Leave Out All The Rest
Chapter Seven
"So who are they for?"
"None of your business, Bakura."
"C'mon, Kaiba; I may be a junkie and one hell of a thief, but I am not stupid. You don't look the type." Seto kept his silence up, while handing Bakura, the school's most well known drug dealer, a respectable handful of bills. Bakura took them and stared at him for a bit, but Seto did not say anything. "They're for Yami, right?" Seto's eyes rose up so he would stare into Bakura's brown eyes, but again, Seto refused to speak.
Bakura sighed in mock drama and stepped close to Seto. They had been standing near the hedge behind the school building, after Seto found Bakura and told him he needed to speak to him urgently. Seto had gone to find him after leaving Téa and Yami in the backseat of his Toyota Camry and after promising to come back really soon. It was a priority to get Yami some of that poison he couldn't function without currently, and the one person Seto could think of who had the damned drug all the time, was Bakura.
But now, he really regretted ever having to come to this irritating, conceited pile of junk, with white hair and brown eyes. An extremely intelligent pile of junk to that. More of a reason why Seto was really trying hard not to punch the goddamn asshole on the nose and be done with it.
And the other reason was that Bakura had come into his personal space and leaned close to him, so that their faces were mere inches apart, and he gave a little smirk at Seto's alarmed expression, and muttered, "You're really cute, Head Boy…you think I would think they're for you or for anyone else but that cute scrawny rich kid?"
Seto scowled and pushed him away and said, "I don't have time for this crap, Bakura. Give me what I asked for and for God's sake, shut up. Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voice?"
Bakura stared at him with narrowed eyes for a bit, then chuckled and crossed his arms, while casually leaning against the wall and muttered, "If you're buying the shot for Yami, you'll need someone to give it to him. I have the feeling you don't know how to do it."
It pissed Seto off the notion of not knowing how to do something, but it pissed him off even more to admit to himself that indeed, the irritating bastard was right and he did not know how to inject a dose of heroin. He knew there were a lot of things involved in that particular process and even though he liked to think that he knew quite a bit concerning every topic, he never even saw how a heroin shot looked like, never mind how to give it to someone else.
When his silence lasted for too long, Bakura pushed off the wall and told him, "Just tell me where he is. And I am feeling generous today; I will offer my services for free." He said the last part, raising one hand to place it on his chest and he looked mockingly sincere, as though he was making the greatest ever sacrifice.
Seto glared and, knowing that he had no other choice really because he didn't think Téa knew how to inject heroin either, snapped, "Fine; just stop talking! Your voice ticks me off." And he turned around to walk away from that concealed area of the building in the direction of the place he had his car parked. He could hear Bakura following him, so he took out his cell phone and called Roland.
After one ring, the phone was picked up and Roland's voice flooded in from the other side, acknowledging him, "Mr. Kaiba."
"Roland, bring a limo here to school in less than ten minutes and before you do, make sure that one of the guestrooms is prepared." He commanded, walking towards the car and he bit his lip slightly at seeing that Yami did not stir from where he had placed him in the backseat with his head leaned on Téa's shoulder.
He got the confirmation from Roland that what he asked for will be done so he hung up and opened the backseat's door. He bent down a little and asked in concern, "He's still out?" Téa nodded so he muttered, "Damn," under his breath and looked behind him to see Bakura doing something to his hair, so he made a disgusted face and turned back to Téa who was frowning slightly at the sight of the albino, and explained, "He'll give him the shot, since we both have no idea how to do it, and then one of my limos will take you and him to the Mansion. I'll catch up with you guys half an hour later."
"Where are you going?" she asked in a low voice, her hand pushing the damp, sweaty, golden bangs away from Yami's face.
"I'll go to his house and come up with some excuse to let him stay with me for two or three days." Seto told her, his voice determined. She stared at him in disbelief so he added, "Just tell me where he lives and I will settle it with the least possible harm. He can't go back there in this condition."
She had a doubtful look in her eyes for a bit, and she looked down to stare at Yami's pained features and his abnormally tense body, before she stared up at him once again and nodded and she was going to say something else, but Bakura's voice interrupted her, "You know, Head Boy, I am truly sorry to tell you that you are sadly mistaken if you think I have the whole day to stick around you and the cheerleader, but really…I would love it if you cut the crap and let me do what I came here to do."
Téa's eyes narrowed in anger, while Seto rolled his eyes and turned around and snapped, "Fine, stop bitching." And he looked down at Téa and told her, "Give him your place," and he turned back to Bakura and hissed, "And I swear on all that is dear if I sense that you're doing something funny, I'll rip your head off."
Bakura gave him a smirk and approached, just as Téa was getting out. He was going to pass some witty remark, but Téa glared heatedly at him and hissed, "Not cheerleader, stupid. Head Girl. And you better show some respect or I swear I'll bash your face in and no one in this place will ask me what I am doing."
Bakura sniggered and muttered under his breath, "Jeez people. Stop glaring and making threats like that. I am gonna pee my pants." And he laughed some more, before shaking his head, and he stared down at his backpack which he'd put on his lap and he opened it to take out some stuff.
Seto watched him carefully, as he placed a black leather strap on the seat and, with gentleness that had Seto staring in shock, he pulled Yami towards him and undid the sleeve of his school jacket and pulled it up, as high as it could go.
Seto had to raise his hand to his mouth to stop himself from gasping out loud at the expanses of scarred, mutilated flesh and the reddish tint to the tanned skin, and slight wetness still shining on the areas surrounding long, angry crimson cuts, which were partially healed and had congealed blood surrounding them, accumulating inside them and sometimes sliding in little clumps away from them. It was such a terrible sight; Seto had never seen this much blood up close. It looked like something out of those gory movies, which passed as horror movies nowadays due to how blinding the amount of red in them was.
"Well, Yami, you're one messed up kid…" Bakura chuckled and Seto had to summon all of his willpower not to catch him by his freaky white hair and keep tugging on it till he got his head ripped off. He managed to rein in his anger and watched quietly as Bakura tied the leather strap around Yami's upper arm, a small distance above his elbow and reached inside his bag to take out a leather case, which he opened, to reveal a set of twelve, menacing looking syringes, arranged in two rows on opposite sides of the case. He took one out, and fumbled around inside the bag –which a vague part of Seto's mind wondered what else exactly was inside it- and grabbed a piece of cotton and a bottle.
After wetting the cotton with the alcohol, as the smell indicated, and wiping at a part on the inside of Yami's elbow, clearing away the redness on it, he reached for the syringe and placed it at an angle on the tanned skin for a moment, before pushing it in with the quickness and confidence of one experienced regarding such an activity.
Seto realized that throughout the whole time Bakura pressed the plunger in the middle of the two metal circles he was using to hold the syringe with, he had been biting so hard on his lower lip. When it was all over and Bakura slid out the syringe and cast it aside and again, with amazing gentleness, he massaged the place he injected the heroin at, Seto felt a slight sting on his lower lip and tasted blood from where the skin broke. Bakura pulled the sleeve down and his hands rose to Yami's shoulders and he laid him down on the seat. Before their eyes, Yami's entire body seemed to relax and go limp, after the tension that seemed to pull it strained as though it was a tightly coiled like a spring, left it with the injection of the heroin.
"There; done." Bakura said and dumped his things inside his backpack once again and slid out of the seat. "Piece of cake eh?"
Immediately, Téa rushed forward and she sat down and pulled Yami's head on her lap, as though wanting to make sure that he was okay. Seto couldn't blame her. He too felt so horrified after seeing what Bakura just did and he didn't know how Yami did it to himself everyday just like that. He kept silent, not trusting himself to speak just yet, as Bakura made sure that everything was inside his bag again and stood beside him with a huge grin on his face, as though what he did was just completely normal.
"Well then, Head Boy, I will depart. But here," he said and gave Seto a small, sealed black plastic container. Seto stared down at it, then looked up at Bakura again in askance so the albino stated with a somewhat serious expression, "It's for later. I guess after he wakes up, he'll be able to handle things without me if he needs it."
Realization dawned on Seto and he reached into his pocket, while saying, "Oh, okay let me pay you for i…"
Bakura shook his head and told him, "This is for Yami…I won't take anything for it." Seto blinked in acknowledgement and Bakura turned on his heel and added in sarcasm, "Yami won't go easy on me for taking more money than necessary from his boyfriend…"
Seto scowled heavily, "We're no…"
"Yeah, okay, I get it." Bakura interrupted and walked away, not letting him continue.
Seto wanted to follow the bastard and kill him now that he didn't really need him anymore, but he was interrupted by the arrival of his black limo. Roland stepped out of it, and walked up to him, so Seto turned to his Camry and told him to take Téa and Yami to the Mansion. He took Yami in his arms once again and he placed him inside the limo by himself and after Téa got inside behind him, he turned to Roland and said that he was to carry Yami by himself into the guestroom he prepared and to make sure that a change of clothes was made available and that Téa was to be made as comfortable as possible.
He then leaned beside the window and when Téa opened it, he said, "Take care of him; I'll be right there after you in about thirty minutes. Just tell me where he lives, so I can go settle this mess."
She nodded and described the place. When he was sure he knew where the place she was describing was, he straightened and turned towards his Camry and got inside it and started driving to the place Téa described. He already thought of a good excuse to give the damned son of a bitch, who called himself a father. He just needed to find it within him not to beat the man black and blue the moment he set eyes on him.
He reached the villa soon and he drove inside through the gates and stopped the car in front of the house. He was amazed, as his eyes were fixed on the huge, magnificent looking house, which could be described more accurately as a manor house, with its huge building and its exquisite design and the tastefully designed garden surrounding the entire house, inside the high, protected walls surrounding the whole area.
He got out, straightened his uniform and rang the bell. He waited for a while, heard the sound of footsteps before the door opened and a man came out from behind it. Seto controlled himself with utmost difficulty and forced himself to give a professional little smile to the man with crimson eyes and slightly-ruffled hair and classy, casual clothes. If Seto hadn't known better, he would have thought that the person standing before him was in his early twenties. He pushed all the contempt and hatred he felt for the man standing before him who was now raising one eyebrow questioningly at him and he asked, "Would you be Mr. Motou?" The man frowned and nodded so the tight little smile Seto was giving widened and a little and he said, "My name Seto Kaiba and I am the…"
He was interrupted when the man smirked back at him knowingly and leaned on the door frame, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, "The Chief Executive Officer of KaibaCorp. Yeah, I know…"
Seto's eyebrow twitched slightly in irritation, but he didn't lose his smile, since he knew it wouldn't do anyone good if he lost his temper, and he faked a little laugh and said, "Well I was going to say 'head student of Domino High School', but yes, CEO of KaibaCorp also applies."
"So what can I do for you? Something tells me you are not here to strike a deal with me…" and he started laughing at his own joke.
Seto was so pissed, that he did not even find it within him to fake a laugh this time, and he kept the same face on, waiting for the man's bout of laughter to pass. And as he did so, he noticed the slightly dazed look in his crimson eyes and the way his pupils looked so dilated that he could make it out from where he stood a few feet away. He once again had to use all his resolve not to strangle the asshole and he said the moment the man stopped laughing, "No, actually. I came here to inform you that the school's basketball team was supposed to go on a national tournament and one of its members fell ill… so we took Yami in his place."
At that, the man's smile faded and a sinister expression overtook his features. He narrowed his crimson eyes and raised an eyebrow and pushed off the wall, "What?"
"I am sorry for the really short notice. But the kid called in a few moments before the bus took off and we had to find someone as good as he was and Yami happened to walk by right at that moment." Seto lied so smoothly, he had to congratulate himself mentally for his lying skills. "He did not want to go and said that you needed him to be at home, but the coach wouldn't let him leave at all. So I came here to inform you that our coach is sending his deepest apologies for taking Yami away like this, but it was inevitable."
Seto saw anger appearing on the man's features and his expressions hardened and Seto had to wonder if that was what Yami saw everyday from his father. "How long will he be gone?"
"Only two days from now; third day's morning at the max," Seto said with a smile.
Mr. Motou stayed silent for a bit then tutted and said in wonder, "Never knew Yami played basketball."
"Oh yes, he does. He is very good at it too," well, at least he did not lie much concerning this particular thing; Yami did play basketball, but very rarely. Seto now knew why Yami rarely played anything at all.
"I see…" it came out as a slow, slightly suspicious whisper. Seto watched him carefully as doubt, wariness and fury danced on his devilishly handsome face and he hated, hated so much how a lot of this monster's represented Yami's wonderful curves and the prettiest elements of his face, only in a horribly, scarily harder, crueler way. He was aware that he just called Yami pretty and wonderful, but he did not have time to freak out about it since the man looked up at him with a cold smile and asked, "Are you sure Yami is the right person for this…?"
"Oh yes, I am positive. With him on the team, I am sure we'll win." Seto said with a nod. He then sighed and said, "I was told to inform you of how regretful our coach is, because you weren't informed beforehand but…"
"That is alright," he was interrupted again, but he was more disturbed by the sadistic, gleeful look appearing in the man's dark eyes than by the fact that he was interrupted like that in this way which he wasn't used to. "I am sure Yami is going to enjoy the experience very much."
"W…Well, I will get going now, Mr. Motou, thanks for your understanding." He stammered out, turning around to walk to his car; was the man really that heartless? Seto knew that the only reason he seemed so happy when he said those last few words, was because he knew. He knew Yami was hurt (something that was the reason why he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket right now to call his and his brother's personal doctor) and that playing around like that would mean even more pain for him. He just couldn't understand why the damned bastard was acting like that! What was his problem?
For God's sake, nowadays, people wanting to get married should be put under some tests by the government to check and see if they are psychologically fit to have children. Especially pretty children like Yami…
He sighed and after he hung with the doctor who promised to be there at the Mansion in less than half an hour, he tried to focus on the road and not start thinking of Yami's 'pretty and wonderful' features.
It was safe to say he failed miserably.
When he reached the Mansion and went inside to go upstairs to where the bedrooms were located, he found Téa sitting on the bed with Yami and she had a first aid box beside her and a bowl filled with water that the fog on the glass of the bowl indicated that it was warm. The water was a disturbing, murky, reddish color that sent a slight chill down Seto's spine and it had inside it a flannel wash rag, which was also stained with a dark red colored substance that did not require a genius to figure out what it was. Téa had a roll of soft, gauze bandages in her hand and she was gently holding Yami's left arm cradled on her lap and she was efficiently and carefully wrapping the bandages around it.
He walked closer to the bed and said in a low voice, "Hey."
She stared up at him with sad, tearful blue eyes and asked, "Will he be able to stay here for a bit?"
He nodded and whispered back, not wanting to wake Yami up, "Yes, it's settled."
There was silence for a bit, and Seto couldn't help but let his eyes drift over to Yami's exposed arm, which Téa still did not finish bandaging and he felt a horrible lurch in his stomach at the sight of the dozens of fresh and scabbed wounds all piled up on one another, covering scar tissue of old wounds.
"Stop staring as though it is some sort of a circus…" Téa remarked quietly and Seto had the feeling, as he averted his eyes away, that she wanted to yell at him. But she was right. As horrifically mesmerizing the sight was, after he pulled his eyes away, he realized that he had been intruding in some way or the other.
His eyes rose up once again, however, so he could stare at Yami's face and study it silently. He was relieved that that tight, tense look of anguish and pain disappeared and was replaced by a calm, peaceful, comfortable look.
"He looks so peaceful because of the trash he has in his bloodstream. Otherwise, he should be screaming in agony now," Téa informed him, obviously noticing that he was studying Yami's face so carefully. Seto looked at her questioningly, so she added, "His body is black and blue…it looks like a damned train hit him or something."
At that moment, Seto heard the doorbell ringing and he told her, "Well then I am glad I called my personal physician. Wait here, I'll let him in."
Téa had ranted and objected to Seto being there while the doctor conducted a close and thorough examination of Yami, but Seto was adamant; he stayed inside the room, watching every single thing going on. It took longer than Seto expected but he didn't wonder why as the elderly doctor tenderly took off the oversized pajama top Yami was wearing to reveal what was beneath it from bruised and scratched skin. Hit by a train had been the nearest thing to describe how bad the situation really was. He did not even want to think how Yami got his chest half smashed like that. The possibilities made him shudder.
He stood by the side, Téa beside him, watching as the man placed the finishing touches to wrapping Yami's slim torso with tensor bandages, after making sure that the bandages Téa placed on a nasty stab wound on Yami's shoulder, were alright. Seto had wanted to catch a glimpse of that tattoo Téa told him about, but then realized how truly intrusive that would be. A thought occurred to him, however, just when the doctor was about to gather his things, and he turned to Téa and told her, sternly, "Téa, step outside for a bit."
"Huh…" she distractedly muttered, then stared up at him when the words sunk in and she frowned, "No!"
"I said…" he snapped then paused for effect and glowered some more, before adding, "Step outside for a little bit." As powerful as Téa was, she could not hold out much against the glare he was shooting her. She blinked and bit her lip doubtfully and nodded, before turning around to leave.
He turned to the old man and walked closer to him and leaned closer to say in a low voice, "Please check for signs of sexual assault."
The man stared up at him with a slightly surprised look, before nodding and muttering, "I'll ask you to stay here and help though."
Seto nodded and silently sat down at the edge of the bed, near Yami's head and stared down at him, while the man sat down on the opposite side and pulled the covers from the foot of the bed. He folded them and placed them on Yami's body to cover it from waist-down. Carefully, he folded one corner of them, the one facing away from Seto and he reached under them to pull off the loose pajama bottom. Seto kept his eyes fixed on Yami's unaware face, until the man told him, "Reach under the covers and pull his knee up a little bit…"
Seto fought the blush struggling to creep up his cheek and did as he was instructed. He did it as gently as he could; he didn't know if Yami was hurting where he was touching him (what he saw gave off the impression that every corner of Yami was painful) and he did not particularly feel like causing him anymore harm than necessary. He kept his eyes on Yami's closed eyes, watching his eyelashes flutter ever-so-slightly every now and again, while listening carefully if the doctor instructed him any further. That didn't stop him from running his thumb gently back and forth over the smooth skin on Yami's thigh, and he did not even bother to start reprimanding himself for it.
He made sure to keep his eyes only on Yami's face, wanting to maintain the other teenager's privacy and not violate it more than what had been done already. However, he never missed the initial reaction of the man when he obviously saw whatever he saw on Yami's body. The professional physician's face turned pale and grey with dismay and disbelief at what he saw, and he never missed the blood covering the piece of cotton that he used to clean the injury that was down there.
Soon, the doctor finished and he took off the gloves he had on and put all his belongings inside his briefcase after covering Yami up again and making sure he was completely warm and comfortable. He walked out of the room and Seto followed him. He closed the room's door and turned to find Téa standing with her hands on her hips and the doctor staring up at him with a dismayed expression.
"What in the world happened to that boy?" the doctor demanded, frowning.
Seto looked at Téa who sighed and raised her hand to her hair to brush it away from her eyes and muttered, "No point hiding it. His father is crazy." He stared at her with a blank expression, so she added, "His father did that to him."
"So…he's being abused?"
"A very mild way of putting it, but yes, something like that," Téa told him.
"Then why didn't you call the police?"
Téa shook her head and said, "This is up to him. He refuses to do that."
There was silence in the hallway for a bit, then the man muttered, shaking his head, "This…I've never seen this before. That is horrible."
Seto, who had been silent up to now, straightened and said to him, "Let's go downstairs, I need to ask you something." He then turned to Téa and told her, "I have an idea."
So comfortable…
That was the first thought to hit his hazy mind, as he shifted slightly with his eyes still closed. He wanted to return to sleep; he did not know for how long he will stay so comfortable and warm, but at the same time, he had gotten enough sleep and couldn't stay like that much longer. It was so comfortable. He couldn't remember the last time he was so comfortable.
He ached, yes. But the ache was just a dull throb here and there that was not even comparable to the other cozy, snug feelings he was experiencing. He was warm, his mind was somewhat clear, which indicated that he was not high, yet the clarity was not accompanied by any twinges related to the lack of the drug. He was lying on something so soft and pliable and the entire place smelt so nice. He breathed in deeply, with his eyes still closed and he turned his head and buried it into the pillow, while purring in content.
Yami let his mind drift and he tried to figure out where he was, before he suddenly froze and his eyes flew open and he bolted upright.
And that was when all comfortable feelings faded and a vicious, unbearable pain shot throughout his chest, and up his spine. He moaned in pain and grit his teeth and immediately lay back down on the bed and he kept his eyes shut, waiting for the waves of pain to pass. When they thankfully did, he opened his eyes, blinked a few times then stared around him.
He was in a huge room, furnished stylishly and with the most expensive materials in the market. The bed itself in which he was lying was so immense; he had four feet of space on either side of him. The soft lighting, along with the open windows that let in the cool breeze that kept the room's air fresh drift inside, had the most calming effect ever and he soon found himself relaxing once again and calmly, he started recalling what exactly happened. Last thing he remembered was being in terrible pain from being denied his shot of drugs for so long, then the pain in his chest and lower regions, the conversation with Téa which preceded his collapse…then Seto's sudden appearance and intervention.
Seto's arms…around him. Tight, warm, comfortable, gentle…so fucking safe and gentle.
He blushed and buried his face slightly into the pillow to try and stifle the warmth that crept onto his face.
At that moment, the door opened quietly. He turned his head towards the low sound and watched with thankfully clear vision that small, cute kid with raven hair – Seto's brother –getting inside and closing the door behind him. He turned around and jumped when he saw Yami staring at him. "Sh…you scared me…" he said, putting a hand to his chest. Yami did not answer him, and just kept staring as the boy approached the bed. He looked up at him as he stood beside the bed and stared at him with huge, innocent gray eyes and said, "Seto said you were sick. I am not supposed to be here. Do you want me to leave?"
Yami blinked, stared for a bit more, then shook his head 'no'.
"Okay then," the boy climbed onto the bed and sat with his legs crossed on it, beside Yami and he looked down at him and said, "My name's Mokuba. I am Seto's brother."
"Hi…" Yami mumbled, blinking and with all his strength of will, tried to push away a small voice that remarked about how this kid reminded him so much of…
"Are you hungry?" Mokuba asked him.
Yami once again shook his head in negation.
"Thirsty?"
Yami blinked and only then realized how much his throat felt parched and his lips felt dry and he nodded hesitantly. Mokuba grinned happily, obviously overjoyed that he will be doing something useful and reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the glass water jug and the glass which Yami noticed their presence only now and he poured out some water in it and held it up for him.
Yami carefully pulled himself into sitting position and, after struggling not to show how pained he really was, he took the glass from the boy and drank the water in it eagerly. When he was done, Mokuba took the glass from him and remarked, "You're really sick, aren't you?"
Yami stared at him for a little bit then murmured, "'S okay. I'm fine."
"You should lie down if sitting is not comfortable."
Yami stared some more at the kid, wondering if he was that obvious or if the boy was just too smart. Either way, he found that he was right and that he preferred to slide down to put his head on the pillow and he turned on his side so he was facing the boy. He cringed slightly at how much he was literally swimming inside the pair of pajamas he was wearing; they must be Seto's. He pulled the collar of the top so he could cover his shoulder, from where the garment fell and he asked Mokuba, who was watching him in amusement and interest, "How old are you?"
Mokuba grinned at him pleasantly and crossed his legs once more and told him, "Eleven." Yami nodded and his eyes drifted away, and he tried very hard not to cry at being reminded of Yugi. His eyes went back to Mokuba though when he heard him asking in a sad voice, "You're not in the mood to talk, are you?"
Yami looked at him again and mumbled, "I'm sorry…"
"Don't say sorry…I must be making you tired. I'll just go now…" and he got up and started leaving but then halted abruptly when Yami gasped and clutched his hand tightly and held onto it to what bordered on painful. Mokuba blinked in confusion as he stared down into Yami's desperate crimson eyes.
"D…Don't go…" Yami pleaded with desperation. He then seemed to realize that he must be hurting the boy with his death grip so he reluctantly and so very slowly, he let go of his hand and turned his eyes away to try and hide how distressed he was at the idea of Mokuba leaving, and hide the blush that crept over his cheeks and he added in a low voice, "Please…don't leave. I…I don't mind you staying…"
He could feel Mokuba's puzzled eyes staring at him for a few, yet very long, moments, before the boy slowly sat on the edge of the bed once more and said, "Okay…I'll stay."
Silence hung around them. Uncomfortable silence that made Yami want to cry at how much he was failing to keep this…this painful and, at the same time, completely blissful reminder of his sweet, deceased twin brother, around. His mind was working overtime, trying to come up with something, anything he could say to the boy to make the atmosphere in the room lighter…more bearable. Yet he failed, and he had a horrible headache all of a sudden, coupled with the sudden urge to just cry.
"It's okay. I am usually not in the mood to talk when I am sick either."
Yami looked up at Mokuba who said that with an understanding look in his gray eyes. He then put his eyes elsewhere again and quietly whispered, "Sorry…you just…remind me of someone."
Mokuba smiled, "Really? Who?"
Yami blinked, so that the tear accumulating in his eyes would quickly get evenly distributed beneath his eyelids and so that they wouldn't escape, and he smiled a little and said, "My brother."
Mokuba's smile turned contemplative and he carefully muttered, "And…err…how old is your brother?"
Yami smiled some more and told him, "He should be seventeen."
Confusion and uncertainty clouded Mokuba's eyes and he asked, "So…why is your brother not seventeen? Since you said he…should be seventeen, which means that he is not…" and he trailed off and blinked and went silent, realization dawning on him all of a sudden.
Yami broke the silence which extended for several moments and explained in an even voice, "He is dead."
Mokuba paled visibly and mumbled in a flustered way, "I…I'm sorry…I didn't know…"
"'S okay…not your fault anyway."
The silence stretched itself over them again. Heavy, sad, oppressive. And then Mokuba spoke again.
"How did…he die?"
Yami stared away at the corner of the comforter and stayed quiet for a bit, until Mokuba muttered apologetically, "I am sorry…please ignore the…"
"'S okay…" Yami repeated. He blinked and looked up at Mokuba once more and said, "He was killed."
"I am really sorry…" Mokuba repeated, looking wretched.
"Please don't apologize… just…" he paused and whispered, "Just stay here for a while?"
"Sure!" Mokuba said with a nod and a smile. He paused a little then laughed and said, "Seto asked me to find out how many of KaibaCorp's shareholders were living in the US, yesterday. He told me if I managed to find out before his employees, he would give me an allowance in my pocket money and he would ask me to do these things for him from then onwards."
Yami grinned and asked, "So did you get him what he wanted?"
Mokuba laughed, "I gave him the number after half an hour… He fired someone as a result, but I cannot say I am not grateful that that walking, pink globule who used to flirt with him is now gone."
Yami started laughing at the expression and listened with interest as Mokuba started telling him more of the general happenings of his day…the past week, anything and everything.
He did not know how long it had been since Mokuba sat with him in the room, but he knew that the sky, which had been a pale color outside when he first woke up, was now tinted heavily by the night's darkness. He was laughing quietly at one of Mokuba's infallible 'plans' to abduct the cookies from behind Seto's back when they both heard the door opening from behind Mokuba.
"Oh shit…it's Seto, right?" Mokuba cringed and whispered. Yami smiled and nodded, staring from around Mokuba's side to see Seto standing with a frown on his face and his arms crossed while staring at his brother's back. "He's scowling at me, right?" Yami nodded again, so Mokuba added, "And his arms are crossed?"
At that, Yami just started laughing weakly, not caring that with every chuckle, his chest ached. The boy was just so funny. And besides, he really, really wanted to laugh. Really laugh, not snort in sarcasm or smirk with a roll of his eyes. And the situation seemed so funny to him.
"What are you doing here? I thought I told you not to disturb Yami." Seto angrily demanded, taking a few steps closer to the bed.
Yami tilted his head upwards slightly so he could stare up into Seto's blue eyes which were staring down at Mokuba with a chastising expression in them. He was staring; he never saw Seto interact with his precious little brother before and he wanted to memorize every single moment, since he knew that the chances of ever getting this close to Seto Kaiba were extremely slim.
Mokuba was explaining at that moment the reason why he was here, "Well, you see, Seto, it's not that I did not obey you or anything, but I was taking a walk in the house and I got lost so I opened the first door I came in contact with and I happened to find Yami here…and he told me to…"
"What do you mean 'you got lost'? This room is right beside mine; don't tell me you got lost!" Seto narrowed his eyes and snapped.
Again, Yami couldn't help but start laughing. Everything was just so hilarious, he really couldn't help it.
At the sound of his low, weak chuckles, both brothers turned to him, before Mokuba tore his eyes away from Yami to stare up sheepishly at his brother and ask, "If we're not supposed to disturb Yami, then what are you doing here?"
Yami watched as the unthinkable happened and Seto's cheeks reddened very slightly in the room's calming, low lights and he mumbled in a slightly flustered way, "I was…I was here to check and see if he's awake."
Yami stared at Mokuba as his grin turned slightly evil and he said, "I see…"
So he thought he should interfere somehow and he stared up at Seto and spoke for the first time, "'S okay…he was going to leave but I told him no."
Seto turned to him and kept staring at him for a bit, until he started fidgeting where he was lying on his side, and he felt his own face flushing all of a sudden for a reason he did not know. The silence stretched for a few more moments, until Mokuba cleared his throat, failed to get both of them to stare at him, then sighed and said, "I'll leave you guys alone." And he slid off the bed to walk to the door.
The sound of the door clicking closed behind Mokuba was Yami's signal to try and break the silence so he cleared his throat and muttered in a low voice, "Erm…th…thank you…" Seto sat down on the edge of the bed, making him shrink very slightly at first then relax. He nibbled on his lower lip in worry, as Seto just sat there, with his head titled slightly, making his hair lean towards gravity, and with his intense, sexy blue eyes, which sent chills down Yami's spine were narrowed in a thoughtful expression, as the brunet simply stared at him in silence. "I…I am sorry…I must have disturbed y…"
"Don't say these things." Seto interrupted him with a flat tone of voice.
Yami blinked and stared away at some random corner of the room and mumbled, "Thank you anyway."
"You're welcome, but I really haven't done anything." Seto told him.
Yami wanted to object and say that he did a lot by merely caring to bring a worthless pile of garbage like him back to his own house, to get him his dose of poison which he was a pathetic slave to and…if he was not mistaken, the comfort he was feeling must be because of some medical attention or the other. But he did not say anything and he bit his lip and closed his eyes and buried his face into the pillow to try and hide the anguish on his face; to try and protect whatever ragged relics of his pride were left.
"I need to go home…" he said, pushing the covers away, meaning to get up and leave before he broke down. He had been dreading the moment he did that. He was already so late to get back home, he was in for a really, really nasty beating tonight. He might as well get up, get dressed into his clothes and just leave.
But Seto's hand on his good shoulder kept him lying down.
"I went to your house today." Yami's eyes widened in alarm; what? The question must have appeared in his eyes so Seto added, "I spoke to your…erm…to Mr. Motou, and I told him that someone from the basketball team called in ill and we took you to substitute him on the team in the tournament somewhere else in the country. You're staying here for a day or two more until you're okay enough to go back there."
Yami blinked again and went silent. Seto knew. He knew everything. How shameful! He felt like digging a hole in the ground and burying himself in it to run away from all of this. He buried his face in the pillow once again and kept his eyes shut tightly, and he tried to prevent tears from escaping.
"Yami…" he refused to look when he heard his name being called, but Seto was insistent. "Yami, look at me, please." He carefully opened his eyes and turned his head so he could stare at a point on Seto's chest, instead of in his eyes. He was thankful the brunet was satisfied by that, as he said, "I want to help you…"
"I don't want your charity," he said flatly.
"I offer charity to those who need charity. You don't need that; you need help." Seto stated. Yami still didn't look at him. "If you find the chance…to get rid of your heroin addiction…" at that, Yami's eyes immediately rose up to meet Seto's blue ones with a confused, disbelieving expression in them, as he continued, "Would you grab it?"
What? Yami thought in confusion. How? Just how was that possible? He tried, he tried so hard by himself and it never worked. He would be brought down to his knees each time, crawling in desperation for his heroin whenever he went too long without it. How was Seto expecting that idea to work? He already gave up on trying long back…
"What…What are you saying?" he voiced out his thoughts, a confused expression in his crimson eyes.
"I spoke to my personal physician today Yami. And I asked him if there was a way to rid you of this stupid addiction that makes you vulnerable to…him!" Yami cringed slightly at the venomous way Seto was speaking with, but he paid more attention when the brunet carried on, "So he said that yes, there is a way. It will take about two weeks to make you require only one shot of heroin per two or two and a half days."
Yami just stared blankly at him and remarked, "I put that crap inside of me twice on a normal, good day…"
"Exactly…" Seto told him.
Yami stared some more at him, before mumbling and looking away, "It will never work…"
"Look!" Seto interrupted his discouraging sentence, and made him look up to stare into the beautiful blue eyes, the memory of which gave him a lot of trouble in the past few days, and he listened as Seto resumed, "It is very, very obvious that you're not an addict because of your own stupidity, as I had thought." Yami did not know if he should be happy Seto's idea of him improved, or if he should feel affronted at being thought of in a bad way in the first place, so he kept silent as Seto carried on, "So I don't think you like the idea of ending your life because of an overdose or with some nasty disease or the other."
Yami kept looking at him in silence. True, what Seto said was. He did not want that. He did not want to die sooner than he should. He did not want to die convulsing and with his mouth foaming and he definitely did not want to die on the streets in some alleyway, after getting stared at with disgust, sympathy or indifference. He did not want to have his entire future falling apart because he failed to pass a medical checkup.
And so, he voiced the next question that queried the next flaw in this oh-so-perfect little plan, mentally praying that Seto would somehow find a way around it, "How the hell am I supposed to get away from home for two weeks?"
"I found a good excuse today…I am positive that with me pulling some strings in school, I'll will get an even better one to make you stay here with me in the Mansion for two or two and a half weeks." Seto told him, a certain expression in his eyes. Yami kept staring at him, fear and doubt making him hesitant, so Seto sighed and got up and asked, "Listen…I know it won't be a wonderful joyride, but wouldn't it be better? You'll cut down on how much you use this poison to one-fourth of your normal dosage, which means that even when you go back there, you can carry on with this withdrawal plan by yourself. He won't be able to use that against you anymore…"
The idea sounded too good to be real…but then the pain he was in before he woke up a while ago, it made him shiver in fear and he uncertainly mumbled, "I…I don't know…"
"I spoke to the man today, Yami and he told me that it won't be as bad as stopping the heroin dosages abruptly. It will be a step by step process and it will not be as bad as you think…"
Seto's words, so convinced, managed to send an odd sense of trust through him. He knew he trusted this young man standing beside him; but he just didn't trust himself to be strong enough to do this.
When his silence went on for a while, Seto sighed and mumbled, "Just give it some thought. I know you will come to the right decision, because I know that you don't want to go through what happened today morning ever again."
Yami had to agree. He didn't want to experience the complete helplessness he felt yesterday lying in his father's bed acting his whore, trying to please him as much as possible; trying to make him feel satisfied enough so he would have a little bit of mercy in his blackened heart, to get up and unlock the door to his room. He never wanted to experience the horrible sense of despair he felt after his father left him lying in a disgusting pool of sweat, blood and semen, with all of his efforts and broken sense of worth blown away like ashes placed on a window sill on a cold, windy winter day.
Oh yes, he would think of what Seto suggested just now…
A/N: thanks for reading.
Hathor…