Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ From within the Flames ❯ Numb to the Pain ( Chapter 9 )

JC: WE BEG FOREGIVENESS!!!!!

Kathrine: Well…shebegs for it. I apologize though. We planned to have this out before last Sunday, but the ending was deleted, which REALLY pissed us off.

JC: So we had to rewrite it, work on two reports, go to Indiana for our cousin's wedding, and help my sister take care of our new niece, Nataliah.

Kathrine: So we didn't have time until today to finish it up.

JC: And to show how much we appreciate your 'patience', we fixed up a little treat at the end and tried to make it lengthy enough for ya.

Kathrine: And anyone who wants Bakura-angst is sure about to get it in this chapter.

JC: Yes…we love to see what we can do to lead up to his insanity. ^_^

Kathrine: So without further running around…CHAPTER 9!!!

Disclaimer: If we owned this do you think that they all would wear practically the same outfit season? We mean…We KNOW SOME of them have to other clothing!

Warnings: Yaoi/Shounen Ai, Dark themes, MAJR ANGST, Bakura-history, and mysterious guy. Oh and CLIFFIE ALERT!! We weren't to kind to Rashid either. Kathrine REALLY got her way with this one.

From within the Flames

By Kathrine and JC

Chapter 9 - Numb to the Pain

He wandered the rainy streets, his eyes glazed with a blank stare as he stumbled about like a drunken idiot. He had come close to bumping into other people many times, but managed to use a strange graceful agility to dodge everyone. More than once a man or woman would turn and sneer at him. He ignored them, his mind somewhere else. He couldn't actually figure out 'where' his mind had gone, but he still was able to use the majority of his motor skills.

What's wrong with me? his wondered in a detached curiosity. Why do I feel so strange? It was as if he was caged and free at the same time. His body felt fatigued and energized. The rain had already soaked through his clothes, but it was invigorating, almost rejuvenating. The strong winds swirled about him, so much so that one would believe it was purposely playing with his hair as a way to remove his dark mood. His eyes were dry and yet still red, though he could not recall shedding one tear.

He took a turn and found himself in an alley in a part of the city he couldn't remember. Although he knew that if he could conjured up enough of his mentality he probably would know exactly what street he was on and how far it was from his house. Home… his mind whispered. Was that where he was going? But what would be there waiting for him?

Mother is there, he told himself. She's probably waiting for me, wondering when I will be back. Knowing her, she's probably worried sick about me, calling everyone she knows for my whereabouts. He almost laughed at that. His father had never been so over protective, he wanted him to learn instead of merely setting rules and hoping he'd never break them. He trusted him enough that he believed he would know when to ask for help if he so needed it.

He looked down at his watch, staring curiously at the time, for he wasn't sure if it was correct or not. 6:30. But was that AM or PM? If it was day his mother would be more than worried and he would have to get home. He needed a good bath before school. If it was night he knew it was time for him to go and meet up with Marik and Malik. They would be heading out to the Dark Room, a discreet club on the worse off side of town that catered more towards the 'abnormal', as they did every Sunday night. Was it even 'Sunday' anymore? How long had it been since he actually paid attention to the time or day? All that seemed constant now to him was the storm that was coming down, the cold rain that was warm against his skin.

His hand touched something cold and smooth. He lifted his eyes towards it and realized that it was a telephone booth. He tilted his head at it, his mind blank for a moment or more. Should he call? He always used to call before he went home. His mother would know to expect him. But he hadn't done so in so long. Maybe she would feel better if he did. His mother had been getting sick so often lately, she was always so tired and weak.

But why should he? She didn't need to know. She should understand that he was strong enough to take care of himself without her worrying over him like he was a babe. He didn't need to call her. She would be happy just with him coming home. Marik, Malik… he knew who he needed to contact. He had to make sure that they were ready to go out tonight, or else he would just simply return home.

He slid into the booth, not even shutting the door fully behind himself and picked up the receiver. He didn't even realize he had pulled any change from his pocket until he was shoving coins into the designated slot. His body leaned lazily against the glass wall of the booth as he dialed whichever number his fingers chose. He could hear the ring and put the phone against his ear, routinely waiting for someone to answer.

{ " You reached the Ishizu residence…I, Marik, am trying to rule the world with my pet, Malik, and attack dog, Bakura. If you wish to live, swear your allegiance to me at the sound of the bee- Rashid! It was just a joke!" *BEEP* }

" Are you ready? I don't think I'm going out," he whispered into the phone. " I'm not sure where I am. My head…Marik…Mother is probably worried…Marik…What time is it? Is it time to go home? I don't know…" He didn't even bother to hang up the phone, instead leaving it dangling from its cord to cling against the wall of the stall. He exited the booth, feeling more at home in the chaotic storm as he trudged down the street. He had to find his way home. His mother would actually be happy about that.

*****

He walked down the well-lit hall, familiarizing himself with the building that had just been shown to him. Jounouchi was very impressed with what he saw there. It was obvious that Kaiba had planned this for a long time and he was too determined to let anything screw it up. The blonde only hoped that he and the brunette could come to enough of a neutral zone that they could actually work together on this instead of killing each other or worse beforehand.

Yami seemed determined as well, he was quite smart and a great hacker once you set a computer in front of him, but he said he got the talent from his expert computer operator mother. Though the woman and her scientist husband were dead, Yami said he had learned about computers, software and tracking anything possible on the computer since he was young. It was easy to tell why Seto had agreed to work with him, despite his previous explanations.

They both were very good at this field, and yet Yami was also able to perform more 'quiet' investigations without causing suspicions where Kaiba would be quickly accused. Even so, there sure as hell wasn't any love loss between them, but a great magnitude of the opposite. The two hated each other, but were great allies when they 'reluctantly' put aside their differences. It could be that they reminder each other of themselves in some ways, because Jounouchi did think they thought in similar fashions, only acted on their belief somewhat differently.

Unless you bring up this, he thought. But who wouldn't want to make the ones who ruined their lives suffer? He knew that he himself wanted that very same thing. He'd do anything to make them pay. Hence the reason why he was where he was now. But it was more than that. He didn't want to run anymore. He was tired of being chased around like some poor mouse that had broken out of its cage, scientists at every turn trying to return it so they could finish they research. He wanted to finally be free, to put his past and scars behind him so he could live a normal life. Then there's also the fact that the bipolar walkin', talkin' moneybags blackmailed me.

" Mutt," he stopped in his tracks and growled inwardly at the seemingly permanent nickname.

" What is it?" he turned to glare into icy depths. " Can't you even say my name right? What is your problem?"

Kaiba only stared at him, his expression belying nothing of what he felt, " I prefer to call animals by their species instead of titles."

Jounouchi clenched his jaw, trying his hardest not to lose his temper. He knew it wouldn't be a good idea if he did. Most of the time he wasn't as upset about something as he made out to be, but it did work well to making people think he was rather simple or just idiotic. Every time he had actually become enraged by someone the person would either not live out the next few minutes or was seriously injured. There was only one person alive so far that had come out unscathed. And right now, realizing his anger seemed very benefiting.

" Don't even think about it," Kaiba pulled him from his thoughts. " This entire building is fireproof and Arin would hose you down with fire extinguishers faster than you could light up your palm."

Jou's eyes widened slightly. " What, are you psychic too?"

" No," Kaiba replied. " You're just transparent. You get upset too easily and, for lack of any other vulgar pun, 'blow up'."

" That's only because you're an arrogant, money-grubbin' bastard that can't let one word out of his mouth that isn't an insult," the blonde growled. " I'm glad there's no little kids around 'cause you'd be a horrible role model."

A dark look settled over the brunette's face at those words. " I'd advise you to choose your words more carefully," he warned him. " Loose tongues tend to get loudmouths into trouble."

" Ooh," Jou waved his fingers in the air 'ominously'. " Did I get you angry? I'm so scared. Mister Ice-pick Kaiba is angry with me."

Before the younger teen knew it he felt an extreme chill. His looked down and noticed that his feet were slowly turning to ice. " Hey!" he exclaimed. Instinctively, he allowed the flame within himself to change, growing so that it would melt the ice quickly. What he didn't expect was an alarm to go off when he did it. And that was when foam shot out from two large canisters that appeared form within the walls, covering his entire body in the white substance save his wide confused eyes.

" I warned you," Kaiba smirked, " But like any other puppy you have to learn the hard way."

" Why you?!" Jounouchi shook off as much of the wet foam as he could. " I ought ta…!"

" You are to take my private limousine and return to my estate," Kaiba ordered him. " The butler Daiku will lead you to your room as I have directed and you will remain there for the rest of the day."

" Where are you going?" the blonde asked, his tone still angry.

" I'm going to school," he stated. " I will be back by noon and you better keep your hands off any and everything outside of your room."

" So is Yami leavin' with ya?" he wondered.

"He left fifteen minutes ago," Kaiba stated. " But he will be back tomorrow night, as will we."

" Fine," he agreed reluctantly as he finished wiping off as much of the chilly foam as he could. " But ya know you could at least TRY to be nice to me, I haven't even done anything to ya."

He didn't even bat an eyelash, " I didn't take control of Gozuborou's company by being 'nice', nor did I bring it to such power that way either."

Jounouchi sighed in defeat. " I give up, you can be as big an asshole as ya want Moneybags."

A graceful brow raised in distaste, " What did you call me?"

" Moneybags?" Jou repeated before smirking. " Hey, you keep callin' me all those stupid dog names and I'll give ya a few, too. That way we're even."

" Whatever," he frowned before turning away. " Make Inu."

Jou had to keep himself from growling. He really hated being called a 'stupid dog'. He had more than enough dog-nicknames to last him a lifetime. But he steeled himself, ignoring the bait. Kaiba looked back at him and raised an eyebrow at his restraint. " Come boy."

" Why ya little-" The blonde was so close to attempt to see how fast ice melted under extreme heat. It's like he WANTS me to stay pissed at him! Jou thought sourly. What the hell is wrong with him?!

Kaiba smirked when he realized the blonde was indeed following behind him. Quite interesting, he thought. This just might be entertaining then I first believed.

*****

" But I don't want to go!" he whined. " I want to stay here with Marik!"

" No," Rashid was no where near changing his mind. " You must go, and Marik needs to rest. You will only miss your finals."

" Yeah," his blonde boyfriend agreed from his somewhat comfortable spot over many pillows on his lover's couch. " You can come home and tell me what will be on the tests. I'll have a better chance of passing next time."

Malik gave a small chuckle at that. " Please," he remarked, " everybody knows that they 'say' they're giving a different make up tests, but they're really just the original in different order."

Marik winced at the pain that laced through his body, trailing down his spine only to settle at the small of his back. Rashid kneeled next to him, his hand gently gliding over the bandages that were left uncovered. Marik merely wore a pair of low-riding jeans. Malik wanted to lick his lips at how arousing it was. " You don't know how sexy you look," the blonde wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. " Just laying there, back bandaged, writhing in pain, totally vulnerable, and your pants-"

" Go to school Malik," Rashid cut in. " You may speak with him later on once I have transferred him to your room instead of the couch."

" So that means I'll have a 'gift' specially wrapped in my bed when I get home?!" pale lavender eyes went wide with glee. " Oh Goody, I love presents."

Marik snorted before wincing again. " I'm in pain and you're drooling over how I'll look in your bed?"

" Well…" Suddenly the phone rang and they turned to it. Malik almost seemed to pout at being interrupted, but picked it up off of its base anyway. " Ishtar residence, Malik speaking, and may I ask why you're calling at near seven in the morning?"

{ " I apologize for calling this early, but we were told to wait until morning and I didn't wish to wait any longer," a familiar voice told him. " This is Aoshi Medical Center." }

" Aoshi Medical?" the blonde repeated, his mind catching the name instantly. " Hey, is this Shin? Bakura's mothers usual nurse? What would you be calling here for?" But as soon as he finished his questioning dark thoughts invaded his mind.

{ The voice seemed resigned, " Gomen nasai, I didn't want to be the bearer of such harsh news, but I knew you never liked her doctor Mitsuro so I thought it best to call you and ask your sister Isis to come down to the hospital." }

The blonde's eyes widened, "Well…Isis is on a business trip to Egypt right now."

{ " That is quite unfortunate," the male nurse sighed. " You're family was the only other contact that was put down and it seems the Ishizu Family is not answering their phone." }

" But Rashid's right here!" Malik exclaimed before looking up at the raven-haired man. " Take the phone, it's about Bakura's mom!"

Confusion reflected in deep blue eyes, but he took the phone and put it against his ear anyway. " Yes, this is Ishizu Rashid," he spoke. It was obvious that the other person was speaking. " No, he is not here…Yes, I am willing…I will be by later this day…I understand…Thank you for calling us…Two-thirty… Yes, Saoonara." He then hung up the phone.

" Well, what happened? Is Shinzoo okay?" Marik asked, shifting his body so that his was more on his side.

" She is dead," Rashid stated. " She died yesterday afternoon, but the Hospital followed protocol and waited until today to contact you after no one would answer the phone at our home."

" Oh Gods, what about Bakura?" Malik thought. " What is he going to do now that Shinzoo is gone?"

" Bakura is missing," the raven-haired man replied. " He disappeared from the hospital. They had hoped that he would come here. I believe he might have gone home."

" Nani?!" both blonde's eyes were wide.

" H-he…would have called," Marik reasoned. " He would have called one of us!"

" He might have called your house," Malik realized, " but you were there beyond early afternoon."

" I'll check our phone messages," Rashid told them as he began dialing there number. He put in the code and waited.

{ " You have one message." }

Damnit, the first thought that came mind for him. He pushed play and waited.

{ " 6:39 AM. You reached the Ishizu residence…I, Marik, am trying to rule the world with my pet, Malik, and attack dog, Bakura. If you wish to live, swear your allegiance to me at the sound of the bee- Rashid! It was just a joke!" *BEEP* }

He waited and then heard the soft, dazed-sounding voice of the one person he'd hoped to hear from.

{ " Are you ready? I don't think I'm going out," his voice was quiet and more than likely whispered. " I'm not sure where I am. My head…Marik…Mother is probably worried…Marik…What time is it? Is it time to go home? I don't know…" }

The message seemed silent then, save the sound of a light click. Thirty seconds later, he heard the message cut off. He hung up the phone and wondered what he was supposed to do. Bakura said he was going home. The white-haired boy had sounded so dazed and out-of-it that he would have believed that the boy was drunk or under some other form of intoxication if he didn't know that teen abhorred drugs.

He said something about his head, he thought. Could he have gotten hurt when he jumped out of the second story window like Shin said? Oh Bakura…be all right.

" Rashid! Did he call?!" Malik was getting frantic, much like the night before. The pale blonde didn't know how to do with stressful situations. Most of the time he seemed somewhat insane (definitely not as much as his own brother), but when something went wrong or someone he cared for was hurt in anyway he tended to become hysterical. Usually this was followed or preceded by an eerie calm settling within him, yet he hadn't seen anything of that sort happen. All though he was quite sure the boy was still upset from last night and had yet to get one second of rest.

" I have to go, watch over Marik," he told him.

" What's going on?" Marik turned his head to stare him in the eyes, but couldn't for the pain that stabbed him so ruthlessly.

" I'm going to get Bakura," he said. " I know where he has gone."

" But what about Child Services?" Malik inquired with concern. " They're going to try and send him to Foster Care of some shit!"

" No, it has already been decided that Isis and I will have joint custody of Kytsune Bakura," he told them. " Isis insisted, 'just in case'."

" She knew this would happen," Marik growled. " She knew that his mom would die, she always know things like this. And yet she let him keep believing, even when he didn't want to."

" It is not her place to interfere," Rashid countered. " You know that very well. Things must follow their course. Now I must go." He walked to the closet and pick up his coat from where he had set it during the night. He didn't even bother to grab an umbrella and opened the door, stepping out into the storm that had been raging since the afternoon before. he shut the door behind him and took off down the block, he had at least fifteen minutes to get to Bakura's. I only hope that he is still there, it is 7:12. I don't know where he could have been when he got the phone call. He might not even be there yet.

Malik watched the door with a sigh. " I better get you some more Advil," he told Marik. " I can tell the pain is getting worse." Yes he could tell, not just because Marik was wincing more often. It was like a sense of concern and warning that was picking at him from the back of his sense. It hurt far more than his identical lover was willing to admit.

Be okay Bakura, he thought as he went to the kitchen to fill a glass of water. " Hey!" he realized. " At least I got out of going to school!"

*****

He stood in the dim light of the candles, staring at the carvings upon the walls. Each one told the tale that not many even knew had been spun, even fewer would understand their significance in this day and Age. He was the Guardian, sent to protect this story, meant to keep the order of all things done in the past and present pertaining to it.

" It is not yet time," he whispered. " My part is not yet ready."

He looked down to stare at the palm of his left hand and could clearly see the scar that drew from the bottom of his index finger and diagonally to the edge of his palm. He knew that something was going to happen, something that had been withheld from him. And yet the paths are not meant to be turned, the future not meant to be tampered with, he reminded himself.

" But I made an oath…a promise," he whispered to the room, as if the carvings could hear him. " One that I know I cannot denounce. I will not."

The candles flickered, and a gust of wind entered the room. He smiled. " Thank you," he murmured. His blue eyes, no pupils within, held the one carving, a man with long hair and a staff in his hand. " Thank you." The candles flickered once more and it seemed the room was drenched in darkness. When they returned to their normal effulgence, the man was gone.

*****

He stood in front of the door, taking in the darkness of the building. The porch protected him from the storm, yet he almost wished he could feel it, could feel anything. He was so numb, his mind blank and his body frozen, but not from the cold. He didn't know why he felt this way. He had been fine yesterday, hadn't he? Why did he feel so disrupted and out of sync now? It was strange, like something was blocking all that he felt, a knot cutting of his soul like a clogged artery to the heart.

He thought absently, It doesn't matter. He pulled the key from his pocket, easily slipping it into the familiar lock. He turned it and opened the door at the same time, entering his home that he had lived in since his birth. Mother probably fell asleep by the fireplace again, waiting for me. She always did that, waiting up for him when he came home too late, but falling asleep before hand if he return after two. And then she would awake instantly, rushing to him smiling and give him a hug, almost as if she thought he actually wouldn't come home. But as always, he would shrug her off and go to his room, not even acknowledging her concern and telling her 'hello'.

But he heard nothing. No movement, no yawn from the room right off of the foyer that usually accompanied his shutting of the door when he returned. No 'Bakura!' gasped in delight and worry. It was wrong, it was completely wrong. She would have gotten up if she hadn't been awake already. Why did this seem so wrong?

He asked himself, Why do I care? I've been telling her to quit waiting for me, to stop treating me like a child. He took off his coat, dropping it to the floor, and shook his hair, water flying in every direction possible. He didn't bother to pick it up and walked past the doorway, not even bothering to look in. But he noticed something. The fireplace wasn't going.

His mother always had the fireplace going if he left, even though it could be the middle of the summer with the air-conditioning on. She had done so every since his father had not come home that one day in the middle of the winter, the day he had died. He had promised her he would come home and they would get to spend time as a family, something he had been too busy to do for over a month. He was going to ask for his two-week vacation. " Just keep the fireplace warmed up and I'll be home before you know it," he had told her.

And yet he had never come. She and Bakura had been watching television, waiting for him, when the news bulletin came on about the bank robbery and hostage situation. They had waited, praying that he had not been at the scene that he would come through the door at any moment. But he never returned. It had been just when the news had reported the death of a police officer when the fire had been about to die, but she put more wood on it, and did so until they had received the phone call that had almost ruined their lives. And then Bakura himself had began to leave, not coming home until all hours of the night, only to find the fireplace going whenever he did.

But now it was not. She could just have been too tired to keep it going, he told himself. His mother had become increasingly weaker lately, unable to do most of the work she prided herself on, especially her garden. He had taken to doing it for her, when she was sleeping, and telling her that her friend Mrs. Aoito had been watching over it for her instead. She sounded convinced when he spoke to her, but he knew that she wasn't stupid, and as of yet had spoken nothing of it.

Curiosity got the better of him. Why wasn't the fireplace going? Had she become too ill? Should he call the hospital again and schedule and earlier appointment for her? He took two steps back and entered the room turning towards the far corner as he flicked the light switch. The fireplace was bare. Nothing was in it, not ashes, not wood, it looked clean and untouched save he darkened hearth from years of use.

" Mother?" he called out, confused. He turned to the chair that sat back the fireplace. It was a reclining rocking chair that his father had bought to replicate the original her grandmother had when she had been a child. Of course, he had chosen one that looked almost identical, but with more to it to provide comfort. She always used it. She loved the chair, always in it doing something, knitting, painting, anything she could do sitting down. She always slept in it when she was waiting up for him.

" Mother, wake up," he told her as he crossed the room. Why wasn't she answering him? She was a light sleeper, and the tone and rising volume of voice would have woken her immediately. What was wrong with her?

Getting irritated, he took three heavy steps and grabbed the back of the chair, turning it towards him. " Mother! Get u-!" he shouted, but the final word caught in his throat. It was empty. The chair rocked lightly, but no one was in it. " Wha-?" Suddenly images came to mind.

/ " Oh Kura…" she murmured…/

/ " Ai shiteru…I love you very much…Even though I know that you…think me weak…I still love you…" /

What are you talking about? What's going on? he thought. Why am I seeing these things? They're not real!

/ " You are my son…and the son of your father…Kytsune Kage…Never forget that…/

"Why are you saying this?!" He cried out to the room. " What are you saying?!"

/ " We need…! We're losing her…!" /

/ " CPR!" /

/ " We can't!" /

/ "Call it." /

/ Blank eyes staring at him, not seeing… No breath…no life… No, No, NO! " GET UP!"

Suddenly everything settled in his mind. It was as if the storm within himself was gone, everything as numb as his soul. No, he told himself. She's not dead…she's just sleeping…she'd not dead… It was almost as if he was awaking from a self-induced dream, finding out a truth that he never wanted to know. It didn't make sense. SHE'S NOT DEAD!

" Bakura," he spun at the calm sound of the familiar voice.

" Rashid…" he stated before looking back at the chair. " She's not here. She's always here in this chair…waiting for me."

" I know," the dark-skinned man nodded. " Bakura, I came to take you back with me to Malik's house. He and Marik are waiting for you."

" No," Bakura shook his head. " No, no, no…I have to find her. I have to wake her up. She's always awake in the morning. I have to get her up."

" Bakura," Rashid started again. " Everything is going to be all right…"

" NO!" the white-haired teen shouted, and suddenly a heavy wind entered the room. " I have to find her!"

Rashid's eyes widened at the sight of the younger boy. His hair was standing on it and seemed to be a pale, more pure shade of white. His eyes were wide and he knew he could see the brown irises fading as the whites grew. The light from the ceiling lamp brightened as the wind increased, its white illumination beginning to hurt his sight. Suddenly it seemed to flicker before it exploded, the lamp bursting and glass shattering all around the room.

" Bakura!" He shielded his eyes and face as the glass flew everywhere, some digging into his arms. The room was shrouded in darkness once again. He slowly opened his eyes once he thought it was over. The room was dim and dark, save the faint glow emanating from the figure standing on the other side of the room. There was glass in the teen's hair and cuts on his cheek and bare arm that was closer to where the lamp had been, but nothing was wrong. And yet he glowed, a pale light shining from him that Rashid had never seen before.

" Baku-" his words were cut short by the pain that laced through his back. He watched as something exited his body and hit the wall opposite him. Looking down, he saw the dark spot growing on his brown shirt from his open coat. A quiet release of air sounded in the previously silent room. He looked up and watched as Bakura fell to the side, landing in his mother's favorite chair, before Rashid himself fell to his knees.

" Wh-What? B-Bak-kura…" his words choked in his throat.

" Say goodnight," someone gave a chuckle and darkness clouded his mind from the hit to the back of his head.

Kathrine: And now for the treat! We hope you like it!

Numb

By Kathrine

Rain pours down my face

Yet it feels like nothing

Mind wandering in a void so blank

Yet I feel completely nothing

Anger rises in my soul

Yet it comes out as nothing

Return to the beginning is my goal

Yet I've reached absolutely nothing

Where are you? Can you feel what I cannot?

Can I see you? Can you undo this internal knot?

It's holding back my feelings, Blocking out everything.

I need to feel myself…Something, pain, anything.

I'm so Numb! Shock denies my feelings.

They're so dumb. Anyone could see I'm not dealing.

I'm void and Numb. My body drenched yet I don't know.

I can't even decide, Where else I have to go.

It's like a dream

I'll go in and she is there

I'll ignore her smile

Don't acknowledge that she cares

Yet every dream ends

And I see the fireplace is bare

Then I realize

No more will she sit in her chair

Where are you? Don't you know I'm trying to find you?

Can I see you? Not blank eyes seeing without you?

I'm holding back my feelings, Not ready to let go.

It's too much for me now, To accept the truth I already know.

I'm so Numb! Shock grasping my feelings.

They're so dumb. Anyone could feel my soul reeling.

I'm frozen Numb. My body empty yet I don't know.

I can't even decide, If I can ever go.

I'm SO Numb! My body cold like the rain.

I'm just Numb, Heart not ready to feel the pain.

I'm so dumb, Didn't think enough to care.

But now I'm Numb…

Unsure how to feel without her there.

JC: Okay that was your gift, a song depicting how Bakura feels through all of this.

Kathrine: I love a gorgeous guy in pain. And Bakura's just so fun to mess with, almost a fun a Jounouchi.

JC: So we hope you're not mad at us anymore. Well…except about the cliffhanger.

Kathrine: We'll definitely work on the next chapter as soon as we can.

JC: And I bet you all already know who the 'Mystery' guy is. But do you know WHY he's acting the way he is?

Kathrine: You won't find that out until later, but he will definitely be in the next chapter. Hehehehee…

JC: Okay, so review and tell us what you think. You're comments and ideas will help us get the next chapter out MUCH faster. Ja! ^_^