Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Overcoming Loneliness ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

A/N - I actually had something to write for this chapter^^;; Anyways, I hope you like and please r/r!

Chapter 3

The walk to the hospital was shorter than I would have suspected, but it was mostly due to the speed of Joey's walking and my practically running to keep up. I followed him as he went inside and spoke to the nurse at the desk, asking where to find Otogi.

"Down that hallway and take the elevator up to the second floor and it's about three doors down on your left after exiting," the nurse said. It was amazing at what some of them could do, lots of them would speak to you and someone else and be writing things down; this nurse was just one example of multitasking.

"Thank you," Joey said, he turned to me and pointed in the direction we were to go, it wasn't hard to find the right room.

When we found him, we went inside quietly. I was surprised at the way he looked, his skin was really pale--nearly the colour of the icky white sheets that were covering him. I knew he was pale but this was scary, the dark ebony colour of his hair didn't help it any. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be sleeping, but once we got close enough, they slowly opened and focused on us. He said nothing, just looked at me, then at Joey and then to the window on the other side, away from the door where we had entered, silently saying he didn't want us there it seemed.

"Otogi, Yugi has come to see you, you could at least say hello," Joey said. His voice held restrained anger, like he was mad at Otogi for being here, I didn't think that it was very nice of him; you can't help it if you're sick. But, one look at Otogi's body showed me why he was here, the bandages covering both wrists were evidence enough.

"Otogi...why?" I asked. The shock alone left me nearly speechless.

"It doesn't matter," Otogi said blandly. That apparently did it for Joey.

"You moron! What are you saying it doesn't matter? You should have said something if you were unhappy, don't you know you have people who care about you? Do you actually think no one would miss you if you died?" Joey asked, he was angry, but there was a sadness to it as well. If Otogi noticed it, he didn't say anything.

"Otogi...what's going on?" I asked, confused a little by Joey's outburst. Otogi remained silent, obviously not willing to volunteer any information. Joey sighed loudly beside me and took a seat in one of the chairs.

"He said he was unhappy, something to do with being alone all the time, I don't understand what the hell he's talking about when he has friends," Joey said. He sat there and stared at the floor, going quiet and leaving me to try and think of reasons and explanations towards Otogi's behaviour. Then I thought of something and walked over to Joey and asked him quietly so that Otogi couldn't hear; if what I thought was true then I didn't want to upset him further.

"Joey...Does Otogi not have any parents?" I whispered in his ear. Joey nodded in response but showed no sign that he knew why I was asking. I walked back over to the side of the bed and held Otogi's hand, taking a seat next to him on the bed.

"I understand what you mean, Otogi, my parents are gone too," I said softly, hoping to get a reaction. He turned his head slowly, a hint of surprise evident in his emerald eyes. I just smiled softly, a little saddened by my friend's actions, but understanding nonetheless.

"You...understand?" Otogi asked. Yugi nodded.

"I almost did the same thing once, not long after my parents died," I said quietly, the pain was still fairly crushing even though it had been a while since it happened. "But why would you do this now? I thought you were happy with your friends...," I said. I couldn't help thinking that I had more of a reason to than he did, what with no parents and very few friends.

"...that isn't everything, Yugi," he spoke quietly, almost a little timid which definitely wasn't what I was used to.

"Not everything? What do you mean by that?" I asked. He sighed sadly.

"You live with your grandfather, right? You also have your friend that lives with you," I nodded, waiting for him to continue. "I live alone, there isn't anyone that lives with me and the emptiness is unbearable...," he explained. I understood then, he was lonely because the only times he saw anyone was at school and the occasional times afterwards. Anyone could get lonely when they have no one living with them, it leaves them alone with their thoughts - very few of them pleasant. I softly rubbed his hand as he closed his eyes, the sadness hadn't even gone away after his brush with death. There was a tiny tear that threatened to fall down his face before I gently wiped it away with my thumb.

"Don't cry, Otogi, I know how hard it is to be alone, but you can get through this," I said. He just shrugged.

"I suppose...," he said, he didn't say anything after that. I sat and watched him as he fell asleep, I held his hand and rubbed it the whole time. I nearly jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Let's go, Yugi," Joey said softly. I sighed and let go of Otogi's hand, jumping off the bed and heading for the door. As a last second decision, I hurried back and kissed Otogi on the forehead before following Joey out of the hospital.

A few days later, Otogi was released from the hospital but he was still weak which meant his mind was fragile. I took him to my house where he could stay in the company of my grandfather since he couldn't go to school and I didn't want him to be stuck by himself. He smiled at me when I offered him and although it was obvious that he had to force it, it was still genuine to me; he wasn't quite strong enough yet, he could barely walk.

My grandfather practically spoiled him, letting him lay on the couch all day watching TV and eating junk food but still managing to give him the things he needed in order to get well.

My grandfather, Yami and I lived in a house attached to a store so I had a guaranteed job there. And because of this job, I decided I would work extra hard to earn more money so that I could buy something I knew would help Otogi feel better so that he wasn't lonely anymore. Unfortunately, I knew that it would be a long time before I would have enough money, grandfather was kind enough to give me some money plus a raise to help me get moving. I promised him I'd work extra hard to make up for it and he just smiled and went about his business as usual. I was glad I had him.

Joey didn't come by very often and I think that upset Otogi. From what I could tell, the two of them were really close before and it hurt me as well to see that Joey was avoiding him. I tried to talk to him numerous times but he was as stubborn as a mule and every time I tried to talk to him about it, he immediately changed the subject as though I hadn't said anything. I chose to refrain from mentioning Joey when I was around Otogi so that I wouldn't upset him. Although I wish Joey would come more often, the look that Otogi had on his face the one time he did show up made me so happy. Otogi looked so overjoyed to see him that it angered me to see Joey treat him like this. But there wasn't anything I could do for them until he got better.

It was a few weeks before Otogi finally decided he should go home, telling us that he'd overstayed his welcome and needed to get back anyways because it was probably a mess. I was sad to see him leave, but there wasn't anything I could do about it yet.

I helped him pack his few things such as clothes and toothpaste and then helped him home. His apartment was very nice but it was empty and I could see how it would get lonely, but it was spacious and nice anyways.

I helped him put away his things and then searched through his refrigerator for some food, there wasn't much but I managed to make him a sandwich anyway and set it on the table as well as a few finger foods on the side. He seemed happy when he entered the kitchen.

"Thanks for all your help, Yugi, I really appreciate it," Otogi said, smiling. It took a long time before he smiled again and I couldn't help but smile back. Unfortunately the moment was ruined when I remembered I had a shift that day.

"Oh no! I almost forgot!" I said. Otogi raised an eyebrow at me, then nodded as he realized.

"You better hurry then, you don't want to be late," Otogi said, sitting down to eat.

"I'm sorry, I'll be back later to see you though," I assured before rushing out the door and hurrying to work.

After work that day, I got the right amount of money I needed and headed to the animal shelter. I was going to buy Otogi a pet.

I had heard some awful things about pet stores so instead I chose to go to the shelter where they take better care of their pets - you can buy them for less money too.

I headed into the shelter and asked one of the staff members what kind of pet they thought would be best for an apartment and they led me to the cats. I really liked cats and was thinking of getting him one anyway. I checked the ages to make sure I got a young one that was in good health. I looked around and wished that I could take them all home and free them from the metal bars of their cages.

It took me a long time to look at them all until I spotted one hiding in a corner cage. It was a pretty black, male cat with green eyes that instantly reminded me of Otogi. I signed all the papers and was on my way with the cat, provided with a temporary carrying case so it didn't run away or anything. I passed by a pet store and decided to spend the little extra cash I had on some food and other necessities for the cat.

A little while later, I was on my way over to Otogi's, I had to call my grandfather on a payphone because I had way too much stuff to carry. He helped me by driving over to Otogi's so I could drop off the stuff for him.

I walked up with everything, my grandfather helping and once everything was up there, he left to leave Otogi and I alone. I hesitantly knocked on the door.

It was a few minutes before I heard him walking to the door and opening it.

"Yugi?" Otogi asked, he looked around in confusion and I could also see that he wasn't feeling too well.

"Hi, I came by to bring you something," I said, smiling.

"Um...come in then," Otogi said, opening the door and helping me with the bags; I had disguised everything so he couldn't quite tell what it was.

Once I had everything settled in, I brought over the crate and sat it in front of Otogi's chair where he was sitting. He raised an ebony eyebrow in return.

"Open it," I said, almost bursting with excitement. "I thought it might help you with the loneliness," I said. He hesitated before finally unwrapping the crate.

[End Chapter 3]

A/N - I know it was kind of annoying to leave it there but I need some time to think of Otogi's reaction. Please r/r!