Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Unbreak My Heart ❯ Bring Me To Life ( Chapter 1 )

How can you see into my eyes
Like open doors
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb

The energy blazed through the shadows, striking at the Duel Monster. The opponent's life-point count went down to zero, and he slipped to his knees, breathing painful and ragged. It was obvious that he hadn't been trying. The emptiness in his pale blue eyes throughout the duel was proof enough.

He had had many names over his three-thousand-five-hundred-year lifetime: Yami no Bakura, Kage, Nahkti, Spirit of the Millennium Ring, Touzoku Ou, Tomb-Robber, assorted insults, and about a million other things. He was now known simply as Bakura. Soon he would not have a name at all. Soon he would be dead.

Then again, he had been dead inside for a long time.

Without a soul
My spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead
It back home

The man still standing-the man who had one-regarded the other man with an unreadable emotion in his eyes. He, too, had been known by many names-Yami no Yugi, Mou Hitori no Boku, Namonaki, Pharaoh, Bel um Fal, blah-blah-blah. He was now known by his `true' name: Atemu.

The man before him had little resemblance to the mad spirit he had grown to despise, nor the evil Tomb-Robber he had always hated. He had not been fighting, Atemu knew this. Somehow, this made his victory feel like a travesty. He didn't know why. He had never cared before.

Actually, he did.

*Wake me up*
Wake me up inside
*I can't wake up*
Wake me up inside
*Save me*
Call my name and save me
From the dark

"I wasn't always a `good' guy," Atemu remarked aloud, hoping to spark some reaction from the broken man. He didn't even raise his head, but Atemu continued nevertheless.

"There was a point where I was sadistic enough to burn four men to death just so Yugi and his friends could have their place at a silly little fair. But I was always considered a hero. There was over a million chances for me to redeem my every crime-but there was never any chance for you." He smiled sadly. "It's funny, but...I almost pity you."

Even this sparked no reaction. Atemu realized he may as well deliver the punishment now. There was nothing left that could help Bakura now. He didn't even know why he wanted to, but he did.

Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
*Save me*
Save me from the nothing
I've become

"Bakura."

The authority and seriousness in his voice made Bakura glance up. There was no emotion in his face, only a haunted expression which tugged at the strings of Atemu's heart like few things had before. Nevertheless, he forced himself to speak with the same calm severity that had made Bakura pay attention when nothing else would.

"Bakura, I know of countless crimes that you have committed, and I have no doubt that there are many of which I am unaware. Yet you have always escaped the Shadow Realm and any other punishment that might be enacted. Death would be a merciful but necessary sentence, but you and I both know you will not stay dead unless you wish to. I need to hear from your mouth that you accept your sentence."

Bring me to life
Bring me to life

He was trembling slightly, but there was no fear in his eyes. So he continued, even though he had the strangest sensation that in saying the words he was stabbing himself. "Bakura, do you accept the punishment of death?"

Bakura's lips parted, but no words escaped them. He licked them, and Atemu noticed that they were swollen and scarred. His voice was dry and quiet, but there was as much finality in his tone as there was in the word itself.

"Yes."

Now that I know what I'm without
You can't just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life

There. He had said it, and Atemu knew he meant it. He remembered Bakura's anguish when he discovered that it was Necrophadisu, not Akunamukanon, who had destroyed his village. He recalled his own sadness when he discovered the true reason Bakura despised him, and realized that he had been manipulated and lied to all along.

If Atemu killed him now, Bakura would die and stay dead. But even as he knew this fact, he knew another:

He couldn't do it.

*Wake me up*
Wake me up inside
*I can't wake up*
Wake me up inside
*Save me*
Call my name and save me
From the dark

So Atemu stood, torn between his heart and his duty. He didn't want to kill Bakura. He would never forgive himself if he killed Bakura. If he didn't kill Bakura, he would never be able to live it down.

Is this what it comes down to? Atemu wondered, feeling uncertain and confused. What I think, or what others think? What can I do? My friends...they're all expecting me to get rid of him! That was why they told me to fight him! Yugi...Jonouchi...Honda...Mai...Ryuuji...Anzu...I can't just let them all down, can I? But if I kill him, I'll hate myself forever.

He gazed at Bakura, trying to think, trying to calm down, trying to figure out his tumultuous feelings. The King of Thieves was watching him unwaveringly, still on his knees, waiting to die. What can I do?

Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
*Save me*
Save me from the nothing
I've become

Bakura watched Atemu, not understanding his hesitation. Had he thought he was lying?

Bakura smiled bitterly. He wanted to die. The only people who cared about him were dead, the only people who would help him had been done away by cruel time. All he had done was suffer and cause suffering.

It was time to say farewell.

Bring me to life
I've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life

He wasn't saying anything, Atemu noticed as he walked closer. He had said one word this entire time, the word that should have sealed his fate.

This was Atemu's fault, not Bakura's. He couldn't even blame Necrophadisu for this battle. His friends had been the ones who insisted he finish this once and for all, while Bakura was vulnerable, but he had agreed. Vulnerable...fighting him at this time had been taking advantage of Bakura and his devastation. And then he knew.

"I can't," Atemu whispered. Then, louder. "I can't."

Frozen inside
Without your love, without your touch
Darling, only you are the life
Among the dead

Bakura's head snapped up. He opened his mouth as if to protest, but he was much too tired to utter a word. He seemed so fragile, a haggard image made of glass.

"I can't do it, Bakura," Atemu said seriously, feeling as if a giant weight had been removed from his shoulders. "Fighting you like this was cruelty, pure and simple. And to kill you now would be a crime worse than any you could ever commit."

All of this time
I can't believe I couldn't see
Lost in the dark
But you were there in front of me

Bakura blinked at him, stunned. Had his hearing been damaged as well, or had Atemu just said that he wouldn't kill him because he felt that it was cruelty? Was this supposed to be a cruel joke?

No, Atemu's expression wasn't that of somebody who was joking. "What if I asked you do?" His voice was a mere whisper, his throat felt raw. His lips were too dry. "I'm not too proud to beg...not anymore."

"I can't do it," Atemu repeated. "I won't."

I've been sleeping
A thousand years it seems
Got to open my eyes
To everything

"Then what are you going to do?" he whispered harshly. "There isn't any hope left for me. If you don't kill me now I'll just try to kill you again. I've fallen too far to come back now."

"That isn't true," Atemu argued stubbornly. He was standing right above Bakura now, so close that Bakura could smell him. "I can show you that life is worth living. I can help you...if you let me." He held out a hand. "Do you trust me?"

Without a thought
Without a voice
Without a soul

Everything suddenly felt too overwhelming. Bakura could sense the darkness closing in. If Atemu didn't kill him soon, he would be lost to the shadows. "You don't understand! It's too late for me! I can feel the shadows coming for me-if you don't kill me now..." he trailed off, afraid to continue.

Atemu couldn't feel them. He didn't hear every soul Bakura had ever wronged screaming for redemption. All Bakura wanted was peace...an emotion he had never been lucky enough to experience.

"There isn't much time! If you want to help me, you'll kill me now."

Don't let me die in here
There must be something more
Bring me to life
Bring me to life

Bakura was trembling. More than anything, he wanted what Atemu's words promised, but it was too late. There wasn't any time left. He looked up pleadingly, hoping to convince him that his words weren't merely an idle threat. Their eyes met.

Bakura was startled by what he saw in Atemu's eyes. Sympathy, compassion, understanding, tenderness...feelings no one had ever shown towards him before. For the first time he believed him. Maybe it was just a foolish hope, but he desperately wanted to believe that Atemu could help him.

*Wake me up*
Wake me up inside
*I can't wake up*
Wake me up inside
*Save me*
Call my name and save me
From the dark

Bakura reached up, taking Atemu's hand. Atemu helped him up and suddenly gold light blazed around him. Bakura gasped sharply, hurt both physically and mentally. It was a long, excruciating process. He could feel his soul shatter, feel bits and pieces of himself be sucked away until there was nothing left.

With a final, shuddering breath, he slumped against Atemu.

Bid my blood to run
Before I come undone
*Save me*
Save me from the nothing
I've become

Atemu held the limp body tightly as the souls fed on what he had broken and expelled. All of Bakura's pains, all of his memories, every shred of evil in his soul. He hoped he had done the right thing.

Pressing a hand against Bakura's neck, he felt a tiny spark of a soul left. So much of his humanity had been eaten away by pain and darkness, hatred and evil. If he lived, he would be a broken soul without hopes or dreams memories.

But Atemu would change that.

Bring me to life
I've been living a lie
There's nothing inside
Bring me to life