Narrow Escape (Rei no Kaado)

[mugenginga]

Bakura seemed to be fighting to remain conscious. He really was a lot worse than he'd indicated last night. Actually, he seemed a lot worse than he was willing to admit even now.... a result of not wanting to trouble anyone?

In any case, the coughing had increased in frequency, to the point that he'd finally pulled up the collar of his black trenchcoat up and began coughing into it. The struggle to remain conscious meant his eyes had glazed over a bit. He didn't seem to care about the bit of blood trickling down the corner of his lips... or was too injured to notice, which was a disturbing thought in its own right.

The driver would look up to his mirror nervously every minute or so. That kid was really fucked up. They should have called an ambulance, except it didn't seem the man knew about the new hospital. He said nothing. Adachi would realize after a few minutes he was headed in the general direction of the old hospital grounds... and probably would not be happy about it.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi was getting even more concerned as things went on. Bakura seemed to be getting even worse. He had started coughing into his trenchcoat, and he looked like he was having to struggle to stay awake. Adachi tried to give Bakura a comforting look, but he really didn't know what to do.

Adachi looked up from Bakura for a moment to see where the driver was going. Adachi recognized the road they were on.

"Hey, this road leads to where the hospital used to be! Where the hell are you taking us?!" Adachi yelled.

[mugenginga]

"Do you honestly think I'd put that kid at risk?!" The man barked back. The look he got in return was unsettling at best. It caused him to quickly follow it up, "They built a new one near the old one! It's underground! I don't think he'll make it to Bonsai, and the equipment at the new one is better!"

Bakura didn't seem to notice the look. His eyes were focused on the window outside, which was quite the blur for how fast the cab driver was going. In truth he was using it as a focus to stay awake. It had to have been some kind of miracle he'd gotten back to the Apartments at all...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi's expression had become rather threatening after the driver even suggested that he'd put Bakura at risk. It softened as the driver continued. They'd built a new one? He never heard about that...

"O-Oh..." Adachi said. He looked over at Bakura. He really wasn't looking good. He needed medical attention and bad. "Well, hurry it up!"

[mugenginga]

Must get his looks from his mother...

The driver mentally slapped himself for such a callous thought. He had no way of knowing he was in error, either. In any case, he nodded and pushed down on the gas pedal. He was breaking one hundred at this point, and he was about three blocks from the hospital grounds when the sirens started up. He glanced in the mirror, and if Adachi looked up he'd catch the driver give a worried expression. The driver's eyes were focused on Bakura and he pushed down even harder on the gas pedal. If they wanted to arrest him when he got to the hospital, they could. He wasn't letting a traffic stop cost the kid his life.

Less than thirty seconds later, and the taxi driver was making something like a racing stop outside of a hut sized building, although made with far more modern materials. About the only other decoration in the area was a large sign. The squealing the car made when it stopped could be heard throughout the entire car. He was actually undoing his seatbelt with the car still going but it had come to a full stop by the time he shoved his door open. The cops pulled up just as he got the door on Bakura's side of the car open. Bakura coughed again as he turned, and the driver became far more concerned with the blood pooling on the teenager's mouth than the police. Kid was made out of some tough stuff to be even conscious if he was as bad as he looked.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi's eyes widened as he heard the sirens outside the car. He should have expected the police would pull them over what with how fast the driver was going. Still, they didn't have time for this. When the car stopped, Adachi climbed out on his side. He gave a concerned look toward Bakura before going over to his side.

"I'll get him in there on my own, you just handle that massive speeding ticket you're going to have," Adachi said. He didn't mention anything about fare. He supposed that he could come back out and pay him later, but that really didn't matter right now. What mattered was that there was a fair amount of blood gathering at Bakura's mouth.

[mugenginga]

He wanted to argue. Oh how he wanted to argue. But the man had a point, the kid looked to be getting worse and fast. He stepped to the side and let Adachi get to the teenager. Himself, he began walking toward the cops. He had both hands in the air. He wanted to make sure they could see him before he did anything else. He doubted he'd get a ticket once he explained things, though. As for the fare, he didn't say anything either. He had no intentions of charging the man, either. Would be a little cruel considering the condition the kid was in.

Bakura didn't fight Adachi's attempts to help him out of the car. His walking would be unsteady and most of his weight would have to be supported by Adachi. Once he was out of the car, he'd spit pure red onto the ground, but that would be the most energy he'd spend for a while... he wasn't unconscious though. He'd cut this close... but he couldn't die yet. He wouldn't let himself.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi pulled Bakura from the car, and looked even more concerned as Bakura spat a large amount of blood onto the ground. It was obvious Bakura wouldn't be able to move any more than that. Despite Bakura's size and weight, Adachi managed to work Bakura onto his back.

"Just hold on a bit longer, Ryou," Adachi said. The worst part for him was the fact this was his fault and he knew it. If he saw that son of a bitch again, he'd kill him, or at least give a damn good attempt at doing so.

Adachi looked toward the taxi driver and gave an apologetic look as he headed toward the hospital.

[mugenginga]

Bakura tensed up as Adachi worked him onto his back. In fact, had he been in a better place he might have jerked away. But even the tensed reaction faded quickly, the teenager not having the energy to fight or even object. So he let it happen, but he didn't let himself sleep. He made his eyes remain open. He couldn't be sure he'd wake up if he closed his eyes, after all.

There was a large round area inside the building, it looked big enough for an entire ambulance to stand on if the need arose. On the wall was a computer screen, and after Adachi stepped inside a series of instructions in Japanese blipped onto the screen. They weren't that complex, they merely stated for visitors to step onto the center of the circle and they'd be teleported underground where the actual hospital was. It informed Adachi the system was advanced enough that it would read the conditions of anyone in the circle and teleport all members of the group to the appropriate area.

In other words, Adachi and Bakura would be taken straight to the emergency ward of the hospital. The place really had gone state of the art with its new location. That's what happens in a world connected to so many advanced universes.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi had done as the instructions stated. For a moment he felt like an idiot, but suddenly, the room changed to something much larger. Adachi realized that he'd been teleported fairly quickly. Before he could realize what was going on, Bakura was being lowered onto a stretcher and Adachi was being questioned.

"What's the patient's name?"

"Er, Bakura Ryou, that's surname first--"

"What is your relationship to the patient?"

"Er, I-i'm his temporary guardian; my name's Adachi Tohru, and--"

"What caused the patient's injuries?"

"I'm really not sure; he came home like that... they weren't this bad last night..."

The doctor looked Adachi in the eye. Adachi gulped.

"He's going to be okay, right?"

The doctor gave an uncertain look. "It was good you brought him in when you did. He's in critical condition."

[mugenginga]

Bakura seemed to lose whatever grip on consciousness he had left as soon as they placed him on the stretcher. They were moving fast, but it didn't seem they thought he was going to leap off the mortal coil any second. There was a bit of shouting as they moved away from where Adachi and the doctor were standing. A nurse ran up and the doctor spoke to her in a hushed voice, rubbing his temple as he did so. He turned back to Adachi when the nurse left.

"Normally we'd require a relation or at least a release, but standard procedure kind of has to be thrown out the window in a place like this. If you'll head that way," the doctor pointed, "You'll find signs that will get you to the lobby. Since you're taking responsibility as his guardian we'll need you to fill out the paperwork. I should note that we've got a special rule here that if one of his family shows up and you find them, they need to be alerted to the situation."

The man attempted to give a comforting smile, "We'll do the best we can for him. We've pulled far worse cases out just fine. An advantage of technology from many universes, I suppose."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi wasn't happy to have to do paperwork, but it was what he expected. He nodded, and started following the signs to the lobby.

This was all entirely his fault. He'd been desperate, that damn Lucifer had lured him into it, and now Bakura was hurt bad, and it was all because of that damn Ring. If Bakura died now, Adachi was sure he might just kill himself. That doctor had tried reassuring him, but Adachi wasn't sure.

Please... be okay, Adachi said. He received his paperwork once he got into the lobby and sat down to fill it out.

[mugenginga]

Well, Jounouchi had known things were going south as soon as the ground started to shake. Anzu had come up beside him and Honda to help them with Bakura. It wasn't that he or Honda were weak, it was just that Bakura was almost a dead weight. Man, the kid was out cold, but it wasn't like he could be blamed. Guy didn't even know he was in Egypt. At least that mess was over. With what Yuu.. Atem. His name was Atem. With what Atem had managed to accomplish, Bakura would never be messed with by that damn Ring again.

Anzu had seemed to be unsure what to do. Honda had come up with the idea of her supporting Bakura from behind. They were a few awkward steps from the top of the stairs, and the ground had started to shake. His first thought was that Bakura couldn't defend himself, and he managed to tighten his grip on the white haired teenager. And then he'd felt the teenager jerk down amongst massive amounts of yelling and flipping falling rocks. Were earthquakes common in Egypt? He'd lost sight of the others by this point and felt his own feet give out from him. A hop in one direction went badly and he was yanked down, and finally lost grip of Bakura's wrist. He didn't really have time to feel bad about that before he blacked out himself.

----------

And then he'd woken up in an alley. A city alley. How the hell had he ended up in a city alley? This was followed by a rather severe pain in his side, rolling over, and losing most if not all the color from his face. It was one of the Millenium Items laying on the ground there. He didn't really remember their names aside from Yuugi's Puzzle, but it looked like something that American justice lady might carry. What was the word for that? Scary? He blinked and rubbed his head. No, Scale. Right.

Kaiba had thrown that Eye thing at Atem. Said something about Atem possibly needing it? Jounouchi sighed at taking advice, even indirectly, from that jerk, but leaned over to pick up the Scale. He had his hands closed around it when he saw a tanned hand sticking out from behind a dumpster. If it had just been that, he might have ignored it. But it wasn't. It was the tanned bloody hand.

Jounouchi straightened up and ran over to check on the person. He wasn't the type to use sense and realize that the person could be dead or by finding the body things could go very bad. It was best for the person on the ground, as they weren't dead but might have reached that had he not been found. Jounouchi practically faceplanted as he stopped when he realized who it was. Tanned skin, platinum blond hair, that outfit...

"Malik!?"

He didn't receive any response. For half a second he thought about just leaving him there. Good memories were not attached to the man. He could all but hear Yuugi in the back of his mind, and it was that which convinced him to kneel down and pull the other teenager up. He winced when he realized how bad of a shape the teenager was in. He looked like he'd gotten in a fight with a meat grinder factory and lost. Jounouchi didn't know fancy things like carotid arteries or anything of the sort. He made sure Malik was well positioned before holding his hand in front of the teenager's mouth. Okay, he was breathing.

Jounouchi supported the teenager (man, he was heavier than Bakura, but there was little chance he was going to get help here) out of the alley and managed to nearly get both of them run over by a taxi. Jounouchi muttered several expletives under his breath after he was sure his heart hadn't jumped out his chest. Well this was great, the driver looked American. He motioned with one hand and pointed at Malik. The driver seemed to understand and the doors to the back of the cab swished upwards. Jounouchi blinked. Fancy cab. He managed to get Malik into the back seat when the driver said he'd get them to the hospital in flawless Japanese. The blond teenager blinked and told the man to hurry up.

----------

Then there was the hospital. It was at this point Jounouchi was completely confused as to where the hell he was. However, he'd noticed Malik's breathing had gotten more ragged and just dealt with it. He'd followed the instructions on the odd display in the small room, but he managed to drop the teenager as he jumped back as he was teleported. Where. The. Hell. Was. He? The only reason Malik hadn't hit the floor was because a nurse had been nearby to catch him. Two things prevented Jounouchi from making a snide comment about the nurse's gender. Malik's condition and more importantly, his rather broken mind. What got his attention the most was that this was apparently the second case like that in minutes. Who else had come in like this?

He was given a bunch of questions. He was able to tell them who the guy was. No, he didn't know his blood type. Nationality? Egyptian. Family? Well, he knew Malik had a sister but he had no idea where she was, so he said he didn't know. Was he taking responsibility? The fact that his age didn't matter threw him rather badly, but he shook his head. He was just being a good samaritan. They still wanted him to fill out a bunch of paper work. A different nurse pretty much had to guide him towards the lobby.

----------

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

Adachi would see a teenager just a bit taller than himself pull his arm away from a nurse. He looked irritated, tired, and a bit overwhelmed. The nurse gave a concerned look, but the blond teenager let out a sigh and walked away without looking back. The nurse shook her head and walked off. Jounouchi walked up to the counter and was handed a stack of paperwork of the same height Adachi had been handed.

The police officer would notice something was sticking out of his pocket as Jounouchi turned around, muttering to himself. The thing in his pocket would probably more than catch the man's eye. About half of it was concealed by the teenager's pocket, but one side of the scale stuck out and an all too familiar Egyptian style eye was partially sticking up from the side of the pocket. Added to things, the item looked to be solid gold.

Jounouchi practically fell into a chair whose back was to Adachi's. He placed the overloaded clipboard onto his thighs and looked around. His expression turned to annoyance and he twisted around so he could better see Adachi and spoke in informal but not completely rude Japanese. It was a fair bit how Atem spoke, actually.

"Hey, you got a pen on you?"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Adachi looked up as the nurse dragged another person into the lobby. Some teenager who, of course, was taller than him. Blond haired, with some golden object sticking out of his pocket... a golden object with an all too familiar golden eye, oh for the love of...

Get rid of one, another one of the damn things shows up, Adachi grumbled to himself. The kid sat behind Adachi, and seemed a bit annoyed. Adachi jumped as he asked for a pen.

"O-Oh, yeah. Here," Adachi handed the pen he was using to Jounouchi. He paused for a moment. "Hey, what's that thing in your pocket?"

[mugenginga]

"'Zank You," Jounouchi said in gratuitous English as he grabbed the pen.

He was halfway in the middle of turning around when Adachi mentioned "the thing" in his pocket. His attitude seemed to shift to something far more relaxed and he reached into the side pocket Adachi wasn't talking about and pulled out a deck of cards with backs Adachi was probably familiar with by now. He held up the deck of forty cards as he twisted around again.

"You know Duel Monsters!? What am I saying, of course you do! I'm Jounouchi Katsuya, third runner up to Duelist Kingdom, fourth runner up in Battle City! I'm friends with Mutou Yuugi! Do you play?"

The teenager had gotten rather animated at this point. He spread the cards and was looking at them without even waiting for a response from the man. He seemed to be looking for something specific among the cards. By this point he'd gotten completely turned around so that his knees were on the seat. The clipboard on his lap had dumped between himself and the back of the seat, and the pen had dropped down there as well. He lifted up a card and his eyes were practically sparkling. He was like some overenergetic little kid. He held up a card with a somewhat scary looking black dragon on it.

"This is my favorite card, but you probably don't know about it unless you're really into the game. It's a super rare card called Red Eyes, Black Dragon! I got it as a prize in a Duel once!"

(OOC: In case you need it: yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/File:Red-EyesBDragonJY-JP-C.jpg)