of thoughts going through everyone's minds. The scenarios they were making up. He vehemently kept his head down, focusing with renewed vigor on his work, placing perfect sutures and attuning himself to Jou's commands with ease, until they placed the last suture on the skin of the patient, just as Rafael started injecting his reverse and lowering the inhalational anesthesia gradually to wake him up.

Yami took off the disposable gown and stood writing up the paperwork with Jou by the room's crash cart. He quickly wrote down the surgery report with his messy handwriting messier than usual with how desperately he wanted to be done with it before Jou so he could take off before his blond superior to avoid the questions he knew were coming. To his irritation, however, it seemed that no one could write or scribble faster than Jou, who finished his report an entire three minutes before he did.

Yami wanted to commend him on the impressive skill. He was far too busy trying to act normal, though and leave the room as quickly as possible.

Jou followed him with ease.

"Would you like to tell me what's going on?" Jou asked him as they walked out of the PACU and out to the hallways beyond the operating theaters.

He feigned ignorance, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jou placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. Yami stared up at the concerned hazel eyes. "Whatever problems between you and Seto, Yami, I am not interested in their details. Unless he was the one he placed that bruise there…"

Yami blinked. "Oh no…" he shook his head. Jou's eyes narrowed slightly and he rushed out, feeling very defensive and oddly offended by the suggestion on Seto's behalf. "No, no, no…you got it all wrong. No, Jou, it's not Seto…"

"Then who is it?" the question was asked in low, slightly angry tones.

Yami flushed bright red, automatically and –stupidly—too hastily replying, "I fell." Jou crossed his arms and fixed him with an intense look. Yami squirmed under the gaze, unable to meet it, the lie too difficult for some unfathomable reason. "I…err…I got dizzy. Didn't have a good breakfast… hypoglycemia and stuff… and I fell," he tried explaining further, stuttering and looking at the wall, praying his excuses wouldn't sound too obviously fake. He knew it was futile though and it was fuelling his desperation and he found the words dying at his lips.

Silence hung between them like a thick curtain.

He wanted to run and hide. He didn't want any confrontations and he wasn't in any mental state to have one with Jou. He was about to excuse himself and run out like a coward when Jou spoke.

"I understand you are a private person, Yami…" Yami looked up at him. There was a grim look on the usually very teasing, easy-going features. "You are very secretive and everyone who dealt with you for the duration of your stay in Domino knows that too well. But that does not mean you will not find help if you need it."

He blinked in surprise at being called secretive. He never thought of himself like that at all. But this wasn't the first time someone said that about him and having Jou saying the same thing without prior knowledge that he had been called that before unnerved him a little. It also made him flush slightly with embarrassment at the worried look in the hazel eyes.

"Jou, I don't really need you to worry ab…" he started defensively, but stopped when Jou quickly shook his head.

"I will believe you saying that you fell. And that that bruise which is obviously a result of someone taking a swing directly at your face is in fact a result of some fall due to hypoglycemia…" the blond said firmly. Yami flushed brightly and looked away. "I want you to know however, that should another hypoglycemic dizzy spell hits you, I will be there to prevent it or beat it into a bloody pulp if I cannot."

Yami, against his will, snickered at the words.

Jou smiled. "Atta boy…" he commented and Yami gave an embarrassed little smile after his laughter subsided slightly. "Do you need to talk, Yami…?" he added with a serious look again.

Yami opened his mouth to say something. He realized that he had no idea what he was about to say though. The offer was tempting, but he didn't think he could do it. He wanted to ask for advice. After all, Jou knew Seto for far, far longer than he did. But he couldn't bring himself to speak.

He closed his mouth again, sighed and shook his head.

"Thank you," he started. He raised a hand to the back of his head, "I am just… tired. The conference didn't go as well as I thought it would."

Jou nodded. "I figured as much… still, my offer stands," he insisted. "If you need to talk, I will listen even if I cannot help. I know I said that your and Seto's problems are none of my business, but I just want you to know that…" he paused. He looked almost thoughtful, carefully trying to choose his words. "I want you to know that a lot of us… and me as well, we all want things to be alright with you and Seto, Yami."

"Do you really?" Yami asked with a sad little smile.

Jou nodded. "I've known Seto for years, Yami… he hasn't had things easy for him but he's stubborn and does anything he can to prove himself. Sometimes even at the expense of his own wellbeing."

Yami stayed silent and listened to Jou's words, letting them sink in properly.

"He's an idiot, no matter what shit he spouts about being a genius. An idiot and a socially-awkward one, at that. Relationships aren't easy for him. Whenever he gets into one, he's extra careful not to ruin things. And sometimes, things just don't work out and even if now he knows that it isn't his fault…but I've seen him beating himself up for things that aren't his fault and that he had no say in."

Yami let him speak. He was getting insight and perspective he needed, even if Jou didn't know what transpired between them. He was letting him speak with spontaneity, soaking up the surplus of information and storing it away to think about it properly in future situations where he had had his head up his ass like he did with that last argument.

"I just want you to know…and Seto will kill me for this, but I want you to know that you're different from the others, Yami…" Jou was adding. Yami stared up at him silently, not offering any outward reaction, so he continued, "I am offering a listening ear, if I can't offer anything else."

Yami nodded. He was dumbfounded by the offer. Jou had no reason to try and help. Other than just being a good person, generally. It was a feat that was common to people here and Yami found it very difficult to adjust. To believe for real that these people who had no purpose in helping him doing it just like that, so easily.

He supposed that was the root of the fight he had with Seto. The trust issues—as Seto's accurate description went— so inherent within him that pushed everyone away indistinctively, regardless who wanted to help him and who meant him harm. He had no means to differentiate who the genuine ones were and who wanted something from him and it was the reason why he was in this mess in the first place.

He was distracted by those thoughts. Jou had started talking about boring paperwork that didn't interest him in any way. He only caught gist of the topic he was discussing. He had been saying that everything was ready for the election ceremony taking place tomorrow, that everyone had received their ballot cards. Yami knew that that was the case because he found his waiting for him on his phone in the form of a code sent via SMS. He wondered what decision Yami reached about those elections and ranted about Pegasus already trying his hardest to secure the position. He said something about him being interested in the observership programs, that he had taken a liking to one of the doctors in the new batch of candidates had arrived and were going to attend the surgeries with them starting today.

Yami couldn't care less about it, not one bit, until a few of Jou's words penetrated the fog of his thoughts.

"…weird hair. It's entirely white in color. No wonder he and Pegasus are working on their thesis together. He said he knew you before and…"

He stopped in his tracks, eyes widening in horror.

"What?" he cut off Jou's rant with the single question.

The blond, who had walked on, not noticing he had stopped in the middle of the hall turned to look back at him. "Hmm? I said he said he knew you. He had weird white hair and he works with Pegasus on a combined…"

"His name's Bakura?" Yami urgently asked, his voice dropping to a hush. He had to praise himself on the fact that he could speak at all.

Jou raised an eyebrow, "So you do know him?"

Yami raised a hand to run it through his hair, removing the surgery cap still on it in the process in a nervous, agitated gesture. "Yes…Yes, Jou, I know him." Jou walked back towards him, a concerned look on his features. Apparently, he was about to ask about the cause for his reaction, but he interrupted, "How long is he staying?"

The suspicious look was still in the hazel eyes as Jou answered, "He said he's here in Domino for just a few days. He's going over the final details of his thesis with Dr. Crawford, observing the surgery lists during those days and leaving by the end of the week after attending the party after the elections are held." He paused. Yami closed his eyes for a few seconds, then silently started walking once again. Jou stepped beside him. "Is there a problem?"

Yami looked at him for a few seconds in which he made a single decision.

This wasn't the time to be proud.

He swallowed what felt like all of his ego and pride. "We…err…met during the conference."

Jou remained silent, letting him have the pause that he needed so much.

"Bakura and I… we aren't on very good terms."

Jou stopped. Yami met his eyes for a few seconds, noticing the way the hazel eyes fixed themselves on the scabbed over cut above his lid, the way they trailed over the remainder of the bruise on the side of his face and realization and understanding blossomed on his features.

"I am asking him to leave," Jou said with finality.

Yami blinked, "You can't do that."

"You can watch me."

And he started walking away, determination in his footsteps. Yami rushed after him. "Jou, don't be an idiot! An observership isn't prone to the likes and dislikes of the department members. It is the reputation of an entire university campus. Don't go making trouble with the board just because I am finicky around a guest."

"It sure as hell is prone to the whims of the head of the department the guest is visiting, Yami. And if that asshole is the reason behind that bruise then I don't want him around, university board be damned!" Jou snapped at him.

Yami held on to Jou's arm, looking around him to check if anyone heard the exchange. "Jou, please! Don't make a scene," he hissed in low tones, pleadingly. The blond scowled, apparently not convinced, so Yami quickly added, "I am adult, Jou. I am sure I can handle a few surgery lists with someone I don't exactly see eye to eye with. So can we just stop making a fuss out of this and return to work?"

Jou pursed his lips tightly and Yami could just hear the war waging beneath those thick blond locks of his. He remained silent for a few more seconds then he scowled.

"Alright, Yami… but if he steps one toe out of line I am kicking his ass out whether you like it or not. I'm tailing you throughout his stay and he better stay away from you."

Yami almost, almost felt like laughing at the threat-like tone to Jou's tone. Almost.

The anxiety rushing through him at yet another appearance Bakura was making in his life made everything joyful disappear. For the moment, he could only focus his attention on preparing himself to deal with the unpleasantness that being in close proximity with Bakura at work.

Jou changed the subject expertly. He asked him what he decided to do tomorrow during the department elections. He stressed on him that whatever he decided was alright and that he should just do what he thinks is right. Yami quietly told him that what he thought was right, was to show up tomorrow and vote for Seto. Jou shrugged and nodded, telling him that that is what he should be doing if he thinks it's the right thing to do.

Yami thoughts drifted. He had thought long and hard about this. He knew that no matter how much he enjoyed his peace of mind and staying below gossip's radars, he knew that it was the right thing to do. He had worked with everyone over the duration he spent in Japan ever since he arrived. He worked with Seto, with Jonouchi and with Pegasus as well as the other younger members of the department. Each had a different work dynamic. Each were so different from the other, even the way they liked to loop the thread around the tip of a needle holder to place a surgeon's knot…

Yami knew long, long ago that medicine was art. Each specialty of it tailored itself to suit each patient, giving then end result as suitable as possible. Each of them had their own style of using the knowledge they obtained over the years, coupling it with those years' experience and then modified each response according to each patient's complaint.

He knew that such a thing was evident more in surgical specialties than in internal medicine. He knew that surgeons especially had to obtain finesse with their work that many other doctors could get away with not having.

And just like he knew that he had his own style, his own character to add to his practice of medicine… he knew how to spot his colleagues' styles.

And comparing between Seto and Pegasus was so easy.

Objectively speaking, both Seto and Pegasus had exactly what it takes to run the department smoothly. Both were ruthless. A feat that Yami knew from working at so many hospitals and with so many departments, was a necessity.

But Seto was just…better. Yami realized that there must be some bias in his judgment. But he knew that that must be the case with everyone, he supposed. He was trying his hardest not to let his relationship with the brunet determine anything to deal with this.

With the same objectivity, he tried comparing the two. Both had the artist-like finesse Yami sought with everyone he worked with, there was no doubt about it. Each had a rationale for their unique style. And they convinced him easily with that rationale.

But Seto was better for because he went an extra mile. After every surgery, he would ask for saline on surgery towels and would wipe down the area where he worked, cleaning it completely before finishing his work, easing the nurses' jobs and generally letting the patient leave the room looking clean and well-groomed and very well cared for. He would always tie his knots along the same side of the wound even if it had absolutely no effect whatsoever to align them on different sides. He would always make sure to explain every little relevant detail to his patients' relatives, patient and attentive and firm in a way that Yami had never seen on any other surgeon before him.

Working with Seto in a theater was easy…

Pegasus was automatically abrasive to everyone around him. Even before the fiasco that took place between him and Yami, Yami was uncomfortable working with him. And like with Seto…it was the little things that really made him cringe at working with Pegasus. Where Seto was respectful, handling the skin, muscle and tissues before him with deference, Pegasus was just…not. He had no qualms making crude jokes involving the patient. He was outright abusive sometimes. Yami had seen this type of surgeon before; crude, disrespectful to the sacrosanct nature his touch was supposed to be. He made comments on previous scars, made comments on patients' figures and builds… once made fun of a woman's nose, another's stomach.

It was an easy decision to make.

Since both of them were equal at surgical skills, degrees obtained –no matter who was older or who got his PhD first—and leadership skills… the only factor left to determine who was more deserving of the position was easily …ethics.

Yami had reached that conclusion easily. He just wasn't sure what to do. He was advised to do what he thought was right and since his vote was so important suddenly, Jou, Pegasus and Bakura were all very interested in it…he knew the right thing would be to give it to someone who deserves it and will be worthy of it.

Amidst all the turmoil of his thoughts, as they went about their day dealing with the emergency cases drifting one after the other and doubtful decisions on what to do the next day, his thoughts kept drifting back to one thought. All he could think of after every anxious, upset train of thought was how much he wished Seto would just be there. Even if he was still angry, even if he was giving Yami the cold shoulder and still hurt by his words… Yami just wished he was there.

He went home and called his brother to check on him. He carefully avoided the subject of the conference. He also carefully wiggled his way out of a dinner invitation as he stood in front of his bedroom's mirror, grimacing silently at the bruise he knew Yugi would fuss endlessly about. He hung up after listening to Yugi's inane chatter on Anzu's return to her dance classes, something about his own starting semester and a potential part-time job at a nearby grocery shop. Yami offered appropriate responses to the news, his mind distracted but he miraculously avoided Yugi noticing that. Or perhaps his brother noticed, but didn't feel like pushing for details. All in all, by the time he hung up, he was grateful he wasn't pulled into a discussion he didn't want to have.

He showered and changed into a pair of pants and a long-sleeved warm t-shirt. He fixed himself a sandwich, grabbed an apple and trudged with slow steps into his bedroom, lazily eating and stopping next to the window to watch the sea. It was a starless night, the clouds hanging low and threateningly over Domino promising heavy downpours tomorrow.

Tomorrow he would have to go through with an experience he thought he had left behind. He would have to stand in the same operating room with Bakura. He would have to work under his scrutiny again, even if this time, he won't have a say in his technique, his choice of action. He knew he would have to listen to his choices getting belittled in front of all of his new colleagues.

He knew he was in for yet another nasty reenactment of a past he had hoped he left behind.

And to make matters worse…Seto wasn't going to be there for it. He was going to be alone.

With these thoughts swirling through his mind, he cleared his dinner with his meager appetite, went around the house tidying it up, putting away the things he had taken with him on the conference that he hadn't had the energy to put away. The mess was taking its toll on his stressed out mind, though and the tedious, almost mechanical actions of cleaning comforted him.

He went to bed, dreading the next day and with an unpleasant rolling of his stomach that reminded him of exam days and he lay tossing and turning for hours until finally, he fell into exhausted sleep, filled with nightmares and scenarios that could take place.

He walked into the OR the next day, groggy and grumpy to find Seto standing with Jou.

His arms were crossed and there was a scowl on his face and he, as well as Jou, were both staring at a far corner of the room.

Yami silently made his way over to them, quietly uttering a good morning and following their gaze.

Immediately, he looked away when he found Pegasus standing with Bakura, both of them engrossed in some discussion or the other over a patient's file.

Seto positively looked murderous.

Yami shifted uncomfortably, torn between unease at Bakura's presence, guilt that Seto was still angry and the rush of happiness and calmness going through him at the brunet's mere presence. He wasn't sure what to do, he just knew that, after averting his eyes from Bakura and looking at Seto, he could feel a deliriously delighted expression spreading on his features. He wondered why he was here. Today, in their schedules, Seto was supposedly off. Didn't have a surgery list and wasn't on call.

A little niggling part of him suggested that maybe Jou told him that Bakura was present and that was why he was here? Something fluttered in his stomach at the thought and he stared up at Seto, trying to read anything in the stoic, cold features.

Seto wasn't reacting, though.

Yami felt his heart sinking when he realized that he was still getting the silent treatment. He remained quiet, going over his next surgery's files, half-reading and half-focused on Jou's conversation with Seto. He was telling him he needn't come so early and he could have just arrived for the elections taking place after the surgery list. Seto was quietly replying and Yami couldn't hear what he had to say.

He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and focused on the file.

"You look unhappy…"

He looked up to meet kind baby blue eyes and he smiled at the words muttered with a familiar calmness. "Don't worry about it, Rafael…" he reassured, touched beyond belief.

The blond anesthesiologist gestured for him to come with him with two long slender fingers, "C'mon, I'll take a look at your patient's file before examining him. You can keep me company."

"Where's your new resident?" Yami smartly teased, a side-grin tugging his lips mischievously.

"Har, har, Yami, very funny," Rafael told him and Yami outright giggled. They stepped around the corner and towards the other side of the PACU where the patients waited to get into the Operating Rooms or get out of them, then Rafael stopped him, "Leave that topic aside for now. I wanted to speak to you about something."

Yami raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"What will you do with your department's elections today?"

Yami stared blankly at him.

Rafael clucked his tongue slightly.

"Look…what happens in your department is none of my business Yami," he said, looking uneasy.

If Yami had been a ruder person, he would have agreed. It was a generally accepted worldwide rule that hospital departments did not get involved in one another's politics. Instead of pointing that out, though, he continued staring questioningly at him.

"I am not interested in that… I just want to tell you that you are in a very sticky situation Yami. We all know that it's Kaiba who deserves that position. And I just want you to know… that even if you don't attend today's event, people will still talk. It will be said that you bailed out on him. That when he needed your vote the most, you didn't give it to him."

Yami frowned. He had never thought of this possibility.

"What I mean to say…is that no matter what you do, Yami, people are going to talk. And…I know this is too short notice and a bad time, since the surgery list is just about to start, but I couldn't get a hold of you until now, so I can just tell you that you should do what you think is right, regardless of what you think people will say. Because like it or not, they will have something or the other to say about any matter, no matter how mundane…"

He sighed.

"Rafael, what I think is right is to try my best to get Seto into that post. But you know how this will look like…" he trailed off, uneasy.

Rafael shook his head, "I know exactly what this looks like considering all of your options. As I said, people will talk regardless of your decision." He was silent for a few moments. "And you're thinking from your perspective only, Yami… let me tell you something. If Seto gets this post and you show up to vote, regardless who you vote for…people will forever gossip that he was going out with you just so you can get him there."

Yami blinked and opened his mouth in shock for a few seconds, thinking carefully of his words, then lowering his voice a little and whispering, "Rafael, someone already told me that Seto is doing just that."

Anger flashed in the baby blue eyes, a swearword uttered under his breath and Yami averted his eyes somewhere else, his mind swirling with a million thoughts.

"I knew it!" Rafael was saying.

Yami looked up at him, searching with desperation for any signs of deception on his face. He then closed his eyes, realizing what he was doing. He was mistrusting every single person in his path without second thought. He was so willing to succumb to Bakura's lies… the way he wanted to poison every aspect of his life, that he immediately looked for ways to prove his words truthful over the words of these people who he spent months working with and they proved, time and again, that they were good decent people who had no desire whatsoever to hurt him…

He was giving Bakura exactly what he wanted. Total unquestionable control over every aspect of his life years and years after they broke up.

He shook himself out of his self-reprimanding thoughts to Rafael speaking.

"Yami…let me just tell you that Kaiba is a celebrity… he's been a celebrity for years. Not only in Domino, but all over the world. He has news spreads done for him just like any other famous person out there. You seem to forget that fact."

Yami blinked, staring ahead of him and shrugging slightly. It was true. It was a fact he was overlooking time and again.

"I have only one thing to say to you, Yami… rumors will follow Seto wherever he goes…" Yami turned to look up at him. "You have one of two choices…either care about every little thing people have to say about him, disregarding the truth or lies behind them…or you can just believe in the person you've gotten to know and you're still getting to know."

Yami gave him a half smile. It was a bit cute… Rafael giving him this talk. He felt touched. It made his eyes mist over very slightly and his chest tighten. These people were no longer just workmates. This wasn't like any other place he worked at. This place was different. The people were different. Usually, he was aloof enough to keep everyone away long enough for him to pack and move on somewhere else. Usually…he never allowed anyone to speak to him of personal matters. He never allowed himself to trust anyone with personal matters. Rafael may not know the depth of the problem that happened with Seto in Tokyo, neither did Jou, but surely, both of them wanted to help and made that clear enough.

It was now up to him. Either he let Bakura ruin his life with mere words after walking back into it uninvited like he did…or he could put an end to this mess and for once, stand up for himself without anyone's prompting.

It was soothing that, even if it scared him so much and made his stomach flutter with unease… he had made a decision.

tbc…