In Safe Hands (PuzzleShipping)

Chapter 25

Yugi ran alongside the gurney that held the unconscious Yami to an elevator on the other side of the hospital.

The whole way there, Yugi latched onto Yami's hand and absolutely refused to let go. He wasn't going to leave him. Not once. He was going to urge him to live even if it meant hurting himself to do so.

But then, they were forced apart.

Only a couple surgeons were able to go into the elevator because of the maximum weight, and all the others had to use the other elevator. Yugi had to reluctantly let go as soon as the elevator doors slid closed, locking Yami within them. Yugi went to press the button, but was stopped.

"Yugi??" Someone called from behind him.

He turned around to see Mahad rushing over, an extremely worried look on his face. Yugi stopped and turned to face his direction.

"W-What happened??" Mahad pressed, his voice slightly shaky.

"...I h-honestly...don't know..." Yugi looked down, "h-he was...normal one s-second...and...then he..."

Mahad's eyes widened at the thought. He shook his head to regain control of himself and looked back at Yugi. Yugi saw that he was as scared as Yugi felt and that his eyes with pooling with tears that waited to emerge, but Mahad wouldn't let them.

He gripped Yugi tightly, almost desperately and looked him deep in the eyes.

"Y-Yugi..." He said, "...H-How was...surgery?"

Yugi bit his bottom lip, this time his own eyes being flooded with tears. He slightly looked down, not knowing how to say it without emotionally breaking down. He looked back up into Mahad's desperate gaze and slightly shook his head.

"He w-went into..." Yugi's voice quivered, "C-Cardiac...arrest...I-I'm not sure...if they b-brought him b-back..."

Mahad paled further, shaking his head from side to side and still holding Yugi by the shoulders.

"N-No...no...no no!" Mahad's tears finally escaped and he burst into silent tears, clutching onto Yugi and bringing him in for a hug.

Yugi stayed in the embrace, his own eyes with the tears that wait to slip out. They got stronger by the second and finally, they were too strong for him to hold in. He heard Mahad's silent sobbing against his shoulder. Yugi bit his bottom lip once more and he held Mahad in return, letting the tears free.

"...Y-Yami..." Mahad shook his head, hugging Yugi slightly tighter, "...h-he...we c-can't...lose...h-him..."

The thought made Yugi even sadder. Mahad spoke the harsh truth, even if it hurt Yugi to think about it. Yami was the life of this hospital and it was quite apparent in the way he was treated. If he...died...the hospital would die with him, slowly losing ratings and slowly lessening in popularity.

If something happened to Yami, something would happen to the hospital.

Mahad and he stayed there, silently crying in each other's arms as they prayed for Yami and his survival. Yugi wouldn't be able to muster the strength to live if he lost Yami...and so would many other doctors. The kindness Yami offered to everyone he met here was a kindness that exceeded every other kindness.

Yugi kneeled there with Mahad still, crying and pleading for Yami's life, over and over.

-------

Yami could only stand as he watched the scene. Heba dodged a couple Attacks from his demented father and dove for his step brother. He scooped Yami's body up and ran for the stairs, hearing the yelling of the killer behind him. He ran into the kitchen, holding his step brother.

Yami followed him, simply floating behind him and just watching what he apparently missed back then in his life.

Heba paled at the sight in the kitchen and his eyes brimmed with tears.

His sister and mother lye on the floor, motionless and still. His mother lye in a pool of Crimson blood. His sister had a tight rope around her neck that she seemed to have struggled to take off. Neither of them breathed and Heba had to stop for a moment to calm himself, however, he was forced to run when he heard the heavy footsteps of his father.

"HEBA!!" He bellowed.

Heba jumped and sprinted for the door, careful not to make a sound as he quickly opened and shut the door. He ran out of the house and into the lawn, where the neighbors had started to stir and wonder what was going on.

Heba ignored them and pressed on.

Suddenly, Yami found himself back in the body, lightly bouncing in Heba's arms. He was weak as could be and his eyes drooped low. He looked up at Heba, too weak to speak.

"Y-Yami?" Heba looked down at him.

Yami only looked back at him.

"P-Please..." Heba tightened his grip as he ran faster, "S-Stay strong...y-you can d-do it..."

Yami remained silent, only letting out a soft moan in return.

Heba ran down the moonlit sidewalk, carrying the bloody body of his brother. He panted, his eyes brimming with tears. Yami ran right next to him, knowing Heba wasn't able to see him, but still going along.

He heard Heba having to constantly reassure himself that his big brother was going to be alright. He never went a full ten steps without looking back to see if the step father was after him.

Surprisingly, he wasn't.

Heba cradled Yami's body closer and ran faster, holding him tenderly.

"S-Stay with me..." He repeated, "S-Stay w-with me..."

Yami suddenly lost his strength and his eyes slipped closed, his body going completely limp at the same time and Yami was back where he started.

His eyes were flooded with tears, but he determinedly refused to release them, focused now on getting his wounded sibling to the hospital. And nothing had the ability to tear him from that goal. Absolutely nothing.

"Y-Yami..." He muttered to the body, "W-We're almost th-there...j-just a couple more m-minutes...

Soon, the hospital finally came into view and Heba silently sighed with relief. He dashed into the emergency room and ran to the desk, out of breath.

"P-Please...help my...brother..." He pleaded, holding Yami still closer.

The nurses and doctors at the desk immediately rushed over to him, clearly shocked on what they saw in the patient. They took him away from Heba and he watched him go away, terrified.

He collapsed into a waiting room chair and cried his heart out, Yami sitting right beside him.

-------

Yugi sat beside Yami's bedside after another several hours of waiting. Yami was finally out of surgery and was given a room in the ICU where he would have to stay for the next couple of days. Yugi sat, gently holding Yami's limp hand as he slept on.

He sighed, caressing it gently.

"Y-Yami..." He muttered quietly.

Suddenly, as though he heard Yugi, Yami's eyes fluttered slightly and slowly opened, still drooping. He turned and his eyes met Yugi's eyes and they looked at each other intensely.

"...Y-Yugi..." Yami whispered weakly, tightening his grip on Yugi's hand.

Yugi stood and grinned at him, lightly kissing him on the forehead and kneeling beside his bed to meet his gaze once more. He gently ran his fingers through Yami's hair and nodded.

"Yes, Yami..." He whispered to him, "I'm here..."