Chapter 4: - Rescue Me
Jonouchi had been checking his friends had gotten home safely every day since Hirutani had approached him, even if they hadn't seen him, so when he'd stopped by the Game Shop around half past six and found Yugi wasn't been outside doing his chores and he'd looked through the windows of the shop, only to find his friend wasn't there either, he grew understandably concerned.
Frowning slightly, since Yugi always helped his grandfather clean up the shop on the evenings, Jonouchi glanced around and was about to step into the shop when Honda appeared out of nowhere and slammed him against the nearby wall.
"Where are they hiding, Jonouchi?" Honda demanded, pinning him. "Where's Hirutani hanging out?"
"This is none of your concern, Honda." Jonouchi snarled, trying to push his friend away.
"It is my concern." The brunette snapped back, shoving him back against the wall, angrier then Jonouchi had seen him in a long time, "Your 'friends' took her."
"What?" Jonouchi demanded, taking in the bruising on Honda's face for the first time. Hirutani had sworn he'd leave his friends alone, not that Jonouchi completely believed him, and if he'd grabbed Anzu or gotten one of his gang members to do it for him Jonouchi was going to pitch a fit. "What do you...?"
"She tried to help me and they took her." Honda growled in response, "Saying they were gunna teach her a lesson."
Jonouchi growled, his tone low and dangerous, his eyes flashing, "You'd better go keep an eye on Yuge. If they've taken Anzu..."
"You idiot." Honda snapped, "Yugi's the one who's been taken."
"But you said..."
"She's a girl you moron."
Something in Jonouchi's mind clicked. Yugi had tried to tell him herself. Both before and after they'd become friends, but it just hadn't sunk in. He'd been too used to treating her like a guy…
Some friend he was…
And what was worse was that Hirutani had her…
"Go stay with Mutou-San." Jonouchi snarled, managing to break free and shove Honda away, "I'll get Yuge back."
"Jonouchi…" Honda forced himself to his feet, holding his ribs as he did so, and wheeled around to tell Jonouchi that he wasn't to go alone, only to find that the blonde had already left.
Jonouchi knew where they'd be likely to take her. He hadn't long come from the hangout down by the bars and that wasn't exactly somewhere Hirutani was likely to take someone he was going to 'teach a lesson'.
No, it would have been difficult to drag someone of his size to where he was thinking of. The warehouses down by the docks, one of which had been abandoned for a rather long time and had been claimed by Hirutani as his 'Torture Chamber' years ago, would be empty at this time of night. However someone of Yugi's size and stature would have been easy to get there.
It wouldn't even have caused a fuss if they'd had to knock her out and carry her. She looked young enough for any of them to claim that they were her big brother and they were taking her home after she'd worn herself out or something.
He swore and picked up the pace, sprinting across town, as he realised that even at his fastest it would take more than ten minutes to reach the docks and that he had no idea how long Hirutani had held Yugi prisoner for already.
He was more than aware of what Hirutani was capable of when angry. He had, after all, seen the sorts of methods he would use against people when he wanted information. It had been one of the reasons he had gotten out when he had the first time.
The teen wasn't even on the right row of abandoned warehouses before he heard a scream, Yugi's voice piercing the night air, causing the blonde to freeze as fear stabbed him. A second, weaker, scream forced him out of shock and allowed him to sprint for the right warehouse.
He reached it as a third cry died, it's volume much lower than the first two, and he broke down the barricade, only to freeze in the doorway at the sight of what was going on inside as a black haired thug moved away from his friend, holding something that sparked dangerously in the low light.
"Yugi!"
Yugi stared blankly at him with half lidded, pain darkened eyes, her face was pale where it wasn't bruised, her breath was coming in short gasps and she was suspended by a hook normally used to move packages around, the balls of her feet just touching the floor, taking some of her weight off of her swollen wrists, which were bound tightly to the aforementioned hook.
Jonouchi wasn't even sure that she knew he was there.
"Leave her alone, Hirutani." Katsuya snarled, furious that not only had his former gang boss kidnapped his friend and that he'd treated her so badly, but that he'd so badly misjudged the situation with her, he just hoped… "We had an agreement. I come back to your gang and you leave my friends alone."
"What's the matter, Jonouchi?" Hirutani smirked, running a hand down Yugi's side and becoming amused when the girl let out a weak whimper and tried to escape his touch, "Concerned for your little girlfriend? Never knew you were into Lolita."
"Take your hands off of her." Jonouchi snarled, trying to think quickly. Even if Yugi had been up to running, he would have been in trouble. There were six of them on top of his gang boss… The first thing he had to do was get Yugi out of here, nothing else was important.
"I don't know, if the nymphet's not yours, I might keep her." Hirutani said, still smirking, noting the way that Jonouchi's hands balled into fists at the insinuation. "Just say the words and you can have her."
Katsuya let out a low, vaguely feral sounding growl at the gang boss's words. "She's mine, Hirutani." Jonouchi said finally, hoping Yugi didn't hate him for it, "You can't have her."
"I thought so." Hirutani said, nodding slightly. Then he did something Jonouchi would never forgive him for. He grabbed Yugi by the chin and, waiting for her to open her mouth to take a gasping breath, kissed her.
Jonouchi, who had, the moment the shock had faded enough, moved to dispatch the goons so he could get to his struggling friend's side, was stunned momentarily when, in a burst of golden light, Hirutani went flying.
The gang boss went crashing into some crates on the other side of the room and before he could pick himself up, Jonouchi had made his way to his friend's side and cut her down with a knife one of the thugs had dropped, catching her as she fell.
She was limp in his arms for a just long enough for Jonouchi to start worrying, then she pulled herself upright, cringing as she did so, and slipped out of his arms, red eyes catching his own brown ones as she steadied herself.
"Thank you." She sounded different, but Jonouchi was convinced that was because of the pain that was so obvious in her face.
"You need to get out of…"
"The pair of you aren't going anywhere." Hirutani growled as he got back to his feet, madder then ever.
"Jonouchi." She spoke quickly, "You take him," She nodded to the gang boss, "And I'll handle the rest."
Any other time, any other place, he wouldn't have listened, but she spoke with a surety that he couldn't match and a faith that he was willing to bet his life on.
"Be careful, Yuge."
"You too." She darted off, snatching something out of her bag and heading up the stairs.
"Go after her." Hirutani ordered his goons.
It took every last ounce of willpower Jonouchi had not to move to intercept the goons that chased her up the stairs. As it was, Hirutani helped in that matter by lashing out at him immediately.
Jonouchi was having none of it. After what the gang boss had done to his friend, he was more than willing to pound him into dust.
He blocked the incoming blow and landed one of his own, booting Hirutani straight in the nuts, unwilling to play nice.
The gang boss crumpled to the ground, fighting hard not to throw up, having not expected that from someone who had always fought with at least a modicum of honour.
"That's for Yugi, you bastard." Jonouchi snarled, going to boot the man in the ribs only for Hirutani to grab his leg and pull, causing Jonouchi to go crashing into the floor and before he could right himself, Hirutani had pinned him to the floor and was attempting to slit his throat with a broken piece of glass, the sharp edge of which was cutting into the gang leader's hand.
Jonouchi wrapped his hands around Hirutani's wrist, trying to force his hand away from his neck. The gang boss had always been physically stronger than him and Jonouchi was struggling to keep the glass more than a few inches away.
He bucked his hips, shocking Hirutani enough that Jonouchi was able to reverse their positions, rolling the leader onto his back and, through his arm was cut in the exchange, he managed to get the glass out of Hirutani's hand.
What he didn't expect was Hirutani to throw glass dust in his eyes.
Jonouchi recoiled, inadvertently freeing Hirutani, trying to blink the glass from his eyes, which were watering like crazy.
"You should have just taken the position I offered you, Jonouchi." Hirutani snorted, "Would it really have been so bad being my second in command?"
"I'm never going to follow you, Hirutani." Jonouchi snarled, wheeling around at the sound of the leader's voice and lashing out, breaking Hirutani's jaw, bringing the thug crashing to the ground. Jonouchi kicked the guy in the ribs, hard. Hard enough to hear something crack, "And I'm never going to forgive you for laying a hand on Yugi."
With that Jonouchi darted up the stairs after his friend.
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She was in pain and she was pissed off.
Hirutani was just lucky that she owed Jonouchi her life and he considered the Gang Boss his to deal with. If she had gone after him first, there wouldn't have been anything left for Jonouchi.
As it was she had six little grunts she could express her displeasure to and she was taking great pleasure in leading them into her trap. She would make them pay for their crimes against her, of that she was certain, just as she trusted Jonouchi to make their leader pay, but she had to do it carefully. Her injuries wouldn't allow for any screw ups and she wouldn't be able to hold all six of them off if they attacked her, she just didn't have the training or the body strength.
The six grunts joined her on the roof without even thinking about it, underestimating her ability to defend herself. The moment they stepped onto the roof, the game was set. She didn't even give them a chance to accept or decline her challenge. Scum like them didn't deserve a chance to do so.
"You've got nowhere to run now." The tall, black haired boy who had grabbed her earlier, smirked, "It's us or a drop." He indicated the edge.
"Who said I was running?" She retorted as he approached her, "I was just luring you to the spot where we'd play our game."
"Who said we were gonna play a game with you?" One of the other teens, a brunette asked, sneering.
"What's the matter?" She let out a soft chuckle, teasing them, luring them further onto the roof by backing up, almost at the edge herself, "Afraid of a girl?"
"We're not afraid of no girl." The black haired one snorted, "Besides," He smirked at the others, "How can one game hurt? It's not like she can go anywhere. We win either way."
She watched the Shadows flicker around the boys, who seemed oblivious to it, as they spread out, trying to trap her in the corner of the roof.
"Going to tell us the rules then?" The black haired leader asked.
"It's quite simple." She said, showing them the deck of playing cards she was holding, "We each draw a card and the person who draws the highest number wins. Ace is low, mind. So King's the highest. You even get six chances to beat me."
"And what do we get when we win?"
"Anything you like." She said, noting the way their eyes lit up, "Money, aid, me... Of course if you lose, I get to decide what happens to you all."
She moved forwards slightly and the five lesser goons drew from the top of the deck, pulling a six, an eight, a five, a three and a ten while the black haired teen drew a jack.
"Going to have trouble beating this." He told her, showing her the Jack of Spades, fitting, she thought, for someone who would dig their own grave after she drew.
She just smirked at him and drew the top card, only to reveal the Queen of Diamonds. "I guess I win."
"So?" The black haired thug demanded, moving forward attempted to grab her wrist, only for her to pull it out of his reach, unwilling to let him lay a hand on her, causing him to slap her so hard she went crashing to the tiles and nearly slid off of the roof.
She pushed herself to her hands and knees quickly, glowering at him, darkness coursing around her as she raised one of her hands. "So your fate is up to me." She hissed, fury only intensifying when she saw the marks around her wrist where the ropes had rubbed it raw, "Mind Crush!"
The goons collapsed as their minds audibly shattered, their bodies hitting the tiled roof hard, three of them tumbling down the slanted roof and falling over the edge and into the alley below. The shadows dispersed.
"Yuge!" She got to her feet and looked towards the broken window she'd used to get out here, watching as Jonouchi, injured himself, stepped out onto the roof, giving her an incredibly concerned look. He was safe then, she was glad of that. Jonouchi was a good friend and a strong protector.
"You alright?" He asked, as she made her way over to him, limping as she picked her way between the bodies, exhaustion and pain catching up to her now the adrenaline was waning.
She collapsed into his arms, causing Jonouchi to let out a panicked yell, as she slipped into unconsciousness.
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Jonouchi was pacing the hospital entrance when Honda and Sugoroku arrived and the old man stopped just long enough to thank him for rescuing his Granddaughter from the thugs and pat him on the shoulder before heading in to find out what was going on with Yugi.
"You're not inside?" Honda waited until the door had shut behind the old gamer before wheeling on Jonouchi, demanding an answer.
"They wouldn't let me stay with her." Jonouchi explained, kicking the wall, having already dented the trash can and having been threatened by security if he did it again, "I'm not family."
"Is she alright?"
"I don't know, they won't tell me anything." Jonouchi sounded lost and angry at the same time, "She... and... I'm gunna go back and kill him."
"What happened?"
"I was too slow. They hurt her, Honda. Bad. For a moment I thought…" Jonouchi shook his head and kicked the wall again, "Damn it. She shouldn't have been involved in this. I went back to stop this happening…"
Honda paused, considering the blonde. He'd known there had to be a reason for his return to the gangs besides backsliding, but he hadn't guessed that Hirutani had been smart enough to threaten Jonouchi's friends.
"Did they…?" He asked, not sure if he wanted an answer.
"No." Jonouchi shook his head, knowing what his friend was asking, "And I wouldn't have left them alive if they had."
Honda nodded, understanding, relief obvious.
"Kicked Hirutani in the nuts though. That was satisfying." The blonde informed his friend, "Broke his jaw and might of cracked a couple of ribs too. No one lays a hand on my friends and gets away with it." There was a vicious satisfaction to Jonouchi's tone.
Honda just let out a soft snort, silently wishing he'd had the chance to kick the git too. Silence fell between the pair for a minute or two and then…
"I can't believe I didn't know Yuge was a girl." Jonouchi said, his tone turning depreciatory as he leant against the wall, frustration obvious. "Especially one as kick ass as she is."
"Come again?" Honda asked, confused, since Yugi was currently in the hospital, apparently badly injured.
"They had her tied up." Jonouchi explained, "And hanging by her wrists," He rubbed his own, not wanting to think about how long that would take to heal, "But once I cut her down she took down six goons by herself."
"You're not serious." Honda snorted.
"Deadly. She took down six thugs by herself. Three went off the roof and the other three were out cold by the time I reached her. Hirutani kept me kind of busy."
"So I'm guessing this answers the question of are you still gonna hang around with her now you know she's a girl?" Honda snorted, certain there was something Jonouchi had missed, well aware that Yugi just didn't have the build to take down one thug, yet alone six.
"I want to know how she did it." Jonouchi nodded, "Besides she ain't gunna be able to do much for a while, she's gunna need someone around to help and I kind of owe her. It was my mess after all." Jonouchi chuckled slightly as he thought of something, "But there is no way I'm getting on her bad side until I know how to block whatever it was she did."
The blonde paused. "Wait… you knew Yuge was a chick and you didn't say anything?" He demanded, "When were you gunna tell me? Or did you enjoy watching me make an idiot out of myself?"
"Hey we both looked like idiots in front of the girls." Honda snapped back, "I only found out three days ago and that was just before you went missing."
"Oh." The anger bled out of Jonouchi, "How did we miss it again?"
"I'm not sure." Honda admitted, "Everyone does, yet she's in with the girls for PE, doesn't enjoy sports, changes in the girl's locker room…"
"So… the entire school are morons?"
"I think it's the boy's uniform." Honda shrugged, having asked himself the same question. "Either that or the hair. No other girl we know keeps it that short."
"Anzu does." Jonouchi pointed out.
"It's the uniform then. Or everyone's blind."
"Blind and stupid." Jonouchi pointed out, well aware that the pair of them fit into that category if they'd missed the clues.
"So how are you going to make it up to her?" Honda prodded his friend when Jonouchi fell silent again, a feeling of guilt weighing heavily on him.
"Huh?" Jonouchi responded eloquently.
"I already apologised, and I forked over a ton of chocolate." Honda explained, "How're you gunna apologise?"
"Uhhh…" Jonouchi tried to think. Somehow he didn't think flowers was the right answer for someone like Yugi and she had all the best games so buying her a new one wasn't the answer. "I have no clue."
"Word of advice, talk to Anzu. She'll be a pain about it, but she'll help you out."
"But…" Jonouchi could just imagine the smug look on her face now if he approached her about this.
"Anzu is the only person except Mutou-San who knows what Yugi likes." Honda paused to think, "It's a shame you don't have much cash, Anzu mentioned there's a video game in at the store Yugi frequents that she's been after for a while. That might work."
"Lend me some money?"
"Jonouchi!" Honda protested half seriously. "Go talk to Anzu tomorrow. If she tells you what the title is I might, and I said might mind you, lend you the cash, but you owe me big time."
"Like I don't normally?" Jonouchi sighed, wishing he'd had Honda at his back earlier. "You'd only have to wait till my wages come in, then you could have it back."
"I don't know how you managed to get a work permit, but I can wait till then." Honda nodded, "But you have to speak to Anzu first."
"Damn it." Jonouchi mumbled under his breath. He and the brunette girl got on like cats and dogs, in fact they generally put up with each other for Yugi's sake, so he wasn't sure what she was going to say about all of this. He could imagine that it would involve her rather impressive right hook at some point.
"Suck it up, Jonouchi."
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It was dark when Yugi awoke but it wasn't only the dim light coming from the street lamp outside her window that disconcerted her.
The bed she was in was uncomfortable, the room she was in wasn't her own and… she pushed herself into a sitting position with her elbows, wincing slightly as she did so, and took the Puzzle off of the bedside cupboard, putting it on with difficulty as she gazed around the room properly, her mind fuzzy, her arms wrapped in bandages, everything finally making sense as it finally seeped into her mind that she was in hospital, not that she could remember how she got there.
She wasn't even sure what the last thing she remembered was, whatever was in the drip that was connected to her hand was preventing her from thinking straight and, she was certain, would probably usher her back into sleep soon as she let out a rather loud yawn.
One that startled the girl who looked a lot like her, except older and wiser, who was sat at the end of her bed and staring out of her window.
Yugi and the girl looked at each other, red eyes meeting amethyst, concern in one set and confusion in the other, then the girl got up and smiled at her good naturedly, putting a hand on Yugi's shoulder before backing up slightly and vanishing.
"A ghost?" Yugi murmured, too drowsy to be concerned and wondering how she'd missed seeing her the first time she'd looked around the room plus still trying to work out what had happened and why she was here, staring at her heavily bandaged wrists as if they could give her the answer.
Then it hit her. The memories returning like a ton of bricks.
She'd been kidnapped by Jonouchi's old gang and… she shivered, as pain ghosted through her, though it was a memory rather than any current pain, the drugs they were pumping her full of were seeing to that.
Suddenly she felt sick as the memory of the kiss Hirutani had stolen from her crossed her mind and she tried to pick up the water jug on her table to pour herself a glass, only for real pain to spike up her arms and her to drop it, getting water everywhere and alerting the nurses to the fact she was awake.
"Mutou-Chan, you shouldn't be lifting anything." The nurse who arrived first scolded her, interrupting Yugi's stammered apology, cleaning up the mess and pouring her a glass from a fresh jug. She helped her drink it before she took the Puzzle from Yugi and made her lie back down.
"If you need help there's a call button next to your bed but your wrists aren't going to take any sort of weight for a while." The nurse warned her as she turned something up on the drip, "Now go back to sleep. You've got a lot of recovering to do and your boyfriend won't be pleased if he brought you here for nought."
"My boyfriend?" Yugi asked, confused for a moment as sleep tried to drag her under again, "Jonouchi? Is he…?"
"He had a nasty cut and some bruising but he got away fine." The nurse informed her, "You've got a keeper there, fighting a whole gang to rescue you."
"Not my boyfriend…" Yugi mumbled, trying to stay awake enough to explain, "My friend… protects me…"
With that she slipped back into sleep, her dreams full of the girl on the end of her bed that had looked so much like her.