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Within seconds of Jounouchi exiting the room a nurse entered. Clearly in a hurry to leave on break, she quickly checked his vitals and injected into his IV a clear liquid. On inquiry she explained, "it's a dose to make it easier to sleep, it won't make you sleep, it's not a sedative that will keep you under, just something to make rest more peaceful and a little bit deeper."

Like a cocktail, Seto thought, bemused and already groggy. Good stuff apparently. He was asleep before the woman had even exited the room.

- - -

Tetsuo was livid to see his son was the next to exit the CEOs room. This was an unspeakable betrayal, and he'd make sure to make his feelings known the moment he got home. He had more pressing matters to attend to now. His son was apparently chummy with the man who had offended and assaulted him - because that's how it was, that Kaiba Seto had struck at Tetsuo first! However it wouldn't necessarily protect him for any retribution on the part of the businessman, wasn't he reputed for being cold and uncaring? No, risks couldn't be taken. He had to save himself.

Creeping into the room he was delighted to find Kaiba fast asleep. He coughed lightly, just to make sure the man wouldn't easily wake. He glanced at the syringe of Sodium thiopental in his right hand, 5 highly lethal (in such a large concentration) grams of assisted suicide. Of course this would most definitely be traced on autopsy. However he was pretty sure nobody had paid him any mind, and he was well aware that surveillance security had been down for over three weeks now. They didn't have the funding for repairs, perhaps something that could be remedied in the near future by a unfortunately timed donation from the grieved younger Kaiba - if he didn't just decide to sue the entire place for negligence, or whatever other charge could be thought of. The completely sick and sadistic thought almost made him chuckle, but he had business to attend to and he had better hurry. He was pretty sure he could get away with this, but he didn't want to linger. This would probably go by easier if he didn't waste time thinking about the fact that he was actually about to commit murder.

((Haha, oh Jou, so cute when you try. xd

Sodium thiopental - ultra-short acting barbiturate, often used for anesthesia induction and for medically induced coma. The typical anesthesia induction dose is 3–5 mg/kg. Loss of consciousness is induced within 30–45 seconds at the typical dose, while a 5 gram dose 14 times the normal dose is likely to induce unconsciousness in 10 seconds (and be fatal). One of the 3 drugs used in a lethal injection cocktail, yet usually the only one used for assisted suicide. For more information, please feel free to patronize Wikipedia via Lethal Injection and Sodium thiopental respectively. sweatdrop ))

Anzu may just have a weird feeling, but Hiroto knew what Jounouchi's father looked like, and he was suspicious that he'd just seen the man head off towards Kaiba's room. Somehow that couldn't end well, and while he didn't want this to be big the reveal for Yuugi and Anzu on Jou's home life, he also knew that something horrible was probably about to happen, and he had to ask quick.

"Hey guys, do you mind going on ahead, I want to talk to Jounouchi about something personal really quick?" he asked Anzu and Yuugi. Hopefully all 3 would just acquiesce without a fuss, if not he supposed he'd have no choice but to tell the group what he just saw.

"No thanks guys," Hiroto said, annoyed. He supposed he could go off and see what the elder Jounouchi was up to on his own, but he really didn't want to. He didn't want to have to deal with a guilt-ridden Jounouchi later if something terrible did happen and he sat around in the dark. "I don't know when Mokuba will be back, but he isn't here yet, so seriously man just give me two minutes and then you can stay here and pace waiting for the kid all you like," he said to Jounouchi. He worked to catch his friends eye this time, and hoped his expression very much conveyed the importance of this conversation and the fact that he'd be sorry if he avoided it.

As soon as they were alone Hiroto glanced around briefly before simply blurting out, "Jou how did you manage to show up here, what's going on with your dad?" Before Jounouchi could answer, Hiroto simply continued, "you know what never mind that bit. It's probably more important that you know I saw your dad here, and I'm pretty sure he was off towards the ICU."

((Haha, I'm sorry, I totally laughed out loud at Yuugi worrying about Jou and Honda's "frequent" secret meetings. rofl

And I'm going to wait until tomorrow to get to the other posts but in case I didn't say I was going to Dublin and would be gone until Friday before I left, well yea, that. Sorry! xd

And because it's midnight and I haven't slept in days this was SHORT, sorry. But dead and I figured Jou should decide the course of action anyhow, his papa.))

"Huh? No man he's fine, he isn't here as a patient, he walked right in there all on his own. But he was lurking around the lounge outside of Kaiba's room. Seemed a bit suspect, pretty sure he wouldn't be bringing the jerk flowers," Hiroto elaborated further, slightly irritated about how dense Jou could be sometimes, especially in regards to a father who really didn't deserve his son's concern.

Hiroto shouted after Jounouchi's sudden retreat. He felt helpless, should he go get help, should he chase after Jounouchi, should he wait and let his friend take care of things on his own? He knew Jounouchi wouldn't want his father in trouble, but the situation didn't just concern his family right now. Hiroto hedged for a few more minutes before finally taking off after Jou, kicking himself for his useless moments of inactive debate while he ran.

- - -

Seto was walking down a dark corridor, opening doors that he was unable to see through, before continuing along his path. He was lucid enough to know he was dreaming, he just couldn't understand what about. He was haunted by the vague sense that he needed to get out, and the longer the dream carried on, the more certain it seemed that what he really needed to do was wake up. He finally reached the end of the hall, and glanced down at the white glow beneath the door centered therein. This room clearly wasn't filled with darkness. All other concerns forgotten, Seto yearned to know what was in the door, reaching for the handle...

He awoke with a start, completely disoriented by the sudden ending to the unusual dream. He felt utterly deprived of resolution, and slightly angry to have been awoken when he had been given a chemical aid to help him stay under. However, upon looking up into the face of the man he realized to be Jounouchi's father, he no longer found that to be any great concern. Before he could question the man as to what he thought he was doing here - or take notice of the syringe - Jounouchi Sr roughly clamped one hand over Seto's mouth. In his weakened state, this virtually pinned him to the bed. Seto's eyes widened, and he attempted to scream, to struggle, but he had neither the strength or capacity for either at the moment. And just like with the door in the dream, the only thing that was really bothering him at the moment was that he wasn't sure why.

- - -

Tetsuo panicked when the dark blue eyes opened and focused on him, he hadn't expected his victim to wake up. Almost on auto pilot he moved to both silence and keep him down. Kaiba struggled, but weakly, so Tetsuo was able to keep the other man trapped with just the one hand. Now he just had to manage operating the syringe with one hand. Few more seconds and this would all be over, he could go home and watch TV, and forget this day ever happened.

At least that was what he thought until he heard the door slam open behind him. Suddenly, without even turning, he knew just how much more complicated it had all become. Not even knowing who lurked in the doorway, Tetsuo was filled with a dark sense that this was to become a double murder. It didn't matter who it was behind him, he just knew that he had to kill him.

Shock assailed Tetsuo first upon finding his own son in the doorway behind him, follow by fear and ending in derision. He sneered at his son's pathetic attempt. "Boy, you think you can handle me?" he all but laughed at the much shorter man desperately bantering before him. The arrest threat should have been a solid one, it would have been, if he was in his right mind. Tetsuo at the moment both felt like himself, and like someone possessed by an external force. It gave him an invincible and justified high, and erased any sense of concern for realistic consequences. "Run to that phone, let's see if those police officers of yours can teleport here faster than I can kill you both," he threatened menacingly. A great rush of mirth and confidence flowed through him at the horrified disbelief splashed across his son's face.

- - -

Seto had been relieved upon Jounouchi's entrance, a feeling short lived as his father apparently had neither any cares in regards to his own safety, nor qualms about threatening the safety of his own son. That was an unfortunate surprise. Considering Jounouchi had expended so much effort in asking Seto himself to grant a reprieve for his father's actions, you'd think there had to be at least something other than a shared blood line to recommend the man. Apparently not.

Jounouchi was clearly as surprised as Seto was, because he completely froze. So much for that venue of assistance, Seto thought. He did the only thing he could think of, he bit down on Jounouchi Sr's hand as hard as he could muster, the middle finger of which was disgustingly wedged between his lips anyhow. The older man wailed in surprised agony, stifling himself as quickly as possible before staff or security could hear him. Absolutely livid he dropped the syringe in order to wrap his other hand around Seto's throat.

Well, Seto pondered, as stars danced into view, this certainly isn't better.