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kk095 · 6 years

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Pile-up

Here's my warning for the usual elements of my stories (blood, internal resus, and time called). Enjoy!

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As an ER doctor, I can tell you that car accidents are one of the most common reasons why trauma patients end up in my emergency department. The thing that upsets me most about car accidents is they’re preventable, considering that two-thirds of all accidents are caused by drugs/alcohol or speeding/reckless driving. The accident I dealt with in my last shift was an exception to this. An 18 wheeler truck turned on its side on a local highway due to wet pavement since it rained earlier that day. The result of this accident was a 30 car pile-up with 2 DOAs on scene, as well as an overwhelmed ER on my end. After everything was all said and done, my emergency department lost 3 of the 80 patients we received. That may seem like a respectable statistic given the circumstances, but that doesn’t make losing a patient any easier.

The first patient we lost was a 52 year old woman named Donna. She had pin straight blonde hair, blue eyes, a natural tan, average height and build, and she looked about 10-15 years younger than her actual age. Donna arrived at the ER under CPR, in coarse V-Fib, and was intubated at the scene. EMS set up 2 large bore IVs and hung a bag of normal saline. EMS also shocked her 6 times en route, pushed 1 round of lorazepam since she had a seizure on scene, 2 rounds of epinephrine and atropine, and said she’s been down for 8 and a half minutes. Donna also presented with blunt head trauma. Her pupils were sluggish but reactive, she had a blood soaked gauze pad over her left temple covering up a deep laceration, and she also had spinal fluid coming out of her left ear, a possible complication associated with a skull fracture or a tear in the lining of the brain or spinal cord (or a combination of the two). Injuries involving a spinal fluid leak are typically fatal but survivors of injuries like this typically have neurological impairments, ranging from mild to severe.

Once Donna was in the trauma room, the code was continued. The team cut off the rest of her clothes, continued CPR and ambu bagging, and charged the defibrillator paddles for the next shock. Donna's chest was pumped repeatedly as her blue eyes remained wide open, staring up at the ceiling. Her breasts bounced around from the force of each individual compression as the trauma team desperately tried to bring her back. Moments later, the trauma team shocked her. Donna’s body flopped quickly and sharply on the table as the monitors showed no change whatsoever. The nurses continued CPR and ambu bagging as the defibrillator paddles were charged yet again. Donna’s feet jolted upwards before crashing back onto the table, showing off prominent wrinkles in the soles of her size 9 feet.

The team coded Donna for 6 more minutes. Despite several more shocks, rounds of medication, and cycles of CPR, the trauma team called time of death on her at 17:26. The ambu bag was detached from the ET tube, leaving the tube hanging out the side of donna's mouth as her eyes remained wide open. The trauma team removed the EKG electrodes from her bruised chest before placing a toe tag and covering her battered body.

The 2nd patient that passed away in my ER was a 28 year old woman named Isabelle. She had wavy, dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a black bandanna on her head. She was of average build and slim build, had a near perfect smile, had tattoos on the top of her right foot and on her left forearm, and had nipple piercings. Isabelle arrived at the ER awake, alert, and in immense pain. She was crying and told the trauma team that she was scared, didn’t want to die, and it hurt when she breathed. Isabelle seemed like a genuinely nice person so this bothered the trauma team a bit.

When Isabelle was brought into the trauma room, it was quickly discovered that she had an open pneumothorax on the left side. The trauma team placed a chest tube while she was awake; Isabelle cried and yelled out in excruciating pain as the chest tube was being placed. Isabelle remained hypotensive after the tube was placed. The massive transfusion protocol was then initiated. The trauma team knew she was bleeding elsewhere but weren’t sure of the exact location. Since the trauma team needed to get to the bottom of Isabelle's injuries, they ordered a few tests. The chest x ray didn’t show any evidence of injury besides the open pneumothorax which was treated; an echocardiogram confirmed this. However, an abdominal ultrasound showed evidence of a retroperitoneal bleed, but the source was unable to be identified. Because of this, the trauma team ordered a surgical consult and a CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis. However, there was a bit of a wait for the CT scanner due to the massive influx of patients in the emergency department.

A few minutes later, Isabelle stopped crying and lost consciousness. The trauma team intubated her and kept monitoring her vitals. She was dangerously hypotensive and on the verge of coding. The trauma team wheeled the crash cart into the trauma room just in case.

The trauma team pushed meds to increase her BP and they kept transfusing but her stats didn’t come up, resulting in a code. The monitors showed coarse V-Fib so chest compressions were promptly started as the defibrillator paddles were being charged. Isabelle’s skinny body shifted around on the table as she received deep, violent chest compressions. Her eyes were shut and the black bandanna remained on her forehead as her head bobbed around while she received CPR. Moments later, everyone backed off as the 1st shock was delivered. Isabelle’s body jolted violently for a brief moment as the shock went through her body. The monitors showed no change so CPR and ambu bagging continued as a round of epinephrine was pushed into her IV. One of Isabelle’s ribs snapped like a twig during the code, but the nurse ignored the noticeable crunching sound and kept performing CPR. Moments later, everyone backed off of Isabelle as the next shock was delivered. Isabelle's size 8 feet flew an inch or so above the table and crashed back down half a second later, revealing cute wrinkles in the soles of her feet.

The trauma team shocked her 3 more times to no avail before deciding to crack her chest. The goal was to clamp her aorta to temporarily stop the retroperitoneal hemorrhage and to shock the heart directly. Betadine was squirted onto her chest as the attending physician made a crude, but decisive incision into the 5th intercostal space, just below Isabelle’s pierced nipples. While CPR and ambu bagging went on, the doctor forcefully opened the beautiful woman’s chest with a left anterolateral thoracotomy. Once her chest was adequately opened, one of the residents massaged Isabelle’s quivering heart while the attending placed a clamp on the aorta near the diaphragm. Once the clamp was placed, another round of epinephrine was pushed as the sound of the internal paddles charging filled the room. The large, spoon shaped paddles were placed into Isabelle’s chest and a shock was delivered. Isabelle's body twitched slightly as her heart continued to quiver erratically inside her chest. Her heart was massaged for another 15 or 20 seconds before the internal paddles were placed back in. A dull thump was heard as the next shock went through her body. The monitors still displayed V-Fib so internal compressions were resumed as the internal paddles were recharged.

Isabelle was shocked 2 more times with the internal paddles. After that last shock, she converted to asystole. The sound of the monitors going flat filled the room as the attending physician abruptly terminated the code. “time of death, 17:51.” Said the attending physician in a frustrated, and defeated tone as they pulled their gloves off while the nurses detached the ambu bag and shut off the monitors.

Isabelle face looked calm and peaceful. Her eyes were shut, she was still wearing the bandana, and the detached ET tube hung out the side of her mouth by her pale lips. Her heart sat still inside her chest as the rib spreader and EKG electrodes were removed from her bruised and betadine stained chest. A toe tag was placed on the big toe of her left foot. The tag dangled in front of her cute soles as her body was covered up.

At the time, we didn’t fully know the extent of her injuries. The autopsy revealed that the massive retroperitoneal bleed was from a severed mesenteric artery. Injuries like this are often devastating, resulting in mortality rates as high as 54%. Unfortunately, Isabelle was a part of that 54%.

The final patient my emergency department lost was a 31 year old white Hispanic (originally from Spain). Her name was Maria and she was petite, fair skinned, had short brown hair, brown eyes, no piercings, and a tattoo on her left foot.

Maria presented to the ER in and out consciousness, groaning in pain. She laid on the backboard still in her black bra with noticeable redness and bruising on her chest. She was severely hypotensive, her breathing was labored, and she seemed to be in a bit of a daze.

Once the trauma team got her into the trauma room, they removed the rest of Maria’s clothes as they began their initial assessment of her. Her stats were plummeting rapidly so there was a strong sense of urgency.

It was discovered that she had a massive hemothorax, so bilateral chest tubes were placed. Tears rolled down the side of Maria’s face as she groaned in pain during the placement of the chest tubes. The massive transfusion protocol was initiated on her since it was obvious that she was in hypovolemic shock.

Maria’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Her eyes remained half open as she took her last breath and became unconscious. The monitors displayed pulseless electrical activity and an echocardiogram showed that the massive hemothorax was only slightly dissipated by the chest tubes, suggesting a bleed from a vessel in Maria’s chest.

Maria received deep, rapid chest compressions while she was being intubated. Once the tube was placed and taped, a round of epi was pushed as the attending physician decided to perform a clamshell thoracotomy. Maria's chest caved in during each individual compression while the physician made a large incision, covering both sides of her chest just below her nipples. Once the incision was made and the breastbone was exposed, a sternal saw was used to cut her sternum in half horizontally. CPR was quickly stopped as the high pitched sound of the saw grinding away at her breastbone filled the chaotic scene. After the drilling and sawing, CPR was resumed as a finochietto rib spreader was placed in the center of Maria’s chest with the bar to the right, pointing down near her belly button.

Massive amounts of blood poured out of her chest once it was opened. External CPR was stopped as one of the nurses suctioned out Maria's chest while one of the residents began internal compressions. The monitors still showed PEA so a 2nd round of epi was pushed along with a round of rhogam so a bag of B-negative blood could be hung on the rapid infuser.

The 2nd round of epi converted Maria to V-Fib just as the source of the bleeding was discovered. Her superior vena cava was completely torn off the back of her right atrium. Even though you’re not supposed to clamp veins due to the elevated risk of blood clots forming, the trauma team made an exception and clamped off the vena cava and attempted to staple it back into the correct place.

After the stapling was done, the trauma team shocked Maria with the internal paddles. The monitors showed V-Fib yet again but the staples broke off, resulting in additional blood loss. The monitors kept going crazy as the doctors reached back into Maria’s chest to resume internal compressions while simultaneously re-attaching the superior vena cava to the right atrium.

After attempt #2, another shock was delivered. Maria’s toes curled from the electricity, showing off a few cute wrinkles in the soles of her tiny feet.

The monitors showed no change so the same cycle of internal compressions and defibs went on. The trauma team coded Maria for 4 more minutes. They called time of death at 18:31 while she was still in V-Fib. Maria’s pupils were fixed and dilated, despite being down for only 6 minutes. The reason for this is she couldn’t circulate blood throughout her body effectively due to the vena cava not being able to bring blood back to the heart.

After time of death was called, the trauma team immediately shut off the monitors and detached the ambu bag. Maria’s eyes remained half open, staring blankly above as the ET tube hugged her pale lips. Her heart continued quivering in her chest as the trauma nurses removed the EKG electrodes from her cold, lifeless body. One of the residents removed the rib spreader from the center of Maria's chest, revealing the massive cut in her chest which was only made a few minutes earlier. Maria’s heart fired off its last few electrical impulses as a sheet was placed over her battered, lifeless body.

Days like this are always tough because losing a human life is never easy. However, I kept a positive mindset and thought “at least we saved way more patients than we lost.”

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techno-sorcerer · 6 years

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Adjusting to the Dark Chapter 5: Cassandras Part 2

Story Summary: After recovering from an attack, Kaiba attempts to return to work. The problem: it was a vampire attack, and he didn’t recover so much as turn. Meanwhile, demons lurk ready to strike and take Kaiba Corp at the first sign of weakness.

Chapter Summary: After a hospital visit that goes according to neither Kaiba’s, the doctor’s, nor Shadi’s expectations, Kaiba finally makes it back to the manor. In both events, listening or not bears consequences.

Words: 6,790

Chapter Content Warnings: Body horror, allusions to cissexism, near major character death (no one dies though), Hallucinations

Notes: I am a very serious writer with very serious plot points. /s That said do not kill me. Also, I updated chapter 2 with information relevant to this chapter, so if you havne’t read that since I posted it, check it out. (It is a few paragraphs after Kaiba is told how long he’s been missing.)

Links to Chapter 1: tumblr, ao3

Almost an hour into his visit, the final drop of blood slid from the blood bag down the tube and into Kaiba’s arm. The sweet overtones of the aroma wafting up from the inside of his elbow disappeared leaving only sour scents lingering in the air. The pink veins leading up his arm started to retreat and shadows took their place. A tendril of darkness left his arm through the needle and traveled up the tube, moving along the thin film of blood coating the inside of the plastic.

Seto Kaiba did not notice most of these details; he was too busy staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. His pupils felt like they were the size of saucer plates, and sparklers were going off in his brain.

“Well, that went quick.” Kaiba rolled his head to look at Dr. Uramoto, who was rubbing her arm as she spoke. “I was under the impression that it normally took longer than this, but then again you aren’t exactly normal.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “Not many people my age are CEOs. If you mean anything else… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turned his head away as if to suddenly find the poster on the hospital wall very interesting. Of course, he knew exactly what she was talking about; he just didn’t believe it. While his hormones did not appear to bother her, Dr. Uramoto had revealed herself to be fairly superstitious, and part way through the blood transfusion, the superstitious prattle had increased tenfold. Kaiba had decided to blame Shadi.

“I’m not paid enough for this.” Dr. Uramoto let out a heavy sigh. She then mumbled softly to herself, “Though I guess it’s not your fault you couldn’t see yourself. I wonder if mirrors even would still work.”

“The mirrors aren’t broken, only my brain,” Kaiba said continuing to face the wall, or at least tried to say that since the word ‘broken’ came out more like ‘borken.’ He then realized what he said out loud and regret hit him like a brick. To admit that to a stranger… usually he thought things through a bit more. He curled further into the hospital bed. “Oops.”

Dr. Uramoto walked around the hospital bed to stand in front of Kaiba, and he waited for her to make some remark about his comment. Instead she said something else, “Are you going to let me take that thing out of your arm or are you going to try to bite my head off again?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Kaiba mumbled, and indeed he hadn’t.

He had mentioned something about the area around the needle starting to tingle, and Dr. Uramoto had then said she was worried about a possible allergic reaction. However, as she reached over him to take the needle out, he panicked. It felt good. No, it was good. He needed it. So, before he thought anything through, he grabbed her arm and barred his teeth. Don’t. Looking back, barring his teeth didn’t make much sense, but at the time the action felt natural and right. It wasn’t until after she flinched away and yelped that he realized what he had done and let go. Glancing down at her arm, Kaiba noted that the spot where he had grabbed her was still red.

“It doesn’t matter what you meant to do. You did it. Now, I need to know whether you are going to do that again. Do I need to bring in security?”

Kaiba shook his head before looking up at the blood bag. It was empty, and the urgency was gone. “Could… I have more?”

Dr. Uramoto shook her head, “After seeing what that first bag did to you, no.”

“But… but…” Kaiba sputtered, “I’m in shock.” That is apparently what Shadi had told Dr. Uramoto to write in his record, and after she checked his vitals, she offered no better explanation. His blood pressure was abysmally low, his heartbeat impossible to find, and his body sat at room temperature. Dr. Uramoto had had no better luck finding a pulse than he had.

“The diagnosis has changed, and even if it hadn’t, you’re as high as a kite, and your arm looks like something out of a horror movie.”

“I’m not high, but…” Kaiba held out his arm. “You see that too?”

Dr. Uramoto nodded. The veins and capillaries spreading out from the needle had become a web of black, which stood out all the more due to his ashen skin. Meanwhile, less distinguished shadows danced and writhed around the needle. Their movement almost felt joyous. As Dr. Uramoto removed the needle, a strand of his own discolored blood held on like a thread being pulled from a spool, but eventually it broke. Kaiba felt his arm tense for a moment. The moving shadows continued to pulse around the dot of sour blood that indicated where the needle had been. Dr. Uramoto cleaned the area with a band-aid ready, only to find unbroken skin.

Kaiba poked his arm. It felt good, amazing even, and fundamentally alive. He turned to look up at Dr. Uramoto with a pout. “You sure I can’t have more?”

“No.” A crease fell across her eyebrow as she glanced back down at his arm. “How can that not worry you?” A trace of a giggle escaped Kaiba’s lips as he shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure this is happening.”

The crease turned into a full on frown, before Dr. Uramoto shook her head and let out a sigh. “Shadi wanted me to give you blood, and having seen what I’ve seen,” she gestured down at him, “I can see that he was serious about it being for home, but the hospital has a strict policy on doing the transfusions in clinic, so unless I want to lose my job, that isn’t an option. There’s not much more I can do for you unless...” She glanced him over again and considered something for a moment. Fear radiated off of her. “… that’s not worth the risk. I’ll make sure you don’t get lost on the way back. You barely look like you could find your way out the door at the moment.”

Kaiba swung his legs off of the hospital bed and sat up. “Whatever Shadi told you was a lie.” He fidgeted for a moment before grabbing the outer shirt he’d taken off for the transfusion and awkwardly jabbing his arms through the sleeves.

“He didn’t tell me much, but yeah, he lied,” Dr. Uramoto rolled her eyes. “He said he’d make sure I’d be safe, but I’ll have the bruises to remember this visit by. Though I suppose he was worried about something else, that doesn’t mean I should be grateful worse didn’t happen...” Kaiba glanced away. He didn’t want to think about what did happen let alone what Shadi thought might pass. The image of the corpses in the parking garage still flashed through his mind. He shook his head; he’d rather not be thinking at all right now. “… so, are you coming or not? I gave up a Friday night for this, and I imagine you have places you’d rather be too.”

Home. He’d rather be home. He nodded, and followed Dr. Uramoto into the hallway.

Kaiba’s nose twitched.

The whole building had smelled sanitized since he had entered it, but hospitals were places for people and therefore smelled like them. Exiting the small room and entering a common space, the layers multiplied. Kaiba took a deep breath and lost himself in them for a moment. Unlike the Kaiba Corp lobby, the aromas- for they smelled too intriguing and good to be called odors- were more varied and a number of the layers contained strange twists and turns. Even slightly off, they smelled like people, and thus smelled good. The only bad smells among them were the swirls of stress that permeated the hallway; most people did not enjoy being here.

A hand tapped his shoulder, and Kaiba looked over at Dr. Uramoto, who wore a worried, almost scared, expression and gestured for him to follow. Kaiba glared but followed. He’d simply breathed for a moment; there wasn’t anything ominous about that.

After trailing Uramoto down the halls for a bit, he caught a whiff of something distinctive – or at least more familiar. Isono. If his mind had been clearer he may have interrogated his intuition further and hated that he recognized it, but at the moment he was relieved. He was almost there, almost home. The slightest of smiles graced his face. He took a few more sniffs to confirm that it was the smell from earlier. It was, and it was close. Without half a thought he darted forward led by his nose and leaving Dr. Uramoto in his tailwind. Turning a corner and bursting through a door, Kaiba found himself in the reception room, where Isono was staring at his phone intently. The smile spread. Finally. He rushed over and got Isono’s attention by gently grabbing his arm. “Time to go.”

Isono nearly jumped, and the thumping in his chest raced. Kaiba wondered for a moment if he had done something wrong. The door behind him slammed against the wall before slowly closing. The receptionist behind the counter looked up.

“I… uh… didn’t hear you come in,” Isono stuttered, while getting out of the chair. He glanced down at where Kaiba was still holding onto his arm, at Kaiba’s chest, and then back up at Kaiba’s face. He seemed concerned. “Uh… did everything go well?”

“It went… weird,” Kaiba shrugged. The reception room door opened again, and looked over his shoulder at a very out of breath Dr. Uramoto. “I made it back.”

“Yeah… I see…” Dr. Uramoto panted. “I didn’t realize you would be so... fast in your current condition.” Fast? She was the one that was slow. Dr. Uramoto took a nervous look around the room, and Kaiba could smell twinges of relief peel off of her until her eyes landed on where he was holding onto Isono. She rubbed her own arm and looked Isono directly in the eyes. “Are you ok?”

Kaiba glared at Dr. Uramoto. Even with his mind fuzzy around the edges, he knew he hadn’t meant to grab onto her arm. That somehow without meaning to, without being in complete control of himself- which was the worse part of it really- he had hurt someone, not financially, not emotionally, but physically. But, the mere thought of hurting Isono, one of the few people who had been good to him. How dare she! His grip tightened on on Isono’s arm for a moment before he let go and simply curled his finger’s tightly around Isono’s blazer. Kaiba breathed in and listened for a moment. No, Isono was here and healthy and going to take him home.

Isono’s brow creased. “Kaiba is the one who had been assaulted and missing. I am fine. The real question is whether he is ok, and…” Isono looked Kaiba over again, “did you give him anything?”

“Uh...” Dr. Uramoto stumbled for a moment and stared at Kaiba. He continued to glare. She let out a sigh. “May I release the information?” “Are you going to talk nonsense?” If the doctor was going to start telling Isono about vampires, he was going to lose it.

Dr. Uramoto rolled her eyes and gestured around at the receptionist and the other person waiting for an after hours appointment. “No, only what’s going on your record. You can tell people the rest on your own time, though those that spend more time with you,” she looked back at Isono, “deserve to know what they are dealing with.”

“The rest doesn’t exist,” Kaiba tugged on Isono’s sleave. “We’re going home.”

“Don’t pity me for working for him. I know who he is better than you do, and I stand by him, But,” Isono looked Kaiba in the eye with a resolution in his eyes that Kaiba did not like. Isono then spoke very calmly but firmly, “I don’t want to argue with you, but it is my duty as your assistant and legally by our agreement to make sure you are okay I know this isn’t your usual doctor, but considering everything that has happened and your current condition, I would rather hear this from the doctor herself. If you and her are having a disagreement, I will make sure you get the treatment you need.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s go.”

Isono didn’t move. “As said, I am on your side, but I will invoke our agreement if necessary.” “You wouldn’t. You couldn’t.” Kaiba was dumbfounded. It had been a year since Isono had last threatened to use the power the agreement gave him. In fact, there had been two previous times when Isono, put his foot down, and fortunately both times they had managed to come to a compromise. The first time had been over the issue of his schooling.

The second time had been over hormones. Not Kaiba’s decision to take them, but Kaiba’s decision to start a year earlier than recommended. Without Isono’s intervention, Kaiba would have simply bucked his doctor and used his resources to get what he wanted through less than official channels. Isono had forced him to sit down and at least consider medical supervision, and he had helped Kaiba sort through the web pages and phone calls, the bribes and visits, needed to do it. Knowing that the wrong dose could have increased his estrogen, it was probably for the best, but he hated the waiting.

Whether or not Isono actually could use his parental right to get the records, Kaiba knew Isono had to be dead serious to even mention it. And, despite how good he currently felt, Kaiba had to admit that he current situation may possibly perhaps be almost more important than the other times. He had nearly died.

“Fine,” Kaiba pouted turning back towards Dr. Uramoto. “I release the stuff on the medical record.” She said she wouldn’t talk about that bullshit, but she still believed it and somehow found ways to remind him of it. He bent down and buried his face in Isono’s sleeve. He wanted this to be over with. He wanted to be home. He wanted things to get back to normal, where people didn’t even think about the possibility of vampires or demons let alone expect him to take the ideas seriously. Where people hated him and called him scum behind his back but didn’t accuse him of actual murder. His ideas had been sharpened into weapons and sold for blood, but no one ever had thought he’d pull the trigger.

“He was in fairly severe shock when you brought him in. Its… a wonder he was even up and moving around. He did respond positively to a blood transfusion, but the sudden shift towards normal appears to have induced a wave of euphoria. You asked me if I gave him anything, but that was it. Its a testament to the shape he was in that it could have such an effect.”

Isono let out a chuckle. “Somehow I find that very hard to believe.” Kaiba pulled away and looked at him quizically. What gave him that impression? “Sir, you have been quite a bit more out of it coming back from this appointment than you were going into it.” He gestured at Kaiba’s still unbottoned outer shirt then to the place where Kaiba’s fingers were still tightly wrapped around Isono’s sleeve. Kaiba’s jaw dropped and he jumped back. His fingers hesitantly released the fabric and then rushed to straighten his shirt, shaking a little bit.

How had he let himself be seen like that? People could say what they want about him otherwise, but he couldn’t afford to look incompetent, weak, or out of control. And, while the contact with Isono wasn’t that bad, what if somebody got the impression that they were allowed to touch him?

Isono looked like he was trying to bite back a joke, though he managed to flatly state, “You even were smiling, actually smiling, for a moment there.” The statement was cutting precisely because Kaiba knew that Isono understood the large difference between a smile and a smirk. Kaiba rarely found an occasion worthy of the of the former, especially because the only times he put any effort towards happiness were to spite those who wanted him in pain. So, there was little that could actually make him let his guard down and enjoy himself, and the little that did exist were in brief moments with his brother.

“No, I-” Kaiba cut himself off with a pout. He didn’t actually remember smiling or not, but he had while running back to the waiting room been able to set aside how hellish the world and particularly this evening had been and focus on being able to finally being able to see his brother again. For a moment, things had seemed so very nice. To be able to forget all of what had happened… well, he was starting to see Isono’s concern. Blocking things out was easy; forgetting about them was a different matter. “She didn’t give me anything but the blood. Like she said, I’m lucky to be alive. Now, are you satisfied?”

Isono’s brow creased for a moment before he let out a sigh. “Well, so long as Dr. Uramoto says its ok for you to leave. If your condition is as bad as you say it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if you needed to stay, and I don’t want to hear that you bribed your way out of important medical care.” Kaiba rolled eyes. He couldn’t tell if Isono was joking, but that was how Isono’s humor usually worked.

“You couldn’t bribe me to keep him here.” Dr. Uramoto gave half a laugh and gave Kaiba a nervous glance. “In any case, I’ve done all I can do. More than the person who recommended him to me was probably expecting. The best thing for him would probably be to go home and rest. And… it would be best if he thought about what Shadi told him.”

“Stop it!” Kaiba rolled his eyes. “I already told you: what Shadi said was bullshit.”

“Oh, yeah,” She immediately snapped back, “Shadi can have issues with communication that we’ll have a word over next time he stops by, but I think he did try to tell me. I was just too busy hoping you were someone like me. Someone he saved. Not… the person who’d… someone he’d… someone like you. It didn’t even occur to me that he’d help you, and because of that things went less than ideally. He should have been clearer; he should have made sure I understood. But, I could have listened better. I bet he tried harder to tell you, and I know that if and when things go badly for you, it will be worse than a few bruises. And, if saying something will stop that, I have to say something.”

As she finished speaking, her hand lay on the small stick of metal she kept on a string around her neck.

Cold iron, she had said, to protect her from one of her former patients. She hadn’t said what the patient had done, and Kaiba had figured the details weren’t much of his business anyway. Yet, he still heard the way her voice shook when she spoke of him, and though he doubted the piece of metal would do any good, she clutched it tightly while she spoke of him. She said that the patient had warped her own memories of what happened and when she had tried to reach out for help, it was as if people couldn’t hear her. Even though her story had flirted with superstition and the details shrouded in mystery, Kaiba understood the feeling well.

It had been Shadi apparently who had helped her, who made sure people heard, who made sure the patient never hurt her again. She had been surprised that Kaiba had called him a detective, but she put more trust in him than she did in the police.

“He may not have saved me, but I was attacked,” Kaiba’s voice began to crack, and he put a hand over his face. “I am the victim here!”

Dr. Uramoto’s face dropped. “I suppose so. That won’t stop anything, but I suppose so.”

At this point Isono stepped forward between Kaiba and the doctor, “I have no idea what you two are talking about, and I am sorry for whatever may have happened… but I believe its time to go.” As soon as Isono uttered the words, Kaiba turned on heel and stormed out of the door. Isono followed close behind, which was fortunate because Kaiba realized that he barely knew his way out of the hospital let alone where the car was parked.

By the time Kaiba made it home his head had cleared, though Kaiba suspected Isono may have taken a detour to give him time to sober up. His memory of the visit- particularly the portion after the blood transfusion- was apparently rather blurry. Not gone, but worrisome enough with his usually crystal clear memory. When they got home, Isono asked him if everything was still loud, and it had taken some prodding for him to even remember that as he had thrown himself in the car he had casually remarked how so very very loud everything sounded and smelled. Like sandpaper against his skull, so many details all at once.

“It’s manageable,” Kaiba said exiting the car. “You can go. I will likely be calling a board meeting on Sunday to discuss what has happened since my disappearance, and I will contact you in the time leading up to that. There is much to do first.”

The car stayed for a moment, and Kaiba turned to look at Isono, who looked like he was considering whether or not to say something. Kaiba narrowed his eyes. Since he didn’t say it aloud, it was probably something silly about resting and recovering, and Isono would already know what the answer would be. He was home. He was shortly to be with Mokuba. That was all the rest he needed. Recovery would only come when he made sure everything was under control; the world would not tolerate and would likely punish any less.

“You can go,” Kaiba repeated, and Isono drove off.

Kaiba walked up the stairs to his porch and entered his manor. Finally. He felt a strong urge to run up the stairs to his brother’s room, to see that his brother was alive and well and to tell his brother that he was alive and well, and he would certainly do that soon. But, he wanted to make sure he looked and smelled presentable first. His brother wouldn’t judge him; his brother never had. Instead Kaiba wanted to make sure that nothing was out of place, so his brother could really see that everything was fine that he didn’t have to worry anymore. From the orphanage to life under Gozaburo to even the battle out of that hell, Mokuba had been forced to worry far too much, and Kaiba hated when he was forced to add to that for even a moment.

So, his first task was instead to shower and get whatever remained of the dumpster off of him.

Heading directly up to his private bathroom, Kaiba was distracted momentarily by the glowing eyes in his reflection. He glanced it over, noting that at least this time his reflection was as dark as the room around him. He started unbuttoning his shirt but then glanced back at the mirror and the room around him. The room was in fact quite dark. The only light in the room was trickling in from the window, from the security lamps and moon outside; the room itself looked desaturated, cast almost in greyscale. He shouldn’t be able to pick out as many details as he could, the soap dispenser on the counter, toothbrush lazily against the edge of its cup, the towels stacked neatly on the rack. He hated how comfortable he felt.

Hesitantly he reached towards the light switch.

Flipping the switch, blinked and squinted as the light blasted against his pupils, and then his eyes adjusted. The room brightened and returned to color, but his reflection did not. Damn hallucination wouldn’t go away. His face contorted at the sight, upper lip pulling back in disgust. It shouldn’t happen with every damn mirror. “You choose now to be consistent?”

But, of course, that only revealed how consistent the hallucination was, since as soon as he opened his mouth, he saw the tips of two sharp fangs.

Kaiba lashed out at the sight.

The mirror cracked, splintered, and slid downward out of its frame. The back of his hand stung momentarily as a shard cracked and splintered against it. Glass scattered across the large quartz counter top, a few pieces near the far edge sliding off the far edge onto the floor next to the toilet.

Now, instead of one horrible reflection, he had several horrible reflections staring back at him from the shards. They were taunting him. He glared the reflections and pressed his lips into a thin line. He tried not to think about how the thin dark lines on the back of hand and the sour smell wafting up from them reminded him of the cuts Jun Liu and Detective Wasseem had asked about. But, the shards’ angles also were odd enough that they caught more of the ceiling than him, and his eyes fell on the shards less naturally than the standing mirror. The cuts on his hands must be shallow, since without any pain to remind him, they were easy to ignore. As much as he knew it ultimately solved nothing, it was better.

He scoffed and let out a small laugh, while sweeping aside the few shards that had fallen onto the floor. “Brain’s so fucked up, can’t even get fantasy right.”

Stripping down to shower, he noted that despite the blood transfusion his skin was still the same deathly pale. He hoped at the transfusion would do something, especially since it had induced… how had Dr. Uramoto referred to it? Euphoria. In any case, more blood in his system should have returned some of the color.

His eyebrows knotted in confusion.

Kaiba looked at the spot his inner elbow where the needle for the blood transfusion had stuck, hoping to at least see some progress there. It was the same as the rest of his skin. The vague memory of the area turning pink then black drifted through his mind. Shadows dancing across his skin, and his blood gripping onto the needle. That couldn’t be right, but he did seem to recall the doctor mentioning something about it herself. He frowned, unsure whether either part of it was real, and decided to move on. It was certainly improbable, and in either case, he couldn’t do anything about it now.

It did, however, mean that he couldn’t pretend with Mokuba that everything was ok, though perhaps his original plan to do so was a bit facetious. Mokuba was a smart kid. He would know. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t do his best to make sure that everything was as close to normal as possible.

He then also recalled Detective Wasseem’s comments about his skin being cool and the thermometer’s low reading at the hospital. Had the blood transfusion at least helped with that? Maybe, maybe not. More blood in his system should have improved his circulation, but it wasn’t like the doctor had heated the blood up either. If it helped, it would take time, and he didn’t feel any warmer yet. Then again, he also hadn’t felt particularly cold earlier. Not being able to tell one way or the other, he hoped the shower would warm him up.

Kaiba turned the water on and pushed the temperature past the point where he was usually comfortable. Hesitantly he tested the water with his fingertips. It wasn’t scalding like he expected, just warmer. It would do.

The shower itself was uneventful through relaxing. What few remaining smells from the dumpster went down the drain, and the sour smell from his hand quickly disappeared with it. Even after his nose was convinced the taint was gone, he scrubbed to get even the trace of the thoughts off of his skin. He didn’t want even a speck of dust from tonight to be left touching him, but with the water beating against back, it was easy to occasionally just stop and stare off into space. By the time, he exited the shower, it was already one o’clock in the morning.

Exiting the shower, he was left with one final choice: what to clothes to wear to see his brother.

He considered putting the spare school uniform away, and changing into pajamas instead. He may have worked until dawn more than a couple nights, but tonight the idea of shutting the world out and resetting- if not everything else- then at least his own mind and brain was alluring. Moreover, even if he didn’t want to go to bed, he knew Mokuba would insist on it, especially given his current physical condition. Isono already tried to. Perhaps the two were right.

However, he also didn’t feel remotely tired, and there was so much to do. He started putting the school uniform back on, thought his time with access to his spare packer, a binder, and a pair of shoes, while making a mental to do list for later.

Isono had mentioned that the Big Five were getting antsy over stock prices, but how had they actually responded to the news of him going missing? Kaiba had worked hard to check them in place, to strike a certain balance between them, and while he had no doubt that they kept their reactions guarded, he knew they harbored no grief over his disappearance. The question really was instead whether they had made any plans in his absence, and if so what those plans were. Tonight would be an invaluable time to sort through the possibilities, check for traces of any suspicious activity, and formulate counter plans.

Fortunately, it likely wouldn’t take much. They already knew at this point what he was capable of.

That was of course on top of that was the work he had fallen behind on. After the attempt on his life, the schoolwork felt even more frivolous than ever, but his work at Kaiba Corp felt more important. It was his life.

In addition to the usual duties of a CEO such as setting company policy and meeting with the board who in this case was simply the Big Five, he prided himself on getting involved in company projects. Not micromanaging them certainly. There were too many projects, and the individual projects were too big for that. But, even before he had taken the company’s reins, his inventions had taken the company to new heights. It was only natural that he continued to tinker and provide technical advice. Some departments had even made a habit of asking him for input, though the tasks they needed help designing and analyzing algorithms for were sometimes quite strange.

Isono had said the projects weren’t urgent and that they could wait, and he should first make sure that everything else was settled, but sinking his teeth into a project sounded like such a productive and welcome distraction from the past night.

The past four nights, Kaiba reminded himself as he finished buttoning the outer shirt and went to grab a pair of shoes from the closet. He was attacked four nights ago.

That in and of itself was something to look into. While Shadi’s comment did suggest that his attacker did have some relation to Yugi, he had no way to prove it, and with Shadi running interference at the police department, the department might not even help if he could. But, he needed to know who had attacked him. He needed to be able to do something about it.

All of that, he thought as he finished tying his shoes, was for later. Now was for Mokuba.

Kaiba walked the short distance down the hall to Mokuba’s room, pace quickening as he could already smell him- at least what he presumed to be him- before even opening the door. Cracking the door open, he saw Mokuba laying there peacefully on the bed that was entirely too big for him. Kaiba reached over to turn the light on, and Mokuba shifted uncomfortably but did not wake. Kaiba moved to kneel beside the bed and rested a hand on Mokuba’s arm, giving him a slight shake.

Mokuba’s eyes fluttered open and then immediately lit with joy and astonishment. “Brother, you’re… you’re...”

A smile broke on his brother’s lips as he struggled to get the words out, and Kaiba felt a smile threaten to crack his own face in half. “I’m here.” He grabbed Mokuba’s hand in reassurance.

Mokuba began to tremble, and his eyes began to water. Kaiba felt his heart drop, and he began to panic, worried that something was wrong, that his hand still wasn’t warm enough. His brother sat up, and the words poured out. “The cops kept acting like it wasn’t that big of a deal. That since they had confirmed that the Mutous hadn’t done anything and since no one posted ransom that you’d just wandered off or something. They posted reports and the reporters swarmed with questions, but you could tell that they were all just thinking,” Mokuba raised is free hand to do air quotes while he mocked, “‘Its only been two days. I’unno, a kid running a company, maybe he cracked under the stress. Imagine he’s out partying.’ It was awful. Only today did they start to understand how bad it was, and the only cop who took it seriously from the beginning told me that you were probably dead.”

That was probably Shadi. Kaiba was finding more and more reasons to hate that man. He gently squeezed Mokuba’s hand. “He was wrong. I am alive.” He let Mokuba continue.

“Well, you were gone, and it sucked. Kisara couldn’t find you, and she checked everywhere. She said she had even went to the Kame Antique Store herself before going to the police. She kept stopping by as if to check that I hadn’t disappeared too. And, even if you sometimes don’t come home, you always answer your phone when your phone when I call, and you didn’t. You weren’t pestering me to do my homework, and you weren’t waiting to see me off when I left in the morning. You didn’t tell me I should go when they gave me time off.” The tuh-thub in his brother’s chest had been steadily quickening, but now jumped faster. Mokuba pouted, and anger hissed out of his lips. “Where were you?”

Kaiba was at first taken back by his brother’s anger, but then again he was angry too.

Damn the boy for hurting him and then leaving him for dead, tossing him aside like trash. Damn the boy for making him wake up in the dumpster, pinned down not just by the garbage but by the overwhelming odor. Damn the boy for making him wake up again surrounded by death. For making him shirk his responsibilities to his company, to his brother. For putting his brother through this. He hated all of this, every ounce of this situation, and since it was the boy’s fault, he hated the boy most of all.

Kaiba felt himself shift with the rage, as if his body was ready to fight- physically fight- the boy right then and there. But his enemy wasn’t here. Only Mokuba. And, in any case, battles were won on the mental playing field not the physical one. So while he held onto his rage, he let the feeling pass before answering. “Somebody attacked me. Tried to kill me and almost succeeded. But, I’m finally better. I’m back.”

“Better? Bro, you look sick.”

“The doctor said I was in shock, and the blood transfusion is still kicking in.” He didn’t want to inflict the details on his brother, but he couldn’t hide them either. “I blacked out. Then, I was trapped… buried under trash. If I could have come back sooner I would have.”

“Who? Who did this?” Mokuba almost yelled.

“I...” Kaiba lowered his head. “I don’t know. I’m going to find out.”

“Good.” Mokuba puffed his chest out defiantly, pulling his hand out of Kaiba’s to curl it into a fist. “Cause when you do, I’m going to personally let him have a piece of my mind.”

A chuckle escaped Kaiba’s lips. While the idea of his brother actually trying to fight his attacker was rather disconcerting, he knew Mokuba was smart enough to not try it, at least so literally. He fussed his brother’s hair. “And, steal from me the satisfaction of doing it myself?”

“I guess not, but at least let me get in a few licks.”

“I’ll consider it.”

They sat there in comfortable silence for a moment before Mokuba finally reached over for a hug that Kaiba accepted. He pulled Mokuba in, glad to have the tactile reminder that his brother was here, that he was here, that the night was almost over. He couldn’t say that everything would be okay; things were rarely anything approaching okay. Yet, perhaps things would start to get back to normal, and at least he knew he could handle normal. He rested his head on Mokuba’s shoulder.

Suddenly there was a noise- a downward flow- by his left ear. The noise itself was soft and subtle, barely there, but it felt like a thousand hooks catching on his brain, pulling him in closer. His body shifted again but in anticipation.

Kaiba breathed in, and his brother’s scent and all its nuances filled his lungs, wafting through his nose, sliding over his teeth, and tickling the back of his throat. Despite his attempts to remind himself that none of that was real, that his nose was probably lying, every detail seemed so real. In addition to the shampoo clinging to his brother’s hair and the detergent sticking to his clothes, there was the lingering trace of chocolate, probably from a parfait his brother had downed before bed without anyone to tell him not to. Behind that was an aura of relief, fragrance of joy, and tangs of anger. It was a turmoil with his brother’s exhaustion evident. A frown flicked across his features.

The downward flow- no two downward flows, a larger one hidden behind the first, too deep to reach- called. While Mokuba’s scent carved itself into Kaiba’s mind, his throat lurched. Saliva flooded his mouth.

Despite Mokuba’s exhaustion, Kaiba’s senses screamed that his brother was at least here and healthy. The rhythmic pounding in his brother’s chest. The full delicate balance of his brother’s scent. The breathing by his ear. The downward flows. Life. It had been a long four days, but they had survived and come out the other side. Kaiba squeezed his brother in closer, his right arm snaking around till his hand rested on the left nape of his brother’s neck. His brother squeezed back. He was here. He was home. Mokuba was alive.

Alive.

The word hung in his mind before ripping in two.

Two next logical thoughts pulled at his attention, both demanding, nagging, insisting that they and they alone be next, yet chaffing and contradicting each other. Caught in the tug of war, he could barely think either. His brow creased.

The thoughts did agree on something though. Good. Alive was good.

He lightly shook his head to clear his thoughts before it turned into a tilt, and his jaw opened as if in a yawn.

“You monster!” A young voice cracked through the room. If the downward flow had been a thousand hooks, the voice was like ripping off velcro, almost literally as Kaiba jerked away to look up, upper lip pulling back in anger. The whole world readjusted and refocused.

Mokuba had not spoken.

Instead staring him down as if he were evil incarnate was a young Seto, wearing the shirt and sweater vest from his time at the orphanage some six years ago. The young Seto’s eyes were narrowed in a glare, hands curled into tiny fits that pounded at the air, and round cheeks trembled with rage.

Fuck.

Author’s note: Yeah that may not have been the best place to put your face, Kaiba.

But, yeah, I knew I wanted the “You monster!” thing early on especially when he got back to see Mokuba, and then at some point a part of me was like ‘you know a person’s face can get really close to another person’s neck during a hug’ and I looked at that part of me and went ‘You’re evil. I hate it and love it.’

Also, my logic with the blood transfusion was that the curse would be really happy because ‘yay, blood’ but it is also really confused and not used to processing it this way. So, this leads to it giving Kaiba a disorganized euphoria. However, I’m not going to deny that this started as ‘Lol, what if blood transfusions made vampires high, lol’

Did you catch that moment with two layers of dramatic irony at once?

#yugioh #ygo #seto kaiba #mokuba kaiba #isono #roland #vampire #vampire au #body horror #near major character death #no one dies though #hallucinations #fanfic #orgnpst #cliffhanger #do not kill me #dramatic irony #fic: adjusting to the dark #attd content

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