Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Spiritual Heart ❯ Chapter 4

"Damn… my head… Where the hell am I?" Joey sat up, rubbing the back of his head only to have a pair of hands touch his chest and push him back into a laying position.

"Easy Joe, it's okay," came a familiar voice. "Take it easy. Lay down."

Joey did as he was told, opening one eye to gaze up at the speaker. "Tristan? What happened?"

"You were attacked or something, man," Tristan replied. "But we got you outta there. Bakura too."

"Bakura?" Joey echoed, his memory flooding back suddenly. "Is he okay? Where is he?"

"He's in recovery right now," Tristan replied softly. "He didn't look too good when we got him here. He stopped breathing and the doctors had to put him on life support for a while…" He trailed off.

Joey raised himself up to his elbows. "Is he gonna be okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Lay down, damn it," Tristan responded, pushing him down again. "And Bakura's gonna be fine after a good long rest. Same with you. So relax and get some sleep."

Joey looked around, seeing that he was in a small hospital room, divided in the middle by a white curtain. "Where's-- Where's Yug?"

"He's in with Bakura. We've been switching back and forth every couple hours watching you guys. Waitin' for somebody to wake up."

Joey groaned as his body realized just how much it hurt. "How long've I been out?"

"About five hours," Tristan replied. "You got a pretty nasty bump on your head."

"Yeah…" Joey agreed, reflecting on the events of the day. "Can I see Bakura?"

"Are you crazy? You can't get up yet," Tristan responded. "Just close your eyes and get some sleep before I knock you out again myself, okay?"

Joey settled into the mattress more, trying to get himself comfortable without hurting himself too badly. Suddenly, something occurred to him and he sat up straight. "Serenity!"

"What about Serenity?" Tristan inquired, curiously. Then he frowned and tried to push his friend back onto the bed. "Lay down before you hurt yourself."

But Joey refused to go back down. "I was supposed to meet her today! Like seven hours ago!"

With one last effort, Tristan finally managed to push Joey back down to the bed. "Seven hours? Damn, she's probably pissed as hell."

Joey sighed, closing his eyes. "Aw man, this ain't gonna be pretty."

Tristan watched his friend for a moment. "Want me to go down and find her?" he inquired.

"Mmm hmm," Joey replied, nodding his head slightly.

"Okay," the other said, standing. "You get some sleep. I'll stop by Bakura's room and let Yugi know you woke up, then I'll head down to the train station. That's where she is, right?"

"Mmm hmm," Joey nodded again, a bit softer this time. Tristan took one last look at his exhausted friend and left the room, heading down the hall to the North Wing elevators. He took one up to the sixth floor upon which he got out and turned the corner, soon arriving in Bakura's room where he found Yugi sitting next to the bed, watching the white-haired boy with a soft gaze. He looked up at Tristan's approach.

"What's going on?" Yugi inquired curiously. "Is Joey awake?"

"Yeah, he woke up a few minutes ago. Told him to get some sleep," Tristan replied. "He said he was supposed to meet Serenity a long time ago, so I'm goin' down there to pick her up for him. How's Bakura?"

"Same," Yugi said, turning his gaze back on the sleeping boy. "He hasn't stirred. The doctor doesn't expect him to wake up for another few days."

"Wanna come with me then?" Tristan asked. "Get some fresh air?"

Yugi hesitated. "I don't know… What if he wakes up and there's no one here with him? He might get scared."

"Come on Yugi, you need to get out for a while," the brunette said. "It won't take long. The train station's just down the road from here. We'll be back in no time."

Yugi sighed. "All right. But we better hurry."

Tristan nodded. "No problem. Come on, according to Joey, Serenity's been waitin' a good seven hours for him. She's gotta be worried sick."

****

"Are you awake, boy? Answer me!"

Bakura slowly opened his eyes and found his Yami staring down at him. He sat up, finding that he had been laying down on the floor of his own soul room. He looked up at his Yami curiously.

"Yami, what happened? Why am I here?" he asked.

"You don't remember? You led us into danger boy. Again."

"Danger?" Bakura echoed, rubbing the back of his head. It hurt, even in spirit form. "How'd I manage that?"

His Yami made no reply. He simply continued staring down at Bakura from his standing position above him. Bakura returned his gaze cautiously, not recalling anything that had happened during the past few hours. Then his Yami backhanded him and knocked him over.

"Stupid boy!" he snarled. "You're going to end up getting me killed! One more fuck up like that, and I swear you will never have control over your body again."

Bakura held the side of his head where his Yami's hand had struck him. He could feel some blood trickling down his cheek, but he restrained himself from crying. That would just make the Spirit of the Millennium Ring angrier. He whimpered a bit, but allowed no tears to fall. His Yami regarded him with a cold stare for a moment longer, then vanished.

Bakura was left alone again.

****

"Bakura? You awake?"

Bakura slowly opened his eyes, finding himself not in his soul room, but rather in a white hospital bed. Beside him, Joey, Serenity, and Yugi sat at the sides of the bed, watching him with hopeful gazes. At the sight of the chocolate brown of his eyes, his audience seemed to relax.

"Bakura, you had us worried there for a while," Joey said, smiling a bit. "You really had the shit beat outta you."

Bakura blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the bright light of the room. "What-- What happened exactly?" he asked hoarsely. His throat ached from lack of liquid and his head throbbed in pain. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, gazing at those around him.

"Well, when I found you, you were hangin' from a hook thing in the middle of a warehouse. You were all bloody and shit. From what I could tell, those bastards beat you with somethin'. Lucky I got there when I did."

Bakura swallowed, but with great difficulty. Everything was beginning to come back to him now. "Yes… They-- He took me and forced me to go with him in there," the boy told them, closing his eyes tiredly. "They hit me… Themselves and then with a-- with a belt…" His voice softened until it disappeared completely. Yugi and Joey looked at each other.

"Damn, good thing I got there then," Joey said, watching Bakura lay with his eyes closed, his white bangs draped over his forehead.

"Is he going to be okay, Joey?" Serenity inquired worriedly.

"He'll be fine, Sis," he replied, giving her an encouraging wink. "Don't worry." He turned his attention back to Bakura who was looking at him with his soft brown eyes.

"How long was I asleep?" he asked quietly.

Joey looked over at Yugi then back at the white-haired boy. "About ten days," he answered softly. He waited a moment for Bakura to ingest the information then said, "We've been visiting every day. Y'know, to make sure you were okay."

Bakura did not answer right away. He closed his eyes, his eyelids trembling a bit. Joey held his breath, not wanting to watch more tears stain the beautiful pale face laying there. When Bakura opened his eyes, no tears fell, but the chocolate brown shimmered. "You-- You saved me then, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Joey replied. "I guess I did. But if Yug and Tris hadn't shown up when they did, who knows what would've happened to the two of us." He smiled slightly.

"They-- They hurt you?"

Joey hesitated briefly. "Yeah, kinda," he replied. "They threw me up against one of them boxes. Hit my head. But they ran off when they heard some sirens outside. Then I was able to get to you and try and get you outta there. That's when Yug and Tris showed up and helped." He did not bother to put in that he had been knocked out and that he had spent three days in the hospital with a concussion. That would just make the boy feel guilty. And Bakura needed to rest.

"But you're all right?" Bakura asked, a strain evident in his voice.

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Now you get some sleep, 'kay? You look like you're about to pass out."

Bakura smiled weakly. "I will. Thank you Joey. I do believe I owe you my life." He closed his eyes, settling back into the pillow.

"Don't think about it like that," Joey replied. "Makes me blush." He watched as the tired boy drifted back off to sleep, his soft eyelids relaxing and his breath evening out. He

looked over at Yugi. "Should we go?"

"Yeah," Yugi nodded. "He'll probably sleep better that way." He got up from his chair and walked to the door, holding it open for Serenity as she passed through and then passing it to Joey as he came up behind him. The blonde closed the door softly behind them.