*Cough! Cough!*

"Ack! Sh*t!"

The grey smoke continued to rise from the metal device, right into Bakura's face.

"Motherf- Ra-dammit!" Cursing and snarling, the palest yami continued wrestling with the silver machine. The former spirit of the Millennium Ring scowled as he angled the knife downwards.

'Here I thought I'd finally mastered this bloody 'toastur' thing, and now the damn bread is stuck!'

He continued grappling with the 'toastur,' trying not to make too much noise.

Malik and Ryou were in the living room, talking about something school-related. Bakura quickly lost interest and decided to make a ham sandwich. Ryou offered to help with the toaster, but Bakura (proud and stubborn as always) refused his aid. Normally, the Ancient Egyptian wouldn't turn down such an offer, as his knowledge of modern mechanics was still marginal. But he didn't want Malik thinking that the King of Thieves couldn't handle such a simple device. So he'd gone into the kitchen alone, prepared to do battle with the monstrous machine.

"F***!" The sheer volume of smoke was reaching suffocating levels. The clueless yami kept trying to pry the bread from the heated device, but to no avail. He didn't even hear the footsteps when his hikari came in to see what was happening.

"Bakura- what- OH!"

Ryou let out a gasp of horror, and quickly pushed his yami aside. The boy grabbed the knife, but the movement caused the metal blade to touch the hot coils inside the toaster.

Rou's body jerked and twitched unnaturally, and Bakura swore that he saw a thin, blue light traveling along his limbs.

"SH**!" The panicked yami quickly grabbed the toaster's black handles and threw it across the room. The device came unplugged as it was thrown, and Ryou fell to the floor, his eyes closed.

"RYOU!" Malik had come running after Bakura's last outburst, and he quickly kneeled down next to his motionless friend. The pale yami was unsure what to do, but thankfully the younger Egyptian had some knowledge of modern treatments.

The smoke slowly dissipated as Malik attended to the victim. Bakura watched, anxiously, as the bronzed boy listened to Ryou's heart and lungs before kissing him on the mouth- wait-

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY HIKARI?!"

Malik looked upward before screaming back. "It's called CPR, dumbass! I'm saving his life!"

Bakura watched as the blonde teen pressed down on Ryou's chest and snarled. "Now what the f*** are you trying to do?!"

"I'm keeping his heart beating and his breathing steady! Now go get a phone and call 9-1-1!"

Bakura hesitated and was about to lash out, when Ryou suddenly gave a weak cough. He twitched again and laid still. Bakura ran to the living room and picked up the talking-device.

"Crook- reed- reed- ...Yes! My hikari's hurt! He's not breathing and he's lying on the floor- what? What the bloody- NO, I'm not wearing a dress!"

"It's the 'address' Bakura! She wants to know where we are!"

"Oh, right- we're in the living room of Ryou's house!"

"Ra damn it, thief!- GIVE ME THE F****** PHONE! -Hello? Yes, my friend is having trouble breathing! He's on the floor and I've been performing CPR for the past five minutes- Ok, so keep doing that- um, crap, I don't know, actually- Bakura, what happened to him?!"

"I was messing with the 'toastur' and he touched something and started shaking and jerking!"

Malik's mouth dropped in a perfect 'O' shape. "...oh, sh*t."

"What? What?!"

But Malik just spoke into the phone again. "I think he was electrocuted- yes, probably a standard wall outlet- not sure- how long? Oh good- alright, what else should we do?"

Malik continued talking on the phone in between chest compressions. Several minutes later Bakura jumped as there was a pounding at the door. Malik turned his head and snapped impatiently.

"Open it!"

As soon as the door was opened, three men wearing matching uniforms barged in. One ran to Ryou and put a half-mask over his face. The other two unfolded some form of wheeled-bench and hoisted the unresponsive teen up. They quickly wheeled the stunned hikari to the ambulance.

Bakura ran after them, but Malik grabbed his arm.

"Tell them you're his brother!" The darker Egyptian hissed under his breath.

"What? Why?!"

"Only immediate family can see him- go!"

The solemn yami nodded before rushing to the white and red vehicle.

One of the medics held out a gloved hand. "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't ride along."

"I'm his brother." Bakura tried to sound confident, but the worry that scratched his boldness slipped through.

But the paramedic seemed to take the hitch as a sign of concern. "Alright- you can sit there; just put on the seatbelt and don't move."

Bakura nodded obediently and latched himself in. Ryou had taught him how to cross the belt and snap it into place. The boy insisted his yami had to do it every time they rode somewhere. And if Bakura protested, the boy would just smile and explain: "Cars crashes can be dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt."

Bakura repeated the last phrase over and over in his head as he watched the pale boy lying on the stretcher.

'Hikari... please be alright.'

An hour later, and Malik had gotten Ishizu to drop him off at the same hospital where Bakura was already waiting. The two duelists sat in silence as the doctors looked over the unconscious teen.

Both of the Egyptians' nerves were frayed within the first half-hour. The ER ward was tense and sobering. Physicians kept racing back and forth, there were constant beeping noises from the equipment, and the whole ward had an overwhelming stench of antiseptics. Malik kept fidgeting in his uncomfortable plastic seat. Bakura stood, leaning against the wall with a dour expression.

They both jumped as the door to Ryou's room opened, and one of the doctors called to a young woman walking down the hall.

"Nurse, could you please alert Guest Services and inform them that we need a translator for Room 306?"

"Yes, doctor. What language do you need?"

"The boy seems to be speaking English or French; I'm not entirely sure. But he doesn't seem to understand basic Japanese."

"We have a translator from the European sector who knows both of those, as well as Spanish and Italian. Shall I have him paged?"

"Yes, thank you. Tell him to come right to the room. The boy is very disorientated."

The doctor turned his attention to the paler of the visitors. "I would like to speak with you- you are his brother, correct?"

Bakura's face was dark as he nodded.

The physician turned pointedly to Malik. "And this is-"

"A family friend."

Malik was a little surprised that Bakura didn't make some snide joke.

But then again, he didn't feel like joking, either.

The doctor seemed to accept this explanation and began outlining his diagnosis. "Ryou's physical status is stable- his breathing is natural, and his heart sounds fine. He has some very minor burns on his right hand (Bakura's chest twinged in guilt) but they should heal quickly with minimal scarring, if any."

The tired professional sighed and the two Egyptians braced themselves.

"Unfortunately, his mental state is a bit... complicated. Your brother is conscious; however there was some minor cognitive disruption brought on by the electrical stimulation."

The physician only received blank stares. The doctor cleared his throat. "-Or, in layman's terms; Ryou's body received a limited electrical shock. Our nervous system is actually an electrical system of its own, and such an external force- like the jolt he received- can negatively affect the brain. His mind was overloaded, and it's caused some minor temporal regression."

"...meaning what, precisely?" Bakura nearly spat in impatience.

The doctor's face grew somber. "He's suffering a case of amnesia."

Both visitors blinked in disbelief. "Amnesia?" Malik tilted his head. "So, he's, like, forgetting everything?"

"In a sense- he's clearly forgotten several things, including his second language. He's most likely forgotten other information; but how much... I can't be certain yet. Of course, I don't know everything that's happened in his life, so I can only test his contemporary memory. His more personal experiences, however, need to be tested by someone who's known him for several years." The man nodded to the white-haired visitor. "It would be very helpful if you would speak with your brother- it might jog his memories and help us outline a full diagnosis."

Bakura gave a stiff nod before marching into the room. Malik stood up to follow, but was quickly stopped by the doctor.

"I'm afraid only immediate family is allowed in the patient's room during the first twelve hours."

Malik pouted but sat back down.

Meanwhile, the pale yami slowly opened the door to find his hikari lying in a bed, talking politely to a baffled nurse.

Bakura's stomach dropped. Ryou wasn't speaking Japanese, but English.

The smaller boy perked up when he saw the new visitor. "Oh! Hello, um, who are you? Are we related?"

And he didn't recognize Bakura at all.