Lion's Mouth: Part 2 (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I regained consciousness in Domino Hospital. Yugi and I were placed in the same room with a curtain that could be drawn between us for privacy. Thankfully, we received treatment in time. We had severe burns, but there was no permanent damage. A minute more and we could have loss a limb... or worse.

I tried not to think about it as we lightheartedly chatted with Joey, Tristan, and Tea. We had survived – all three of us – and that was all that mattered. Yugi felt the same way. Our friends still thought we were nuts, but that was to be expected.

Yugi's grandfather and my siblings were the next to visit. They all gave us a good scolding before expressing their relief that we were safe. Kenji cracked jokes with Joey while Sakiko latched onto me like I was going to disappear on her. Poor kid. She had also been through a lot with Mokuba's previous kidnapping and me running off to Duelist Kingdom.

Only Raiden made me uncomfortably. He said little and kept looking from Yugi to me. More than once I saw him eye the Millennium Puzzle. It was then I wished I was a normal girl and that the suspicion I felt from him was merely due to a supposed romantic pull between Yugi and me. Instead, I sensed that my eldest brother saw – and knew – much more than he was letting on. I was too afraid to question him.

Eventually, everyone left for the night, and Yugi and I could talk in private. We were both comfortable in our beds with no curtain between us. Still, awkward silence filled the air. I took a deep breath. I might as well be the one to break it.

"Yugi," I began, taking his attentive gaze as a sign to continue, "when we were in that fire, did you feel that surge of strength that let us hold on a little longer?"

Yugi nodded. "And I heard Yami say it came from you. Do you know what he meant by that?"

I bit my lip and shook my head. "No. I don't have that kind of power – at least that I'm aware of. I never saw my mom do anything like that."

Yugi appeared thoughtful. "Maybe it has something to do with your connection to the Millennium Puzzle."

I glanced at the folded hands in my lap above the sheets. "Maybe." I hoped that was not the case.

"Thank you for helping me, by the way. I know you're trying to keep your distance from Yami and all this Millennium Item stuff, but you stayed with us when anyone else would have fled. I know he appreciates it too."

Despite my misgivings, his words filled me with warmth. I was glad I could do something for him – for them. Still, this proved that there was something here I could not run from. I held in a sigh as I turned my head to look at Yugi. "I don't know why I did it. I mean, you're my friends and I wanted to help, but it was like there was something inside of me that refused to let me leave even if I had wanted to."

"I know exactly what you mean."

I felt a shiver pass through me as our gazes locked. This was not just about the Millennium Puzzle, was it. It was about the Spirit inside the Puzzle. Then I remembered something that suddenly seemed important. He deserved to know what Bakura and I were doing there in the first place, even if the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had been on his side this time. "Yugi, there's something I've got to-"

"Samia! There you are!"

The desperate cry snapped my attention, and my eyes flew to the door. A very distressed Bakura – the good Bakura – stood there. Just as I wondered why he had not come earlier, I had a very bad feeling about what was about to go down.