Pairing: SetoxJou / Yami+Bakura / Yugi+Ryou / Honda+Otogi
Beta: JennieB. - The top of the pop.
Chapter fourJou entered the hospital with quick steps and approached the reception desk. He leaned against the counter, his amber eyes wide in panic. “Excuse me, I came here to see Seto Kaiba.”
“Are you related to the patient?” asked the nurse, without even bothering to look at him.
“Yes, I’m his
boyfriend,” Jou replied angrily.
The old woman looked up at that, and stared at him for good five minutes before typing something at the computer. A moment later, she gave him a visitor's ID card.
“He’s in room 405. Down this corridor, second left.”
“Thank you,” the blond replied sarcastically as he turned and walked away. He soon found the room and entered, only to find some other nurse there checking Seto’s vital signs. She looked over when the door was opened, and she smiled at him.
“Don’t worry, dear. He just has a bit of a concussion. I think that by tomorrow morning, he can go home.”
Jou let out the breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding. He approached the bed and sat down on a nearby plastic chair to wait. The nurse left after a few minutes, and then they were alone. The blond approached the more comfortable chair by the bed, and took the pale hands between his. When the hospital had called looking for him, the blond had almost had a stroke. After Seto had said those words in front of the mirror, he hadn't known what to expect, if anything. He had no idea if the brunette had something to do with someone’s death. “I know I’m worrying for nothing, but…” Jou's whisper trailed off as he gave a small squeeze to the pale hand. He drew closer, and his nose touched the bare arms in a caress, his eyes falling closed. He couldn’t even think of the possibility of some ghost – or whatever it was – killing Seto. He wouldn’t let it happen. “I’ll kill her again before she can get you.”
-----
“Here! I found it!”
Bakura approached his hikari and looked over his shoulder from where he sat at the computer. He arched one eyebrow as he read. “How did you find this, Ryou?”
“I have my sources,” answered the white-haired teen with a smile.
“Read it to us, koi?” Yugi asked as he entered the bedroom.
“Okay.” Ryou turned his eyes to the screen. “Maho Sugihara, age seventeen. She was found dead, in front of a mirror, with her eyes ripped out. The investigators said at the time that the removal of the eyes had likely been done by a medical expert, probably the killer. The prime suspect was this doctor named Makoto Hitsuji. The police said his wife had divorced him a few months before the murder because she suspected he was having an affair with this girl, a patient of his.”
“Wow,” exclaimed Yami, who was now looking over Ryou's other shoulder. “And what happened to him?”
“Three months after the murder, he was found dead on his bathroom floor. Guess how?”
"Let me guess...without his fucking eyes?” Bakura answered.
“Yes, that’s it,” said Ryou with a smile.
“And how do we know this is the one?”
“I’m glad you asked, love.” The British teen typed something at the keyboard. “I found out that she also had double citizenship. Her American name was…Mary Carpenter.”
“When did you become so intelligent?” Bakura asked with a smirk.
“I want to be a journalist.”
“You’re doing very well so far,” the former pharaoh said.
“Okay, we've probably identified the ghost, but how do we end this thing?” Yugi pondered.
“You don’t know?” Ryou asked.
“Why, do you?” Yugi replied, obviously surprised.
“Well…yeah.” The British teen scratched his head. “The legend I told you guys about also says that breaking the mirror where she appears will end the curse upon the person.”
“We have to talk with Jou,” concluded Yami.
“He’s at the mansion, right?”
“Yeah, he hasn't left the mansion since Kaiba's accident.”
“I would be freaked out if I was seeing this Bloody Mary chick all over the place as well!” Bakura exclaimed with a shudder.
“I didn’t know you were afraid of ghosts,” Yami teased as he glanced at him.
The former tomb robber glared at him for a moment, and then in one swift move, he knocked him down to the floor, and was straddling him. “I will make you pay for your words, Pharaoh,” growled Bakura.
“Oh, I’m counting on that.”
"Jesus, get a room you two.” Yugi rolled his eyes.
“Or you both could just leave,” replied Bakura, who was now starting to kiss and bite the former pharaoh’s neck.
“Come on, love, let’s call Jou,” Ryou said, avoiding the couple on the floor and leaving the room with Yugi.
-----
The blond sighed as he heard the brunette wake up from his afternoon nap. A moment later he entered the master’s bedroom, went to the bed, and sat down on the edge. “Seto…how was your sleep?”
The young CEO didn’t say anything, just remained still with his eyes closed. “Is everything covered?”
The blond wanted to cry at hearing the weak tone. “Yes, it is.”
Seto opened his eyes and looked at his lover, his blue irises full of panic. He'd been like that for the last few days. “Sorry.”
Jou moved closer to the other and laid down at his side. “For what?”
“For not believing you,” the brunette sighed. “But…you know how I am with this kind of thing and…”
“I know.” Jou shifted even closer. “I shouldn’t have told you that you were a pussy.”
Seto chuckled, and Jou smiled at the first sparkle of amusement he'd seen in days. “I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, I know you didn’t.” The blond kissed him lightly on the lips and looked him in the eyes…only to be shoved away a moment later. He saw Seto back off to the other side of the bed and draw his knees up to his chest. He dropped his head against them and closed his eyes tightly.
“What? What happened?” exclaimed Jou, approaching the other once again.
“Your eyes…” The tenor was muffled. “They reflect her.”
Jou blinked and then sighed deeply as he got up from the bed. He wanted to say something, anything that would comfort his lover, but he didn't have the words, and now he couldn’t even stay close to him!
Suddenly, the phone started to ring. He left the bedroom, going for the extension that rang in one of the guest rooms, giving the young CEO some privacy. “Hello?”
“Jou! It’s Yugi! We found the answer!”
“What?” The blond was lost for a few seconds. “You mean…you found a way?”“Yes! Ryou found the girl who probably is…you know who.” He heard his friend take a breath before he continued. “All we have to do is stay in front of a mirror where she will appear, and then smash the mirror.”
"That’s it?”
“Yes, but it has to be done by someone who has said her name.”
“No,” the blond replied immediately. “I will not involve Seto in this; he can’t even look me in the eyes, Yugi!” As soon as he had said those words, he heard a ‘click’ that signified someone had just hung up another extension. “Seto...Yugi, I've got go!” Without waiting for an answer, the blond hung up the phone and ran to the Seto's bedroom, only to find that the door was locked. “Seto, open this door, now!”
This wasn’t happening to him!
TBC
