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Post by cypsiman2 on Dec 30, 2011 16:24:36 GMT -5
"I'm a big boy," Yuugi kept whispering to himself over and over again, certain that he was about to hit the magic number where he'd start believing it. The fact that he was apparently older than he remembered being, that he was a teenager even if he still didn't quite look it, should have made it easier. But that little, selfish, bratty voice in him that wanted his mom to come and tuck him in and kiss all his boo-boos away would not be silenced. It didn't matter how much he knew his mom was very very busy, it didn't matter how much he knew she missed his dad, how nothing he did could ever make her stop seeing 'him 'when she looked at him, he still wanted her to hold him in her arms and assure him that everything was going to be okay. So he kept on chanting to himself, eventually falling asleep to his own soft voice.
....
The Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had never been separated from Yuugi for so long, not since he first solved the puzzle and awoke him from the unceasing darkness that he'd been sealed within. Being so isolated had forced him to try and reach out with his mind, beyond the boundaries of the puzzle, and while his senses were still confined within his musty domain, he did get occasional flashes of feelings from those holding the puzzle. Most recently he felt a sharp confusion, an outrage marred by self-recrimination; hopefully it meant help from an unlikely source.
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Post by Scribbler on Jan 15, 2012 6:58:50 GMT -5
The spirit mustered his strength and focussed what meagre magic he had in this form. He concentrated on the exterior of the puzzle, on the vague warm patches that coalesced into fingertips the more power he drew on. All he needed was enough to get a single command through. With Yuugi, this was never a problem. He and Yuugi were linked on so many levels – mental, spiritual, magical – that letting Yuugi know what he wanted was like talking to someone you could only not see because you had your back to them. This was more like shouting until your lungs ached to get the attention of someone on the other side of a house made from thick walls.
Do it! he broadcast. Do as I command!
….
Jounouchi flinched. “What the –”
Across the room, Anzu was on the phone again. Honda watched with a troubled expression, no doubt still thinking of what she had told them about Yuugi’s parents. Jounouchi’s family background was shitty enough, but at least both his mom and dad were still alive. His mom had abandoned him and his dad was a no-good drunk, but the thought of them dying still distressed him in ways he didn’t like to think about.
He flinched again. In his hands, the Millennium Puzzle seemed to pulse for a second. He cupped his left hand to cradle it and shook out his right, in case it was just cramped from holding onto the thing for so long. He had barely let go of it since the hospital.
“Ow!”
It flared red hot for a millisecond, and with it came a fuzziness that made him blink like he had been conked on the head. He had a weightless, light-headed moment, rather like the time his dad had thrown him against a wall and he had lain unconscious on the bathroom floor for three hours in a position that cut off all blood to his left arm. When he woke up he had almost screamed with pain when the numbness finally wore off. Similar bright lights danced in front of his eyes now.
… now …
What?
… it now …
What was that?
Do … it … now …
Do what now? What was that?
Fresh fuzziness threatened to overwhelm him, and with it came a sense of purpose so strong that he didn’t realise what he was doing until Honda spoke.
“Jounouchi? What are you doing, man?”
“Huh?” Jounouchi looked up in time to see his own hands loop the necklace part of the Millennium Puzzle over his own head. The weight of it settled against his chest.
And then the world exploded and he was pulled into the dark.
….
Anzu’s head snapped around when Honda cried out.
“Jounouchi!”
Jounouchi was on the floor. He wasn’t moving and his face had gone grey.
“I’ll call you back, Mom,” she said hastily, and rang off. Dropping to her knees beside Jounouchi, she demanded, “What happened?”
“I don’t know!” Honda was equally frantic. “He put on the Puzzle and collapsed.”
The Millennium Puzzle was indeed around Jounouchi’s neck. Anzu wondered why he had done it, when his eyes snapped open and he sat up so sharply that both she and Honda fell back onto their butts. Jounouchi’s head turned in their direction, but Anzu knew in a heartbeat that it wasn’t him looking at them. Jounouchi had never looked so imperious. Nor was his voice so deep or forceful.
“Where,” said Jounouchi-who-was-not-Jounouchi, “is Aibou?”
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Post by cypsiman2 on Jan 15, 2012 13:07:59 GMT -5
"The other Yuugi." Honda muttered beneath his breath in disbelief, and Anzu knew the same thoughts were running through their heads; that they thought only Yuugi could use the puzzle like that, and that any possibility about the other Yuugi just being another side of Yuugi that the puzzle had awoken was now dashed against the rocks and churned up in the waters. "Okay, a lots happened dude, its going to take a while to unpack."
"That can wait." The spirit worked Jounouchi's jaws awkwardly. "Right now, I just need to see my partner with my own...well, these eyes." He then stood up, and stumbled on his feet. "These legs are much longer than I'm used to."
"I suppose they are." Anzu had a half-note of amusement in her voice as she and Honda stood back up. "Visiting hours are over, but we can take you back to the hospital where Yuugi is and explain along the way. Does that sound good?" Anzu then realized that she was looking up at him, and while that wasn't weird when talking to Jounouchi, it wasn't Jounouchi behind those eyes... "Oh! What about Jounouchi, is he okay?"
"Of course!" The spirit spoke defensively. "Its like when I first started possessing my partner, he'll be asleep and unaware until I go back to the puzzle." He then stuck out his finger at Anzu. "Which I won't until I've seen him for myself."
"Well, no time like the present then." Honda made his way towards the door, Jounouchi-who-was-not-Jounouchi followed, and Anzu lingered a moment as she puzzled her own feelings out. Then she too followed.
...
"All right Sugoroku, I'm here. Where are the forms?" Tsubasa walked past her father-in-law and into his home, the game-shop, a place she'd not set foot in in years. Aside from the labels on the products, nothing had changed.
"They're right over here." He motioned to the table in the kitchen where so many breakfasts, lunches, and dinners had been had. "Would you like some coffee?" She looked down at his hands, saw the stains upon them. He'd had more than one cup.
"No thank you, I had some on the flight over." More than one, but she'd remembered to use her napkins. She sat down at the table, at the seat she once used, and looked over the forms. There were a great many to sign, small print and asterisks, a lawyers dream. Despite how much she wanted to be over and done with this, she couldn't; the principle of reading everything before signing anything had been thoroughly drilled into her.
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Post by Scribbler on Jan 15, 2012 15:50:14 GMT -5
Sugoroku looked lost. Tsubasa glanced at him and then away. She couldn’t afford to let herself soften. “I had a look through them,” he said, obviously trying to keep the note of apology from his voice. “I couldn’t make head or tail of them, though.”
“Yes, well.” She said nothing more, not because she was reading, but because she desperately wanted him to go away.
The temporal disjointedness of being back here was unsettling. She was much happier when her family life was kept at a distance. In Tokyo she could pretend. If she shoved letters and photos into drawers where she couldn’t see them, she could put her son and father-in-law out of her mind. She could forget all about Isamu and that stupid accident …
She shook her head to shake off the images. She needed to finish this and get out of here as soon as possible.
“Where are you staying?” Sugoroku asked.
“I’ll find a hotel somewhere.”
He looked at his watch. “It’s past 3am.”
She shrugged.
Sugoroku paused before saying what she’d hoped he wouldn’t. “You should stay here.”
Tsubasa shut her eyes and drew a breath before fixing him with a steady stare. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?”
She continued to stare.
Sugoroku, to his credit, didn’t look away. “Why not?” he asked again.
“We both know this isn’t my home anymore.”
“So? I’m not asking you to move back in. I’m just staying you’ve had a long flight and it’s late.” He drew his own breath. “Your room is still here. It’s a spare now, but it has a bed.”
Tsubasa’s stomach, which she had spent hours honing in the gym, dropped into her shoes. “No.” She said it with absolute certainty. She could not – WOULD not – stay in the room she had shared with her husband.
“The alternative is Yuugi’s room.”
“No, the alternative is a hotel.”
“For pity’s sake, Tsubasa, stop being so obstinate.” Sugoroku’s frayed nerves finally snapped. “Why are you trying to fight me over something so petty when your son is –” He stopped.
“Go on. Say it.” Tsubasa’s gaze could have melted steel. “When my son is in the hospital.”
Sugoroku was not a cruel or mean-spirited man. He didn’t lower himself to cheap shots, but she could see a muscle in his jaw start to jump. He turned stiffly away from her. “Stay here. We can travel to the hospital together in the morning.” Not giving her a chance to say no again, he left the room, she could hear him climbing the stairs to the second floor. Her memory even told her when he would hit the creaky one.
She sat in the empty room, memories and regrets clamouring at the edges of her mind. She tried to concentrate on the paperwork, but the lines of print swam in front of her eyes. She blinked, telling herself it was just tiredness. When the backs of her eyes started to itch, she closed them and rubbed at her temples, not wanting to smudge her make-up. Her pulse seemed far too fast under her fingertips. Eventually she rose to her feet and also climbed the stairs.
Sugoroku’s room door was closed, light shining through the crack at the bottom. She crept past and hesitated only a moment before pushing down the handle of Yuugi’s bedroom and stepping inside.
He had been a boy when she last saw in here. She had been to visit since, but had always eschewed the store, and her toes had curled at the thought of stepping behind the counter into the world she had left behind so long ago. Her memory told her there should be choo-choo trains on the wallpaper and stuffed animals on the bed. Instead she saw what was clearly the bedroom of a teenage boy. His wardrobe door was slightly open, revealing clothes she recalled seeing ‘emo’ and ‘goth’ kids wear on the streets of Tokyo. The bed had been neatly made. Had Sugoroku done that, or Yuugi himself? Was her son a rebel or obedient? The books on his shelf were gaming manuals and the posters all featured ‘Duel Monsters’. She stepped toward his desk, where he had left a half-finished piece of what she assumed was homework. Something clenched inside her when she realised she didn’t recognise his handwriting.
Her eyeballs were so itchy. She rubbed at her temples again, the way her Zen instructor had told her to do whenever she was stressed. When she touched wetness, she back in alarm. Water glistened on her fingertips and slid down onto her palm.
“What the –”
“Go on. Say it. When my son is in the hospital.”
Her little boy was in the hospital.
Closing the door behind her, Tsubasa sat down on the bed and waited until she heard Sugoroku’s light click off before lying down and crying her eyes out.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Jan 15, 2012 17:17:42 GMT -5
"Mr. Mutou." Yuugi looked up at the man who spoke to him. "Do you know where you are?"
"My head's feeling really fuzzy." Yuugi concentrated as he pressed his hand against his head, pressing his hair down. "I, I'm in the hospital. The doctor...you, you said I hit my head on something?"
"Yes, but it would seem that you have friends in high places. As soon as your mother provides us with the paperwork we need, you'll be sent to the best team money can buy."
"My mom?" Yuugi remembered it like it was yesterday, which given where he was mentally wasn't far off for him, the way she left him with Grandpa and didn't look back, yet he saw her wipe away tears at the last moment. "You, you really mean that?"
"I have no reason to lie young man." Doctor Yamamoto sighed. "Now, I do have other patients, but the nurse will be here in my stead and if she needs my help she can contact me right away. Will you be okay?" Yuugi slowly nodded. "All right then."
...
The Spirit of the Puzzle still felt awkward in Jounouchi's body, even after sleeping in it. Still, if this allowed him to see his partner, he was willing to put up with it. "Ow!" That said, he looked forward to not constantly stubbing his foot just walking down the street.
"Other Yuugi, please don't break Jounouchi's foot, I can only spend so many days at the hospital before the smell starts getting to me." The spirit was fine with Honda's quip and jab; the fact that he was able to snark like that showed that his worries and fears had been allayed to some extent.
"Focus people." Anzu said as she practically marched on ahead. "We have to get there before Kaiba's cronies take him for that operation, he needs to know we're with him every step of the way." Anzu's next step took her around the corner, bringing the hospital into view. It also brought into view Grandpa Sugoroku and a woman that he only recognized through Yuugi's memories.
"Ah, good, Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda, you're here just in time." Yuugi's grandpa spoke first. "It'll take a little while for Tsubasa to turn in the paper work, just a few questions to resolve, so you all should have at least a few minutes to visit Yuugi. I'm sure he'll want to see you." The spirit hoped that was true; according to what Anzu and Honda had told him, there was a danger that Yuugi might lose his memories all over again. True, Kaiba's people were supposed to be able to fix that as well, but even so...
"Tsubasa." Anzu spoke with such coldness that it chilled the Spirit down to his core.
"Anzu." The woman, Yuugi's mother, spoke firmly, defensively. She entered the hospital first, Sugoroku trailing behind her.
"Anzu, are you okay?" The spirit cautiously reached out to her with Jounouchi's hand, careful not to make physical contact.
"Yes, of course I am." Anzu was insistent, so neither he nor Honda dared press the subject as they followed her towards Yuugi's room.
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Post by Scribbler on Jan 16, 2012 7:01:03 GMT -5
The spirit decided he didn’t like hospitals. The smell was unpleasant and he could sense death in the air. It was like a black shadow tugging at the edge of his vision, but when he turned awkwardly to look it disappeared. He could only think this must be his own dark magic reacting to it, but it was unnerving to feel like he was constantly about to be attacked.
There was a brief power-struggle when Yuugi’s mother – and could the woman be any different than Yuugi and his grandpa? – went to depress the handle to Yuugi’s room and Anzu shot forward to grab it first. They exchanged another charge look, tension crackling between them. Eventually Grandpa Mutou touched the older woman’s arm. She flinched so violently that she nearly struck the wall behind her, leaving Anzu with enough room to open the door and hurry inside.
“Yuugi?” he heard her say.
Jounouchi’s long legs were challenging, but certainly useful for the speed they allowed. The spirit lurched into the room and pulled up short at the sight of Yuugi cowering back against his pillows. He still looked the correct age, unlike the self the spirit had seen in his Soul Room. It was slightly jarring to see him physically like this. The spirit had only ever interacted with Yuugi via the puzzle, so his perception of him was entirely influenced by their shared emotions and spiritual energy. He knew Yuugi like he knew himself – better, in fact, since he had no memory of his own history.
“Aibou?” he breathed.
Yuugi’s eyes shifted to look at him. The spirit cursed, remembering that Yuugi would see Jounouchi, not him. He shuffled forward as Honda, Grandpa Mutou and Yuugi’s mother also entered the room. They weren’t supposed to be so numerous, and technically only two or three of them were allowed to visit, but Tsubasa Mutou had argued so forcefully with the reception desk that they had made an exception just to get rid of her.
Yuugi’s sightline shifted again. A puzzled look flashed across his face when he looked at Anzu, but he brightened when he saw his mother and grandfather. “Mom?” he said in surprise.
“Hello, Yuugi,” she said, stiff and formal as a corset.
“You came back!” Yuugi’s voice filled with such joy that it made the spirit’s heart ache.
“Yes,” she said.
Anzu shot her a disapproving look. “Aren’t you going to hug him? He nearly died,” she hissed.
The spirit caught Honda’s eye and silently agreed: this shrewish and censorious behaviour was not a side of Anzu they had seen before. True, Anzu could be bossy and often criticised Honda and Jounouchi for, as she saw it, acting out or being foolish, but this was not the reproach of someone looking out for her friends. This was very close to outright loathing, which had the bad side effect of making her insensitive to the effect her words might have on anyone other than their target.
Yuugi drew the sheets up to his chin. “I nearly died?” he said quietly. “The doctor said ... I thought I just hit my head …” He rubbed his forehead and scrunched up his face as if in pain or serious thought. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Anzu whipped around. “Oh, Yuugi, you have nothing to apologise for!”
“A-Are you … Anzu’s older sister?”
She flinched just as hard as Tsubasa had in the corridor.
“Yuugi,” his grandpa said slowly, “what do you remember?”
“Not much,” Yuugi admitted. “I remember waking up last night … I think I was having a nightmare, but the nurses were all very kind.”
“Do you remember yesterday?”
Yuugi scrunched up his face again. “No,” he said eventually.
Anzu let out a small noise, like a bird hitting a windshield. She took a step back from the bed, one hand flying to her mouth.
“Is that bad?” Yuugi asked in alarm.
“Of course not,” his mother said, glaring at Anzu. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“But …” Yuugi looked up at her pleadingly. “But if I didn’t do anything wrong, why did you leave?”
The entire room fell silent.
“Yuugi, how long do you think I’ve been gone?” Tsubasa asked.
“Since –” He stopped himself and dropped his gaze. When he spoke again, his voice was terribly soft and directed at his own white knuckles. “Since just after dad … well, a month.”
Unlike Anzu, Tsubasa didn’t react to this. She only nodded. “His memory appears to have reset itself. I believe the doctor warned you this might happen?”
“He said Yuugi might have trouble forming and retaining any new memories,” Grandpa Mutou replied.
She nodded again. “Then I also believe you were right to accept the offer this ‘Seto Kaiba’ has made.”
“M-Mom?” Yuugi said nervously. “What’s going on? Do I have to stay here another night? I feel fine, honest! Can’t I go home with you? You’re staying, right? You’ve come home like Grandpa said you would?” He looked at Sugoroku. “You promised she’d come back!”
Tsubasa gave Sugoroku a stern look, but he met it.
“What did you expect me to tell him?” he demanded.
She didn’t answer. Instead she spoke to Yuugi on a tightly controlled tone. “You’re going to be moved to a medical facility outside Checker City. The Kaiba family have their own personal wing there and they’ve kindly agreed to run some tests on you to help you …” she searched for the right words. “… get better after you hit your head.”
“But I feel fine!” Yuugi insisted. “You’re coming with me, aren’t you Mom? Grandpa?”
He didn’t even mention his three friends – or the spirit – which was wrenching for all of them. For so long they had been the centre of Yuugi’s world. They had become used to being important to him, and now he didn’t even remember who they were. The spirit felt like he was holding onto a rope he had being using to drag someone out of a rushing river, only for it to go slack in his hands.
“Yes,” Tsubasa said before anyone could say different. “Your grandfather and I will go with you.”
“We’ll come too –” Anzu started to say.
“No,” Tsubasa cut her off. “I believe this should remain family only. From what I’ve been told about how he ended up here, you’ve done enough for my son.”
“What?!” Anzu all but shrieked.
“You in particular, Miss Mazaki, have done enough.” A note of terrible triumph gilded Tsubasa’s words.
“I’ve –”
“If you would please leave.”
“You have the cheek to say we’ve – that I‘ve – when you –” Anzu was so incensed she could barely finish one sentence before starting another. “You have some nerve –”
“Didn’t you hear me? Leave.”
“No! You can’t just –”
“Do I have to call security?”
“How dare you –”
“Anzu.” Grandpa Mutou stepped between them. “I think it might be best if you did go.”
A look of such betrayal etched itself onto Anzu’s face that the spirit had a sudden, irrational urge to strike Yuugi’s grandfather. The feeling was just as unnerving as the shadows. Before, he had always felt pure love when thinking of Sugoroku Mutou, influenced by Yuugi’s adoration of him. Without Yuugi’s tempering influence, the spirit’s own dark impulses were pushing at their boundaries, trying to see how far he would go without Yuugi to hold him back. He tamped them down firmly – so firmly that he was aware Jounouchi’s face had gone vacant while he turned his attention within.
“Fine.” Anzu sounded throaty, as if she was about to cry. “We’ll go.”
“C’mon, dude.” Honda took the spirit’s arm and led him away.
The spirit jolted back to reality. “But –”
“There’s nothing we can do here,” Honda said, quiet but firm. He sounded like a man, not a boy whose friends were changing and disappearing around him. “For now.” He gave the spirit’s arm a subtle squeeze, emphasising his last words. “Kaiba may be a goober, but Mokuba will make sure he stays on the up-and-up.”
“Are you two coming?” Anzu stuck her head back through the door. She eyed Tsubasa with disgust. “The Kaiba Corp. medical team is here to take Yuugi up to their helicopter.”
“Good.” Tsubasa didn’t look away from the bed. “You wouldn’t have fitted in that anyway.”
Honda hustled both of his friends out the room. They had to press themselves against the wall as a group of men who looked more like a SWAT team than a medical one stomped past. The spirit heard Grandpa Mutou exhorting Yuugi to get out of bed and get dressed while Tsubasa Mutou quizzed the team leader about what would happen once they reached Checker City.
“We’ll be running scans to begin with, so we can best decide on a course of action.”
“Brain scans? Cat scans? That sort of thing?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“But haven’t those already been done here at Domino General?”
“Yes, ma’am, but – and no offense to Domino General – our equipment is better, our staff are better, and you never can tell whether someone in a public place like this was having a bad day and screwed up their note-making. It happens. But not with us.”
“Hm. You certainly do have friends in high places, Yuugi.”
“Mom, who’s Seto Kaiba?”
The spirit heard no more as he was hastened away after Anzu’s retreating form. She rushed down the fire staircases instead of waiting for the elevator and burst out into the parking lot. He and Honda followed her across the asphalt to a line of paving stones near the pay-and-display ticket machine.
“I can’t believe her!” Anzu finally yelled. She fisted both hands at her sides, threw back her head and shouted, “I cannot believe her! She threw us out! After all we’ve been through with Yuugi, his mom threw us OUT!”
“Anzu, chill,” said Honda.
“I won’t chill!” she replied. “That woman is … she’s a … a … a complete BITCH!” The word came out a roar, loud enough to make several people look up as they passed, but the force of it seemed to drain Anzu. Her chin dropped onto her chest and her fists trembled. “I hate her. I really, really hate her.”
“Anzu, she’s still Yuugi’s mom –”
“No, she isn’t! Well, maybe biologically, but no other way. She hasn’t been a mom to him in years. She LEFT him, Honda! She ABANDONED him! I was there. I saw what she did to him; how much pain he was in. He was convinced she would come back. He used to sit at his bedroom window waiting for her to arrive. Why do you think he got so good at playing games by himself? It was how he used to pass the time while he waited for his mom to come get him – ONLY SHE NEVER DID! I had to live through him pretending he hadn’t realised that. He forgives her everything, and she doesn’t deserve it! She doesn’t deserve him! And now she’s got him back, and he’s forgotten all about us, and she’d probably going to hurt him all over again and this time I won’t be there to help him …” It was finally too much. Right there in the parking lot, Anzu crouched down, put her head on her knees and sobbed.
Overhead, a helicopter took off from the hospital roof and flew away. The spirit tore his gaze from Anzu’s misery to watch it until it was nothing but a speck in the sky.
“Aibou,” he murmured brokenly. “Yuugi …”
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Post by cypsiman2 on Jan 16, 2012 14:16:49 GMT -5
"Tsubasa, why did you treat Anzu that way?" Sugoroku spoke with a firm reproach that he had not used in decades, yet it had come back to him with trivial ease. The helicopter they were seated in was a large one, and Yuugi was allowed in the cockpit to watch the pilot at work so long as he didn't touch anything. Sugoroku knew he wouldn't, so he accepted.
"She hates me Sugoroku, do you expect me to just let her walk all over me and say whatever she wants without consequence?" Her right hand was clenched in a tight fist, turning her knuckles white.
"What I would have expected was for you to have remembered is that you are an adult and that Anzu, for all that she is mature for her age, is still a child. It is one thing for her to let her emotions override her good sense, it is quite another for you." It had been an exceptionally long few days, and he'd had little sleep in that time, none of it good. "IF you're still bitter or resentful about Anzu picking up your slack while you fled to Tokyo, then I suggest you drop it before Yuugi's memories are fixed; the last thing that boy needs are his mother and his oldest friend trying to rip each others throats out."
"Pick up my slack?" The words caught on Tsubasa's tongue, the flavor like sulfuric acid. "Yes, of course, because I should have stayed with my son even though just looking at him made me think of how Isamu looked just before he died, I should have just worn a Stepford Smile and pretended everything was just fine as I hollowed out more and more on the inside until there was nothing left, been a perfectly proper little doll with no inconvenient human emotions to get in the way of making sure every little boo-boo and ouchie was kissed until it was all better. Yes Sugoroku, that sounds eminently fair to both me and my son."
Despite how fierce her words were, Sugoroku stood firm. Metaphorically at any rate. "So there's no room for middle ground then? Either you slavishly devote yourself to being a mother at your own expense, or you slavishly devote yourself to your work to avoid that pain, and nothing in between, is that it?" Sugoroku's scowl was being etched into his face. "Isamu wasn't just your husband, he was my son, and for a long time whenever I looked at the boy, I saw his father. It hurt, but I managed, I balanced my responsibility to the gameshop and being a good grandfather to him. I failed in many ways, I couldn't keep him safe from the bullies that targeted him, but at least I tried. You didn't, and so you get no sympathy for lashing at a young girl, who is just a couple months younger than your son, who did everything she could for him despite having no obligation to do so."
Tsubasa had become experienced in argument in her years of work, she had to to climb up the corporate ladder and break the glass ceiling. At the same time, those arguments were dispassionate, impersonal; her history from before her employment was kept hidden, out of the way, so she never had to defend herself from anyone but herself. Tsubasa realized the flaw to that arrangement.
"Mom?" During that silence Yuugi had returned from the cockpit, looking right at her. She could see herself reflected in his eyes, the tears ruining her mascara. "Did, did Grandpa say something mean to you?" It was weak and inexperienced, but the glare he directed at the man in defense of his mother shocked both adults.
"No, no he didn't." Tsubasa said, averting her eyes to avoid looking directly at Yuugi. "We were just...talking about you and your friend, that's all."
"Oh." Yuugi stood awkwardly for a moment before taking the seat next to his mother. Nothing was said for the remainder of the flight.
....
"So, did that help any, Anzu?" Honda was seated alongside Jounouchi/The Other Yuugi, and opposite to Anzu in a little Mom&Pop cafe who's name he didn't pay any attention to. She was just sitting there, staring at her untouched cup. Really, not all that different from them.
"I just..." Her voice was still choked up, Honda could hardly believe that this was still Anzu he was talking to. "It's complicated and messy and all tangled up in itself and I know that its unfair to hate her for something she can't help but I can't help it either and..." Her voice trailed off again.
"Anzu." The Other Yuugi spoke with Jounouchi's voice, reached out with his hand. "I understand. My partner, he's important, deeply important, to all of us." More awkward silence, and then Honda's cell phone rang. He checked the caller-id.
"Crap, it's my sister." He stood up. "I'll take this call outside, hopefully I won't be gone long." And so Anzu and Jounouchi/The Other Yuugi were left by themselves, alone.
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Post by Scribbler on Jan 16, 2012 16:49:22 GMT -5
[Incidentally, Hatsu means 'firstborn'.]
“Hello?” Honda pressed the phone to his ear. “Hatsu?”
“Hiroto, where the hell are you?”
He shut his eyes, begging for the special kind of strength needed to deal with angry older sisters. “I told you, my pal Yuugi is in the hospital and –”
“Yes, yes, very sad, but Dad’s going spare – absolutely apoplectic. He says you had something to do with the warehouse fire down by the docks?”
“I was a witness. That’s how Yuugi got hurt.”
“Your friend was IN that fire? Or did he cause it?”
“What? No!”
“Don’t take that tone with me, Hiroto. Your track record doesn’t really speak in your favour over things like that.”
Honda moved on from just shutting his eyes to pinching the skin between them. As a member of the police force, his friendship with Jounouchi had always been frowned upon by his father. More than once, Honda’s dad had picked up Jounouchi’s father for being drunk and disorderly, and Jounouchi’s own petty criminal acts and vandalism hadn’t exactly endeared him either. It was testament to the strength of their friendship that Honda and Jounouchi had stayed the course when both their fathers wanted them to quit hanging out together. Jounouchi’s dad hated his son being friends with the son of a ‘pig’, while Honda’s father was convinced anything Honda did wrong was because of Jounouchi’s bad influence.
“Listen, Little Brother,” Hatsu said in a low voice. “Dad isn’t on the warpath – yet. My advice is to get your butt back here pronto and explain what your involvement is. The last thing you want is for him to find out from his colleagues that you’re running around setting fires and burning down buildings.”
“I didn’t! I was a freaking hero! I saved Yuugi from that fire – me AND Jounouchi,” he added triumphantly.
“So Jounouchi WAS there,” Hatsu said, equally triumphant. Becoming a teenage mother and caring for her toddler son had not softened her sharp edges. They would forever be the kind of brother and sister who sniped and tried to trip each other up – usually in front of their parents. “Come home, Hiroto. Explain things to Dad in person.”
Honda could see her point, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He glanced behind him at the café. Through the window he could see Anzu and Jounouchi’s body sitting stiff and awkward, both looking down and neither of their mouths moving in conversation. “I … can you give me an hour?”
“I wouldn’t advise it,” Hatsu sing-songed.
“Half an hour, then. I just … need to sort out a couple of things before I head home.”
“It’s your funeral, Little Brother,” she said, and rang off.
Honda lowered the phone and held a breath inside so long it started to hurt, he let it go slowly, pursing his lips and wishing it would be as easy to let go of all his worries and apprehension. The last time he had felt so helpless was in Duellist Kingdom, when he had looked at a giant glowing purple bubble and known that Yuugi was inside somewhere, hurting, possible dying, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Now his friend was hurting again, if in a different way, but once more there was nothing he could do to put the situation right. In addition, Anzu was going to pieces, the Other Yuugi was an unpredictable element and Jounouchi …
“Where are you, man?” Honda asked the sky. “I could really use my best friend right now.”
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Post by cypsiman2 on Jan 16, 2012 18:43:56 GMT -5
[That so? Neat! I knew that Isamu is bravery and Tsubasa is wings, but I didn't know that one.]
"All right guys, I don't got time to waste, so I'll get straight to the point." Honda said as he stood over Anzu and Jounouchi/The Other Yuugi. "If I don't get back home right away and explain things to my Dad, he's likely to think I'm being some sort of criminal, and since he's a cop, that's something he can act on."
"Oh. Okay." Anzu was completely unlike herself, listless and lifeless.
"I understand." The Other Yuugi said, the words coming a bit easier than before. "You should try and make sure you don't lose your relationship with your father." Honda felt that was something either Jounouchi or the spirit could have said, and somehow that gave him a little more strength. Like maybe Jounouchi was still there in some small way.
"Okay, but before I go, there's something I gotta take care of with you two." Honda grabbed each of their hands in his. "I know that things are tough right now, even tougher without Yuugi, but that's why we've got to pull through for him. Anzu, for right now you're just going to have to set aside how you feel about his mom and be the amazing friend he needs you to be. Other Yuugi, and Jounouchi if you can hear any of this at all, you guys need to pull through and show Yuugi that he can rely on you and not worry, okay? I know this is cheesy as all hell, but damn it, this is how we've gotten through so much of this crap before and its going to be how we'll do it again, you got that?" The both of them nodded nervously. "Good, because I don't want to have to make another friendship speech, that's not my style." Honda let go of their hands and looked at his watch. "All right, if I take off now, I should be able to get back home before my dad flips." He made his way to the door and paused. "If anything comes up, you guys know my number." Then he took off.
A silent pause. "I hope that's not how I sound when I make a speech." Some of the tension leaked out.
"No, I have to say yours are much better." The Other Yuugi smirked, which looked oddly natural on Jounouchi's face, and more tension dissipated.
....
"So, you really don't remember, do you Yuugi?" Seto Kaiba looked down at Yuugi, and unlike most who looked down as the simple function of relative heights, he did so regardless.
"No, I'm afraid not, Mr. Kaiba." Yuugi was nervous before Seto, his figure tall and looming, and then something most unexpected happened; Seto Kaiba laughed.
"Mr. Kaiba?" His laugh died down into a chuckle. "Maybe I should keep you this way, let you refer to me like that."
"Brother." Mokuba said most sternly, looking more Yuugi's apparent age than Seto and matching Yuugi's current mental age as well.
"Don't you keep telling me I need a sense of humor?" Seto turned away from them, towards the head of his medical team. "You will begin the operation right away; gather all the measurements you need and fix his brain back to the way its supposed to be. Fail, and never work again." The doctor and the rest of the team shivered as Seto left the room, his younger brother trailing behind him.
"Mr. Mutou." The head doctor leaned down to look Yuugi in the eye. "Are you ready?"
Yuugi looked to his mom and grandpa. They nodded. "Yes sir."
"Good."
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Post by Scribbler on Jan 18, 2012 11:00:53 GMT -5
"Good. First things first: we have to get you into some more appropriate clothes. All this metal-” He tapped at the chain Yuugi had clipped from his pocket to a loop on his belt. He looked down in surprise. He didn’t know why he had put on such an odd thing. It had just felt … right. Natural. He jerked his eyes up when the doctor continued speaking. “It can’t go in the CT machine.”
“The … what?”
“It’s like a big tube where we take a peek at what’s going on inside your noggin.” The man gently patted his knuckles against the top of Yuugi’s hair, obviously meaning to touch the top of his skull but unable to reach it. “I’ll warn you now that it looks a little scary, but it’s perfectly safe. Nurse Joi here will take good care of you and sort you out with some scrubs.” He pushed Yuugi towards a woman with a bright, reassuring smile.
“Um …” Yuugi looked nervously over his shoulder at his mom and grandpa once more. “Okay. I guess.
“Come along, sweetheart.” Nurse Joi took his hand like he was a little kid.
Yuugi looked at his small hand in hers and had a sudden flash of someone else laying their bigger hands over his. It was only a glimpse, but it definitely didn’t belong in his head. He blinked, trying to remember more. His mom and grandpa would be pleased if he remembered the stuff they were talking about – the strange, scary things he knew he was supposed to know, but didn’t. Much clearer were the memories of those three teenagers who had barged into his hospital room back in Domino General, and his mother’s curt response on the way to board the helicopter when he asked who they had been.
“Nobody important.”
“Tsubasa!” Grandpa had said in dismay.
Yuugi’s mom’s shoulders had gone up so much they nearly touched her ears – something they used to do when she and Dad talked about money and how they couldn’t afford to move out from under Grandpa’s kindness and get a place of their own.
Yuugi tried his best to remember SOMETHING, but nothing else came. He was forced to leave the room with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
….
The doctor signed heavily – not an especially encouraging noise.
“You’re not really just going to cut him open in some quick operation, are you?” Sugoroku asked in alarm.
Without meeting his eye, the doctor said, “Mr. Kaiba is a brilliant businessman and a first-rate Duel Monsters player. He’s not a bad boss, either, once you get past some of his less palatable personality traits.”
“But?” Tsubasa prompted.
“But he’s not a medical practitioner. He can demand all he wants that we do this quickly, but I didn’t get to be a leading name in my field by performing hack-jobs and lacklustre science.” He finally turned and exchanged looks with them both - although, Sugoroku noticed, slightly longer with Tsubasa. “We have your son’s medical records already. Doctor Yamamoto faxed AND emailed them over. I don’t think he wanted to be accused of not covering all his bases.”
Or he was offended at being replaced and it being implied that he couldn’t do his job properly, Sugoroku thought privately, hoping there would be no bad repercussions from that. He didn’t want another interview with anyone over the quality of his care for Yuugi. His grandson was his whole world and this entire situation threatened to sweep them all away like a riptide.
“So what ARE you going to do?” Tsubasa demanded.
“There’s more than one treatment for amnesia, depending on the root cause of the memory loss. The success of these treatments varies and this particular area of science is a work in progress.”
“A work in progress?” she said icily.
Unlike many men, the doctor didn’t seem perturbed by her tone. Sugoroku assumed that was a side effect of working for Seto Kaiba. “Amnesia treatment is still something of a mystery, as the brain is still a mystery to modern science. Since our understanding is limited, this in turn affects how we approach healing someone of amnesia. The approach also depends on if the root cause is physical or psychological.”
“He hit his head against a metal post in the middle of a raging warehouse fire.” Icicles dripped off Tsubasa’s words. “Does that sound psychological to you?”
“Look carefully at your words: raging warehouse fire. That’s a pretty traumatic experience. I believe he suffered the aftereffects of smoke inhalation when he was first admitted, and had several bad burns. Traumatic experiences can force the brain into wiping out part of its own record of the event, and sometimes it’s an inaccurate coping mechanism, as it can take away too much. Treatment for amnesia that has come from psychological causes tends to rely heavily upon counseling techniques, hypnotherapy, and in some cases drug therapy. The idea is to help the person get past the stress, trauma or other psychological event that precipitated the blockage in memory. None of these methods is especially speedy and their success rate is flexible.”
“Flexible?” An ice age formed around Tsubasa’s voice box. “Is that a bullshit way of saying it probably won’t work but you’re happy to keep charging clients for placebo treatments?”
“And you got your doctorate where?”
She blinked. She opened her mouth, but closed it again – grudgingly. Sugoroku was shocked. Tsubasa, rendered even momentarily speechless?
“Amnesia treatment for causes by physical sources is more problematic. Often physical causes of amnesia inflict physical damage to the brain itself. If the damage is severe enough then healing may not be physically possible. While the brain CAN recover from some damage given enough time, and there ARE those examples of head trauma where the person recovers their memory after the brain has had time to adjust, often some amount of loss that is permanent.”
“So you’re saying that if your big fancy scans and tests say Yuugi’s brain is damaged, we just have to wait and see, and hope it fixes itself on its own, but if it doesn’t, whoops?” Tsubasa rallied with words bathed in venom.
“I’m not willing to commit myself to any prognosis until I’ve thoroughly examined your son myself. To be frank, there are so many ways we can go with this, it’s best to narrow things down as we go. First off, we’ll give him a CAT scan to check for swelling or evidence that there has been swelling on his brain. If we find any, we’ll proceed from there. I promise you, ma’am.” He looked at Sugoroku for the first time in several minutes. “Sir. We WILL keep you in the loop. Yuugi is your family and you have every right to be worried about him, but rest assured, he’s in the best of care.”
“For your sake,” Tsubasa gritted, “he had better be.”
“What’s your name?” Sugoroku asked, realising he didn’t know it. “In case we need to ask for you if you’re not around.”
The man nodded. “I’m Doctor Ku-Ku.”
Tsubasa levelled a devastating look at him. “Ku-Ku?”
“I thought about having it legally changed to something with more gravitas, but it tends to lighten the atmosphere – and levity is something we need in this place. You may have noticed; Mr. Kaiba isn’t exactly the friendliest of individuals.”
“You won’t get any argument from me.” Sugoroku rubbed absently at his chest, recalling the crushing pressure of his heart attack and how Seto Kaiba had just laughed as he crumpled to the floor on the other side of his duelling arena. Yuugi assured him that Seto was a changed person now, and Sugoroku trusted Yuugi’s opinion enough to bring him here now, but there would always be a kernel of distrust in Sugoroku. He just wasn’t as trusting as his grandson.
“As long as he can get results,” Tsubasa said, “what does it matter if he’s friendly or not?”
“I can see why you’d say something like that,” Doctor Ku-Ku said dryly, before excusing himself, leaving Tsubasa speechless for the second time in as many minutes.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Jan 18, 2012 13:49:50 GMT -5
"So." The Spirit said as he finished his coffee. "What do we do now?"
"They said they were taking Yuugi to a hospital outside of Checker City, right?" Anzu reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded up map. "It'll take a lot longer than by helicopter, but we should be able to figure out the bus routes there." Yes, even if Yuugi's mother kept them from the hospital room itself, they could still be there, close as they could manage."
"And I would let my friends subject themselves to public transportation, why?" A recently familiar voice pulled their attention towards it.
"Otogi?" The spirit spoke with mild surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Not stuffing you into another dog suit if that's what you're worried about, Jounouchi."
"Oh...good." His shaky manner as he realized who Otogi had thought he was addressing was definitely picked up by the young man, but he quickly refocused his attention over to Anzu.
""In any event, I was out on a constitutional when I ran into Honda and he gave me the short short version of what's happened with Yuugi and that you guys need to get over to Checker City pronto. Well, it's no helicopter, but my limo should be here in a couple minutes, fully fueled and everything."
"Thank you, Otogi." As Anzu took Otogi's hands in hers, a tear of joy dropping down her cheek, The spirit couldn't help reflecting on the strange balance of fate, how weal and woe often took place side by side and could strike from unexpected, unanticipatable directions.
"Hey, it's no problem; you guys helped knock some sense into me when I was being a complete ass, it's the least I can do for you all." Then, just like Otogi said, the limo had arrived. "Shall we?" They payed their checks, got in the limo, and drove off.
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Post by Scribbler on Jan 19, 2012 14:20:06 GMT -5
….
Otogi rolled dice across his knuckles, back and forth, back and forth, crisscrossing one with the other while never seemed to let them actually touch. It was hypnotic. Anzu watched, then blinked and looked out of the window at the scenery rushing past. They were nearing the freeway now. In a few hours they would hit the outskirts of Checker City. After that, there would be finding the Kaiba medical facility, getting past the no-doubt tight security, fudging their way to wherever they were keeping Yuugi, avoiding his mom (which was good) and his grandpa (which wasn’t), not to mention how Yuugi himself would react to three apparent strangers following him with that kind of determination …
She shook her head. If she thought too hard about the problems ahead, she would go crazy. The spirit was with them. He and his magic would be invaluable. She glanced sidelong at Jounouchi’s profile. Facially, he was remarkably unchanged by being inhabited by an ancient soul. It was only when you looked at his eyes that you sensed something was amiss. Jounouchi was a giant idiot sometimes, but he was entirely open. He couldn’t keep secrets about himself or what he thought if he tried. Now, however, what should have been soft brown eyes were darker and guarded. The spirit kept his arms folded in a defensive posture, spine ramrod and chin lifted. Everything about him screamed worry and suspicion – whether about Yuugi or Otogi, she couldn’t tell.
She cleared her throat, snagging the attention of both boys. “So, Otogi … um … how have you been?”
He grinned. He knew what she was doing. “Pretty good,” he said amiably, resting his chin on one loose fist. He continued to play with the dice, even though he barely looked at them. His bearing couldn’t have been more opposite to the spirit’s. “I doubt you want to hear the ins and outs of stocks and shares, but suffice to say, Dungeon Dice Monsters is thriving and so is my company.”
“Indeed,” said the spirit, looking around at the plush interior of the limousine without moving his head.
“’Indeed’?” Otogi mocked. “What the hell happened to your tough guy routine, mutt? You sound like some old po-faced granny.” He was baiting the spirit, thinking he was Jounouchi. Even softened by his defeat and subsequent befriending of his enemies, Otogi had a healthy competitiveness that matched Jounouchi’s perfectly. Or would have, if Jounouchi had been there.
Anzu bit the inside of her cheek. Should they tell Otogi the truth? How would he react? It wasn’t like he had much experience with the supernatural. She didn’t think he would toss them out and leave them to walk home, but she wasn’t willing to take that risk. Not until they were nearer to Yuugi, at least. Who knew – maybe Otogi’s wealth and connections could get them into places not even the spirit’s magic could go.
“Uh …” The spirit hesitated, but squared his shoulders and glared at Otogi in a passable impression of Jounouchi’s famously short fuse. “Look, I’m worried about my best friend, okay? Excuse me for sounding a little off when I’m worried he’ll never remember me or our friendship ever again.”
Anzu sensed the sincerity in those words. The spirit was talking like Jounouchi, but also from his own heart. Her own beat faster, matching the sentiment. The thought of Yuugi never remembering all they had been through together made her feel sick.
Otogi’s dice finally stopped. He looked guiltily at them, before tossing them into the air and catching them in his fist. “Sorry. I get it. You’re worried about the little guy. But don’t worry.” He gave them another rakish grin. “If Kaiba’s medical guys can’t figure things out and put him right, I have my own team I can call in.”
The spirit nodded, throat working convulsively.
Anzu turned back to the window, wishing they could go faster.
….
Reality flickered at the corners. Bakura froze in the middle of the sidewalk, other Domino High students passing him in droves. He stepped into an alleyway and hid behind a dumpster for privacy, then focused on the Millennium Ring.
He scowled. His quarry was leaving Domino. He could sense its magic retreating northward at speed. The Pharaoh’s presence was awake. But how was that possible when his host was still incapacitated? Nonetheless, the Pharaoh’s distinctive tang echoed through his own soul, reverberating through the fragment of himself he had infused into a piece of the Puzzle while Yuugi gathered them in the warehouse.
“Damn it,” he muttered, releasing the Ring. It thudded onto his chest. Now his plans had altered once again.
Turning on his heel, he dumped his host’s schoolbag into the dumpster and set off down the alley at speed.
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Post by cypsiman2 on Jan 19, 2012 16:31:23 GMT -5
The spirit of the Ring did not like to manifest the power of the cards, even when there were souls on hand to offer to the darkness; even under ideal conditions it was wasteful and showy, two things that as a thief he could not abide in his work. Then he saw a taxi coming down the street, and things became simplified. "Change of Heart." This was still complicated by the fact that it was his landlord's card he was using and so a piece of that soul would make it into the target, but they were of the same mind in this situation, both determined to do everything they could to keep Yuugi safe and whole. The taxi driver stopped and looked out the window, a familiar look to those eyes.
"We're just going to find out what's happening." The spirit sighed angrily; every so often he showed spine, resistance. This wasn't surprising, they were after all connected through the Millennium Ring, the boy couldn't be his landlord if he hadn't shared in some of the same qualities. Indeed, somewhere deep in his own memories he knew that their ultimate desires matched up, they both wanted to reach the same place, the same power. More time and more items, then he'd know for certain what it was.
"You don't have to tell me, I have nothing to act on yet." He got in the cab and they drove off, following the directions provided by the Millennium Ring.
....
"Well, Mr. Kaiba will be pleased about this news." Dr. Ku-Ku said with a pleasant smile on his face. "According to these scans, our problem is a simple concussion pressing against the brain on the inside. Restore the proper shape of the skull, a drug regimen to treat the affected area of the brain, and therapy, and our employer's "rival" should be back to normal."
"Should we tell him now, sir?" His head nurse, Ms. Suki, asked.
"Hmm, no." A frown manifested on Dr. Ku-Ku's face. "Something could still go wrong, the brain is highly sensitive after all, and even our techniques are incomplete." He sighed. "Well, no time like the present, let's get to it."
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Post by Scribbler on Jan 20, 2012 20:46:26 GMT -5
….
“So this will restore his memory?” said Tsubasa.
“Maybe.”
“Just ‘maybe’?”
“It will definitely give him a fighting chance – more so than he has right now.”
She exchanged a look with Sugoroku. When it came to medical matters, especially those regarding her son, she wanted cast-iron certainty, not promises and nebulous half-truths. “Not good enough.”
“Tsubasa –” Sugoroku started to say.
“Not. Good. Enough.”
“Let me put it this way,” Dr. Ku-Ku informed her. “If we don’t do something about that swelling, it may affect his cognitive abilities further. In other words, he may develop even more complications, beyond the amnesia he already has. Quite simply, a concussion is a bruise on the brain. Blood pools up surrounding the outer layers of the brain, similar to a bruise on your skin. However, with the brain, greater caution must be practiced. Any further swelling may result in blood vessels being constricted, which may limit necessary blood flow to crucial areas of both brain and body. If this occurs, death may consequently be the result. Even reduced from that, Yuugi’s motor skills, his hand-eye coordination, his ability to reason at a functional level, seizures, heart palpitations, loss of the use of one or more limbs – all those are possible affected areas. Are you really willing to risk that?”
“You’re just scaremongering,” she accused, glad Yuugi wasn’t in the room to hear this. “He hasn’t developed any of those yet. Surely they would have surfaced already if they were ever going to.”
“No.” Dr. Ku-Ku shook his head. “I told you before, the brain is a sensitive organ and one we knew comparatively little about. We have to proceed carefully.”
“Tsubasa,” Sugoroku said more insistently. “Just hear the man out.” Looking at Dr. Ku-Ku, he asked, “What do you suggest?”
“First and foremost, no activity. Yuugi needs complete and utter rest. That means no visitors, no exercise, and no undue stress whatsoever. He can stay here to ensure that happens in a manner I’m happy with. We’ll also administer blood-thinners to help the process along and reduce the swelling quicker. Once we’re sure he’s asymptomatic, we can proceed to level two.”
“And what’s level two?” Tsubasa asked icily.
“Psychotherapy mostly.”
“You mean a shrink.”
He gave her a withering look. For a doctor, she reflected, his bedside manner was worse than that of an axe murderer. Hyperbole, maybe, but it was how she felt at that moment.
“A clinician trained in psychotherapy is not a shrink.”
“What do you mean by psychotherapy?” Once again, Sugoroku attempted to broker peace through distraction.
“Psychoanalytic psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, behavioural therapy, hypnotherapy, and possibly psychopharmacological management of the traumatised patient in extreme cases.”
“In other words,” Tsubasa mocked his own phrasing, “talk to him, get him to role-play, hypnotise him and, if that doesn’t work, drug him so he’s in a happy stupor no matter whether he gets his memories back or not.”
“The main aspect of Yuugi’s recovery will be time,” Dr. Ku-Ku said briskly. “He’s not an apt candidate for surgery, and certainly there is no fix-all operation I could perform like waving a magic wand to make everything better and back to the way it was. You may have to accept, Mr. and Mrs. Mutou, that the Yuugi you knew may be gone forever, and rather than pressure the boy into further psychological trauma, you may have to simply accept him the way he is now. Alternatively,” he added rubbing the back of his head, “Yuugi’s memory may return tomorrow. There really is no way to tell. For now, we need to keep him isolated and quiet until he reaches the end of stage one in his treatment plan.”
Sugoroku gave Tsubasa a strained look. She wanted to bash Dr. Ku-Ku’s head against the wall, but realized that would be counterproductive. Instead, she sighed and shut her eyes. Getting involved in her son’s life again reminded her of some of the reasons she had opted out of it before. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of responsibility. Being a full-time mother meant subjugating her own desires, which were so much stronger when it was Yuugi they were talking about.
“All right,” she hissed at last. “Do what you need to do.”
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Post by cypsiman2 on Jan 20, 2012 22:13:58 GMT -5
Yuugi had been told he'd have to lie back and do nothing after his injection, and at first he didn't have a problem with this; sometimes he didn't feel like playing games and would just look up at the ceiling and think, and this occasion was made easier by how light and woozy his head felt, he didn't want to get up. The trouble was that after several hours he started feeling sleepy and after waking up that morning and confronted by people asking him what he remembered, he got the sense that going to sleep was very bad. So he kept himself up by whistling off key and chasing after whatever weird thoughts came to mind, and he certainly was getting some weird ones, like monsters fighting each other summoned from cards, or a strange Egyptian man wearing a great big key around his neck, or even himself as some sort of brave warrior defending his friends. That last one had to be the weirdest, most impossible thing he'd ever imagined, but he followed it around in his head anyway. Eventually, despite himself, his inner voice quieted down and he dozed off, unaware of anything.
....
Mokuba was bored; he figured he'd be able to watch Seto's team get to work right away and use all the latest and fanciest gadgets and devices on Yuugi, but it was all surprisingly mundane and still in the preparation stage besides. He'd read all the magazines in the lobby, they were all either boring or way too kiddy, no middle ground at all, and there was no one near his age among the patients, all old men and women who seemed compelled to pinch his cheeks and compliment him on his hair, not the sort of attention he wanted. Anzu's image flashed in his mind's eye and Mokuba shook his head hard to get it out, making his face even redder than it was already. "Come on Mokuba, get a grip." He lightly slapped himself on his own cheeks as he passed by the front entrance, where he paused. "No way." He rubbed his eyes and did a double take as he saw Jounouchi, though he didn't seem himself somehow, some pretty-boy he didn't recognize, and Anzu.
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