Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Oblivion Club ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two

~*~*~

I watched the world from through the dark side of the moon.

I feel there's nothing I can do,

Yugi cracked open an eye painfully. There was just too much bright light. Where am I? He remembered dueling with Jounouchi...then, oh god, nonononono, wasn't real. He started hyperventilating, calling attention to himself. He focused and realised someone was talking to him.

"Yug! Hey Yugi. Calm down buddy. You're safe. You're at Domino Central Hospital. You're safe."

Yugi breathing in a sigh of relief. He recognised that voice. "Jou...?"

"Hey buddy. How're you feeling." Jounouchi's warm hazel eyes came into his vision.

"Wha...? Why...?" Yugi tried to say. His throat burned.

"Hey, don't try to talk yet. The nurses said you hurt your throat when you...y'know, screamed." Jou looked down as he said that. When he looked back at Yugi there were tears trailing down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry Yugi." He whispered brokenly. "We should have gotten in sooner."

"S'okay..Jou." Yugi rasped. "Gram..?"

Jounouchi caught onto what Yugi was asking. "Don't worry about it. Honda's gone over to get your grampa. Said it would be better than a stranger telling him." Jou smiled ruefully. "He's going to hate us y'know, 'cause we didn't protect you."

"Not...your....fault." Yugi tried to protest. But the painkillers being pumped into his system were too strong. He fell into blackness.

~*~*~

Yugi drifted back into consciousness. He could hear voices. Yugi groaned.

"Hey, he's waking up! Jounouchi, Mutou-san!"

"Oh, Yugi."

"Hey Yug!"

"Gr..ampa?" Yugi opened his eyes slowly, wary of the fluorescent light. There was no glare. Yugi opened his eyes fully. It was night-time, only the soft night-lights were on, bathing the room in a warm glow. Yugi looked up into worried pale lavender eyes, so familiar to his own.

"Oh my little Yugi." His grampa said mournfully. He gave his grandson a gentle hug, mindful of all the white bandaging surrounding him.

Tears came to Yugi's eyes as his grampa hugged him. He let out a heartrending sob, his body trembling as he lent into the familiar comforting touch. Yugi felt a hand stroke his hair and turned slightly, relaxing as he recognised Jounouchi.

Yugi winced as he tried to sit up, accepting help as Jou lifted him gently and Honda raised the pillows. He looked around, spotting Anzu and Ryou standing at the foot of his bed. Both looked lost, not knowing what to say or do.

He gave them all a watery smile.

"So...do you guys...come here...often?" He rasped. Trying to lighten the mood.

They smiled, Anzu letting out a relieved half sob, half smile.

"Glad to see you've woken up." All heads turned to the door. A smiling blond nurse stood there. She walked over to Yugi's bed. "Does anything hurt?" She asked Yugi, feeling his forehead.

Yugi shook his head gently.

"Good. Glad to know the painkillers are working." She nodded, relief in her bright blue eyes. She hated to see young ones injured, especially for no conceivable reason. She opened the cupboard near the bed and took out a large bottle and some soft cotton wipes. "I'm going to have to check and clean your wounds, some of them will scar otherwise." She told him gently.

Yugi nodded in understanding.

"Are your friends going to stay or wait outside?" She asked, sometimes victims needed support for these moments, more than others, and sometimes she knew they would rather do it alone.

"Uh...we'll stay." Jounouchi piped up. "If that's okay with you Yug?" He asked worriedly.

Yugi smiled in relief. He really didn't want to be left alone. "Thank you Jounouchi."

"That's okay buddy. It's our fault we weren't there to stop it from happening. Least we can do is be with you when you need us." Jou told the smaller boy, remorse filling his warm chocolate eyes.

"Well if that's settled." She grinned, happy that his friends were looking out for the little one. "I'll do your arms last, that way you can lay back." She helped him sit up, motioning for Honda and Jounouchi to hold him there gently.

Deftly she untaped and removed the bandages around his chest and back, making the others gasp when they saw the blackish, blue bruising criss-crossing his chest. There were small trails of blood leaking down from where the skin had closed with the bandages. Someone let out a horrified cry and Yugi shut his eyes.

"My poor boy." Sugoroku moaned, feeling his heart stop for a second.

Yugi's breath came in short gulps, trying to ease the sudden pain.

"Don't worry, this stuff will stop it from hurting." The nurse told him when she saw Yugi's pained face. "It'll feel really cold for a moment then everything will go numb, okay?"

"Y-yes." Large violet orbs filled with pain looked into concerned blue ones. Sometimes I hate my job. The nurse thought.

She unscrewed the top off the bottle and poured something resembling water out into a shallow bowl, the clear liquid smelling faintly of witch hazel. She dipped one to the thick cotton wipes into it and squeezed off the excess liquid. "Ready?" She asked Yugi kindly.

Yugi nodded and braced himself. The first wipe across his skin made him jump in shock. The nurse and his friends looked at him in concern. Yugi gave them a sheepish smile. "Cold." He said.

The nurse gave him an encouraging grin. Within seconds a numb trail followed the path of the cool wipes, making Yugi sigh in relief. Coming round behind Yugi she did the same to his back, everything going blessedly numb, just as promised. The pile of used wipes grew.

"There, all done." She wound new bandaging across the treated areas, motioning for Honda and Jounouchi to lie him back when she was finished. "You can relax now, the hard bit's over. I've only got to do your arms."

Yugi folded into the soft pillows gratefully. Holding himself upright, even with his friends assistance was hard. He waited as the nurse threw away the used wipes and gloves, washing her hands and pulling a new set on. She sat down beside him, lifting his left arm gently, unwinding the bandages. They weren't quite as bad as his torso and back, but because there were areas of unmarked skin the bruises and cuts stood out more vividly.

Once the soothing liquid had been applied, she dressed them again, doing the same to his other arm. She quickly cleaned up, putting the bottle away and throwing the used gloves into a bright yellow bin inside a cupboard. She put on another pair of clear gloves and brought out a small tube of cream.

"This is for that nasty bruise on your face." She told him, noticing his curious look. "You can put it on yourself next time. It's only a mild balm." Yugi nodded his understanding. She applied a small amount and rubbed it over the purple area, screwing the lid back on and placing it inside the bedside cabinet, within easy reach.

She brought out a couple of tablets and passed Yugi a paper cup of water. "For your throat." She said softly. Yugi smiled sadly at her, taking them with a grimace as they scraped the back of his throat.

"When can I....go home?" Yugi asked, mindful of his throat.

The nurse sighed. They always asked this. "You'll have to stay here tomorrow and over the weekend, but I'll see about getting you released for Sunday evening." She gave him a mock-frown "But you have to take your medication and if you get an infection in one of those cuts you may be in longer. Otherwise you'll be back home in about four days." She ruffled his hair gently. Such a sweet boy. She thought, shutting the door on her way out.

"Oh hey, Yugi. I almost forgot." Honda dug into his pockets, pulling out Yugi's deck case and the Millennium Puzzle. "I kept these for you. Figured you'd want them when you woke up." He placed them on the white bedsheet in Yugi's lap.

Yugi looked at them, tears threatened. They do try to look out for me.

"Yugi? Buddy? Did...did I do something wrong?" Honda asked anxiously when Yugi didn't respond.

"T-thank you." Yugi choked out. He gave his friend a much appreciated smile. Honda let out a relieved breath.

Yugi picked up his puzzle and placed it back around his neck, almost fainting in relief when he felt the other presence join with him. The last bit of tension leaving his frame without him realising it. Oh by the gods, that feels better. I don't feel so alone. Yugi felt a comforting wave wash through him, tinged with sorrow and regret.

Yugi knew that since he'd solved the puzzle strange things sometimes happened when he was in danger. He would lose a period of time and when he came around the danger would have passed. Yugi frowned. It hadn't happened this time. He thought carefully, replaying his ordeal at the dueling center. He hadn't lost any time, and he hadn't felt that presence. Why? What was different? Clarity struck.

"OH!"

"Yugi? What's wrong?" His friends clambered around the bed. "What? Is anything hurting? Uh, more that is?"

Yugi shook his head slowly at his friends and gave his grampa a reassuring smile. "No, nothing like that, I just thought of something that had been puzzling me." Yugi almost laughed when he realised what he'd said. Puzzling. He gave an internal snort, feeling a responding wash of humor flow through him.

That was it, wasn't it. It was the Sennen Puzzle. Every time he got into a bad situation he would feel a slight comforting warmth from the puzzle, then he'd wake to find he'd lost time. But this time, before that welcoming feeling, his puzzle had been ripped away from him. He hadn't had it's familiar weight around his neck. That must have been how Honda got a hold on it.

Yugi yawned, starting to feel sleepy. I'll worry about it tomorrow. His eyes closed. Yugi never noticed his grampa covering him up or his friends going outside to talk. Sugoruku held his grandson's hand as he slept. Stroking his hair gently.

~*~*~

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" Jounouchi kicked the wall outside Yugi's room. "How could that bastard do this?" He clenched his fists angrily. He felt a soft touch on his arm, he looked up into troubled chocolate eyes.

"It's not your fault." Ryou tried to assure him. "You did your best."

"Yeah. Look where that got him." Jou's eyes shadowed.

Honda sat down his head in his hands. He let out a muffled sob. When he looked up there were tears sliding down his face. "We promised him we'd take care of him. He thought he'd be safe with us. We've failed our best friend."

Anzu and Ryou exchanged an anguished glance. They knew what their friends were going through. After all, they weren't even there to help. But Jounouchi and Honda had it bad. They were actually there while that creep hurt Yugi. Even though they'd done everything they could they were still guilt-ridden.

"We could hear him screaming....." Honda whispered, just loud enough for them to hear.

Jou joined him on the long bench. "But when he stopped. That was worse." He added.

"Yeah." Honda shared an agonized look with Jounouchi. "'Cause we didn't know if he was still alive."

Jou stared at the white walls opposite him, not really seeing them. "When I saw that creep Asama standing over him, that maniacal look across his face. Lifting that belt..."

Honda shuddered. "All that blood..."

They gave each other an identical look. Fiery hazel meeting grim dravite. Whatever it took, they'd make Asama pay. With his blood and flesh if need be.

~*~*~

The next few weeks passed by swiftly. Yugi went home that Sunday evening much to his delight. Because he could barely move, the doctors wouldn't let him return to school yet.

Fortunately for him, (or unfortunately as Yugi thought) his friends came by every day to help him stay up to date with his schoolwork. Including his homework assignments. Or as Anzu put it, "Everything's homework to you, since you're at home. So a little more won't hurt."

It may have made sense had she not started snickering just after saying it.

He spoke to the police, pressing charges against Asama. It went through smoothly with his grampa taking care of everything once they got statements from everyone involved.

The amount of witnesses to the duel and the blood on Asama which matched Yugi, not to mention the bite on his lip all helped as evidence against him. But the clincher was when his file was pulled up. Yugi wasn't the first teen he'd lost control over. Not as severely as Yugi, but bad enough.

The pictures the hospital had taken and added to the file was the icing on the cake.

Once that was taken care of, Yugi spent all his spare time figuring out the secrets of his Sennen Puzzle. He tried everything he could, nothing worked. Until one day, two weeks after the attack, the doctors told him he could return to school.

Monday morning dawned. The bright sunshine and clear skies cheering Yugi up.

The bruise on his face had all but faded, traces of yellow barely visible. All his cuts had sealed and begun to heal. Most only leaving faded silvery lines which the doctors assured him would fade in a few months. There was still some bruising across his chest and back, the severity of his beating was such that even now there were still some darkish bluish-green marks.

At least I'm not stiff anymore. That was the worst part. For days afterwards the slightest movement was agony. Fire would shoot through his muscles and the new skin would split again. Jounouchi and Honda had virtually lived at his grampa's house for the first week, helping apply the ointment and assisting him to the toilet and back.

Jounouchi had even helped him bathe. They had seemed oblivious to the smaller boy's embarrassment in needing constant attention, which relieved him when he thought about it.

He heard the bell go downstairs.

"Yugi! Your friends are here." Sugoruku called up the stairs.

"Coming Grampa!" Yugi grabbed his school bag and carried it down in his hands. He was still too sore to wear it across his shoulders. He got a small surprise when he reached the bottom.

All his friends had turned up.

Most were exchanging sheepish smiles. Everyone knew why the others had turned up. No-one wanted Yugi to be without protection.

"Hey Yug! Lemme take that." Jounouchi snatched the bag from Yugi's hands and slung it across his back, his black leather satchel dangling from his other hand.

"Uh...thanks?" Yugi grinned. The hazel-eyed blond flushed.

"Yeah well...Least I could do." He pointed outside. "We'd best get going or we'll be late."

Honda came up and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, we don't want to be late on your first day back."

Yugi gave him a small glare. "I'm not a kid." He ground out. "Don't do that."

Anzu snickered. "Sorry Yug. But they're taking their roles of big brothers very seriously."

"Guys, time?" Ryou asked with a lifted brow. He sighed ruefully. They had such short attention spans.

Yugi gave his grampa a warm hug before waving goodbye. When they started walking Yugi almost burst out laughing. His friends had boxed him in. Honda walked in front, glaring at all the streets and anyone unlucky enough to cross their path, Jounouchi and Ryou walked on alongside him, one to the left, one to the right and Anzu flanked them. Keeping an eye out from behind.

He snorted in amusement and refrained from pointing out their overprotective behavior. Ryou struck up a quiet conversation and Yugi quickly forgot about how his friends were acting. The walk was a short fifteen minutes due to Yugi's smaller legs. They arrived just in time for the bell.

When they got there they quickly settled.

~*~*~

Tbc...

~*~*~

Sorry it's so short. Thanx to every one who reviewed.