Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Lifeline
By : Athena
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > AU - Alternate Universe
Views: 1003 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or make any profit.
Chapter List
- 2
- 3
o.o.0.0.O.0.0.o.o
Chapter 3
A Broken Promise
He stirred but his morning alarm had not gone off yet. It was probably the worst sleep he had in a long time.
Yami shifted again, his body stiff and reluctant to obey. He blinked his eyes, seeing nothing in the dark room. Slowly he managed to pull himself upright, using the light of his omni-tool to guide himself as he walked over to the bed. He yawned, struggling to remember why he had been on the floor in the first place. The covers were already pulled to the side so he let his body drop and fall sideways into the nest of pillows. He covered himself and drew a pillow close, hugging it to his chest and burying his face into it as sleep set in. He was nearly out when Yugi's voice came over the intercom.
It jolted him awake. In quick succession he accessed the omnitool's interface and overrode the volume controls to divert sound back to the headset. He had forgotten he had maxed it out. But now he knew his plan had worked. He could still hear Yugi's voice in the room, only now it was muffled.
Yami blinked, blinded by the holographic interface that projected over his left arm from the band around his wrist. He closed his eyes, and with a trained familiarity, keyed in the controls for the flashlight. Once again a diffusion of muted light filled the cramped space and he squeezed his eyes open. He was careful, more cautious this time, about sheltering them from the sharp sting. He glanced around, picking out familiar objects. The one thing out of place was the headset on the floor.
It was near, but not near enough. He groaned in reluctance.
During his proverbial 'night' the room was intentionally cooled to help him sleep.
He sacrificed a leg, stretching out with his toes to pull the headset closer. When it was within reach he tucked himself back into the blankets, and slunk over the side - flopping like an amoeba and absorbing the headset into his fortress of warmth. He curled up and got comfortable again, adjusting the volume before putting the headset on. Yugi was repeating his name over and over, using a different tone each time. It was amusing, and Yami would have told him so, if it was not for the feverish pacing that echoed in the background.
Whatever Yugi was up to, his steps were frantic. "Yugi?"
"Finally! Yami, where have you been?" Yugi sounded more than little distressed, his words sharply delivered, "I feel like I have been trying to reach you for hours. I need you to help me."
It was hard to know if Yugi was actually upset at him or if the anger was a symptom of his panic. Either way, hostility nipped and laced each word.
Yami yawned, trying twice to answer, but his head kept lolling involuntarily and drooping. "I'm sorry Yugi. The sound, and… I… I fell asleep."
"No, no, please! I can't do this without you. I need you. Wake up! Please? Yami?" It was a battle to make sense of what Yugi was trying to tell him. "…pretty please?"
"Okay..." His voice sounded dry and not like his own. Damn it, he could barely think straight. He needed water – or coffee. Preferably coffee, but he only had eight packs left to get him through the rest of the journey. He had indulged too much too soon and diminished his supplies. Although - if he was going to hold any kind of conversation, now would be a good time to spoil himself.
Yami drew a sharp breath and forced himself to open his eyes wider. He needed to turn on all the lights, a thought which drew out a low growl of displeasure. Still, he threw everything aside before the impulse to do so could pass. He whined, knowing it had to be done. If he had not, he would have been tempted to sleep again. But he was already cold...
He breathed in slowly through his nose. At least Yugi could not see him pout. His body demanded sleep which made throwing a childish fit feel justified, and yet, defiantly, he did the mature thing and sat up. The air made him shiver but he moved quickly, hobbling across the chilled tiles to snap on the overhead lights.
Yugi was silent on the other end. His boots were not. Urgency carried in each short stride.
"I'm awake now, go ahead Yugi. I'm listening."
The dam of held-back emotion burst. "I found Honda. He's been out there for two days, maybe more. He's got frostbite everywhere, lesions… I-I don't know what I am doing. It was hard enough dragging him back here…" It sounded like Yugi was struggling to breathe.
"I'll guide you, take a breath," Yami said, setting the kettle to warm then walking to his desk.
He had learned a long time ago the value of a busy mind. Yugi could not be allowed to think too deeply about what he had to do. It had to be a wound, not person; a body, not a "Honda". If Yugi did not disassociate, he would fail to act appropriately. He had to keep Yugi focused on small tasks. Keep his mind busy by always having something to do. There could be no time to stop. No time to think. If there was, Yugi might steep himself in dark places. It was like star-madness, and once it broke a person, it was nearly impossible to repair. "Do you have access to warm water?"
"I can boil some."
He could hear Yugi rummaging through drawers and clinking various glassware until a tap turned on.
"Don't waste any more than you need. Just enough for a small tub."
Something smashed and Yugi cursed.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I - cut myself. Damn it… I'm so tired. I haven't slept yet… I did not find food, and - my hands - I didn't have gloves."
Yami readjusted in his seat, not letting himself slouch or get comfortable. "You need to take care of your own injuries first."
"But Honda needs-"
"No! You need to listen." Yami paused to make sure Yugi would not protest. "Remember the first-aid or flight-safety demos? 'Before you help others, you must first help yourself' - its basic, 101. Tell me what your injuries are, then - afterwards, I will talk you through how to treat Honda."
Yugi was silent.
Yami wished he could be ground side to help, but the ISRTs could only space-dock. "I already have documents loaded so, please, be satisfied knowing that you have access to the bio-lab and won't need to, and I quote, 'find a sharp rock'."
Yugi snapped at him. "Fine." It clearly wasn't, but Yugi continued. "It's, mild, frostbite. A little blue? I-I just need to warm up."
"And your feet?"
"Fine, they're fine. Don't worry."
"Stop saying 'fine', Yugi." Yami did not disguise his annoyance. "You can not walk on them if there is even the slightest… You don't want to lose your feet."
Yugi hissed and whined with impatience. "I have a couple of those little, exothermic, hot packs in my boots, that'll be fine – uh, good enough."
Yami tapped his desk. "And how bad is the cut?"
"Its" – Yugi sighed – "Okay. It's not very deep. I knocked a beaker over and stupidly tried to catch it."
Yami could hear him pushing the glass shards around.
"You better not be lying to me Yugi Mutou, or I'm telling your dad."
He smiled, hearing Yugi gasp.
"He's alive! You found him? Oh, thank the stars… Yami, what did he say?"
Despite Yugi's excitement, there was not a lot Yami could offer.
He tried his best to comfort, still smiling and feeling gratified in the afterglow of Yugi's elation. "It was an emergency beacon, a pre-recorded one. The voice was Solomon Mutou, but anyone could be manipulating it to speak with me. They know that you are here and that help is coming. At the very least, it confirms you are not alone."
Yugi was quiet and it made Yami's skin crawl. After the pass of thirty seconds he felt compelled to fill the empty air. "I think they may have found shelter away from the beacon. There are no new messages, but, if you ask me, there is a high probability that the beacon is either near the bridge itself or the survivors have transport."
"Transport? It could be the BLS!"
Yami shook his head. "I don't know what that is."
Yugi snickered. "You aren't the only one that enjoys naming things."
Yami let the silence sit, biting his lip until Yugi continued. "My dad and I name all our gadgets together. The BLS was named after my dad's favourite duel monster card. It's actually a modified M35, but the gun has been removed and the interior was stripped so it could ferry up to seven passengers. It, uh… It's a joke because the Black Luster Soldier is difficult to summon and, quite frankly, the BLS has a hard time getting started, but when she does" - He chuckled at some far-off memory.
"I take it you were driving?"
"Shut up!" Yugi laughed. It was so rich Yami lost sight of what he was supposed to be doing.
"At any rate, the bleeding has stopped and I have it wrapped now. I think the room is finally starting to warm up, but I had to use several Bunsen burners since the room's climate control would drain the power too quickly. I should have been back sooner to seal the doors and keep the day-time heat in but… I suppose it is too late to worry about that now."
"It was a good solution considering what you have to work with. It did not occur to me before, but we can use materials in the bio-lab and I will talk you through some thermochemistry. We can make more hot-packs for Honda and it will spare your water reserves. You can use what you've poured already for cleaning, but we really should be monitoring that too.
"Oh, water won't be a problem. I'm actually near a lake. I took some samples to run through the machine, but I am certain Honda has ingested it since that is where I found him."
"I am glad you took samples because he could now be a bio-hazard as well."
"It's too late to worry about that, I already did CPR. If he has it, I have it."
Yami clicked his tongue. He didn't like that. "Was it necessary?"
"As I said, I found him in the lake. I think he was trying to get my attention and fell in. He wasn't breathing when I pulled him out, but he is now." Yugi sighed at the silence. "Let's not worry about it. I will run the samples and we can deal with that hurdle when we get there. So, what is the first step? Do I just, heat him up?"
"Are you certain you are ready?" Yami opened a file on his computer and linked it to his headset.
"Yeah… lets do this."
He could hear trepidation and nervousness in Yugi's tone. So he cued the music.
And it was worth it, if only to hear Yugi laugh again.
"Really? 'Mission Impossible'? Sir, you do me such disrespect – Hey! I didn't say turn it off!" Yami pressed play again. "You know, I've heard this song so many times, but I have never actually watched the movie."
"There's really no need to." Yami changed the song. Yugi may have been enjoying it, but Yami was already bored. He chose the Four Seasons and let it play in the background as filler. "How bad are his fingers and toes? Any blisters? What colour?"
"I am… I am so blown away right now."
Yami rolled his head, stretching out his stiff neck and thinking about that coffee again. "What do you mean? Did you find other injuries?"
"No, I mean you- classical music? I never would have thought…" Yugi gagged –"Oh, no the smell."
Yami tried, but failed to stifle laughter at Yugi's melodrama. It was cruel, but the dry-heaving was on-beat with the rest of the music and it struck him as hilarious. After a waiting to hear if Yugi would recover he finally had to ask, "Are you going to be okay? Did he soil himself?"
"No." Another dry-heave. "Its his feet. Took off his boots … I'm dying. Oh, its so sour."
Yami chuckled. "I take it back, I'm glad I'm not with you."
"You were thinking that?"
Yami's mouth pulled into a line. He crinkled his nose. Had he not said that aloud? He chose to play it off. "Pfft, not any more. I don't do well around bad smells either."
"Huh…"
"What?"
"He's got other injuries… It is worse than I thought. Way worse. He must have been hurt during the crash-"
The morning alarm went off. They both ignored it.
"Yami…" Yugi said it softly, barely audible above the music. Yami turned it off. "I already know what you are going to say but I need to put him in cryo. He needs a real doctor, someone that can help him. This isn't a med-bay, I only have access to a basic first aid kit. And…"
Yugi's voice was overtaken by sorrow. It quivered and Yugi gave up the effort of trying to continue.
Yami sighed, rising out of his chair to pour the coffee now that the kettle clicked off. "You made me a promise Yugi."
He tried to give Yugi time, but no answer was forthcoming. "If you put him into cryo you will be draining the majority of the power you have left. We still don't know when help will actually arrive. Both of you could end up dying instead of one. You promised me you would put yourself first-"
"- You don't…" Yugi choked on his words. Yami offered him the respect of sitting silent and Yugi took the time to catch his breath. "You don't understand…"
"I think I understand enough." He stirred his coffee and returned with it to his desk. "He was a friend, and you don't want to watch him die. No one should have to go through that, but you nearly killed yourself bringing him back to the lab. You've done all you can do. It's not your fault. You can't hold yourself responsible-"
"No!" Again Yugi was struggling to talk and breathe at the same time. It did not quite sound like he was crying, but – he was on the edge of what his emotions and tired state could handle.
"Take your time. I'm listening."
"I… I…"
"Breathe."
Yugi drew a long breath and slowly released it.
"Again."
He compiled, and already his voice started to level out. "Do you… how much do you know about anthropology? Specifically, what an anthropologist does?"
Yami's face heated. "Um… Nothing if I'm honest. I always thought it had something to do with dinosaurs but I know that's wrong now."
"It's the study of people, past and present." Yugi huffed and swallowed whatever emotion ailed him. "Remember, when I told you about my PhD? That I'm doing research on spaceflight communities? Well, an anthropologists' main tool is 'participant-observation'" -his voice cracked - "put emphasis on the 'participant' part…"
Yami took a sip of his coffee and waited while Yugi took a series of slow breaths. "Honda and I grew up together, but I… I went into cryo and he… he didn't. It might be hard to understand but everyone on the Aralia was my friend. I knew all of them."
"I see."
"They were all asked to keep recordings, a weekly blog or journal entry that I could read and use for my thesis when I woke up. Seeing Honda like this... its hard. He's old now… And, assuming everything went well between him and Miho, Honda could have kids. And those kids could have kids! It's insane... I knew, going in, that this would be the outcome but – seeing it… It was so easy at the start, to acknowledge this reality. Everyone dies – we all know that. Loosely, its there in the back of our minds; but to see it, to stare it in the face like this… For me it feels like a week ago, for Honda a lifetime. I finally understand my-"
The radio went silent and Yami feared the worst. "Yugi?! Yugi, did you loose power?"
"No, no, I'm here."
Yami breathed a sigh of relief but Yugi still seemed to be lost in thought. After an extended pause Yami hummed into the silence, trying to put words together. The sound was enough to pull Yugi back into focus.
"I'm sorry. I was just… My dad. I can't imagine how I'll react to seeing him." Yugi laughed dryly and it mixed with a sob. "I'll have to start calling him 'grandpa' or people are going to look at us funny."
Yami tried to smile, but it was a wasted effort since Yugi could not see him anyways. "I wish I knew what to say, but honestly, you were right; I didn't understand. And I still don't. I thought the two of you were close?"
"We are but - my research..." He took a breath. "We want to use it to ban mandatory interstellar postings. It's how I got the funding and why everyone joined the Aralia. There have been so many cases documenting how interstellar travel ruins families, but the counter legislation keeps citing the need for a 'proper' scientific study. Honda's dad was military, his mother as well. A lot of the military kids grew up together simply because our families were so broken. My mom was military…"
Yami could immediately sense the pain.
"She was posted when I was 2. When she came back I was already 17. We were now only 4 years apart in age. It was so weird. Whatever she expected to find when she returned, it wasn't me. Things might have worked out between her and my dad if I wasn't around, but - she left, and dad kept me. For her, only a few months had past, yet the family she left behind was gone..."
Yami closed his eyes, imagining the homecoming and how the scenario might have played out. "Thank you, Yugi."
"Huh?"
"For helping me understand." Yami hugged himself, drawing himself closer to the desk. "I have a new plan now, so - put Honda in cryo. I will help you, however I can, to save everyone on the Aralia."
Yugi gave a soft chortle. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep the promise."
Yami snorted. "You're not off the hook yet Mutou, I can hear the exhaustion in your voice. Move Honda into cryo and get some rest. I'll check in on the beacon and see if anyone is responding to the distress signal while you sleep."
"Thank you."
"Of course, Yugi." He slid back from the desk but did not get very far.
"Wait! Yami? Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Can you… play that song? The classical one? It'd be nice to have something to listen to."
Yami smiled softly. "Any other requests? I have a library full of old songs."
"No, some other time. I used to always listen to audio books in bed but I think whatever you had on will work." Yugi's voice turned mischievous, "Unless you want to read to me?"
"I'm not reading you a bed time story."
"Aww, why not? Do you sing?"
"Go to bed Yugi."
He chuckled to himself. "Well, I tried. Good night Yami."
"Good night Yugi."
- 2
- 3
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Lifeline	By : Athena Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1003 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or make any profit.

Lifeline