The Beast Within

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned here nor do I make any money from this.

A/N: I'm sooo extremely sorry about the long wait for this chapter :(. I tried to update quickly and yet -_-". I actually had this chapter sitting open for a while. It kept feeling like it was missing something. I hope you enjoy it though, its on the short side. sigh. Thank you all so much for the reviews XD They make me sooo happy :D *dances the happy jig*. Please read and review ^_^. I swear on the life of my pin shirt he next update will be quicker.

Kay




When Kaiba tried to open his eyes, he felt a rush of pain to his head and squeezed them shut again. A migraine so early? At least he assumed it was early because he knew that he had just awoken from a somewhat restless sleep.

He had been sleeping, hadn’t he? But why was he asleep? He didn’t remember coming in bed last night. He didn’t even remember drifting off. He blinked several times before opting to just keep his eyes closed. He lay motionless and focused on his breathing to fight off the wave of nausea.

Strange though, he thought, usually the sounds of the birds that made nests the trees outside his window were the first things he heard on mornings, but there was no sound now.

Well, not exactly. Truthfully, there was a sound… a kind of flapping noise. Curtains? And now that he thought about it, he could feel a cold breeze sending chills through his skin. It could only mean one thing.

His window was open and windows don’t commonly open themselves.

Someone was in his room, in his space, and if it wasn't Mokuba, they were going to get a not so clean piece of his mind.

If only his damn head would stop hurting.

He wasn't aware that he had made a sound, but apparently he had, because he heard shuffling and the clinking of glasses.

“Kaiba?”

Who the hell is that?

It wasn't a voice he recognized as one if his servants or the butler. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew the voice. That voice that irritated him- at least it had- but it had been a while since he’d heard it. He was sure that in the brief second he had opened his eyes, he had recognized his room. So he was definitely in his home, and unfortunately, so was his uninvited guest.

He had to open his eyes now. The feeling of someone breathing too close to his face was unsettling, and even more unsettling was the knowledge of who it was.

“Please, don’t try to open you eyes.”

The voice was low but it was a definite command and Kaiba desperately tried to open his mouth to retort, when a something wet was pressed against his forehead. The cold liquid that saturated it cooled his skin and the hands applied pressure when he grudgingly relaxed into it.

Stupid…nghh. I’ll kill him for being here when I…

The wet cloth felt nice. Really nice. So nice that his body that had tensed up from the intruder deflated and his breathing became even. It was lifted off and after sounds of splashing water, it was replaced.

The procedure continued and he wasn't aware he had fallen asleep, until the sound of someone talking sent a shock to his senses. He could still feel the cloth, but it was warm from is body heat now and was rendered to just an annoying weight.

It took him a while to study the voice and realize that it was coming from his scarcely used television. He slowly removed the towel from his head and struggled to open his eyes. His body felt unusually weak.

‘…orts indicate that the woman and her fiancé were travelling through that area last night, when they were attacked. The woman, Kyoko Yamashiro, sustained minor injuries and is being held at the hospital. Doctors say she is receiving treatment for shock and had to be heavily sedated upon arrival. As for her Fiancé, Mamoru Hokkaido, sadly he succumbed to his injuries on the spot after-’

The rest he never heard because the television was clicked off. His migraine had subsided but he would need medication to get rid of it fully. His neck still felt stiff, but he tried to turn his head to the presence he felt close to him.

“Why’d you turn off the T.V?” he whispered, forgetting his surroundings momentarily.

“Kaiba!” Yugi, who was seated on the ground by the bed, sprung up to his side. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Two things crossed Kaiba’s mind: one, Yugi Moto was there in his house, in his room no less, and two, he sounded a bit strange.

Why does he sound like that?

Kaiba refused to answer and Yugi wearily sat back down. Kaiba simply stared at the ceiling, angry, curious and frustrated, and too tired to even produce a question. Why did his head feel so heavy? There had to be a reason. He drew in a deep breath.

“W-What are you doing here?” he asked slowly between ragged breaths.

“…Um…”

He heard Yugi falter without having to look at him. He could have also sworn he heard him whimper but he ignored it. “Well?”

The slight raise of his voice made the side of his head throb. He couldn’t even do anything when he felt something trickle down the side of his face. Yugi hurriedly got to his feet again, eager to busy himself in attempts to dodge the question.

He retrieved something from a tray that contained a bowl and a teacup, from a table in the corner that was used as a temporary office desk when Kaiba was at home. Kaiba heard the sound of dripping water and then Yugi was next to him again.

There was an awkward moment in which two people not quite friends, not quite enemies, waited. Yugi clumsily raised his hand; not quite wanting to get closer, but he couldn’t reach. Stepping closer, he leaned over Kaiba not meeting his eyes, and with a trembling hand, wiped his face.

“Kaiba, uh…do you remember anything… from yesterday?” Yugi asked tentatively.

It was a strange and sudden question, and Kaiba did his best to focus on it, instead of his need to get far away from the red staining the white wash cloth in Yugi’s hand. He closed his eyes.

“What d-do you mean?” Damn he sounded pathetic.

“I mean… don’t you remember anything strange happening?”

Kaiba didn’t like the way Yugi said the word ‘strange’. It sounded like a page out of a certain ‘Ancient Egypt’ book that he’d like to remain closed.

“No. Did something happen that I should know about, or will you stay here in my house and be vague about it all day.”

“Sorry.”

Yugi walked over to the window and drew the heavy drapes apart. Kaiba’s eyes grew wide when he saw the rays of evening sunlight pouring in. “H-How long have I been asleep?”

Yugi sighed and sat on the floor, crossing his legs. “Almost the whole day.”

“A-A whole day?!” he nearly screamed, sitting bolt upright.

“I don’t think you should be moving around so quickly.” Yugi stretched out his hands.

“A whole day! I missed work. Why didn’t you wake me!”

“Kaiba, you were knocked unconscious! I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up.”

“What? How?”

“I don’t know. There was a…light and you were lying on the ground and-”

“What exactly are you talking about?”

Yugi scratched at his neck. He obviously had something he wanted to say but couldn’t find the words and Kaiba was becoming irritated. The pain in his head felt distant. It didn’t matter. He could see an image of his company building shrouded in flames.

A sea of red and orange that engulfed everything. His business was all that mattered to him. He couldn’t leave it not even for a day, and if he ever did, proper instruction was always left. After all, it couldn’t run itself and he trusted no one to do it for him.

He had never in his life slept longer than needed. He had a schedule. Every minute was planned. That was it; he was leaving regardless of if he knew what happened the day before. When he got to work, he’d simply…kidnap Yugi or something, and force him to talk.

He kicked his feet off the bed and towered over a clearly frightened Yugi on the floor. The look on his face was stone cold. He hoped. There was no need for words, his face said everything, but just in case it wasn't clear, he spoke while striding across the room.

“I’m going to leave now, when I get back, don’t let me find you here.”

“But-”

Kaiba made sure to slam the doors with all the strength he could muster on wobbly knees to block out whatever Yugi had been beginning to say - even though he was telling him to get out and was technically shutting him in. Because he hadn’t left either, he had just gone through his bathroom doors, but hopefully he would take the hint and leave.

Or maybe he was giving him too much credit.

He just wasn't in the mood for Yugi’s idiotic babbling. There had to be a logical explanation and he would figure it out on his own. An explanation as to how he woke up in is bed, when he clearly didn’t remember coming home. And why was Yugi there? Oh, his security would pay for that.

More importantly though, Yugi had said something about a light and he said that I was unconscious. How? His head hurt when he tried to think. The one thing that was obvious, something happened.

He grumbled all the way over to the sink.

There was still a faint dizziness in his head and his body felt out-of-whack; no doubt from waking up in the middle of the evening.

He turned on the tap to cold and leaned over to splash his face when his fingers brushed over something prominent. He ran his fingers over it and winced. Taking his first good look in the mirror his breath hitched painfully in his throat.

There, beside his eye, in plain sight, was a larger than life lump, red and swollen. He was now conscious that his shirt had been removed and that most of his upper body was bandaged.

His eyebrows traveled all the way up and disappeared beneath his hair. What the hell?

He ripped them off desperately, tearing them away and watching as they fell to the tiled floor.

The scratches, bruises, purple and blue marks that marred his pale skin stared back at him form his shocked reflection in the mirror. He felt sick to his stomach at the sight of his body. Someone definitely had their way with him. To say the he looked like a mess was an understatement. Worst of all though, were his hands. Dried, caked on, under his nails and embedded in his flesh; Blood.


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Oooh, what'd you think happened to Kaiba? XD hehe